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[vitorlanna]

Thanks maruki and amanfr01! =D I definitely try to aim for some colors that pop, and as the game happens in a cave/dungeon, it's usually easier for them to stand out (with a few exceptions, like the shadow enemies...).

I haven't really played PS1 games much! I'd say my visual inspirations were SNES RPGs, like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and all, but looking up the enemy sprites now I didn't really see this palette so I don't know...

Morph skill!
For the eggs to hatch, I coded a “morph” skill that allows one kind of Unity to become another. Right now it’s just used in the eggs, but it has many potential applications, like a character who switches forms (like a werewolf), a monster which enters a coocon, etc etc!

BUG HUNT!

Bug 002: HARCORE mode
A bug that was not detected by testers is that if you skipped tutorial, the became incapable of saving. It was kinda like the game was saying "So you think you're hardcore, huh?! You don't even need the tutorial, huh? Well why don't you go ahead and finish the game in one sitting!" haha

Anyway, now that's fixed.

Bug 003: The ghost twin
The morph skill was mostly a success! It turned out very simple to do. But there was a hitch... Sometimes, the last egg to hatch would come with... something else. An invisible ghost would spawn in the same location on the following turn, seen only by their shadow which appearead sometimes. It still could attack. If you attacked it, its "twin" would take the damage instead. The path algorithm could detect a presence where the "ghost" was.

As fun as that was (like a creepy pasta) it's now fixed. It did gave me ideias for twin characters in future games, but that's it.

[TonyManfredonia]

Glad to hear your bugs are being fixed, one by one! Bug testing is never fun, but it sounds like you're doing well to address them

[vitorlanna]

Actually bug testing can be fun! It's a bit like an investigation, trying to find patterns and solve a mystery xD
I don't know if the bug stories are interesting to other people or not, though. What do you think? Should I keep talking about the more interesting bugs or just focus on something else?

I did fix bugs today but today I'd like to talk about game design!



Devlog #11: Tale of Channeling

So, first I implemented cooldown. I think most people are familiar with that concept: after using a skill you have to wait a number of turns before using it again.

Then I implemented warmup. Before using some skills for the first time, the unit need to wait a number of turns. I implemented warmup for bosses, so they waited for a point later in the battle before using some attacks.

Eggs don’t hatch in their first turn. They have a morph skill that allow them to hatch, becoming bugs. Initially, that skill had a warmup so they’s wait to morph.

But I wanted the player to know in how many turns the eggs would hatch, as that allows the player to plan, and planning is the most crucial (and fun!) part of a tactical rpg.

I could tried to add a countdown to the skill as it was, but I believed a different approach was better.

The idea of channeling is a skill that has a delay. A unit spends some turns “casting” a skill, and while that happens, the unit may have to stand still. I believe implementing that (and adding the countdown to that) was the better way, specially since this can contribute in the rest of the game, so other units can do something similar ("channeling" a few turns before summoning a powerful monster, for instance) and the player can plan considering that.

P.S.: Ignore the WIP GUI for now!

[vitorlanna]

Dialogue system!

So at first I tried recording the narration of the game myself, going for something like Bastion, but alas I'm an amateur and the result, while fun, sounded amateur. I was going for voice acting, and so there were subtitles in the game:

But, as the direction shifted toward no-voice-acting, subtitles weren't such a good idea anymore. Hence, the dialogue system in the video!
It's not perfect yet, but I do think it adds a nice touch to the cutscenes! =]
Also in the video, the new WIP interface. the old one for reference:

[Alec S.]

This is looking great.  Love the low-poly models.

[bdsowers]

I'm always a fan of good tactics games. This one seems pretty solid.

Love the little particle system you've got going on in that map demo.

I worry your character's attack buildup is a little long, and his movement animation is a little awkward. I don't have a good suggestion to make it any better, it just... strange.

[TonyManfredonia]

I'm so happy you added dialogue!

I didn't know you were planning on doing that. So so so much more excited :D

[vitorlanna]

This is looking great.  Love the low-poly models.

Thanks! =D

I'm always a fan of good tactics games. This one seems pretty solid.

Love the little particle system you've got going on in that map demo.

I worry your character's attack buildup is a little long, and his movement animation is a little awkward. I don't have a good suggestion to make it any better, it just... strange.

Hmm... Which character, both?

I'm so happy you added dialogue!

I didn't know you were planning on doing that. So so so much more excited :D

\o/ \o/
There was dialogue before, though only in subtitles. Feels much better now! =D

[vitorlanna]

Animated textures! The little gravebugs (and other units too) now change expressions when they attack and when they are hurt.

This is something I wanted to do for a long time, but I'm not sure if I'll keep it on the mobile version because it might take too much memory. I have idea for other methods beside switching the entire textures (detail textures, a simple mesh with an alpha over the actual mesh) but I'm not sure if they are more optmized. I'll probably give those ideas a try, though, 'cause I think this feature really adds something!

Expressions also change now during cutscenes.

[TonyManfredonia]

Every little expression change really adds to the flavor and liveliness of the games.

It's the subtle things that really make a difference, sometimes

[Pengus]

Hey this game looks amazing! It totally reminds me of my PS1 childhood. But man, I expected some Asian influenced 90's synth music for this and not funky smooth jazz! Or maybe that smooth jazz is only temporary there for the video? Very cool nevertheless!

[vitorlanna]

Every little expression change really adds to the flavor and liveliness of the games.

It's the subtle things that really make a difference, sometimes

And in the larger enemies, it's less subtle, also! =D

Hey this game looks amazing! It totally reminds me of my PS1 childhood. But man, I expected some Asian influenced 90's synth music for this and not funky smooth jazz! Or maybe that smooth jazz is only temporary there for the video? Very cool nevertheless!

Thanks! =D =D
Yeah, I've heard before that the music isn't a good match, I'm considering some other options.

I've got some more stuff cooking, but my time's up today! Tomorrow I'll post it!
==

[dweedes]

wicked playstation style vitorana

[migrafael]

Oh my lord! Took me back to shining force III on the Sega Saturn. But better Liking it so far. Haven't played one of these in a long long time!

[vitorlanna]

wicked playstation style vitorana

Thanks! =D

Oh my lord! Took me back to shining force III on the Sega Saturn. But better Liking it so far. Haven't played one of these in a long long time!

Hey, thanks! =D I've heard the shining force series is pretty nice, so that's high praise haha

So! I've been working on updating the upgrade menu. Here's how the new one looks so far:

The old one for comparison:

One of the great things about the new one is that now you can navigate the entire skill tree to check for future upgrades you might want. You can also compare what the upgrade offers with your current status. And it's prettier and fits better with the current GUI. =D

[TonyManfredonia]

I agree; having the information presented to the player will be incredibly beneficial to help them decide. I love the incorporation of the models' animations during the skill-learning process. Looks great! Any way to keep the player engaged is A+ in my opinion.