development thread

[jack1974]

I've updated the auto-equip in inventory to use same style as the rest of the other games screen (vendor,inventory). I like this system more since in the previous one it would just highlight the "better" items in green, but now it also shows the damage type, or the armor class (light/medium/heavy) and so on. It's much more user-friendly now.

[jack1974]

I am now working on chapter 2, once that one is ready (and proofread!) the beta will begin. As I posted elsewhere, it's really A NIGHTMARE
This game is probably the most complex game I worked on. This is an example of a scene with Tom:

I had to:
- check which mission did first
- check if successful or not
- how many hostages died
- check for romance yes/no
all the checks change the text displayed on screen. It's going to be a mess testing it. That's why I was saying that Loren 2 will be easier. Will be longer as text/romances amount, but at least there won't be skill checks or an "open world" so that you need to constantly check which mission player has done, and in which order

[jack1974]

today I did a big gameplay change even if took just a few lines of code
In practice, a complaint of PS1 was that even if you had the "fuel" bar, which got consumed every time you avoided a random encounter, you could just go back to the colony to refill it without penalty.
Since in this game there's passing time/turns, I added this limitation. Before you could just take 1 day and explore all the maps, skipping all the random encounters you stumbled in because there was no penalty You could get your overall party health to 0% (all dead in practice!) and you could still explore the maps.
Exploring them all is a big thing since you know exactly where the locations are, and you get bonuses when extracting resources. So, after this change, it won't be so simple anymore... )

[jack1974]

Lol I'm writing a scene today and once again I laughed looking at it - the complexity of this game beat everything I've done in the past 10 to zero!
In chapter 2 there are two main plot lines quest, one assigned by leaders and another which is a terrorist attack. You can choose which one to do first. You CAN do both even if it's not easy (time limit).

So I need to consider all combos:
- both done, just one (and WHICH one did first?) or both failed
- two versions if loyal/rebel
- plus several extra lines if existing romance

It's INSANE (tm)
I am wondering if I'm not just shooting myself in the foot by doing such a fucking insane complex branching game, instead of a much more linear plot? lol!

[jack1974]

last night couldn't sleep well so I thought how to optimize the battle shooting and damage feedback. I was using 1 shot = 1 hit system, which was fine, but for some skills like barrage was definitely taking too much!
Now the skill results are shown in a more "compact" way. The damage calculations behind it are all identical as they were before, just the display changes.
After uploading the video I already optimized it more like more centered numbers, displaying "defense down" properly, etc. I think it's a good improvement that will speed up battles. With such a long game definitely we don't have time to waste on battle animations

[jack1974]

made a new video showing different approach to the same battle. First a Guardian build with a good equipment, and then a Psionic build with low level equipment but using the Charm skill in a smart way.
For those worried about the Charm being overpowered, remember it works only against targets with a lower level than the "caster"

[jack1974]

Just a short update: editor finished checking second chapter and she's working on the individual camp talk scenes as well. I am doing another playtesting round and also finishing the "raid mission" at end of chapter 2 (need to make sure is hard but not impossible ).
I think it's going to be in beta before end of month for sure, depends how long takes me doing these last things. Also if editor manages to proofread all the camp talk scenes would be nice so the beta is 100% proofread

The beta will consist of the first two chapters, and I plan to finish the third and maybe even the last one (will be shorter) before doing the next update. Ideally would be:
- end of may beta with first two chapters
- beta testing / fixes while I work on the last two chapters
- july/august final beta with full story

We'll see if I manage to do it!

[jack1974]

Added an options menu for the player AI - so you can decide if the AI should use medikits and/or psionics to heal your party. I'm not implementing offensive skills because that would require a dedicated AI like the enemies and it's a pain to implement.

Besides, otherwise the players wouldn't even play the game

[jack1974]

As you probably noticed I started the beta
I also added a new screen (available on chapter 3 but it should keep score from the beginning of the game!), I remember it's something players asked long time ago, a sort of statistics screen to see how you're doing. I must admit is fun to see the various stats.

Today reached 160k words. I think I should be able to write at least 5k words a week, alongside coding/testing. Considering June, July, August are about 12 weeks, so 60k more words. Based on this I confirm my estimate of the game being finished around September/October.

Of course for anyone who knows how writing or any creative process work, sometimes you have dry periods and sometimes you're super inspired. Like me yesterday and today, when I wrote 3k, so this is more an average estimate than what could be in reality!

[Troyen]

For consistency:
Total Healing
Different Enemies Killed

The stat screen looks nice. I'm assuming there's a reason it's not available before Chapter 3 even if you don't have the full party yet?