Originally, we were going to keep the energy usage system from the previous EL titles for this game. I came up with an idea to upgrade it significantly the other day though, and Amerk agrees that it seems for fitting for a technically enhanced sequel. So, introducing the Energy-Based Battle System version 2.0!

A character will start out with a set amount of energy. Lets pretend at level 1, you have 50 energy points. Each character will hava a skill called "Energize", which requires zero energy points to use, and gives the player a set amount of energy points back (let's say, 10 to start out).

As the player levels up, the replenish skill will obviously become pretty useless, so I was thinking that as a sidequest, we could have a collection game where if you get a certain amount of orbs or whatever, you can upgrade the energize skill for all party members to replenish more energy points at a time.

This will still make preservation of energy points a huge part of battle tactics, and will make it harder as your characters level up. In many ways, it works the same as the previous games, but you won't regain all your energy every other turn while in battle, thus making tactical moves even more important.




As for progress, I finished making all of the first hero's skills. There are 55 in total, and you'll acquire about 28 of them throughout the course of the game, so there's plenty to choose from as you level up. Also, each one has a different effect attached to it, and you'll have a chance to upgrade each skill twice as you progress. While there won't be quite so many for the other characters, there will still be quite a few.

Balancing this thing is gonna be a bitch and a half, but whatever.

Next up is rearranging some pre-existing skills and finishing the other characters'. Once this is done I'll feel more confident about moving forward with the game design aspects.