Hello, guys!

It's been a long time without updates. But we're not dead! The game continues on, and it's going very well. And now, we finally have a lot of cool new things to show you. So, I'm making this post to announce all the news, and I bet you'll like them very much. So, keep on reading!

First, I'd like to thank everyone who's been commenting on our work. It's really amazing to know that we have supporters, people who've really played the game and truly enjoyed it. Just seeing a positive comment on our pages makes my day and gives me an extra charge of hope and inspiration to continue making this game. So, thank you guys for all the praise, tips and the constructive criticism, as well any other means of supporting that some of you have been doing, such as sharing the game in other media.

Well, without further ado, let's go to the interesting part!

1. New Screenshots

This is probably what you've been waiting for, so I put it first in the list.
These 3 new screenies show a bit of our recent work and the maps that have been made after the demo release:





You can notice that the message windows were changed to better ones. This is one of the several graphic improvements we've been making.
Also, note that the previous screenshots were updated to depict this new design.

2. A better Battle System

Graphics are not the only thing we've been improving. The gameplay is suffering constant changes, as well, in order to offer the best possible RPG experience. And the most notable of these changes is the improved Battle System. Before, we were using RPG Maker's default battle system, which is great on its own. But if it's already great, why change it then?
Well, there are two things I don't like in the default system. First is the fact that you need to input all the battler's actions before the turn starts, which is pre-strategy. And second is the fact that the battler's speed is only needed to determine who acts first and who acts last in a turn system that everyone will always be able to act one, and only one, time. As you level up, your speed increases, of course. So, even if your speed is 1000 times higher than your opponent's, you'd only be able to act once per turn, and still take a counterattack from them. In every RPG, the advantage of having a fast character is that you can outspeed enemies and finish them before they get the chance to retaliate. So, we needed to change.

Now, we're using an Active Time Battle system, or ATB for short. This kind of system is pretty popular nowadays, and it's sure a better way of making use of the battler's speed, as it aims to simulate a real-time battle. But don't worry, it's not that "pressure madness" of the old Final Fantasy games. It's set to wait for each action, so you can take time to think on your strategies. So, it functions like a CTB (Charge Turn Battle) system.

Here's a screenshot that shows the Turn Gauge at the right:



With a Turn Gauge to guide you, you can see who is going to act in the correct order and think on what your Digimon will do, allowing for more accurate strategies. So, this battle system fixes both the pre-strategy and speed flaws.

Credits to Moghunter for the Turn Gauge script.

3. Changes to the Team & Custom Artwork

Some of you might know that we've been accepting backup developers to help us with things such as mapping, art and spriting. The game is constantly growing, so the work has became too much for the original team, which only had 5 pretty busy people. And luckily, our prayers were answered and we got an artist! This job has been a blank space since we started and ZephyrLightningheart has proudly filled it. She's a huge fan of Digimon and is also experienced in drawing them.

With an artist by our side, we can finally have new drawings for the game's characters. Their faces have been drawn by a generator all this time. And Master not even had a custom drawing! Both his faceset and his spriteset were borrowed from Ace's RTP. But Zephyr's taking care of that and our beloved villain will soon have a completely original look.

Here are some concept art drawn by Zephyr. Is she good or not?:



Still not convinced? Then, take a look at this preview of Tyson's new faceset:



As you can see, he now has an emotion set as well. And this also applies to the other characters. They all should have an emotion set ready for a future release.

Oh, and if you noticed that the logo has changed, she made that silhouette you saw there.

You can see more of Zephyr's work on her DeviantArt page here:
http://zephyrlightningheart.deviantart.com/

Another addition to the team is... a completely new job that I'll have to announce in the section below to keep the suspense.

4. Hear our Sound!

This was something that caught me totally by surprise and it'll sure catch you by surprise as well. Digimon World Ace is going to get its own original soundtrack (YAY!)! Musician Tyler Gonelli has came to me and offered his work (for free, of course). He is also a big fan of the series and wants to represent it by making musics for this project. So, this game is going to feature not only the great songs you've heard so far, but also many original songs.

Here we have 3 tracks as samples of the OST. And expect to see more!

01 - Server City



02 - Competitive Spirit! (Tournament Battle)



03 - Ashita Wa Atashi No Kaze Ga Fuku (Slow Arrangement)



You can hear more songs by Tyler on his SoundCloud page here:
https://soundcloud.com/tyler-gonelli

5. Rumors of a Second Demo

I've been seeing people frequently mentioning a second or an updated demo. So, I'd like to get some things clear, since no official annoucement has been made regarding this. And with official announcement, I mean my own posts.

Indeed, we have plans on releasing a second demo. This demo should feature more story, hours of playtime, and all the improvements we've made. But, at least for now, I won't say when or if it's close or not. Stay tuned to this page and I'll let you know when it's coming.


Well, that's all for the news. I hope you liked it :)