Starlight Shoals

Hiya guys!! I'm closing in on the point where I can finally put out a goshdarn new demo, which is a little sad for me to say 'cause I dumbly expected to be done with the game by now...but life in 2020 was more twisty and turny than I expected :<

But!! The game is still a work in progress, and there's been progress! The new demo will feature a buncha stuffs, such as:

-A new dungeon called the Venom Marsh where combat will start to get more complex than before, jumping in select spots is introduced (it's cute!!), and a lot of weird lore and new wrinkles in the narrative arrive

-Oh yeah and you get a new party member!! It's Luxsor, he's neat, you should use him

-The Vacant Keep is the next new area after the Marsh, it's not a dungeon but it's a creepy mansion with a puzzle or two where a ton of story stuff will unfold with three possible paths to pick from, and based on your past choices it can go pretty differently!! In fact, you might be surprised at how much the outcome at the Keep will affect the rest of the game...

-Due to popular demand, I figured out a way to make escaping ALWAYS work in battles (except bosses), and enemies will pause for a second on the map after escaping so you can move away from them (so you won't have to deal with the frustration of repeatedly trying to get the random chance of escape to work and then immediately get sucked into a battle right after)

-Guarding now restores 3 SP every time you do it, which is very useful in the early game when you've only got like 10 SP and enemies hit like a truck

-Tutorials are more fun now!!

-Some maps, some scenes, and a good amount of dialogue have been edited to flow better, also added new dialogue in some places, like a whole new set of things Dyana can say to you after exiting the Tower if you talk to her (only happens if you agree to the Ritual and she has a negative view of you)

-Most bosses and enemies have been refined and refigured to be more fair and/or challenging than before, as well as tweaking skills, items, drops, and a bunch of other things

-You can now see the ages and heights of party members in the status menu!!

-Even the very first scene has been changed!! Longtime players will notice, I'm sure :p

...annnd that's the main stuff to expect from the December 2020 demo. I'm hoping to get another one up in January that features the Riverway and Anchor City, especially since this latest one will kiiinda end on a cliffhanger. You could almost call this game episodic!! Speaking of which:

If you have saves from previous demos of the game (0.03 and up), they should be compatible with this new one. Just make sure to copy-paste your save files and DO NOT forget the "Global" save file or Wren will not remember your name between playthroughs. On the other hand, if you want to change the name she calls you by, just delete the Global save and start up a New Cycle from the main menu so she can meet you again!