TRACHI

Hey broskis,

first of all: TRACHI 1.2b is now available!

Included are a few QOL changes, as well as a bunch of cosmetic adjustments.

This will likely be the final version of the current build, as long as there's not any big issues I might have overlooked.

As always, I am highly appreciative of any feedback you can provide.
So if you stumble upon something that's odd, feel free to contact me through one of the usual channels.


That being said, I'll be on vacation starting tomorrow until Tuesday.
After working on TRACHI ten to sixteen hours every day for the last three months, I'm a bit anxious to let go of it for a couple days.

On the other hand, I'm also very excited to rest a bit and return to TRACHI refreshed and with a new perspective.

I've spent the week post-release on fixing things, but also allowed myself to experiment with new systems, functionalities and asset pipelines.

Right now, I've set my eyes to focus on three main areas for:
Visual elements, gameplay and narrative.

I'll cover each of these areas in separate prog reports over the coming weeks.



For now though, a few pointers of the big chances coming in 1.3:

Walking sprites.
I've already tested a bunch of different scaling algorithms and am planning to update each sprite to look a lot more defined and less blurry.
In addition, I'm also going to add more detail on them and add another batch of NPCs to place throughout the city.
The biggest change in the visual department will however come in the shape of special poses, such as sitting, kneeling, lying down and so on.


As for the gameplay:
My primary goal is for the player to have more control over the flow of the dialogue and either advance it more quickly by getting "straight to the point" or go more in-depth by asking questions about certain topics, be it events, people, locations and so on.

So far, I've implemented a few prototypes and will look at a few dedicated cases to start implementing these systems from 1.3 onwards.


Last but not least, narrative:
I've structured Act 2 from the start to around 4/5th of it. Next up, I'll start working on the intro and hopefully have the first teaser out in around two weeks.

Around that time, I'll also release more details about the act itself, since there's a lot of big events happening.

As for the general theme:
There will be a couple of new characters introduced and a much deeper look into the intricacies of Trachian politics will be given.

In addition, a couple of characters from the prologue, who have not made their appearance in Act 1, will re-enter the stage, as well.

And of course, for those of you who played Act 1:
The relationship between the three protagonists will also be explored more deeply. This includes additional background to the characters, as well as their central role to the events of August 27th, 1923.


In any case, I'm off to pack my things, now.

As always, I want to thank each and everyone of you for your support.