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Announcement

1 Year Later... Beta Testing (Phase 1) Begins!

Beta News
Well, I've finally made it! 2-3 months ago I was worried that I'd be pushed way past my deadline with this project and was about to start rethinking my plans. Her I am at the ass end of November, and everything seems to have come together pretty well after all.

Yes, all of the music, NPCs, shops, tileset passes, and scattered items have been set and placed, and I can finally delve into my own personal playthrough(s) of this crazy sequel. It's been another very productive week for me with this project, and nearing the end really gave me the extra push I needed to get through all of the extremely boring production crap.

So, is the game 100% complete (aside from beta testing edits)? No. Not exactly. I still have a short bit to do for the tail end of episode 4, and a few more little additions to the 8th episode as well. Both of which I'll be working on as I do my beta work. There are also a few graphical glitches that I'm going to have to fix up at some point, but that may not happen until I send out the game to my other beta testers. If all goes well, I'm betting on a release date of January 20th, 2013 (or sooner). That's two months from today, so let's hope all goes as smoothly as I believe it will.



The Next Game
As noted in the blog's title, Fragle Hearts 2 has been in production for over a year now. While I began mapping for it towards the end of October last year (while working on the final episode of FH1), the game didn't go into full production until January of this year. I have not yet begun mapping for Fragile Hearts 3 at this time, and instead have dedicated myself wholly to getting this one done on time. A lot of this has to do with the other projects I'm tackling right now, and the fact that ~Memories Neverlasting~ is the planned priority after finishing this.

Obviously, this means that Fragile Hearts 3 is going to take a bit longer than FH1&2 did to be completed. Sorry. I do promise to get a lot of mapping done while I work on ~MN~, but as far as the rest of production is concerned, I don't expect to get to it until the Summer. I'll need a break from graphical editing anyway, so it works out pretty well for me that way.

Anyhow, I could go on a bit more, but I'll end it at that for now. I'm eager to get started on my testing, so expect more updates soon!

Progress Report

Leftovers...

So I was looking through my folder and there is a bunch of stuff I never got around to using for this game. I decided I'd save it all and use it for future updates, including some new scenes with moving pics and a bunch of other unimportant things like that.

I expect this game to go through the same amount of updates as the first game did. Version 1.1 will be initial bug fixes, version 1.2 will be content improvements with any other bug fixes, and version 1.3 will add a bunch of new stuff. And of course, any additional fixes or improvements will be added when it comes with Fragile Hearts 3... a project that will be HELL to make in only a year's time.

In other news, I added all of the battles to the game. Yes, my most hated part of game making is over. Well, I still have to add chests and stuff too, which I also hate, but major progress has been made and I'm gonna be happy about that, damnit! I estimate the game is now 94% complete.

My personal beta test will commence as early as within the week!

For those who are eagerly anticipating my other project, ~Memories Neverlasting~ (a whopping 35 subs so far!), it's almost time for me to give it my full attention once again, so stay tuned to the blogs!

Progress Report

Epilogue complete!

Some more crazy progress made on this tonight, including a huge chunk of episode 8. All of the cutscenes, save for one small one, have been completed and the mapping is also finished for the entire game!

So, pretty much, we have a complete game on our hands here. Not completely complete, but the most grueling work is now behind me. Here's the latest progress estimate:

Ep.1- 95%
Ep.2- 95%
Ep.3- 95%
Ep.4- 95%
Ep.5- 95%
Ep.6- 100%
Ep.7- 95%
Ep.8- 80%

Pretty good, huh? I can't wait to be able to start my playthrough. However, all is not ready for that quite yet. I still have to insert the following:

-Music for later eps
-A few more NPCs
-Item placement
-Shop selections
-Battle starters

And of course, I need to check all the tileset passes. So yes, still a little ways to go, but I'm definitely getting really close! All the routes that will branch out for FH3 have been set in place and things are looking pretty good.

Fragile Hearts had somewhat of a quick and unsatisfying ending, admittedly. Pretty much anyone who has reached the end has commented on that, although they've been willing to let it go since they know the sequel will tie up most loose ends. FH2 has a much more satisfying epilogue, I promise. It's still relatively short, but we get to see where everyone goes after the end battle, and it somewhat sets the stage for the final game. Plus, you get to choose who your protagonist is gonna be, which is cool.

FH3 will take place 18 years after FH2, so a lot more time will pass by than we saw between 1 and 2 (which is 3 years). I won't delve much further into that here, but it's a good feeling to know that I'll be able to start it up in the coming months.

Progress Report

On to the final episode!

Mapping for the final episode is about to begin. Episode 7 had huge progress this week, and is just about completely finished. It was a hell of a lot easier than episode 5, being much smaller in scope, even though there are multiple routes included (yep, Midard's path is here).

I also finished off another tedious portion of episode 4, which is very nearly as complete as the rest of the episodes. It seems I just may make my initial deadline with this game after all! Here's another update:

Ep.1- 95%
Ep.2- 95%
Ep.3- 95%
Ep.4- 93%
Ep.5- 95%
Ep.6- 100%
Ep.7- 90%
Ep.8- 0%

I won't start my playthrough/editing until each episode reaches 100%, but judging by the way things are going, that should be pretty soon. Within the next month or so, hopefully. I'm pretty happy with how things have been turning out. The comedic aspects have been up to par with the first game, so my biggest concern has been laid to rest. I'm still not completely sure how to go about the final episode, but I have a basic idea right now that I'll be building upon in the next few days.

Progress Report

Exactly 3/4 Complete!

Yep, things are looking up! I worked a good long time on this tonight, fixing up a rather major error in the story routes and finishing up some important cutscenes to make things coherent. I can finally say that I'm ready to go full blast on episodes 7 and 8. I'm pretty sure I know how everything is going to play out, too. I just need to figure out a location for the final mission.

The multiple routes thing has really turned out to be a bitch to handle. However, I seem to have gotten over all the major hurdles. Midard's arc is less confusing, and the alternative route is a lot more straight forward, so that's that. I do want to have multiple endings based on which routes you took though. FH1 just kind of ends, which is okay because there was really nothing more to be said. This game, on the other hand, has a few loose ends that could be tied up. It will also set up the arcs for the third game.

Here's the new progress summary:

EP.1- 100%
EP.2- 95%
EP.3- 95%
EP.4- 90%
EP.5- 95%
EP.6- 100%
EP.7- 25%
EP.8- 0%

Anyway, that's that. I'm not quite done working with this for tonight, so stay tuned for more info as I get closer to the finish!

Announcement

Pushed back. Hiatus over.

Due to my recent short-term hiatus, I highly doubt I'll be able to finished this by January. I made some huge progress before my break started, but there's still quite a bit that needs to be done. Had this been as long as the first game, I'd probably have finished it by now, but the differing routes have made the task a little more daunting.

Fear not though, my short hiatus is pretty much over. I still haven't found a job, but wallowing in my depression is much easier with RM projects on the go. Plus, I finished playing Mass Effect 3, so I have even more free time available.

I'm going to re-evaluate my overall progress so far on this (and Memories Neverlasting) and give a new estimation for when it will be completed. Best case scenario, I finish towards the end of January and beta test throughout the month of February. Amerk's been busy too with school, so we'll see how it all goes.

Anyhow, I'll also try and fit in some EL4 stuff too. Somehow. Maybe.

Progress Report

I'm going commercial!


Totally joking.

In other news, I spent about 4 hours finishing up the 3rd and 4th routes in episode 5. What does that mean? I'm actually coming close to (glimpsing) the finish line! Episode 6 is almost done too, as I spent a while the other day throwing together a few joke scenes (yes, it follows the same formula as the first game's 6th ep). Development Hell 2.0 is complete, and all that needs to be done now is... well it's like 2/3 complete.

As for episode 7, I've mostly got it all planned out. It'll deal with the aftermath of Midard's choice in FH1, so there are 2 routes there. Aside from that, there will be a small advancement of the story after that, leading into the final episode. I believe episode 8 will be a quick cap off, much like in FH1, so you can see how I'd be excited to be getting close to it.

Here's another progress Report:

EP.1- 100%
EP.2- 95%
EP.3- 95%
EP.4- 90%
EP.5- 90%
EP.6- 70%
EP.7- 25%
EP.8- 0%

Progress Report

Rewrites, fixes, and continued progress

Rewrites
It's about time I went back and worked on some cutscenes a bit. I think the jokes work pretty well, but the dialogue is painfully awkward at times where I rushed through it. I've been thinking about that for a while now, and the opening scene has been haunting my dreams (literally). Luckily, cutscenes (to me, at least), are pretty fun. And I don't have to worry about jamming more jokes in there either, so the pressure is completely off.

Fixes
I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but I'm going to make sure that your character levels are the same as they were at the end of the first game. Even though they inhabit different hero slots in the database (due to the fact that I couldn't change their battle sprites via events), it's easily doable. And why wouldn't I try to maintain that flow? It makes me look better, for one. And plus, I worked hard on my playthroughs to get to levels 18, 18, and 19... if you only put in the effort for level 12 party members then that's damn well what you'll have when you meet them later in the game. Unless you use the save files I so nicely kept for you. Jerks.

All kidding aside, I have also been contemplating a second ending for players who go through all 6 routes (that's 2 play throughs with 3 routes each time)... it's more hard work and I'm not even sure it's doable at this point, but it may be a major selling point for FH3 downloads if the endings tie into it. No matter what I decide, there will still be multiple paths available at some point that will affect the next game.

Continued Progress
More mapping. Christ. I thought I was done with the remaps of old areas, but I had to implement some more due to story changes. Plus, I don't want people angry with me for not including an area they feel they should be able to enter, since they could in the first one.

It's been a busy couple of days for mapping. Luckily though, only a few more small rooms to be done and I'll be done with episode 5's maps. Then onto cutscenes and events.

After the rewrites I may have to make up a demo and send it on over to amerk, see how he likes it so far. If major changes need to be made, he'll tell me.

Progress Report

Twice the size of FH1... already.

So as I was recreating even MORE areas from the first game, I came to realize the scale of this thing is already double the first. Some of that has to do with the fact that there are multiple routes this time, most of it just kinda happened organically though.

There was really no way around it. I had to include pretty much every area used in the first game, which meant recreating them with the new graphics, scaling up and down as I went. While I was forced to include areas you've already trekked in the first game, I do promise that they are changed enough that you won't care. For instance, the forest at the beginning of the first game is now a tiny village. The castle from the intro of FH1 will also have new areas associated with it, and a special quest for those who chose a certain path.

To be frank, the routes have really begun to shape themselves into separate games. It really begs you to play it twice and experience it in very different ways. It's been a challenge making sure the 6 paths don't step on each others' toes, but I think I've managed to do it without any problems so far.

Anyways, time for a progress report (keeping in my that episode 5 is the size of 3 episodes itself:

EP.1- 100%
EP.2- 95%
EP.3- 95%
EP.4- 65%
EP.5- 53%
EP.6- 60%
EP.7- 25%
EP.8- 0%

So... yeah. A lot still has to be done. As for FH1 and another final release... I'm gonna save v.1.4 for inclusion in this game. Why? Simply because I'm finished with it as a project. It'll always have more bugs to be found, and things that could be done better, but it's time I focused on this game instead, and a new version with it could go a long way in terms of download promotion. Besides, there will always be more versions and fixes happening for it anyway. Let's not forge that FH3 will include both FH1&2, and the Trilogy Edition package will have a host of new features for all 3, including voice acting, upgraded engine, etc. They're forever ongoing, but the FH1 download page will stay as it is.

In so many ways, FH2 is everything the first game is and more!

Progress Report

Routes take form!

I've finally started working on the multiple routes from the ending of FH1. It's a daunting task, but I must say, it seems like it'll be pretty easy (although quite a lengthy process).

Spoilers ahead.

Not only have I created two separate City of Witches areas for Haddy's 2 possible endings, I have begun work on the separate quest events. I also made a big palace for Haddy, for those who chose to make her the new head witch.

I know I promised to make her endings have a real effect on the game as a whole, and change the direction of the missions. I intend to keep that promise. There are... erm... something like six areas open to players in episode 5, and you can visit them all regardless of which ending you chose for Haddy. However, you will only be required to visit certain ones for each route, and with different mission objectives. Obviously, only one route allows Haddy to come with you, if you so choose. However, the other route has its upsides as well.

Episode 5 is proving to be gigantic. Not only will Haddy's two routes be in it, but Fergus' two routes will also come into play. Episode 6 will be another development hell type side story, but episode 7 will tie up all other plot threads and explore Midard's two endings. While Episode 8 will be the same no matter which routes you chose (aside from having some extra party members available to some), it will have a bunch of more side quests ala v.1.3 of the first game, alongside the ending battle (which will feature a bunch of new endings that will carry over into FH3).

I know, it's a lot of work. But luckily I have over half of it all mapped out, so it all comes down to the eventing and branching quests. I'm right in the middle of planning all the branches for this game, so that's been fun. Anyways, until the next update!