Wee Hero

So after several tests where the difficulty curve proved extremely erratic, based not on where you went, but what gear you had (and there was a few options, so it varied pretty wildly) I decided to basically scrap the database and start again fresh on the current maps and events. Since everything else was already made and it was just the database getting a reboot it actually went pretty smoothly; the two of us just cleaned up completely and rethought out the mechanics for the crafting.

Instead of a seemingly random assortment of weapons jumbled together next to each other, with little distinction as to which is actually better other than the mats required, we decided to structure it more and went with a "tier" system. There's now three tiers of equipment (each split into three separate mini-tiers) and three tiers of materials that go with that. So now there's a nice wide selection of balanced armours and weaponry that fit alongside each other nicely and are appropriate to the materials required to craft them.

With that change, we then went on to alter the elements system. Now it's essentially forced upon the player to participate (there's no "generic" element anymore) but there's also notices in-game that describe the elements of upcoming enemies, so you know to equip yourself accordingly. And there's not just one weapon for each element (otherwise that'd basically be railroading your weapon choices), but there are in fact two versions of each and every weapon with cycling elemental properties. The idea is that you carry, let's say a Wind Dagger and a Fire Sword, so that you're never at a disadvantage as you go from area to area.

Made a good few other small changes (such as a boss stats window before you fight and setting a better common event for material pickups) but focussed mainly on making sure weapons, materials and enemy stats are all balanced according to each other. Coming along nicely. Won't be long before I can get back to finishing off the last dungeon of the island before it's ready for Second-Wave Alpha testing.