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Yay, an Update (A serious one this time)

  • Red_Nova
  • 05/06/2017 03:08 PM
  • 5694 views
Oh right. Serious blog. It's been a couple months since I've written one, hasn't it? Oops. Luckily, while I've been rather silent on this page, I've been constantly chugging away at development. I've been away for the past week and a half due to final exams and a sudden medical issue, but I'm back now!

Aeyr chapter 2 beta is done. All the enemies, items, and dialogue is in the game awaiting one final round of polishing. Once that's done, I'll get to work on Mia 2.




So remember the battle layout in the April Fools blog? Well, that's one of the few aspects that wasn't a joke. The UI has indeed been overhauled:



The biggest change is to the HP and SP values. I took a hint from Persona 5 (itsagreatgameyouallshouldgoplayitrightnow) and removed the maximum values for HP and SP. I think it's just easier to look at the meter to see the percentages rather than do the division in your head. Less maths, and all that. Quite a few people I've shown the game to didn't even see the turn icons, so I made some larger ones and rearranged them Digital Devil Saga style. Now hopefully no one will accidentally miss them!

Stat buffs have been tweaked as well. First off, you'll notice that they are now displayed next to enemy parameters instead of sharing space with states like bleed and stagger. This should make it easier to tell at a quick glance that a stat has been buffed or debuffed:



You can even tell how many levels the parameter has been buffed or debuffed, which will come in handy when planning your strategy. In addition, the way debuffs and buffs are applied has also been altered. In default RPG maker, inflicting a debuff on a stat that has been buffed will immediately nullify all buff levels. Inflicting a strength debuff on an enemy whose strength stat has been boosted twice will cause them to immediately lose all buff levels. Now, that same scenario will instead drop the buff level by one, meaning that the target will still have a single strength buff left. There are skill you can use to deal with multiple buff levels, so you'll need to think even more about how to tackle an opponent.



Once I'm done with Mia 2, I'll be ready to send the build off to playtesters. Afterwards, I'll think about choosing which sections to include in the next (and final) public demo. Thanks for being patient with me. I hope to be back to regular updates now!

Posts

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unity
You're magical to me.
12540
This all looks wonderful! ^_^ Can't wait to see more!
Kloe
I lost my arms in a tragic chibi accident
2236
Yay! It looks really cool, I love the UI Overhaul and the updates to the Battle Display's buffs and debuffs makes it a lot simpler. I can't wait for the next public demo! :D
Go Nebby!
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
author=unity
This all looks wonderful! ^_^ Can't wait to see more!


Thanks! I'll do my best!

author=Kloe
Yay! It looks really cool, I love the UI Overhaul and the updates to the Battle Display's buffs and debuffs makes it a lot simpler. I can't wait for the next public demo! :D
Go Nebby!


Awesome! Glad to see the overhaul was worth the effort. There are a few notes that the shot doesn't show, like a few on screen prompts for button commands that some players wanted to see (like the prompt to switch characters). Overall, I'm really happy with the new battle layout look.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Oh, I like the way this looks! Keep up the excellent work!
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Thanks piano! Thanks to my incessant questioning people on their opinions, I was able to get lots of valuable feedback on what worked and what didn't. It's been a real eye-opener for me, as I've heard things I would never have even thought about otherwise.
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
This is looking great! And I hope you're doing fine health wise :)
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Yeah, I'm alright now. Thanks for the concern!
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Red_Nova's not quite dead!

Kidding aside, man, this should be a blast to play!
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Hey, I don't die until AFTER I release something! If I don't post after something comes out, then it's cause for alarm. Until then, it's just "Oh Nova's dead again. No big deal."
Looking great! Roughly how far are you into development now do you think?
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Hm, I should probably make one of those fancy visuals detailing progress. Well, the rough overview is that I'm about 40% done with the entire game in terms of playable content. There are 5 chapters total, excluding the prologue, so finishing chapter 2 will mean roughly 50% of the entire game will be done and in a presentable format.

The good news is that the biggest chunk of work left is the level design and mapping. The two other major fields, story and battle system, are pretty much finished, so development is expected to speed up moving forward.
The Dread Slasher looks like a really interesting skill. If there is a reliable and affordable way to inflict fear, it not only give you a quick access to critical hits, but you also let you enjoy the advantages of having enemies feared while bypassing the disadvantages.

Was there something about the user interface?
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
The weapon Aeyr has that gives him Dread Slasher also gives him Fearful Aura. Plus, its basic attack has a low chance of inflicting fear.

As for the interface layout, it was first presented in the April Fools blog, but it could have been taken as part of the joke when I was redesigning the game with Mia as the Revenant. While the graphics and skills were indeed part of the joke, the interface layout was not.
My question was a joke on my part, like "wait, so this update is about the UI and not the Dread Slasher?" since the latter (and Fearful Aura) interests me more than the former.
NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6280
Good thinking on the buff/debuff mechanics and display. Not being able to see all status effects applied to a combatant because of their sheer amount always annoys me in RPG Maker games, so it's nice to see you handle stat changes in a different way. I would have liked to still be able to see maximum HP values, but I assume they can still be seen in the "inspect" menu, right? Either way, this all looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing and professional now. Well done!
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
author=Crystalgate
My question was a joke on my part, like "wait, so this update is about the UI and not the Dread Slasher?" since the latter (and Fearful Aura) interests me more than the former.


Crap. I need to upgrade my humor levels.

author=NeverSilent
Good thinking on the buff/debuff mechanics and display. Not being able to see all status effects applied to a combatant because of their sheer amount always annoys me in RPG Maker games, so it's nice to see you handle stat changes in a different way. I would have liked to still be able to see maximum HP values, but I assume they can still be seen in the "inspect" menu, right? Either way, this all looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing and professional now. Well done!


I'm glad you like the changes! As for viewing max HP, I'm not sure what exactly you're referring you by the inspect menu. You were never able to see an actor's max HP in the stat comparison window you see by pressing shift during battle. If you really want to see an actor's max HP during battle, you can see it when you're changing their equipment.
NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6280
author=Red_Nova
You were never able to see an actor's max HP in the stat comparison window you see by pressing shift during battle.

I must have misremembered then. Sorry. Never mind me.
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