Okay, hi (give yourself a cookie if you caught that decade-old YouTube reference)! Everyone knows that these days most role-playing games have some kind of crafting system. Some are more in-depth and lenient than others. Unfortunately, Heartfire doesn't have one of those. What it does have is the ability to catch fish and find rare ingredients that can be burnt to a crisp and/or given to an alchemist in return for gold (because everybody loves gold) or crafted items, respectively. The reason I decided not to have a fully implemented crafting system is simple: Heartfire is too linear an experience. There's quite a bit of time spent in between major town hubs, and dozens of things are happening behind the scenes that cause certain parts of the game to lock, albeit momentarily. So, you see, you, the player, will go lengthy spells in between civilization and won't get many opportunities to capitalize on crafting items. On the flipside, the items alchemists create for you are extremely rare. You won't find them sitting idly at the bottom of a chest, and you won't see any merchants trying to get rid of them. Hopefully this is enough encouragement to gather what you find and turn it in. But if not, let me know and I'll see about adding in alternative awards. I'm manageable.

But crafting is only half of what this blog is about. Echo Bucks are also thrown in there, though they're not relevant to crafting in any way. But they are the currency found inside, that's right, you might have guessed it: Echo Labs Incorporated. Those upper eschelon scientists and powerfigures stopped bartering with gold ages ago, opting for a digitalized form of currency instead. With the Echo Bucks you find, you can use them to purchase rare, one-of-a-kind items from vendors (machines, not people) also found within Echo Labs' facilities. Items include their famous Nuka Cola (give yourself another cookie if you caught that one), Stimpaks, Pain-Be-Gones, arm cannons, robot components and upgrades, and technologically superior visors that make those rusty iron helmets Outsiders wear obsolete.

At the end of the day, whether you're enjoying an afternoon by the lake, or digging through the lockers of Echo Labs' employees for their meagre earnings, both features have their rewards and perks. Hopefully you enjoy them more than I enjoyed implementing them. Because it was tedious at best.

Note: As of this moment, I am still on track to meet my deadline of later this week, as far as releasing Act One goes. Stay tuned!

WTL;DFR (Way too long, didn't friggin' read):
Catch fish and gather rare ingredients to obtain one-of-a-kind items. Additionally, spend Echo Bucks to purchase, again, one-of-a-kind items, weapons, and upgrades.