Hey, everyone. Hope you're having a great day!

I wanted to ramble (yes, intentionally) a bit about what to expect from Heartfire: A Born Again Saga - Act One. More specifically, I wanted to go over what's in and what's out in regards to features and implemented systems. So I've made a list and I'll just talk about each one.

Included:
- The story. All of Act One, minus two scenes between Aldo and Dilara, will be made available. Though, in fact, Act One is the shortest of all three. It basically sets the stage for what's to come.
- Exploration. All of the maps have been made available and they're littered with hidden chests and other goodies. Side-quests are also available, but there are only a dozen or so in Act One. There's currently one optional dungeon and mini-boss but I'm considering adding another by the time Act Two rolls around.
- Crafting. 50% of the planned features in regards to crafting have been implemented. There's a simple fishing mini-game, and you can use campfires or ovens to fry up what you catch. In the future, I plan to add various types of fishing spears, which will determine how successful you are at spearing fish, and of course additional types of fish, as well.
- On-screen encounters. There aren't any random encounters anywhere in the game. Every monster is displayed on-screen, and there's a simple line-of-sight and detection system in place. Monsters will chase you. Characters stop learning skills at level 5 in Act One due to balancing issues.
- Rejuvenation crystals. These are scattered throughout Calandor at key story locations. They restore the player's health, mana, and cure all ailments. However, you only get three uses per crystal.

What's not included:
- Multi-colored chests. I had this idea a little too late, so it hasn't been implemented yet. But the idea is pretty straight-forward: there are three different types of chests (red, green, and blue). Red chests contain items, green chests contain weapons and armor, and blue chests contain magical weapons and armor. This way, the player knows what to expect from each chest from a distance.
- Skill books. Another idea I had a little too late. Basically, you'll be able to find books scattered throughout the game, and even sold at the Academy for the Arcane, that'll teach you certain abilities the characters won't learn just by leveling up. Another incentive to explore!
- Ingredients. I didn't have time to go through and create/scatter ingredients. But in the future, you'll be able to find rare herbs laying around that you can sell to herbalists for rare items and rewards. Monsters, however, drop parts of themselves (for example, fur, eyeballs, wings, tails, etcetera) instead of gold and/or other items.

I'm sure that's not all, but it is most. The features and systems not implemented in Act One will be available in Act Two and most certainly Act Three. In case anyone's wondering, I currently don't have plans to release Act Two bundled with Act One as an individual release, so you could consider Act One the official/unofficial demo for Heartfire: A Born Again Saga.

That's all for now. Til next time, stay frosty.