It’s been a while since I’ve really done an update, but rest assured that we’re still hard at work sprucing up Soma Spirits for the Steam launch!

As many of you know, Rebalance isn’t just a direct port onto Steam with a price tag. While many things are being touched up, I’m also adding quite a bit more to the game that wasn’t there before, as well as shifting around some things to cover some of the bigger issues with the original.

Today, let’s look at some of the combat-related changes that are coming.



Originally, all encounters were black blobs that moved around at random, with some that were programmed to approach the player directly. As a result, combat was either too easy to avoid, or too difficult. Now there are two types of encounter sprites: the regular black ones that wander at random, and faster red ones that chase you. Both types draw from the same encounter list, but In general, the red encounter symbols are more difficult to avoid.



Additionally, if you run from a battle, there will be a short timeframe where you can’t re-engage the same battle. Probably something that should’ve been in to begin with but better late than never, I suppose!



There are a handful of new spells that Heart and Soul can use in battle. Soul can eventually learn Incur, which allows Heart’s Fire and Thunder spells to launch an AOE move at no additional MP cost. Heart’s version of this is called Inscribe, in which Soul’s Ice and Wind spells will also heal the party.

Generally, elements are more emphasized, and certain skills that were outclassed by mid-game should stay useful for much longer.

I’ve got much more in store for this project, but I want to say that I’m at about the halfway mark for progress. The big time-consumer will be the new postgame dungeon, but I have a solid idea of how it will play out. And there will certainly be a few other surprises in store that I hope you'll love.

Until next time!