Hello guys. Today it'll be quick.
A) My HDD got busted. Thankfully, I had fresh backup on spare disc, so it had no impact on development pace. Unfortunately, it will have impact on immediate quality of the game, since I lost my carefully modded Honey Select :( CG for all H-scenes is complete, so there's no problem on that, but first release will have some placeholder images there and there, unfortunately :(
B) Game is now fully playable from start to finish (at least one of two routes), but still needs some testing - at least one more playthrough.
C) To be more precise, one playthrough from my side amounts to +- 10 h. If coupled with time necessary to iron bugs (another 10 h?) and compared to my free time, I'd estimate the game won't be released at least until 7-8th April (and only if I don't find anything major to fix again). I'm sorry, guess I got overly optimistic in last diary again.
Hope to see you again soon!
Sunday, 31 March 2019
Sunday, 17 February 2019
State of the Game - February
Hello again guys, in what is probably last State of the Game post before release. Those three weeks since last post were very fruitful. First of all, the mechanics of the game are finally fully implemented*. Second, I started writing H-scenes - three are already done, (at least) seven more are to follow. See that number to the right? Yeah, my estimates were correct, Divinion will be only slightly shorter than entire The Dark Lord Rises :)
Current ETA of the game is mid-March. Might be sooner, if I find no game-breaking bugs, but I think it's a safe estimate.
Current ETA of the game is mid-March. Might be sooner, if I find no game-breaking bugs, but I think it's a safe estimate.
Thursday, 31 January 2019
State of the Game - January
Hello everyone! I'm on fire today (finally some holidays, yay!) , so I'll make it quick:
-Just now I've finished main story of Divinion. This means I can finally move to some basic testing and applying flavour there and there. There are still some parts of the game (namely, H-scenes, quests related to them and some lore) that require input, but main work is finally done. Yay!
-I realized only now, but Divinion will probably be as long as at least two chapters (so two-thirds) of The Dark Lord Rises. And of higher quality too!
-Writing climax to this arc took me entire two days. It's long, epic and I'll probably have to spend another day just testing it :(
-If you don't remember what happened in TDLR, there's no need to replay the game to remind yourself of characters and lore . There'll be in-game encyclopedia containing interesting bits about characters, locations and other concepts Renan & co. encountered during their adventures.
-Oh right: some members of Alba class will finally make their come back!
That will be all for today. Traditionally, catch some screenshots, just to increase your appetite.
-Just now I've finished main story of Divinion. This means I can finally move to some basic testing and applying flavour there and there. There are still some parts of the game (namely, H-scenes, quests related to them and some lore) that require input, but main work is finally done. Yay!
-I realized only now, but Divinion will probably be as long as at least two chapters (so two-thirds) of The Dark Lord Rises. And of higher quality too!
-Writing climax to this arc took me entire two days. It's long, epic and I'll probably have to spend another day just testing it :(
-If you don't remember what happened in TDLR, there's no need to replay the game to remind yourself of characters and lore . There'll be in-game encyclopedia containing interesting bits about characters, locations and other concepts Renan & co. encountered during their adventures.
-Oh right: some members of Alba class will finally make their come back!
That will be all for today. Traditionally, catch some screenshots, just to increase your appetite.
Sunday, 16 December 2018
State of the Game - December
Hey guys, long time no see. Forgive me for not writing an update last month, but there was nothing really interesting to report. Late October, I've caught a bad case of the writing block, and unfortunately it doesn't want to let go. At a worst place too, since I'm now writing the penultimate, largest and the most important quest in the entire chapter :( Unfortunately, this means I won't be able to keep my own deadline (New Year). Worse, it seems I won;t get my planned Christmas holidays :(((
Still, I made some progress, just not as much as I wanted. I've focused mostly on technical side of the game, wrote some H-material, tested soundtrack and polished certain graphical assets. Those usually go last in my development process, so it will cut me some work after the core game is complete.
That's all for this month. Grab some screenshots and Merry Christmas!
Still, I made some progress, just not as much as I wanted. I've focused mostly on technical side of the game, wrote some H-material, tested soundtrack and polished certain graphical assets. Those usually go last in my development process, so it will cut me some work after the core game is complete.
That's all for this month. Grab some screenshots and Merry Christmas!
Thursday, 18 October 2018
State of the Game - October
Not much progress this month, my work got busy as hell. Worked mainly on mechanics, got over some hurdles, but story is
However, I finally decided on the name of the game.
And yes, it's not a remake. Divinion will continue the story from The Dark Lord Rises.
I'll have short holidays in November, should make some progress then.
However, I finally decided on the name of the game.
And yes, it's not a remake. Divinion will continue the story from The Dark Lord Rises.
I'll have short holidays in November, should make some progress then.
Saturday, 22 September 2018
State of the game - September
Hello guys, I salute you for your patience :) Fortunately, recent month has been quite fruitful and I managed to keep with my schedule. But without unnecessary talk, what about the progress?
A) STORY is around 80% done. What remains to be done are basically two largest quests, one side quest and a climax, as well as some polishing and flavour here and there. I've also finally finished the outline for the entire story.
B) MECHANICS are 60% done. This has been my focus for the last three weeks, as first tests revealed that my initial plan - to have more "western" approach to mechanics - was suited neither for RPG Maker, nor the story. However, as I rummaged through various RPG maker communities and tinkered with the game myself, i managed to scrape a few interesting systems. My focus has been battles, which was always RPG Maker's weak side - I'm currently reworking things here and there, to make it more exciting. I even thought about copying Octopath Traveler's systems, but that unfortunately is impossible to do because of both engine limitations, as well as established lore. More interesting battle system will allow me to make gameplay more varied, as I initially thought of limiting combat encounters to minimum (still, some seemingly combat-intensive quests have an alternative approach).
As usual with TDLR, grind is reduced to minimum. Currently, killing monsters gives no XP points - those can be obtained only through completing quests. I am still contemplating on this tough, and there's still a reward for those who dutifully slay every opponent possible.
C) As I mentioned month ago, H-content is one the last thing to be added.
Overall, things look pretty good! Seems like December release date is still possible. Thank you for still following my dev blog!
Ah, almost forgot. Catch some screens from the current version
Sunday, 12 August 2018
State of the game - August
Okay, I promised a report of sorts, so here we are. My holidays passed by like a fly, but at least I managed to achieve a very nice progress during those last two weeks.
Now, let me split my report into three parts:
A) STORY is around 60% done. However, first release should contain way more content than entire Ugovarti arc for TDLR, even after necessary cuts. Basic structure resembles Marania act, except the plot is more intervened and tightly knit. The main storyline follows a succession war in a certain kingdom, amidst which Renan and his friends will discover a very nefarious plot. Also, release will also contain alternative ending to the story, giving Renan's journey an early, satisfying finish.
B) MECHANICS are done in only around 30%. Unfortunately, one of the plugins I relied on decided to stop working for me, and now I have to design an workaround. Overall however, as I mentioned in a previous post, the game will differ somewhat from usual RPG maker experience; character progression is a bit more flat, equipment matters greatly, there's also some crafting. Experience can be only obtained from completed quests, and some of them have alternative, less battle-heavy route.
For those who disliked economy of TDLR, there's also much more currency being thrown at player, as well as reliable way to replenish HP & MP during the adventure.
C) Only 5% of H-SCENES are done. I usually leave them for the last. There should be around 10-12 scenes, all skippable. 1/3 of them happened during main storyline, 1/3 is a result of player's choices, and 1/3 are a quest rewards. Alternative ending will also contain h-scene.
Overall, I'm quite pleased how much work I managed to do those last two weeks. I believe you can expect release around late December, though it will depend on amount of test runs the game will require. I'll also try to write similar report every month to keep you guys updated. See you next month then!
Now, let me split my report into three parts:
A) STORY is around 60% done. However, first release should contain way more content than entire Ugovarti arc for TDLR, even after necessary cuts. Basic structure resembles Marania act, except the plot is more intervened and tightly knit. The main storyline follows a succession war in a certain kingdom, amidst which Renan and his friends will discover a very nefarious plot. Also, release will also contain alternative ending to the story, giving Renan's journey an early, satisfying finish.
B) MECHANICS are done in only around 30%. Unfortunately, one of the plugins I relied on decided to stop working for me, and now I have to design an workaround. Overall however, as I mentioned in a previous post, the game will differ somewhat from usual RPG maker experience; character progression is a bit more flat, equipment matters greatly, there's also some crafting. Experience can be only obtained from completed quests, and some of them have alternative, less battle-heavy route.
For those who disliked economy of TDLR, there's also much more currency being thrown at player, as well as reliable way to replenish HP & MP during the adventure.
C) Only 5% of H-SCENES are done. I usually leave them for the last. There should be around 10-12 scenes, all skippable. 1/3 of them happened during main storyline, 1/3 is a result of player's choices, and 1/3 are a quest rewards. Alternative ending will also contain h-scene.
Overall, I'm quite pleased how much work I managed to do those last two weeks. I believe you can expect release around late December, though it will depend on amount of test runs the game will require. I'll also try to write similar report every month to keep you guys updated. See you next month then!
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