Travel Mechanics Overview

Hey again!

Over the course of the game, travel will play a major role in how Killigan moves around the world, even from the very start. While it's easy to have a fade-to-black and say "I travelled by foot for like 3 weeks and BOY I'm hungry!!!!" it'd be much more immersive to delve into that timespan, through a system that emulates travelling in an engaging way! Sooo let's pop open the hood and see what all goes into it:

(Fair warning, v0.2a spoilers beyond this point!)

Day-to-day Events

As each day comes and goes, certain events will happen, sometimes at random, or sometimes as the need arises:

• Foraging (an interactive segment involving Killigan picking ingredients for a foragemeal that'll keep him going)
• A dive into Killigan's thoughts (early on, it'll be insight into his earlier life and a chance to help to shape his personality. Later on, it'll dig deeper and be an opportunity for him to process recent events as the story goes on, but usually through conversation with the crew)
• Combat (self-explanatory, but can result in stat gains)

It's not *just* limited to these events, however! In addition, certain days will instead have story-centric events that happen instead, it won't just be all random events between each town.

...That's a whole lot of words and not any pictures so here's a non-canon visualization:

Nighttime Events

After the sun's set, it's time for sleep. Unless you've got shit to do! Early on, there's only one event that can happen during the night, but it's not random:

• Armor repair (with the use of haphazardly scavenged materials, Killigan can call upon his heritage and fix a piece of armor that might've broken off from combat. Only one piece per night, however)

After leaving Aris however (which will happen eventually...), more options open up as the crew settles down for the night, shown through the blue-outlined elements in this mockup.

• Talk with [character] (talk with the chosen character for the rest of the night to help build your relationship with them...or maybe something more if you're romantically involved with them!)
• Armor repair (same as before)
• Forage (a less interactive chance to spend the night scrounging up some food and/or water...or maybe rare types of materials?)
• Go straight to sleep (who needs friends or intact armor, I sure don't!)

Supplies

An added wrinkle into the whole travel system is supplies. While in a town, Killigan can stock up on supplies (or buy more gear) for the next leg of his journey from shops just about everyday. They won't become active until about midway into his trek towards Aris, but it'll be pretty obvious when they are. Most supplies are non-essential and provide a variety of effects, but there are a few standouts:

• Rations (the bread and butter, literally. A simple package of food that'll last about a day. Going a day without eating can reduce BRAWN)
• Canteen (a hefty, refillable flask of water. Usage-based but generally enough to last several days. Going a day without drinking can reduce CHARM)
• Bedroll (a plain, but slightly comfortable roll of leather. Lasts forever.  Going a day without good sleep can reduce WITS)
• Repair Hammer (an item laced with a type of magic that can repair a broken gear piece at any time! ...but breaks itself after one use)

Those detrimental effects won't happen while inside a town though, only while travelling. Later in the story, there'll be more ways to improve stats...but also heavier consequences for not being prepared enough.

(a preview of the shop screen!)

The intent with this system is to show Killigan and the crew grow and develop over the course of their travels, in a way that feels immersive and doesn't feel like time simply just passes mindlessly.

How does this travel system sound? Let me know what y'all think!