Posted October 26, 2023 by jullstud
#Devlog
This is an experimental long devblog. I hope for your positive reaction, it's a very nice moment for me myself to be able to post so much news, while still withholding some updates, trying to keep something unexpected for you at the time of release. And before we begin, i wanna announce some very good news that will be released tomorrow evening (European time) October 27th.
Back to today's post
- Inventory appearance and customization. Along with the reworking of the inventory system, customization has also been added to the game for better interaction. The list of customizable options currently includes:
- Trade changes. Along with the inventory, the trading system also changed:
You may notice that some items in the trade window are duplicated, and inside the player's inventory are collected into a stack. It was a rather long point of discussion that still came to one decision, which could still change at release.
Leave items one by one in the trade window - recreate the atmosphere of the trade lot. All the items are lying around and you have to search for them with your eyes. Let's use a simple example. You come to a market stall with a large quantity of vegetables. There are so many that even though they lie side by side - it's hard to count them. You can say that there are a lot of them, but you cannot say for sure that the merchant has 13 tomatoes or 20 cucumbers.
This will still be modified in some way, right now it's just a basic outline. Some merchants will still get stacks in the case that there are SO MANY items. Like, no one's gonna make you scroll through 50 identical items. Certain types of traders will in turn get unique types of trades.
Certain types of merchants will get unique types of trade. Some of them:
As you might have realized, the main goal here is to create immersion, the atmosphere of something real and very close. Essentially, simply buying food from a tavern can turn into an event, or maybe even a random quest, and buying a strong sword will become valuable not only because of its stats and coin price, but because of the time spent waiting for its production and possible events during it
- Magic. It's been in development for a very long time, in fact the rough outlines of magic were ready a long time ago, even before the development of the game itself
Frequently, magic in games is another way to deliver damage. In some games, this feature is a bit more elaborate, allowing you to summon different creatures, apply effects, and so on. In my vision magic should be interesting, in general - any skills should be interesting, but when talking specifically about magic it should be deep, thought-out mechanics with non-standard spells and an interesting way to use them
As already known, magic will be the result of spells cast. Not selecting from the skill menu, not using scrolls with one button, but full spell casting. There are several points arising from this that can be established right now:
In addition, it is worth understanding that not all the information in the game will be true. Yes, be prepared that some scrolls or characters will naturally try to scam you. Found a scroll abandoned in a cave that promises to enrich you for reading a spell? Don't be surprised if you find yourself trapped a moment afterward (more about traps below);
- Melee weapon. We couldn't leave out the melee battles, giving all the attention to magic alone
I love how the chosen game engine unfolds as the RPG is developed. We have almost unlimited possibilities in our hands to think about every aspect, including combat scenes. We can make not just different enemies, but unique behaviors for each of them within the same classes. That's the strength of text games that I appreciate the most. We're not limited by the complexities of AI behavior, not limited by possible bugs in animations, hitboxes, etc.
At this point, everything else is connected to the combat system. Your equipment, character states, enemy states, random events, magic effects, skills, and more. You can choose not only between attack, defense and so on, but also the specific attack skill you want to use, as well as the body part if the chosen skill implies it.
The similar goes for the defense. After each enemy attack, the game rolls dice, similar to a save throws in usual board game systems. The only difference is that this dice roll decides whether your character can defend against an enemy attack or not. In case you are lucky, a selection of defense skills available will appear. For example, if your character is holding a shield you can use it, or if your char are practicing martial arts you may have a special defense skill available. After selecting a skill - also opens the choice of direction. This will be a check specifically for the player, because the game will already tell you where the opponent's attack was directed;
- Traps. At this point, traps are seen as additional challenges for the player, not forced endings. Some will lead to new storylines, some will just delay the player and the like.
- New main menu. New buttons and additional menu windows. In addition to the buttons, the main menu offers news about the game's development, various tips or story notes;
- New pause menu;
- No particular spoilers, but there are a few more books and locations ready to go. Including the guards' locations.