Hello everyone!!
Thank you all so much for your interest in Kedemara! It's been a bumpy road getting where we are now, but to me it's worth every second of work to see this come to fruition. I couldn't do it without the encouragement and support of my colleagues Austin and Emily. A special thanks to our dedicated playtesters as well! Thanks to Aaron, Jorge, Ross, Jose, Joshua, and Levi for all the time they spent helping us refine the game and pushing us to constantly improve. Couldn't have done it without all of you!
Last but not least, thank you to EVERY single person who has played this game despite not knowing me from Adam. There's no shortage of other things to do in the world, but you all took a chance on my game and I am thrilled to hear people enjoying and having fun playing the game! It's wonderful to share Deirdre's story with all of you and I hope you continue to grow fond of her, along with her companions, as the rest of her story unfolds!
Without further ado, let's get to the update notes!
Chapter 1 Updates
-NEW Content Additions-
There has been a considerable amount of content added to Longdale (first town in the game), as it's early on and felt a bit sparse compared to later places in the game given its size. Here are a few additions broken down by area...
(Longdale)
- 5 brand new, accessible buildings have been added to the town (Inn, Stable, Shop, Smithy, Teahouse) along with the Northeast corner of town no longer being blocked-off by town guards. The new buildings are all packed with NPCs and/or items to interact with. Some NPCs previously found in town have been moved into these buildings as well. This will offer more information about Deirdre's years in town and show the relationships she built with fellow townspeople.
- A "Secret Building" has been added with a hidden entrance in Longdale! A rare item lay somewhere inside this building...but don't tell just anyone when you find it! "It's a secret to EVERYONE"!!
- For those who have progressed past Longdale already, you'll find a new person is hanging out in the tavern...though he'll look familiar to you! Go talk to him when you see him!
(Raynewood)
- In Fanum Sylvis (the Cathedral in Raynewood), Amie has been given considerably more conversation content in the Minister's Quarters upstairs. After reading the book on The Arbiter and the Wicked King, Amie will appear and you have multiple topics you can discuss with her. This should give a bit more insight to her past as a character, something that felt lacking in the previous versions of the game.
(??????)
- There is currently a SECOND secret room hidden in Ch1 of the game as well! As a hint, the entrance to this secret room is in a place with sand!
-Content Changes-
- Longdale theme has been changed to something more suiting its new environment and feel.
- Some layout changes were made to the Orphanage, now Deirdre and Granny Moira's sprites should be visible during their conversation and not blocked by the text banners.
- Tova no longer randomly blocks the way to Granny Moira...but she'll still need hugs before you go!
- It is now completely IMPOSSIBLE to die in the battle tutorial with Will (don't ask, it's a long story).
- Changed the interaction animations when you first meet Amie. These have bothered me since the release and now they should be much better.
- Fixed various bugs and some timing issues with encounters or sprite movements.
"So what about Chapter 2?" You ask?... ːsteamhappyː
**CHAPTER 2 NEWS**
While I don't have a solid ETA for release, I can tell you right now that our playtesters are LOVING it thus far. I'm hoping to beef Chapter 1 up some (as this update shows), but Chapter 2 is just fantastic in my opinion and will be well worth the wait.
Here's a few things to expect concerning Chapter 2!
- This chapter is going to be MASSIVE. I am roughly 1/2 of the way through the planned story content and it's already at 3-4 hours of content. If I had to estimate, we're looking at a 6-7 hour long chapter. We will definitely be at least 10+ hours including Chapter 1's content.
- There is confirmed TWO NEW CHARACTERS who will be joining your party. (Don't worry, Harold's not one of them). So far the playtesters love the characters and feel they are perfect additions to Deirdre's companions.
- Ultimas ARE coming in Chapter 2!! I already have them ready to roll, you'll acquire your first ones in the earlier part of Chapter 2. Expect more to come later in the chapter!
- New "puzzle" (using that word loosely) mechanics will be introduced in dungeons and some towns. They will start with very simple "introductions" to the concepts, then get blended in for more challenging content later in the game.
- Austin has been trying his hand at composing and will be working more of his compositions into the game music. Keep an eye (or ear) out for the Ch2 trailer to hear a sneak peek of some!
On a sidenote, I want to make something brutally clear...Chapter 2 is ALSO going to be FREE. Non-team members have, with good intentions, implored that I start charging by Chapter 2. While I entertained the idea for a while, I honestly want to keep Kedemara free as long as I possibly can. I do not develop this game full-time, it's done in my free time, so it's not a source of income for me currently. I would rather as many people as possible get to play the game as opposed to just trying to make a buck. If a time comes where help will be needed to make the game develop further, we'll let you guys know.
In the meantime, please keep enjoying the game!
- Andrew (Creator)