Thank you, everyone, for your help to make Familia the best game it can be. Not only have I received tons of feedback but many from the community have actually helped me with art and code for the game. @Animlouis and @Codemora, in particular, have been especially helpful for this last update.
This update post will be categorized into Art/Music, User Interface, Story, and Mechanics.
Art and Music
All Enemies Animated
With the help of Animlouis, we all have 100%, animated enemies. Initially, in order to keep the project in an achievable scope, I was trying to avoid animated enemies. However, after a massive backlash, I decided to take the time to minimally animate all of the enemies in the game.
Added Additional Music
Some of the game scenes felt a bit too one-dimensional so a few additional songs were added for some tonal variety.
Walking Sprites + Battler Sprites
Additional sprites were required. Showing them here would be a bit of a spoiler but let me know if you see them in the game.
User Inteface
New Community Menu
After checking out a game called Insignia by Adam C. Yunis (https://www.twitch.tv/adamcyounis), I decided to add a community menu. Now, players can access my Twitch, Instagram, Discord, and website from the game.
Victory and Level Up Scenes
Thanks to Isabella Ava (https://master2015hp.itch.io/olivia-victory-addon) and Olivia (https://fallenangelolivia.itch.io/victory-sequence-ui) for creating great plugins. Also thanks to Codemora for helping me edit these plugins so they victory screen aligned with my vision.
Escape Tutorial
If players were not accustomed to RPG's, they may not realize they can escape from battle. Now at the beginning of the player's first fight, a quick tutorial pops up and lets the player know that escaping is an option.
Different Prologue Scene
The prologue has been edited to be a bit more interesting. Return players also will be able to skip the prologue for speed runs.
Story
Credits Scene
New unique credit scenes, giving thanks to all those who helped Familia get to this point
Mid-game scene
I don't want to go into depth about this scene. It contains massive spoilers. It was originally going to be a very long scene and it has been shortened, and I'm very happy with it.
New Main Town
The main town always seemed a bit unfinished, so I went ahead and rebuilt the town from scratch. It has a much nicer vibe now.
Mechanics
Increased Elemental Significance
Elemental damage and absorption were lacking consistency in the world of Azaconia. For the most part, this has been fixed. The elemental strengths and weaknesses in the game are largely influenced by ninjutsu in the Naruto universe.
Rebalanced battle
Based on test feedback, the game has been made generally easier. Many people feel that the game is still a bit too difficult, but I am standing pretty firm on the current level of difficulty. Let me know what you think.
Additional Achievements
Added additional achievements. The most difficult achievement was completed by @VetheGoth. This achievement requires the player to defeat a superboss with Sero at the party.
Added Many New Skills
Both enemies and playable characters gained about 30 new skills in this last update.
Bug fixes
- Fixed bug which made character uncontrollable after the glen fight
- Various dialogue has been added. Much more dialogue has been edited. Let me know if you find any grammar or spelling errors, please.
- Fixed bug where Sero is reverted to level 1 at a certain point of the game.
- Fixed various mode7 bugs.
What is next for Familia?
Any additional content for Act 1?
Act 1 will include a few additional sidequests before Act 2 begins full-scale production. The sidequests will be quests that the player is able to complete at multiple points of the game for helpful gear. My plan is to spend roughly a month creating sidequest content, then I'll decide the exact amount of optional dungeons the game will include. I'm fairly confident that there will be two additional dungeons minimum.
What's next after Act 1?
In the last update post, I was debating what next steps we will be taking. The two options (1) set up a demo for mobile ports or (2) start on Act 2. I've decided to start on Act 2 Next. The mobile port will not come along for a while. Windows-based computers easily run Familia with no additional processing optimization. It's best to have a clear view of the current state of current devices before starting a mobile port. If I began the port now, the porting process would have a much larger scope when compared to porting a complete game.
New Trailer Incoming
A few trailers are on the way. I want to do three trailers. I plan to first release a gameplay trailer, with a voiceover from myself. Second, I want to do a story trailer, with maybe a guest voice actor. Then I want to release a streamer compilation showing different people enjoying the game.