Chaos Chain
Hey everyone!
It's been a little while since my last development status update, so I wanted to provide a quick check-in on the game's progress.
Immediate Future
My immediate goals for the next few weeks are to finalize the companion personal side quest storylines. After that, I'll continue working on new maps for the city districts and then resume development on the main quest now that we've significantly expanded the game's world with more side quests and content.
Companion personal quests have been a highly requested feature in my previous games, and they are also a top request for Chaos Chain. I'm committed to making them happen. Even if the quests aren't massive, I believe they add significant background and character development to these companions, giving them more depth beyond being loyal followers.
As some of you may know, a couple of the in-game companions already have a small personal quest line, but others do not. Completing these quests with the companion present grants them a small boost, including an extra skill and a reduction in the severity of their flaw. Currently, only a few companions benefit from this, making others feel comparatively weaker after those quests, so I aim to rectify this imbalance.
Next Update: Better Navigation
Yesterday, I focused on improving player navigation. Based on significant feedback across this game and my previous titles, a common critique is that the world can be so large it's easy to get lost, and the engine's limitations prevent a robust world map system. While I've tried to make it as straightforward as possible, I realized there was more I could do. Now, both the PDA screen and the world map screen will display the current zone you are in.
PDA Screen With Extended Current Location Details
When you enter a new area, the exact area name is shown at the top center of the screen in large purple letters, but it typically doesn't specify the broader zone or district. This hasn't changed, but now you can see your current zone on the PDA screen, and opening the world map will also display your current location. My hope is this will make navigation easier, reducing the need to rely on memory or to exit your current area just to check which district you are in.
New World Map Image - Current Location Marked Bottom Left And Higher Visibility
This system is integrated with every area currently in the game; each map ID has been assigned to an array with a corresponding zone tag that will be displayed on the PDA and world map. Some areas, particularly those related to the main plot, are special cases and will display "Unknown" for the zone.
Another thing I've done is fixed every single last bug that I currently am aware of. That feels AMAZING to say. Like a breath of fresh air. The next update (coming in a few days) will have the fixes included.
Current Workplan
Chronic - Contract Killer Companion In Chaos Chain
Getting back to the companion quests, I've been working on Chronic's personal backstory. He's my favorite companion character because he's just brutally honest, only cares about himself and making money, and is meant to be a bit of comic relief in a blunt sort of way.
Chronic Being Chronic
When you first meet him, he mentions he's lying low due to running a lot of tough jobs lately and you'll get to help him resolve that. I'll continue working on his quest today until it's ready, then move on to the next companion quest until all are complete. Going forward, any new companions I add will include their personal quest right from the start to avoid future backlog work.
Meeting Chronic
I plan to release this new update ASAP, I'm just finishing up the remaining work that I have on it, will test, and then release.
I know this game has been a long time in development, and there's still a lot of work ahead. However, I hope you can see that I'm genuinely trying to incorporate community feedback and requests to deliver a great final game. Honestly, this project has been exhausting and a bit of a roller coaster, both mentally and emotionally, especially with personal life challenges. But I've stuck with it this long, and I plan to see it through. If you're willing to continue your support, please stick around; I won't let you down.
Crazy Halloween Portraits!
Created by community moderator and volunteer assistant AceHangman, here are eight crazy Halloween themed portraits that you can freely use in game (or any of my games for that matter now that they all allow custom portrait importations) for your character's avatar!
Portraits credit to AceHangman!
You can also find the community artwork link here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3596238281
Guide to help you get started importing custom portraits:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3239267834
Closing
Be Careful Out There!
I couldn't do any of this without your support, so thank you all very much for everything! I'm going to wrap this up here since it's becoming a book and I've got work to do! Thank you for reading!
-Cryptic ːCStudiosː