Dear Players,
It has been one week since the release of Souls of Chronos. During the week, we received lots of feedback and suggestions from our players and community members. We are glad to hear that you are enjoying the game, but we are also aware that there are some shortcomings in the current version of the game. Therefore, we would like to make an announcement regarding our future plans for further polishing and content updates of our game.
First and foremost, after thorough investigations and all-out efforts, we have fixed ~80% of the known issues, and the remaining ones have been mostly identified and will be fixed as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding in advance.
Furthermore, we will continue to polish and improve Souls of Chronos over the coming weeks, addressing any remaining issues and shortcomings in the current version. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the issues that we plan to address in future updates:
- Overhaul of the Navigation System
We recognize that the current navigation system, such as quest indicators (Main/Side) or NPC locations, can sometimes be unclear or very difficult to make sense of. As such, we plan to overhaul the Map system to make it more comprehensive and easier to use, so that it can better display important information such as quest objectives, NPCs, treasures, and upgrade materials.
- Optimization of the Save System
In response to feedback from some players that the current save system is not user-friendly and the death penalty is too much, we would like to adjust the tutorial chapter at the beginning to introduce the “Save Point” mechanism earlier to players. We also have plans to make adjustments to the save system in combat areas, minimizing the replay process
- Optimization of Keyboard and Mouse Controls
To better accommodate keyboard and mouse users, we plan to revamp the current keybindings, including redesigning item use to avoid conflicting key combinations (such as 'Alt') and choosing standardized keybindings commonly used in other PC games. Additionally, we will be eliminating the use of the scroll wheel for item selection. We also plan to support the remapping of keybindings as soon as possible to improve players' in-game experience.
- Improvements on the Usability of Melee Weapon
Due to the unintended steep learning curve of melee weapons, players who are fond of melee weapons have reported underwhelming experiences. To address this, we will be improving the power of melee weapons to enhance their usability. This will allow them to exhibit comparable survivability to ranged weapons and make them more versatile in different circumstances. Additionally, we plan to further buff some of the upgrade options of 'Pneumatic Device' so that it is no longer obsolete when used in conjunction with melee weapons. We aim to provide players who prefer melee combat with a satisfying combat experience.
- UI Revamp
We are aware that some aspects of the current UI can be improved for better functionality and aesthetics. We are in the process of re-designing certain UI elements to make them more intuitive and will continue to optimize fonts, layout, and other aspects to create an overall simpler and easier-to-read UI.
- Other Minor Improvements
- Borderless windowed mode
- New font for the main menu to improve legibility
- Buff to Torii's Floating Leaf-style
- Optimized combat mechanics
- Adjusted combat difficulties for late-game boss fights
- Optimized Character/NPC/Environment interactions
- Optimized stock availability for Black Market Vendor
- Ability to switch day/night without the need to visit a save point
In addition to the overall optimizations mentioned above, we are committed to providing future content updates. Our current plan includes the following:
- New Game+ Mode – ETA 2 - 3 Months
We are planning to introduce more playable characters, but we still want to ensure that the first playthrough experience remains undisrupted. Thus, we plan to implement and enable this feature in the second playthrough, after completing the story fully once. Players can choose to control certain characters in the game, while still retaining Sid and Torii as the main characters for dialogues and interactions to advance the story.
- Endless Combat Challenge: Snow Mountain Tower – ETA 2 - 3 Months
We are planning to introduce a new area, Snow Mountain Tower, for players to explore.
This area will be independent from the main storyline, and the focus will be on providing players with thrilling and satisfying combat encounters. And it is entirely possible to see a unique combat system here too! We hope you are as excited about it as we are and look forward to sharing more details with you soon!
The above content updates will be released to everyone as soon as it's ready, and we'll carefully consider whether it will be free or paid. We'll keep you informed about our decision so please stay tuned!
Lastly, just want to let you all know that we truly value everyone's opinions and feedback. As a small, indie dev team, it is certainly not easy for us to make our games to perfection at the first swing. However, we are committed to doing our best to improve our game and make it more enjoyable to play, and we appreciate your support in this endeavour.
Sincerely,
The Development Team
February 23, 2023