Hey there heroes!
Cherry blossoms are in full bloom today, and this month's update has a blossom or two of new reveals of its own. But first, a little spring cleaning!
Surveys
We're happy to say that roughly 90% of backer survey replies have been received! If you haven't gotten your survey yet then please send an email to [email protected] with the subject NO SURVEY. Please include your backer number and registered email address.
Premium In Game Rewards
We have approached all backers who purchased one of our premium reward tiers (become an NPC, put your pet in the game, etc.). If you purchased one of these tiers and have NOT received any correspondence form the team then please send an email to [email protected] with the subject PREMIUM REWARD so we can remedy the issue. Please include your backer number and registered email address.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
We believe all codes have been sent to the relevant backers, but if you haven't received your code yet then please send an email to [email protected] with the subject RISING NOT RECEIVED. Please include your backer number, registered email address, and platform of choice.
We'll do our best to respond to each email within 48 hours.
Thank you very much for your continued support with helping us to close out these remaining issues!
UI Screen
We'd like to show a sneak peek of the status screen currently in development where it shows characters' basic info such as their stats, HP and MP. It'll also show equipped items and their effects as well as their available skills all at a glance.
(The image shown is for the Japanese version. The UI is still in development and subject to change.)
Murayama's Monthly Development Report
An RPG is a collection of very diverse systems. Systems for navigating towns and other maps, systems for performing actions and talking to NPCs like townsfolk, systems for activating and replaying events, combat systems when you enter battles, trading systems when you enter stores, leveling systems for upgrading stats... Not to mention that Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will have war event systems for war scenes, solo combat system for solo combat scenes, systems for the main city's particular structure and systems for minigames, etc.
And that's not forgetting the system behind party management, which we showed a screenshot of above. Unfortunately, we can only show off the Japanese version at this time as it's still under development, but seeing each of these systems being completed brings a special kind of joy.
Regarding the UI, we believe striking a balance between high functionality and ease of understanding is important. When it comes to item management, for example, players might want to sort their items by multiple criteria. However, a lot of consideration needs to go into whether implementing that function is a good idea or not.
An interface that always forces the player to choose multiple sort conditions is redundant when just one sort condition is enough. It is unnecessary for a screen like that to appear every time when you can switch between conditions at the tap of a button.
In that case, should we make it selectable only when it's needed?
If so then we add the new function to the system, but as more functions are added, the overall system becomes more difficult to understand.
Games aren't tools, so a balance between functionality and understandability is important.
I don't think having a status screen that displays all the data in the game is a good idea.
Having a screen filled with rows of numbers leans towards incomprehensibility.
We want to present detailed information the players are looking for in a way that's easy to understand.
The status screen is structured according to those considerations.
A Word from the Team
Hello everyone, Kawano here. I’m in charge of the character illustrations.
Development is at its climax and I'm working my tired body to the bone.
I like to rouse myself when I'm tired by looking at the development screens and thinking, "Everyone's working hard, so I've gotta work hard too!" lol
There have been a few occasions now when I've watched the voice recording sessions and have been so overwhelmed by a performance for a character that I rush home before I have a chance to calm down and secretly add "they must pull this face when they say that phrase."
I'm mostly working from home with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, so getting to see what others have been up to from time to time is great stimulation.
(This probably isn't the time or place, but there are so many characters in this title, so the amount of voices and cast members is wild! Please wait until we can release more details...!
Until next time!