Dragon Spirits 2 contains spoilers for the previous title! The stories don't rely on each other, except for some background info on the characters.
They are more like two works in the same universe. Despite keeping the core of the Dragon Spirits battle system, we have introduced many fresh ideas in other parts of the game. If you're curious about the new game, you can give the free prologue version a shot first.
When developing DS1, I completely outsourced the localization work, and I WON'T MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN.
If the game mechanics of DS series are poorly translated, it'll be like playing Yu-Gi-Oh with Google Translation!
I did the translation on my own this time (300,000 characters! So much text! I double-checked the key parts), but English isn't my first language. Fingers crossed it's improved!
The main differences between Dragon Spirits 2 and 1:
1. Resolution improved, mouse supported, the UI focuses more on simplicity and ease of use. Controller is under consideration. The correspondence between mouse and controller is not as simple as that between keyboard and controller.
2. In order to achieve a 2.5D-like three-dimensional sense and enhance the visual effects of battle animations, the layout of the battle system was changed from side-view to front-view (by default, the layout can be adjusted to a certain extent).
3. The theme is urban fantasy, so the art style is adapted. Due to limited budget and game assets, the scene exploration is changed to VR-like first-person perspective horizontal scrolling (with encounter changed from random to symbol), and the plot performance is more similar to a visual novel.
4. Each Dragon Spirit has unique combos, with an increase in the number of exclusive skills. We try to avoid one Dragon Spirit being completely a higher substitute of another.
5. The maximum level is increased from 20 to 100. (The EXP curve has been adjusted accordingly, reaching the maximum level does not take 5 times the original) Leveling can suppress opponents with Stats to a certain extent, but the feature of Dragon Spirits series is to use build and tactics to outsmart opponents with high Stats. Level 100 still cannot form a significant suppress against level 90.
6. The EXP distribution system is changed to Cognition Mould system. A Dragon Spirit can be equipped with up to 3 Moulds to adjust its six Stats, preventing the need to distribute EXP repeatedly as Dragon Spirits' battle roles shift in various situations.
Future plans: I'll base the number of future updates on the situation post-release. First, I will adjust balance and add some new DS, gradually optimize the English translation and adjust game balance and difficulty based on player feedback.
It's just too much work to make a big dream game, and the risks and pressure are too high. I'd prefer to make some casual games like click games or simulation games (maybe Dragon Spirits Universe?) to chill out...
I made DS1 when I was in college. I had a ton of free time back then, so I took my time sketching out a complete series of world maps. Creating game maps takes a lot of time and effort. If I get fortunate and become really rich, I could possibly employ a few more people and start a game with a large number of maps to explore, and maybe even make it 3D.
Just kidding, it's not probable. Only big companies can manage the cost of such a game. Indie games still need to find ways to save money to get finished on time.