It's been a while so let's have a quick progress update! Progress on game content (story, maps) is coming along, and there have also been some system reworks and visual upgrades.
Visuals: Here's a taste of the updated battle map showing some of the improvements. In particular the sprite art, animations, and post processing have been improved to create a more consistent and polished look. This is ongoing but is already showing major improvements.
Game design: There have been a lot of minor design tweaks and class/system reworks, with one consistent emphasis being on action economy. Bleddyn the bard, and the bard class that is unlockable later in the game, now have an ability that grants an extra action to any soldier directly in front of them - this tradeoff can be very effective if a powerful ability that is normally only used once is now doubled. Goronwy also has two passives that can grant him extra actions - one if he's alone in the front row, and another when his health is low, giving him up to four powerful melee attacks at the cost of very high risk. Balancing these abilities is going to be a key to success.
For simplicity, the support ability system, where nearby units could choose from various support abilities to assist an ally's encounter, has been removed. Archers, who had the most useful support ability and the only one capable of dealing damage, retain this ability as a passive. So having nearby archer units will still result in a powerful Arrow Rain attack before combat begins.
Story: Finally, the style of narrative scenes has changed. Previously the game relied entirely on dialog to convey the story, as in most JRPGs. This is a bit limited due to the visual style where characters' emotions and reactions aren't really visible, and results in some forced exposition that can come across as unnatural. Now, dialog will be mixed with narration in the style of some CRPGs. This feels much more dynamic and provides a richer atmosphere with better clarity.
Given the level of rework we'll have a new version of the demo available as we get closer to release.
We'd love to hear your feedback!