Heya, friends! 👋

Evidently, I'm a bit late. So let's kick it off with an apology!

I've had a couple of extra day-job commitments at work, which meant less time for development. We'll thus have to push ANARCHY 0.2.3 into the 0.3 basket. In effect, August 28th will see both the second and third part of ExtrapolAtion released as one big package.

The preview right here is centred around ExtrapolAtion B – aka Trachi 1923. This segment brings us closer to AUTONOMY than ever before – a perfect opportunity to revisit the political and personal situation at hand. We'll also take a look at a new major battle and – last but not least – introduce a long promised Status Value rework.

Trachi 1923

You've seen the preview – and perhaps the teasers at the end of ExtrapolAtion A. For the first time since 2021, we're going back to the city where it all began. Trachi's (outdoor) debut in Unity brings us back to AUTONOMY's finale. Moments after the (former) Mayor's speech, the Ionian Intelligence Serve (IIS) has achieved operation arteria's primary objective.

However, Atlas and Daphne aren't in Trachi just to stage a coup. The Secretary for State Security personally ordered them to clean the city while they're there. In less euphemistic terms: snatch two rogue agents (Orpheus and Eurydice) for a comprehensive 'debrief', while making sure that everybody affiliated with them is permanently taken off the board.

This backdrop is the immediate result of a convoluted political tug-of-war over an otherwise unimportant city. If your thirst for detail is already satisfied: feel free to skip the next section of this post. For everybody else, I'll try to sum it up in a couple of paragraphs.

Politics

In 1923, there's three major factions vying for dominance over Trachi. AUTONOMY mostly follows the events from the perspective of the IIS. Players who paid special attention might point out that this institution consists of two major subfactions: Ionia's secret police (EnKAD) and the Commissariat for External Affairs (CoExA).

On the Trachian side, there's the Faber administration. This de-jure government was replaced following an insurgency by political outcasts situated in a nearby village called Nestville. The coup itself was supported by Ionia as a means to reintegrate Trachi into their sphere of influence. Unbeknownst to them, a breakaway faction of CoExA – led by Orpheus – meanwhile encouraged Trachi's new government to go for full independence instead.

To sum up, there is one major frontline defining AUTONOMY's most important confrontation: On one side, there's the city – supported by the former CoExA office in Trachi. Opposite of that are two EnkAD agents with a mission to subdue the city – including their own rogue agents.

Melee

So much for the story. Next up, let's take a look into how that translates into gameplay. We – the player – are in control of Atlas and Daphne. As we enter CoExA's central station, we're confronted by Ariadne. Her appearance is a collective surprise for several reasons. You could say her being here hits differently for everyone.

It doesn't take long until a fight breaks out. Two on one might sound like a walk in the park, if it wasn't for the fact that Ariadne maintained her ExcommunicAtion strength. In concrete terms, she's Level 15 – we're Level 1. We strike, slash and shoot without putting a dent into her.

When it rains it pours. And when the city is under attack – the city strikes back. Wave after wave of armed militia storm the room to defend their home. Although these people are our enemies, we can appreciate their dedication. More so given the fact that their Level is much closer to our own.

Upgrade

Maybe you can already extract the formula for this particular fight. If not, let me introduce you to the broad strokes: Killing enemies nets you EXP and Loot. Because a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, we just need to identify the softest target of them all.

Unfortunately, Ariadne won't sit still as we're picking off Trachian citizens one by one. ExcommunicAtion enjoyers might remember her signature ability: Indulgence. It's a global AOE with a one-turn buildup that reduces the HP of every enemy to 1.

To sum up: The primary challenge of this encounter will be to farm Levels and Equipment by killing 'adds'. At the same time, we're applying constant pressure to Ariadne in order to interrupt her casts. Failing to do that could spell death for Atlas or Daph. You being the player means they're reconstructed instantly, but the HP of every enemy combatant on the field is also fully restored.

Fundamentals

Remember when I promised to rework the three primary status values (HP, ATK and DEF) earlier this year? If you've done your rounds in ParAdise, you probably noticed the problem. There was a massive increase of max HP between Levels. For example, Lorna went from around 12 HP at Level 1 to 40-something at Level 2.

To counteract this problem, I boosted ATK-growth across the board, while keeping DEF-values comparably low. This band-aid solution is now obsolete, as we've cut HP-growth per Level by an average of 90%. A character that used to go from 10 to 3000 HP at Level 99 will henceforth have around 300 native max HP at the same level.

In addition, the relationship between ATK and DEF has also been reworked. The old formula [DMG * ATK / (100 * DEF / 100)] has been retired to make place for a much simpler one: DMG + ATK - DEF. It'll take a bit of fine-tuning to get it right, but I'm already a big fan of how straight-forward it is.

Outlook

So, what's next? First and foremost, we'll wrap up the battle against Ariadne. Then it's up the stairs, converging into Trachi's most important room. There'll be a big reunion, an opportunity for revenge and – last but not least – RAIN.

We'll talk more about that in the second preview sometime mid-August. If all goes well, we'll also look at new content for ParAdise, more Variations and a couple of extra QoL features.

A big (preliminary) shoutout to Hibari for helping me stay on course over the last couple of weeks. Major thanks to globabee, who's enlightened me to the aesthetics of Steam Inventories.

And finally, thank YOU very much – as always for your attention! 😊

much love
nory