Hello everyone! We hope you had a great start into the new year!
Over the turn of the year it has been quiet around team FervorCraft but we managed to make plans for chapter 3 and work on a roadmap regardless.
Thus we used January to really start working on chapter 3 - admittedly not on the main stages yet - to get things moving again.
Workflow Adjustments for Dialogues and Scenes:
One change that was mainly noticeable behind the scenes but will improve a better workflow in development going forward has been the export of dialogue.
Starting with chapter 3 - I previously used this technique for the lore books in the game - dialogues will be exported to external text files which, depending on language settings, are then getting loaded into the game at the game start. I then have to specify the fitting texts in the game code so they get assembled during the run time.
Admittedly, this is nothing huge but still an alleviation. Now we can write out texts and dialogues separately, take more time for translation and are able to code whole scenes in one go. In fact, until now coding scenes has been the most straining part since not only did we have to script the scenes but also had to write dialogue simultaneously.
Considering some of the more extensive scenes we already have in Charon - ZC you can probably guess how long that could take, stopping after each step of a sequence to not only come up with dialogue but then also having to translate it on the go.
Freedom in Chapter 3:
There will be some changes and additions coming with chapter 3 concerning the story and the gameplay. You will likely first notice that you will have more freedom when it comes to exploring new areas. Of course we will provide a clear main path for you but there will also be a lot of optional areas to explore and complete.
Innovations in Combat
A new gimmick for selected encounters in chapter 3 will be so-called “area effects”. These will be permanent status effects for the enemies and/or the heroes lasting the duration of the encounter, which can’t easily be countered.
In this example, all enemies have the Regena-effect active which neutralizes all poison effects. So you will have to find a way to make more damage than the enemies can heal.
That is not dead which can eternal lie...
Without wanting to reveal too much: those who still know the old iterations of the project might remember the “Exa-Celestia” summons and their respective combat mechanic for using very powerful skills. While these mighty beings still persisted in-game as super bosses, they did not offer learnable skills.
What does the scene above have to do with that? Who knows? But maybe there is a possibility to bring back the light into dark crystals?
And Reiko makes Four!
Finally, with chapter 3 the fourth member Reiko Octavia Katsura will join our party - earlier than in previous versions of the game! We will share more insights in the future about her new skill set - which we are currently working on and implementing. But you can look forward to a lot of magical action from the back row.
Nalla's Return:
There really is not much to say… Nalla von Klausens, infamous bandit and (self-proclaimed) greatest rogue of the World Above and even (in his dreams) Sai’s arch nemesis - got his final makeover for his faceset and battle sprite thanks to AbsoScribbles. This scoundrel too will celebrate his return (again) in chapter 3.
Future Prospects:
That would be all for January… Not a lot has happened regarding the main story but we got back into the groove and were able to fix a lot of smaller issues. Next up are implementing the remaining skills of the characters (which will include Reiko entirely) and more groundwork for graphics and in terms of content, so we will hopefully be able to assemble everything more quickly. Until then, take care!
Kind regards, Schilderich
Team FervorCraft