Hello again, Soulfallen.
The Early Access launch date is fast approaching, and with it my efforts have shifted almost entirely to the final content additions that I have planned. I am incredibly excited for you all to see what I have in store, I hope to greatly exceed any expectations you may have. In this update post I will be listing some updates/fixes, as well as a general outline of major content planned for the Early Access launch.
Updates
I added an additional boss to the demo slice, making the demo version of the first Act 8 minutes, with 4 demi-bosses
Enemy ability effects, including better visualizations for area of effect attacks to make dodging more predictable
Buffing ability damage and reducing cooldown times
Post-game "damage dealt" screen to show how much damage you did with each damage source to better understand what made your build successful
Completing quest events now award Marks of Honor, which are now yellow glowing symbols that can be picked up from the ground
Reworked the enemy AI to improve performance especially with regards to massive groups of enemies (this is more noticable at later stages of each Act, and may not be as noticeable within the first 8 minutes)
Armor and weapon frames are now stackable, essentially every item in the game is now stackable other than actual weapon or armor pieces, this was done to reduce frustration from inventory clutter
There are probably a lot more that I'm forgetting, a lot of these are carry-over changes/fixes from my work on the additional 3 Acts
Early Access Launch
I want everyone to be completely aware of what this game will contain, so I have updated the early access disclosure information on the main store page to comprehensively outline what is expected of the EA launch, and subsequently the 1.0 launch. I will cover most of that here as well
The game will have 4 Acts, each featuring its own unique biome, environment obstacles, unique enemy types, demi-bosses (each with their own unique abilities), quests, loot, and a final boss
The duration of each Act will be 20 minutes long, with the exception of Act 4 which is a "race against the clock" mode where 20 minutes is the time cap to reach the end
There will be 3 base classes, with each class having 3 class specializations, offering different playstyles, different ultimate abilities, and different talent trees
Each Act has a narrative-drive quest line which is optional, but when completed greatly helps with the difficulty of the final boss fight for each Act
There are 5 tiers of increasingly rare, powerful, and valuable loot in the form of weapons and armor. Early common items don't help much outside of a bit of extra damage and armor, but higher equipment rarities will give you permanent trait buffs such as increased critical strike chance, or increased base health, allowing for even more build customization
There will be 12 spellbook abilities, each with 2 upgrade variants, and a final "maxed" ability variant. Each ability has its own level up traits allowing you to create some truly over-powered and enemy-melting builds
The final Act is a replayable time trial with custom rituals that change each run, challenging you to overcome obstacles, solve problems, and slay a lot of demons before facing your final foe: the Dark Lord
The Dark Lord boss fight is a lot of fun, and I am so excited for all of you to see it in full and experience it
With all of that said, I think I have managed to fit a massive amount of content into this game. I also wanted to mention that for the price of the game I am planning to charge $9.99 USD, with a launch discount of 20% (so roughly $7.99 price at launch). The base price is static and will never increase regardless of updates/expanded content. There will also never be DLC's or any other form of predatory monetization tactics. I think that's all I have for now, this will likely be my last post prior to launch. Exciting times, thank you so much for being along for the ride.