This mini update includes several improvements, such as smoother card animations and additional map details.
Improved card movement (transition)
Added the ship (Kan'ei Maru) NPC to the road between Stage 1 and Stage 2
Other minor fixes
(1) Improved Card Movement
I've adjusted the initial acceleration of card animations based on the distance between the starting and ending positions.
Cards that travel only a short distance now move more gently, while cards traveling farther move more quickly, making the perceived animation time feel more consistent.
(2) Ship NPC
Battle Hanafuda includes a custom RPG engine called Sungeki Engine, which is used to implement the map traversal sequences between stages in Arcade Mode.
You can think of it as something similar to RPG Maker, except it's built in VGS-X (C).
By adding support for NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) to Sungeki Engine, I was able to place the ship that you'll later board after clearing Stage 3 directly on the map in advance.
The sequence showing your journey from Shimoda to Toba after clearing Stage 3 has already been implemented internally.
However, since the current Early Access version ends after Stage 3, you can't see this sequence in-game yet.
Instead, I've prepared a short video.
Developer Notes (Long Read)
Developer Note #1
So far, every travel sequence in Stages 1, 2, and 3 uses a different vehicle.
This is a deliberate design choice to create the feeling of actually traveling.
From a development standpoint, these kinds of details are surprisingly time-consuming.
It would be much easier if every scene simply reused the same character movement system.
In fact, I can think of countless shortcuts that would make implementation much easier.
And honestly, there's always the question:
"Does this really make the game noticeably better?"
Still, I believe that these seemingly insignificant details matter.
They're the kinds of touches that give a game its soul.
That's why I've intentionally chosen to implement features even when my first reaction is, "This is going to be a lot of work."
Developer Note #2
Originally, I planned to include the Stage 5 music in this update, but as usual... composing it has proven more difficult than expected.
The Stage 5 opponent, Reigen, is a ghost.
Because of that, I'm aiming for a soundtrack with a subtle horror atmosphere.
Reigen's character design isn't finished yet, but the background artwork is.
This background started with a photograph I took at a tourist spot in Kyoto.
I created a rough sketch by adding elements such as stone lanterns, ghostly flames, and a torii gate, then refined it using AI-assisted image processing.
It may look fairly realistic, but the entire image actually uses only 16 colors.
It also uses the same color palette as the other story scenes.
(Using Aseprite's nearest-color assignment feature.)
The backgrounds in the other scenes are intentionally drawn with a softer, more subdued appearance.
My hope is that suddenly presenting a much more detailed landscape will create a small moment of surprise, making the scene feel just a little more unsettling.