Hi everyone! Once again, you've probably noticed all of the patches over the last week or two. We've added a lot to the game. And since most of the changes are at the end of the game, we don't want to give away too much. But we would just like to let you know what we've been working on, and what you can expect over the next few months and beyond.
To start off, here's what we added/changed over the last month or so:
- Fixed bug that kept enemies in place if you entered a mine or dungeon, then retreated.
- Fixed bug that prevented movement through gate at the Winter Palace.
- Fixed the misbehaving menu button that only appears while playing in Japanese.
- Changed level-up process so that the cards keep drawing automatically so long as you have draws remaining, instead of clicking "draw card" each time. This makes the level-up process faster and simpler.
- Changed location of campaign list to make it work with the localization system.
- Increased drop rates of several crafting materials, specifically the Jear rune.
- Fixed localization of shop dressing room, which had retained English in several places.
- Fixed the Icy Reach Altar level unloading. It used to remain loaded after leaving the area, and the player would return to it when loading a saved game.
- Added new quest stages and new journal entries leading into the end of the game.
- Added a rubble variation to the exterior of Candle Keep, shown when you return after the betrayal event.
- Added the Empire's Graveyard battle map, with cutscene. This is a castle defense battle that advances the plot.
- Added the Tomb of the Weeping God, with some cutscenes, where you encounter the final enemy.
- Added the final battle.
- Added another tier and more variation of demon and dragon enemies.
- Added some unique new music and visual effects to make the final battle stand out.
Beyond that, our two biggest items of news are first, that thanks to the efforts of lantastic79, Himeko Sutori's Japanese localization has caught up to the English. I would like to thank lantastic79 for all of his tremendous work making this game available to a new audience.
And second, I am very happy to announce that the game is playable from start to finish, all the way from the tutorial to the final battle. There is still lots that we need to add, but this is a major milestone. Going forward, these are the things that we still need to add to the game before we consider it truly finished:
- More scripted events, like dialog and enemy forms, during the final battle.
- Epilogue, showing what happens to the world and characters after the final battle.
- NPCs in the late-game towns, which are currently empty.
- More lore and dialog to give context to the story and its conflicts.
- Kickstarter backer rewards, including a memorial and named characters.
- Mac version of the game.
- Highest-tier weapons, which currently require new unique sprite sheets.
- New giant enemies (or allies), including balrogs, ancient mechanicals, and hydras, plus more weapon and armor variations for other large enemies currently in the game, such as the ogre and dragon.
- Magical crafted items from the mid-tier on.
- A protection ability that allows your heavily armored knights and paladins to take hits in place of weaker characters.
- Less suicidal AI that will pull back injured lances to recover.
- Locations to capture on the battlefield, giving several possible bonuses.
I think once I have completed those, I'll call the game finished. Early Access will come to an end and I'll announce version 1.0 of Himeko Sutori. That's still several months of work, but at least I have a finite list of tasks to work on.
After that, I have a long list of requests that you have made. I will eventually have to move on to something else, but for as long as I'm able, I'd like to work on all of the great suggestions you've made.
So that's where we're at and that's where we're going. Thank you everyone for all of your help playing and testing Himeko Sutori so far. I'll be back with more updates for you soon.