Hello everyone!
With 13 days to go, The crowdfung campaign hit its goal! Thank you for all your help! Of course, there's still plenty of time to join in if you'd like a statue, poster or CD!
I recently received a pleasant email regarding the Enhanced Edition that gave me the idea to share some screenshots comparing the current version of Knight Bewitched to the Enhanced Edition. I also have a short list of frequently asked questions. If you have any questions yourself, feel free to ask!
First, here's some side-by-side screenshot comparisons:
The new main menu showcases a few new features coming with the Enhanced Edition. No longer does the player need a quest log to track their progress--it's right there in the menu!
The battle scene hasn't changed much. I tinkered with new battle layouts, but decided on a cleaner version of the original layout instead. You might notice the turn order display is missing; that's an unfortunate side effect of the engine upgrade. I will hopefully be able to hire someone to restore that before the official release.
As a fun bit of trivia, I initially considered adding a stretch goal to the Kickstarter to convert the entire battle system to side-view (like the SNES Final Fantasies). Unfortunately, the one artist I really wanted to work with to do this wasn't available, and even if they were, doing so would've easily doubled the goal of the Kickstarter. Regrettably, I had to scrap the idea.
A simple comparison of old Gabenport to new Gabenport. Gabenport's still a fairly small port town, but it has a little more style now! Many other locations in-game have received similar cosmetic upgrades, though not quite on this scale.
Nothing too major here. I finally fixed the layout of the throne room. The font and dialogue windows are much cleaner. The Enhanced Edition's native resolution is smaller, which is why everything appears bigger as well.
In the Enhanced Edition, Morgoth's Cave is a fully fleshed-out dungeon with enemies and a boss. Only a few of the original puzzles remain, and they're all optional--though you'll want to do them anyway. Trust me.
The original Midnight Desert was... Something. I don't know, man. I made a giant, empty desert, threw in some terribly frustrating puzzles and called it a day.
No puzzles in the new desert! It also looks a bit nicer in-game:
(Pro-tip: This guy will give you a Transmutation Stone, allowing you to craft new stuff. Don't miss it!)
Will all the old content be returning?
Yes. Every optional boss, as well as everything added in content updates, such as The Depths, will remain in the Enhanced Edition.
Will the Enhanced Edition recieve new achievements?
Yes. There will be at least 6 new achievements, with most of them being tied to the new content.
How much will the player guide and soundtrack cost as DLC?
Current plan is to price the guide at $2.99 and the new OST at $1.99. This might change depending on how large the guide and soundtrack end up being.
Note that the soundtrack DLC will *only* include the new music tracks composed by Jazz Stewart as I don't have the rights to distribute any of the other tracks.
Do I need to play the entire Knights of Ambrose saga to understand it?
Not anymore. I explained this in an update from long ago, but long story short: The Knights of Ambrose Saga has 2 timelines:
Timeline A: Knight Bewitched -> Mari and the Black Tower -> Knight of Heaven (Finding Light) -> Knight Eternal
Timeline B: Knight Bewitched -> Knight Bewitched 2 -> Celestial Hearts
In the future, I may end up deeming timeline A "non-canon" just to avoid any confusion and drop the timeline stuff altogether. The three main titles in that series aren't nearly as popular as my other titles, so I don't think this decision would be too controversial; still, I'm not 100% sure on it.
That's all I have for today! Until next time!