Update June 2016

After careful consideration, I have finally decided on going with Unreal Engine 4 to develop the game. It allows for the customization and diversity in animations, level design, and feel I want the game to have. I am currently working on the beginning level designs and story-boarding, I will post again when there is more to update with.

Just an update on progress

There has not been much activity, I have tooled around with ggmaker and unity engine, ggmaker doesn't have the utility I want and unreal doesn't have the feel I am aiming for.  I am keeping my eye on a few mods for RPG maker MV (quasi's ABS mod which is still in development, here is the link: http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/52049-quasi-abs/) and a few other ABS mods, so if one of those is released in the near future I will be using that if I cannot find another engine or mod that fits the game I am trying to make.

More updates soon.

Big update

So I have been tooling around with RPG Maker MV which is what I have been using thus far to create the game, but I have not been able to properly get the game to what I really want it to be.  I am not giving up on the project, I am just switching engines to another game engine (currently deciding which, I will update what I choose). The game story and system for magic and what I have posted so far will remain largely unchanged, I will just have to tweak some things for the new engine, but this is the update for this month.  I know this is a major change, but as I was making the game it just didn't seem to capture the feel I wanted it to have (dark and fight-for-your-life like).

I will post soon about my decision (as I am trying out multiple engines).

~Saul

January Update

So I've been working rather diligently and have made some changes to the way the maps look as well as the way you level your character. Instead of picking one of the base classes (gunmage, battlemage, knight) you get a choice of aptitude (a la dark souls) in which you choose how good your character is at different aspects of combat (higher starting strength, willpower, etc) and then you can branch off from there in game.  Magic also works differently since there is no 'mage class'. You will mine for gems in the game (at certain points around the maps) and can turn those in to a tutor to purchase spells. The more powerful a spell, the more 'pure' a gem you will need to mine. Spells also have limited uses and you will need to re purchase them from the tutor to use them (the more powerful a spell, the less uses it has).*



Further, I have decided to wait to release the alpha for testing a while longer because the combat system I want to implement has not been available to me yet. I am currently looking in to how to get that started and implemented as soon as possible, but in the mean time, I will complete the maps and events in the maps so that when the combat system I want to use is finished, I can plug it in and be ready.

Lastly, I have decided to release the game in acts and books. The first book (the one I am currently working on now) will have 5 acts. After I finish an act (alpha, then beta, then release) I will begin on the next act and go through the same process of alpha, beta, release.

Updates will occur monthly unless I have something to say earlier or more frequent. Big changes (for example, alpha or beta testing release) will be announced immediate as they are available.

Until next time,

~Saul


*EDIT: Ok, so reading through that last post I found I wasn't as clear on magic as I wanted to be.  Instead of calling the NPC a tutor, I named him a spellweaver. As stated before in my earlier post, there are 4 basic types of magics which are weaved into other kinds. The spellweaver does this.  You will need to mine for gems which will have different purity levels (dust, shards, gems, gem clusters) the purer the gem, the more powerful the spell.

The spell weaver will give you a sort of creative edge with magic, as you will be allowed to combine different gem colors (depending on the base magic type) to create different kinds of spells and types of magic.

That's the ultimate plan for magic.

~Saul

Leveling system

I wanted the way you leveled up your character to be different than that of most RPG games where you get a set stat every level depending on your class and that was it. I wanted some customization and I want players to be able to experiment with stats to fit their play style and see what works best. So I decided that the way the leveling system will work is that each class will still have a set way their base stats are raised, however, there is a shop in the main town that will allow you to use 'Orchalium' (an item now that is on occasion dropped by certain enemies) to level up max health, attack, defense, magic attack, magic defense, mana, or luck.  This way, you can choose your class at the beginning, and as the game progresses boos certain attributes about your class that you like depending on your play style.

~ Saul

Update: End of November Progress

So far I have finished the skills and abilities for the foreseeable future (as the development progresses I may add more for story and continuity reasons, although the road map says 95% the 5% is just to say I am not sure what I'll add in the future), I have also finished the enemies for the first area and second area, the mini bosses for the first and second area, the first town and the opening cut-scene for the most part.

For the most part I am on track for timing wise according to the road map. Bear with me for more updates soon!

~Saul

The Magic System

  Magic in the world works a bit differently than some other games. Instead of having some magic types be strong against others, certain magic types have a strong defense against others.
  You also don't have the typical 'earth, air, fire, water' type magics either. Not exactly anyways.

  The way the world works is that once there were four types of magics that were used by all mages;   
  Fire: Created and dispersed heat in order to control the elements pertaining to fire or heat.
  Light: Used light and holy energy to cause heavy damage to targets.
  Water: Used the fluidity of water and tides to cause damage or to heal.
  Dark: Took advantage of the user's power and life force to cause damage.

  After the advent of gunpowder and the 'industrial revolution' of Orchalium, these old magics were 'updated' and adapted into the modern age:
  Solar: Combines the explosiveness of Fire magic with the energy of Light that uses the power of the sun and light energy.
  Energy: Combines the energy of Light magic with the explosiveness of Fire that uses the power of the earth's magnetic fields and natural energies.
  Liquid: Combines the substance of Water with the viscosity of Dark to create a magic that controls and creates liquids or ectoplasms.
  Soul: Combines the viscosity of Dark with the substance of water to take advantage of the user's or target's soul energies.

(EDIT: 1/25/16 More types will be added later)

  Typically, Solar and Energy work closely together and Liquid and Soul work together, but using Solar and Liquid or Light and Soul (or any other combination of the two groups) is dangerous and unstable.
  Here are the various defenses against each magic type (*note: physical damage responds normally with each type of magic damage, neither having a defensive or offensive bonus against them).
  Fire has a high defense against Light.
  Light has a high defense against Dark.
  Dark has a high defense against Water.
  Water has a high defense against Fire.

  Modern science has incorporated magic into most machines and devices for everyday or industrial use. The military has combined many weapons with these magics for use in battle. I may make some changes in the future, such as adding new types of magic or adding more of a complex 'rock, paper, scissors' defense system to magic.

Until next time,
 ~Saul