Progressing Steadily

Last week I spent more time writing and figuring out if I could add more reactions from your friends at the academy, but I kept wondering if it wasn't going to be too much, so I have been holding back (I do have a couple more dialogues I'd like, so maybe I'll sneak those in if I find the time). I found some unexpected work (a scene with Charles needed a repeatable version, which now is in the game), I added one last spell you can learn from Valentine if you provide her with another magical thing to study (this works indirectly as a reward for getting the final prototype from Janet), I changed an area where the mouse transformation was used in the game, but didn't use the spell and required you to examine passage (now both approaches work), and I am in the middle of adding a couple more things (one last custom order category or event for the old man at the bazaar, like I mentioned previously, and something for the aftermath of the chess mini-quest with General Tiberius).

I am still debating if I should wrap things up quickly for the chess mini-quest or not, since it's not exactly very important, but we'll see.

No art preview on Patreon, since no new art for Caliross has been commissioned, but perhaps I'll put together a showcase for TOTDC 2, instead.

Anyway, I'll try to send the testers a build soon, and have the release during the weekend, assuming things line up, so make sure to keep an eye out for it, as I scramble to get more things finished! XD

Topsy-Turvy Tuesday

 As mentioned in my plans last time, I wrote a new scene for the game (it's the last one for getting drunk in Solina, you have seen the art in the last preview), I tweaked Yef's repeatable scene with some new alternative bits so that it flows better once you start repeating it and I started work on the magic academy. The scenes with Eloise in the shower got a similar treatment to Yef's, and now there are some slight differences once they start repeating, plus I added some dialogues with your friends at the academy (mostly some gossip).

I have more to do there, but then I'll move on to Valentine and Tiberius in the royal court, to see what's missing there and I'll try to think of something for the noble district, and then I'll check my notes again, to see what other minutia is missing from the list. I'll probably cut from my plans any fully-fledged quests, but perhaps I can add something less ambitious in the process.

Anyway, that's about it for now, and as always stay tuned for more news! ^_^

Back To Business

 

Hi guys! I have been sick longer than I thought, but I am back. As a result, not much has been done last week, but I did write a scene variation for the bimbo trait and I added the last random event for the ship (both things I had to check off my "to-do" list). I also fixed a couple of exits in maps that still required manual inputs to leave, one of the many early mistakes still around to haunt me.

For the short term, more scenes are on the menu (1 new, and a repeatable variation for an old character), and I have been thinking about what to do with custom orders from the Bazaar (I'd like at least another category beyond furniture and elixirs, but I am not sure about what would be interesting). Maybe I'll do the final pass on the magic academy first, and then return to the other, more "mechanical" things left to do.

That sounds about everything for now! Look forward to the next dev blog to learn more! ^_^

February Update

 Since I am a bit tired today (still recovering from getting sick), I'll leave the stupid jokes to the comments this time (make me proud). Get the public version here or at itch.io. Read the changelog here, try to decrypt the hidden cipher in the release numbers*!

*There is no cipher, I am just legally obligated to make at least one stupid joke per release.

Something Spicy

 It's been a slow week this time around: I got another scene for getting drunk at the beach (this one only triggers if you are wearing the sexy bikini), a new scene with the girl at the inn in Zanark (her scenes require Marintas's charm) and I added the option to exit Tarkas to the fast travel signs in the city.

I also wasted some time looking for RPG Maker assets during a Steam sale and sorting some of the music and sprites I already have, and I didn't realize how much time I sunk into it before it was too late. >_<

Anyway, I expect to have a version ready for testers this week, and the release for next week, barring any complications. If something small is still missing, I'll just move it to next month together with the inevitable bugfixes, walkthrough updates and other miscellaneous stuff.

That's all for now! As always, stay tuned for more news! ^_^

I Summon Thee!

 Here we are again. Last week, I worked on a few improvements suggested by a player and one of my testers, mostly around summons. Now, your summons also recover MP when you interact with mana pools around the world, and they appear in the menu, so you can use skills and items on them. This should make the game easier, but I don't think we'll need any rebalancing (the game is generally easy anyway, especially if you track down the optional summons). Making them appear in the menu was relatively easy, but it took me some digging around to make sure things looked okay. There is the possibility of old saves displaying or not displaying the correct stuff, but I'll be able to tell you guys more once testers get to try things out.

Another change I added is related to Gaart. I added an item in the 3rd temple that will buff him a little once you pick it up. Gaart really falls behind later on, especially when compared to the other summons, so this should make him a bit more viable (this might need more balancing, but this also will need to be tested out).

There is also a new scene if you get drunk at Solina beach (the amount of scenes for getting drunk there is pitiful, so this should help).

As for the coming weeks, more scenes (usually repeatable ones to wrap up the content of some secondary NPCs) are on the horizon, and more miscellaneous stuff from my to-do list (hopefully I can add one or two things to the magic academy that I wanted to get around to for a while, for example).

This SHOULD be the 1.0 release, for better or for worse (although as mentioned I expect to have 2-3 months with minor updates, bugfixes, walkthrough updates and so on, even as I focus more on the next game), we'll see if I can keep this deadline, for once!

Regardless, I don't think I can mess this up too much even if I tried, so if it gets really bad, we release the 1.0 in March and that will be it, so nothing to worry about. For now though, that's all for this week's dev blog. See you in 7 days for another report! ^_^

January Update

 The year is 2026. Somehow, Caliross might actually be finished this century.* The RAM shortages make RPG Maker VX Ace games the highest form of entertainment you can run on the average PC anyway, although you must give full access to your system to the government to "verify your age" first. Get the public version here or at itch.io. Read the changelog here, and reach the conclusion that the dystopia could be worse after all.

*Fingers crossed.