What To Expect for Both Demos

The end of the month is near, meaning the Prologue Demo will be released Jan 1st. I'm currently doing the last tests to ensure it works well. Like with the Arena Demo, I will do whatever updates I can to improve playability, include what changes I've done for character abilities, and of course...things like Skits once I get that working. As for story and dialogue, those can be adjusted as needed, but outside the demo I'll be focusing on getting the main story laid out and then work to refine the scenes themselves like in this demo. I may put focus in a few scenes if they don't require a lot of unique sprite work, but if in any event something were to happen to me or if I end up having to scrap the project for whatever reason, I will at least have something out there. I intend to see this to the end, with whatever limitations I have, no matter how long it takes.

As for the Arena Demo, I'll go over what changes or updates there are:

Attack Animation Update

As shown before, all the attack animations in this game are now done through Dragonbones, while also using the engine's animations when needed. I also moved around all the animation files into their own folders so they don't cause DB to lag when trying to open them. This did cause some settings to change, and I went through those, though I will use the time I have to look through each battler to make sure they work.

Sonic Thrust Change

I don't know what I was thinking when I first made Sonic Thrust. I should have just had it be that it hits whoever is behind the target, rather than in front of them.

Enemy Stat Changes

I adjusted the stats of the enemies to account for what your party is like and what they have. 

New State Icons

Life Bottle Productions extracted a lot of textures from various games, some even include various icons that can fit in perfectly here. I'm really happy with what they do for the Tales community, and it certainly helps with this project. I've also used icons that were previously used in Tales of Crestoria, as they're all used for the fan wiki and can be taken that way. Of course, there are some states that will need their own custom icon later, but this is a good start.

Extra Titles

So something I'll be testing for both demos is having titles unlocked based on the number of times you use certain artes. These titles provide stat upgrades that are very small (like +1 to one stat), but could at least provide incentive to use your AP. I'm still looking to maybe changing up how titles work, so consider this to be temporary until otherwise.

New Title Screen

Using a new plugin, both demos will have their own map used for the title screen. It's one way to finally get the logo included into the game. One day, I'll even try including some splash images and an Opening, and since I have a way to get the title screen to skip ahead I can probably apply that to these when that does happen.

Other

I removed the Overlimit gauge, since no one can use it for anything yet. I do have an idea for what I can do with it, but I'll save that for later. Also, because of the database changes, Patch Turtlez won't work this time, so you'll need a fresh save. He'll still be around, in case whatever updates I do apply can still work with him.

Prologue Demo Expectations

From the tests I've done before, this demo should take around an hour to complete for the main story. With the side-quests, maybe a bit more, but it isn't meant to take very long. I made sure that you can use whatever gald you get for items and gear while inside the dungeon, since you'll be stuck there once you arrive. I don't really plan to do that for every dungeon, only when the circumstances apply. Also, while everyone's build is the same as the Arena Demo, I don't expect you to get that high with how enemies are here, and the amount of experience you get from there. Still, adjustments can be made with small updates.

Closing Thoughts

This coming year is going to be interesting for me, since I'll have to rethink how I do these posts. When should I show them, what should I write about, so on and so forth. I want to still put up updates on the Youtube channel and things like that, but until 2025, I still have to consider my other works. But 2024 is where I truly begin getting the game itself started; have a foundation to work with in order to fit with my own pace. I still have a lot of assets that need to be made, either by myself or through commissioning, so I'm just going to do what only I can do now. With that, I hope you're ready for the new year and what's to come.