Boss fight: coded, and as far as I can tell so far, no bugs left in it. Need to do at least some preliminary balance work, but other than that it's just cutscenes before the next release build.

As I seem to have a tendency to do, I've managed to code myself into a corner. I know what's causing the bug I'm working on, but haven't yet figured out a way to fix it.

Preliminary sprite work and initial planning for the boss fight are complete, so now it's on to the programming phase. How long that takes will naturally depend on what sorts of bugs pop up, but I'm hoping it doesn't end up taking *too* long.

Current tasks

The next bit of content will include the next major boss fight, which is the most difficult so far (from a programming perspective, though also probably in terms of gameplay). I have it mapped out with three distinct phases, each with certain fight mechanics to pay attention to. Hopefully programming it doesn't cause too many problems, but regardless I'll attempt to keep updates here with how it's coming along.

Tiny Bugfix

Turns out that build had a couple of missing files, so I've added them in and re-uploaded. New link:

https://mega.nz/#!vw8miLpK!-v-TOoLTUR1nlCkfTretIqH9zzN_SIsrWjsNo7pmp2Y

After far too long, new content! (Alpha version 0.3.2.5)

There isn't as much here as I'd like to have for a new content release, but I'm kind of fed up with not posting anything new for so long. New version link:

https://mega.nz/#!r4EXCDhY!ZduQeqz30M3poCoKH7BHGiCI7ND1MibOeKSgcB2M_oE

 

The changelog is kind of hazy since it's been so long, but here's what I can say confidently is new:

-A little new story content. It's not super complete, but it's playable through to a checkpoint of sorts. I'll be going through and touching it up for the next build.

-A new non-story area that contains a bit of loot and some enemies. Not necessary to progress through, but it could be useful to get a bit of extra money and XP if someone is having trouble. (The game is designed and tested so that grinding won't ever be necessary, but I feel that it's good to have the option if people want to do so)

-Speaking of difficulty, a new option in the menu to set the difficulty. It's a bit experimental and might be buggy, but there's five options to choose from: Story, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Impossible. You can change it at any time, so experiment to see which is the best fit for your play style.

-Side missions are working correctly now, and some of the people in the castle will offer missions if you talk to them. I'll be adding more missions as the game progresses.

-Some new types of recruitable enemies, which have their own classes and abilities to make use of.

-Probably other minor stuff that I'm not remembering offhand

The plan going forward is to first of all finish the chunk of plot that the game leaves off in the middle of, and a more climactic ending to the section. The tentative goal then is to do the next major release within 3-4 weeks, if I'm able to do so, when I'm more confident in labeling it 0.3.3 proper.

On the business side of things: As some of you may have noticed, I changed the patreon from charging per month to per major game release. The main reason being I'm simply not comfortable taking in money for a month where I didn't release anything. In the ideal situation, I'd get out one release per month anyway, but obviously life happened and I wound up disappearing for awhile. I very much appreciate everyone who's contributed so far, and I'm intending to release something that's worthy of those contributions. That said, Dragonfall is, and always will be, completely free to play. Nobody should feel obligated to pay for it.

Questions, comments, concerns, and other constructive feedback are always welcome. Thanks for playing!

0.3.2 Bugfix Release - Revenge of the revenge of the world map

New version link: 

 

https://mega.nz/#!35UnERJD!DNbe8CuhPOtUIBBH_Ax9mbQtMOqPxLO6uk1WAjz0klY

After a bunch of investigation, I fixed the world map.

Then it broke again.

Then I did a bunch more investigation and fixed it again.

It should be working correctly now.

There's also some new files in the game package for future content that aren't accessible at the moment. Going to build on those going forward.

Enjoy, and here's hoping it actually runs correctly for once.

Apparently there's a bug wherein the world map just flat-out isn't working yet again in the new release. As usual, major game-breaking bugs happen as soon as I put something out to the public, in spite of never having appeared in internal testing. Looking into it right now, and hopefully I'll find a solution soon.

0.3.1 release, finally

Finally time for the next release. Took longer than I hoped, but I did use the time to somewhat expand the scope of what was included in it.

 Patch notes:

1) A new section of plot, as well as reworking the plot segment at the end of the previous content. Also includes the corresponding area that the new plot section takes place in.

2) Two new accessible main classes, and their corresponding subclasses (though one of them only shows up right at the end and thus so far won't see a ton of use for most players).

3) The side mission system is present and usable. Check the orb next to the throne in the castle to use it.

4) A new world map system. It works basically the same way from the player's perspective, just with a different look. It also has the additional advantage of not crashing the game when combined with some of the other plugins I'm using.
5) Changed the save core, which makes the save system have a tiny bit less functionality in exchange for vastly reducing lag. Most people I've spoken with find it a significant improvement.

6) Changed how Kristina's limit break is acquired, to make more sense and be more consistent with the setting. (The old way still gets you something, just not the same thing).

7) Several new spells and items across various classes and categories.

8) Random minor stuff here and there, as per usual.

9) Probably various bugs, since never in the history of software has something been released without bugs.

Link to the new build:

https://mega.nz/#!680mDA7Q!ChEOS-mqAes-i1CdtQxnaCZKfKRzciO_DQJZpOAS2aw

As always, thanks for playing,  and I'd be happy for any questions, comments, or other feedback.

New build is out to alpha testers! Barring any major game-breaking bugs, the public build should be out within a few days.

Note to self: never give a planned release date. It will cause your game to break horribly beyond belief as well as a bunch of non-game-related things to deal with all at the same time.

The good news is, in spite of the lack of blog updates, I've made noteworthy progress since the last post. Specifically:

-- Found a replacement world map system for the one that wasn't working. Personally I don't think it looks quite as nice visually, but it's still quite fine and the fact that it runs is a significant plus.

-- Refined the side mission system to have more depth as well as hopefully being easier to use

-- Further advancement in the plot, including new maps and characters

-- Two new accessible main classes, and their corresponding sub-classes

-- A bunch of smaller stuff

I'm not going to fall into the trap of giving a specific date again, but I expect to be getting a new build out to testers soon. Thanks for your patience and support.