March 25 Monsters Preview

 Been a bit quiet with updates on the game lately. Still trying to figure out in my head how to redo a complete "story arc" of sorts that would probably take up 2-3 hours of playtime. We're getting there since I do have WIP tiles and a bit of a dungeon started to replace my original scrapped story beats. I'm also hyper focused on trying to finish a Mario side project at the moment, so Penumbra Crystallis is still "on hold" until probably the middle of April or so. That's about all I can give on game progress for now. The point of this blog post is not about my progress, it is about...

MONSTER GRAPHICS!

As usual, these are by the ever-awesome level2janitor! With these additions, most of the current placeholder monsters are now out of the game, so things are looking good! level2janitor's monster designs just fit so well with the overall aesthetic and tone of Penumbra Crystallis, so I'm always delighted to get new graphics from him. Anyway, what we have here today from left to right is...

Princess: The name of a tricerastegotops that resides within the Grandoise Amphitheatre. The player has to fight Princess at a certain point in the story to prove themselves. I told level2janitor to just make a dinosaur that had the head of a triceratops and the body of a stegosaurus, and I think he did pretty awesome with it. Princess is the first time this graphic will be seen, but it will also show up later in the game for the standard tricerastegotops enemy.

Rock Golem: This bad boy currently resides in the Salar Volcano, and the placeholder sprite that I was using was easily three times the size of what level2janitor designed. I am so much happier to have a graphic this size, because the other one was enormous, but it was all I had to use as an acceptable placeholder. This golem graphic just hits all the right notes. He's got a sufficiently grumpy looking face to intimidate players, a chunky body to denote good defense and strength, and just an overall nice design with A+ texturing! I love how this one turned out.

Guardian: I've mentioned in the past how Penumbra Crystallis has a lot of ancient temples that are short temples/puzzle dungeons that are similar to Legend of Zelda: BotW's shrines. Guardians can be fought in these temples if the players are careless. This sprite is also used for a boss in Hautley's Tower, so it will already be playing double duty. I told level2janitor that I love the way that it looks like the animated armor is magically controlling the sword through telekinesis. Very cool as always.

Anyway, these sprites are already in the game and have had the enemy formations that feature them realigned a bit to fit with the new graphics. I'll probably have screenshots showing some of the newer monster graphics in action, along with progress on my next dungeon and the slime ranch that I previously talked about, once I finish my Mario side project in another 3-4 weeks time. Until then!

February 17 Monsters Preview

It's been a while since I've made one of these posts, and I'm happy to do another one because I love showcasing the stuff that's been made FOR Penumbra Crystallis. Today I've got three new enemy graphics from the ever awesome level2janitor to show off.

On the left we have a monster that has been in the game for a long time now - the Bogaconda, which resides in the Trei Marshland! There will be new snake enemies appearing soon as well, so this was a really wonderful gift to receive. I really love the patterning on the snake body itself, and the face is really well done and expressive (well, for a snake face).

In the middle if the Fire Elemental, a powerful elemental enemy that dwells in Salar Volcano where it spawns from lava pits and chases the player down. I pointed at the World of Warcraft fire elemental model as my inspiration for this nasty fellow's overworld sprite, and I can definitely see the inspiration come through in level2janitor's graphic. Love this guy and can't wait to reuse him later for other purposes. Perhaps recoloured black/purple to serve as some kind of demonic energy elemental? We'll see!

Finally, and on the right, is the Gargoyle. This extremely nasty enemy appears only twice so far, once in a chest in Mount Houzell and as a possible encounter in the Grandoise Amphitheatre's Battle Wing. The gargoyle possesses a buttload of HP and has a very irritating attacks, and I think that this super charming "grumpy" gargoyle that level2janitor made really fits perfectly with the gargoyle enemy's attacks and such. I can't stress enough how much I love this fella's grumpy expression, it's just so perfect!

Anyway, that's it for this monster graphic update. Expect more updates soon, hopefully about the slime ranch that I'm really eager to flesh out.

The Joy of Accessories

 First came equipments lists... and now it's time for accessories! Penumbra Crystallis is overflowing with accessories, and I expect a total of 20-30 more accessories to be added to the following lists by the time the game is done!

Codex List
Acrobatics
Anti-Magic
Assassin Lore
Attention Seeker
Bahamut
Bandit Lore
Banisher Lore
Beast Slayer
Bird Slayer
Bonus Heal
Bug Slayer
Burglar Lore
Bushido Lore
Cabalist Lore
Champion Lore
Chione
Critical Up
Cruise Control
Crusader Lore
Defense Vol I
Defense Vol II
Defense Vol III
Desperado Lore
Encyclopedia
Evasion Up
Fighter Lore
Flame Lore
Gallant Lore
General Lore
Huntress Lore
Idunn
Inquisitor Lore
Knight Lore
Lich Lore
Life Lore
Lizard Slayer
Luck Vol I
Luck Vol II
Luck Vol III
Magic Slayer
Magic Vol I
Magic Vol II
Magic Vol III
Magnum Opus
Maximon
Mirror
Mugger Lore
Multiplier
Ninja Lore
Oracle Lore
Outlaw Lore
Paladin Lore
Perception
Phalanx Lore
Phoenix
PlagueDoc Lore
Prodigy
Quetzalcoatl
Ruffian Lore
Samurai Lore
Scout Lore
Sorcerer Lore
Speed Vol I
Speed Vol II
Speed Vol III
Spirit Vol I
Spirit Vol II
Spirit Vol III
Squire Lore
Strength Vol I
Strength Vol II
Strength Vol III
Swindler Lore
Unbreakable
Undead Slayer
Vanguard Lore
Virtuoso
Vulcan
Wanderer Lore
Witch Lore
Wizard Lore
Yemaja

Ring List
Amethyst Ring
Beryl Ring
Carnelian Ring
Coral Ring
Diamond Ring
Dragon Ring
Earth Ring
Emerald Ring
Fire Ring
Garnet Ring
Holy Ring
Ice Ring
Jade Ring
Lightning Ring
Lilypad Ring
Moonstone Ring
Onyx Ring
Peridot Ring
Power Ring
Relic Ring
Ruby Ring
Sapphire Ring
Shadow Ring
Topaz Ring
Water Ring
Wind Ring

Trinket List
Adder's Teddy
Angel Necklace
Avenger
Bat Eye
Blessed Bangle
Charm Bangle
Contractor Badge
Cyclops Eye
Dancing Shoes
Dragon Claw
Earth Band
Executioner
Falcon Statue
Fire Band
Fog Machine
Force Band
Gauntlet
Guardian Angel
Ice Band
Iron Bracer
Leather Bracer
Library Card
Lightning Band
Magic Ale Flask
Magic Focus
Magic Lamp
Magic Orb
Might Band
Molasses Coating
Moon Rock
Necklace
Orcish Waistband
Pauldrons
Platinum Bracer
Power Belt
Power Coating
Rabbit Foot
Rainbow Wand
Ribbon
Running Shoes
Spare Arm
Spectacles
Spell Jammer
Spiked Bracer
Spiked Glove
Strider Bracelet
Swift Shoes
Tax Collector
Turtle Shell
Warding Stone
Water Band
Wind Band
Work Glove
Yin Yang

SO MUCH STUFF TO COLLECT!

Updated Armor & Gear Lists

 Due to me accidentally and unknowingly deleting my Penumbra Crystallis game dev documents/music folder at some point, I've had to start redoing some spreadsheets and text documents. No worries though, the folder being deleted wasn't a HUGE loss! It more or less just contained BGMs that I hadn't yet used, organized documents/lists/spreadsheets for equipment and weapons, and NPC names. The actual game folder is a totally separate thing and was unaffected by this silly mishap. Anyway, I'd figure I'd go ahead and share the updated armor/gear lists just for the sake of having SOMETHING on here since the dev blog has been the unfortunate victim of frequent radio silence since November.

Armor List:
Cloth Shirt
Leather Armor
Silk Shirt
Aquatic Sash
Iron Armor
Chain Mail
Branch Tabard
Bard Tunic
Cotton Robe
Ancient Armor
Hiking Gear
Gladiator Armor
Chitin Tunic
Karate Gi
Ranger Tunic
Spandex
Hauberk
Mage Robe
Rage Regalia
Ember Cloak
Frost Cloak
Storm Cloak
Druidic Cloak
Angelic Cloak
Devilish Cloak
Arctic Coat
Wizard Robe
Sentry Armor
Ninja Suit
Regal Shirt
Bone Mail
Church Robe
Golem Mail
Leviathan Suit
Splint Mail
Silver Armor
Sorcery Suit
Anger Harness
Joten Armor
Mirror Vest
Black Armor
Shadow Suit
Gaia Cloak
Maximilian
Bushido Suit
Paladin Armor
Plate Mail
Saintly Robe
Templar Armor
Divine Vest
Brigandine
Platinum Armor
Seraphim Suit
Dragon Armor
Lordly Armor
Lich Robe
Hero Armor

Helmet List:
Bandana
Bandit Mask
Iron Helmet
Headband
Bramble Crown
Galeforce Hat
Heated Cap
Magic Hood
Darksider Helmet
Mink Headband
Vagabond's Cap
Griffon Mask
Pointed Hat
Wolf Mask
Feathered Cap
Beret
Straw Hat
Turban
Infantry Helmet
Blindfold
Sallet
Tiger Mask
Ranger Cap
Barbut
Conical Hat
Druidic Crown
Ninja Hood
Wyvern Mask
Viking Helmet
Kabuto
Tragedy Mask
Vishnu Helmet
Bone Helmet
Great Helmet
Holy Mitre
Samurai Mask
Undead Hood
Royal Crown
Paladin Helmet
Yggdrasil Mask
Dragon Helmet
King's Helmet
Heavenly Halo
Oracle Chapeau
Bahamut Mask

Shield List:
Wooden Shield
Buckler
Anemone Shield
Iron Shield
Trei Shield
Targe
Lucifron Shield
Wizardry Shield
Parma Shield
Heater Shield
Heater Shield
Kite Shield
Spiked Shield
Hydra Shield
Rondache
Gorgon Shield
Ember Shield
Frost Shield
Storm Shield
White Shield
Dark Shield
Escutcheon
Bone Shield
Indra Shield
Tower Shield
Aegis Shield
War Shield
Silver Shield
Paladin Shield
Platinum Shield
Dragon Shield
Hero Shield

Phew! That's a lot of equipment, and it doesn't factor in the stuff that I'll randomly add over time since I have lots of blank spaces in the database to add additional pieces of equipment while also keeping them in alphabetical order when viewed in-game. There's probably a lot of inspiration from the Blackmoon Prophecy games when it comes to the naming of some pieces of equipment as well, which should make sense since this is a Final Fantasy world with, well, the Final Fantasy removed from it!

Anyway, Slime Ranch will be officially started today. Last night I just got the base exterior map done, selected some fun BGM for the map, and sprited the slimes themselves. Today I hope to start the real meat and potatoes of the Slime Ranch - the obtainable slime pet/party member.

New Character for Monster Ran- .... er, Penumbra Crystallis!

 While chatting on Discord about monster capturing games (Digimon, Monster Rancher, Pokemon), inspiration randomly struck. I at first joked that I should add a monster training mini-game to Penumbra Crystallis and market it as a major feature to suck in the Pokemon fanatics, but then the joke evolved into something that I seriously want to do. Penumbra Crystallis players will be able to...

RAISE AND TRAIN A SLIME.

After acquiring the ship about 7-8 hours into the game, players will be able to visit an island where a slime rancher resides. This slime rancher will give the player the ability to raise and train a pet slime that will be able to join and fight with party.

The slime will start off at level 1 and will be extremely fragile and weak, but raising its level and feeding it snacks at the slime ranch will allow players to raise its stats and teach it new abilities. When the slime reaches certain level thresholds, it will even be able to transform into stronger versions of itself that are elemental based. This will also grant it new abilities and ultimately decide what kind of learnable abilities, resistances, and traits it will acquire going forward.

Slimes will level up like all other characters, but levels will not increase any stats other than hit points. Instead, the level of your slime will just determine how much you are able to raise its stats by (ie. at level 1, stats may not be able to exceed 10-15, while that may be 15-20 at level 2 and so on).

After acquiring a slime, the slime rancher will gift the player with a basket to store the slime's food in. Slime food (what the food is going to be, I'm going to keep a secret for now, but it should be weirdly cute) will appear EVERYWHERE in the world after acquiring the slime and the food basket. All the player needs to do is find food in the wild (or in castles/towns) and interact with it. The player will then acquire +1 slime food, which will be determined via variable (so that the number can go as high as you desire, no limit on carry capacity), and this food can then be used at the slime ranch to improve the slime's stats and traits.

Going to start working on this today because I'm genuinely excited about the idea. I'll probably share screenshots of how this is going throughout the week!

ALSO.... the radio silence with the game's development since November (maybe end of October?) was due to me being unhappy with how a plot point was unfolding in the game, and I was having severe writer's block when trying to write something new to replace the plot point. I honestly wasn't pulling a George R. R. Martin and just "not working on it". I'm starting to piece something together, so I will probably start making some solid progress again soon.

Vahn's Journal

 Just a minor update.

I will be adding an item to the game called Vahn's Journal that he will start the game with. A prompt will pop up during the intro to notify the player that they carry it.

Players can access Vahn's Journal from their key items menu at any time to read where they are in the story and what their current objective is.

Auction Hall Test

 The Auction Hall, located in the Grandiose Amphitheatre, is where players can go to bid on a variety of items! Just got this up and running, and so far only a few restoratives can be won, but it's a good start.