Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Level 10 Abilities

Finally got around to adding everyone's level 10 abilities. To think that characters will probably only be hitting level 10 after approximately 7-8 hours of play is crazy! Anyway, here's what you can expect from the core cast when they finally reach the double digit levels.

Hans: Dash
A physical attack deals damage using Hans's speed stat rather than his strength. Also inflicts wind elemental damage.

Vahn: X-Strike
A strong physical attack ability that deals damage twice (since, well, an X-Strike has to sword slashes). Uses the standard physical attack damage formula, just gives Vahn about 1.75x more damage and costs little MP.

Vera: Raise
An ability that will become increasingly desirable to players as they enter the double digits and the game's difficulty (which is much higher than Blackmoon Prophecy's) continues to ramp up. Raise does exactly what you'd think, it revives a party member from KO status.

Oalston already has a good arsenal of spells, so his next ability will likely be level 12. Kassandra, who just joined the party, does not learn anything new right away so that players can get used to the abilities she comes with.

Another new playable character is finally in the game though, and it is none other than... General Braak!

Temporary monsters until level2janitor makes ones to replace these.
Temporary monsters until level2janitor makes enemy graphics to replace these ones.

Braak, like Vahn, uses swords. That is where the similarities end though. While Vahn is a purely offensive fighter, Braak is a bit of a tanky bruiser with debuff/utility skills. Braak starts with the following abilities.

Armor Break: Cripples a target's physical defense for approximately five turns.

Etherstrike: A physical attack ability that ignores defense and is counted as a magic ability.

Power Break:
 Cripples a target's attack power for approximately five turns.

Sentinel: Braak increases his maximum HP for several turns to make him even more tanky.

Additionally, more testing is kicking off this week with Thomas Stout going through the most recent content added since the last batch of testing occurred. This week may be devoted to tidying up things he finds, but I will also be home all weekend long this week. When I'm not playing Age of Empires IV (releases in two days, baby!), I'll be working on the exciting next chapter of the game that brings Vahn, Hans, Vera, Oalston, Kassandra, and Braak together.

Monday, October 18, 2021

Twitch VOD: Encountering Karen

 Streamed some more game work last night, which includes up to and including the Karen encounter. Comes after Venaitura in the VOD, which you can find by clicking on the chapters button beside the pause button.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1179838167

Pretty excited to (mostly) have the town of East Branch in my rear view mirror. All that's left now is the resolution to the Karen confrontation and Hautley's Tower itself, which is the dungeon that Hans and Oalston have arrived to investigate.

Friday, October 15, 2021

A Powerful Adversary Appears: The Karen

 When Hans and Oalston head to East Branch to search for the escaped General Braak, the pair decide to investigate an old landmark known as Hautley's Tower. Unfortunately, a woman stands between them and the tower. This woman's name... is Karen.

Here's a snippet from the dialogue with Karen that I am currently writing.

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Current Progress on a Familiar Town


A town that I would think most Blackmoon Prophecy players would be able to recognize since it appears in both Blackmoon Prophecy and Blackmoon Prophecy II. The town is still unfinished, and a spire/tower is going in the northeast area of the map where the dragoon academy was in Blackmoon Prophecy.

I'll also be clearing an area on the lower right side of town and pushing the wall out a bit to make room for a codex shop.

East Branch is, like before, visited by Hans as he tries to determine how General Braak escaped from his cell - only this time he has Oalston along for the ride!

Friday, October 1, 2021

Full Cast of Characters







Vahn Vainstrong is, once again, our main character and protagonist. Hailing from the town of Valla in the kingdom of Branch, Vahn is a recently anointed knight who has been accepted into the Branch Military. Vahn is typically kind, reasonable, and always wants to help those in need or lend a hand if possible. He takes a laid back mentor attitude with his best friend and squire, Hans Meddleford. Vahn's weapon of choice is the sword.






Also hailing from the town of Valla is Hans Middlefeld, son to the local elder and squire of Vahn Vainstrong. Hans aspires to be a knight himself, albeit one who is quick and speedy on his feet. Hans is several years younger than Vahn, making him more excitable and hyperactive than his mentor. Like Vahn, Hans enjoys helping those in need and possesses a positive attitude, but is quick to get defensive if his buttons are pushed. To go along with his desire to be a speedy fighter, Hans prefers to use lightweight knives and daggers in combat.







Vera Farabrandt is a senior paladin from the southeastern kingdom of Artalia which is perhaps Branch's closest ally and strongest trading partner. As a paladin, Vera is a strong fighter capable of using healing magic to aid allies in the heat of battle. Because of her status as a paladin, she is also frequently used as an ambassador and diplomat by her superiors and is sent to other kingdoms to help ratify agreements and treaties. Vera is an intelligent kindhearted woman with a love for Gaia's history. Her preferred weapon is the spear.







Residing in Branch's quaint village of Trei is the experienced wizard known as Oalston Saradin. He is well versed in the arcane and is a highly proficient magic user. Oalston is incredibly astute and knowledgeable of the world, and possesses a calm demeanor. Though his best days are behind him, Oalston still craves adventure and is attracted to any quest that is heavily tied to magic and the elements. As a wizard, Oalston wields a rod.







Kassandra Omaedias is a Lenadian huntress and wilderness explorer who hails from the town of Palumpu. Despite being a huntress who has a deep connection to nature and the world around her, Kassandra is mildly eccentric and has a habit of speaking out about things that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. Despite her odd behavior, her knowledge of the wilds is second to known. Kassandra's weapon of choice is the bow.







The calm, quiet, and stoic ninja known as Nobumasa hails from the Village of Zen, a small ninja village on an island off the coast of Rodenia that operates independently from the four kingdoms. Nobumasa left his village for unknown reasons, but ventures the world looking for progressively stronger creatures to pit himself against. When faced with a dilemma, Nobumasa can be counted on to be the voice of reason. As a ninja, he wields ninja swords.







A quiet and near-mute plague doctor hailing from the southern reaches of Lenadia, Lumen Widowcraft is a mysterious woman. Other than the fact that she is a roaming plague doctor, little is known about her and few, if any, know what she looks like underneath her mask. Lumen is however known to be a highly skilled and talented physician who is not only capable of healing any wound, but also reverse engineering them to do harm to her foes. Lumen prefers to go into battle with blunt weapons.







A no-nonsense bandit and mercenary in the employ of Artalian rebels. Laka Ardell fights for herself and nobody else, and is known to be greedy and selfish. What her stake is in the Artalian rebels fighting against their king is unknown, and Laka doesn't seem interested in discussing it... or much of anything given her serious attitude and approach to life. Laka's weapon of choice is the axe.







Hey, it's Veks! He also has a proper surname now at last. While Veks will not be a permanent party member, I do anticipate that he'll pop up every now and then to help the party out when they're in a bind. Veks currently joins the party twice, first when Vahn and Hans investigate the Branch Sewers and then a second time when Vahn and Vera head to Oaktown. I may give the player the option to have Veks permanently tag along later as an optional character, at which point I may make him controllable as well. We'll see! Veks deserves recognition as a "party member" though even if he isn't a permanent addition simply because players will be seeing a lot of him and he will be a staunch ally.







The resident bad boy general from Blackmoon Prophecy will experience a change of heart throughout the events of Blackmoon Prophecy, but what will trigger him to switch sides? Well, that's for the players to discover themselves since I'm not here to give story details away. What I can say is that Braak's weapon of choice is the greatsword and his main purpose in battle will be shutting down enemies and creating weaknesses.







Wait a second! What game is this again!? You're seeing things correctly, that's Edric Csardim from Blackmoon Prophecy II. Avee redesigned Edric's portrait to make it fit in with the style he has used for the rest of Penumbra Crystallis' portraits. So what is Edric doing here? Well, he's going to be encountered by players just by playing through the game normally and he will still be a military man from Lenadia. That's about where the similarities end. Since Edric will be an optional character, I'll leave what he does a surprise to the players.







Alaia Amon is an Indiran priestess living on the island kingdom of Indira tasked with safeguarding the Crystal of Life. Alaia is relatively non-violent and does not condone the use of weapons, thus does not carry any herself. Instead, she is well-versed in transmutation magic and can transform items and equipment into powerful enchantments to benefit her allies. As a priestess, Alaia is also a capable healer and medic.

Twitch VOD: Completing Mount Houzell

 FINALLY completed Mount Houzell in another game dev stream last night! Vahn, Vera, Veks, and Kassandra now get to disappear for a while so that Hans and Oalston can hop into the spotlight.

Twitch link for anyone who would like to view the VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1163876294