The Combat System Redux

So I'm sitting here at 3:49 AM on a Saturday working on the game because I am not yet convinced weekends or nights are things I should take off of working, and I came to a decision. I said I would release an update containing an updated combat system on the 1st of next month, including the big group battle scene. I will not.

This isn't because I don't like keeping those dates I set. As I've been working I've just realized just how much beyond the combat system I started with I can take this. During the course of this month I've done a bit of script writing, taken other scripts, and started to accomplish a LOT to improve the combat system. Let's go over some of it.

1: You are now able to have multiple groups at once and switch between them with a single button press. This was absolutely necessary for the army battle and was a huge pain in the butt to set up, but it's also something I could use for a wide number of things in the future. Now that it IS set up it's practically trivial to make a large number of complex and fun things. When I make Overwhored 2 expect me to make a ludicrous amount of use of it.

2: Spells and abilities can have an "area of effect". Thus, like in Chrono Trigger or Lunar or a lot of the games I based this off of spells can now do more than hit one or all enemies at once. This means I can and must think carefully about how to position enemies now.

3: Many of the things I wanted in the VX Vanilla version of the game I can now implement. Things like Regeneration are built into the new system, some, like a reflect spell, are something that has some in-system functionality but needs scripting to work optimally. Still - I can do everything I actually want to do now.

4: I can make custom animations, sound effects, and etc, and add them to the game. Because I can draw and do a limited degree of audio editing I can work in custom animations for practically everything I want to customize. I could make my own, custom icon sets as well. No more would I have to live with scraping by with what other people have made. I can make my own and have it be on-par with the default stuff in the game.

5: Enemies have a chase ability built into them. When you come close they will chase you, but when you are far away (or go a certain distance from them) they cannot chase you any further. They also require line of sight to start the chase, allowing for stealthy sneaking past enemies. I'm also looking into some "fixed area" fights like you see in Chrono Trigger.

6: Enemies now respawn whenever you leave and re-enter a map, save for ones like the villagers who are designed to only be fought once ever.

Also I should talk a bit more about how I'm designing these encounters. About a month ago someone linked me to a very informative analysis of the game Chrono Trigger and it just blew my mind. There were so many things in there that I could now do. I can't do things exactly like Chrono Trigger or Lunar because your sprites aren't really interacting with the enemy; I'm still using the "names at the bottom of the screen are your characters and they don't move" system, but even so, I can build in a staggering amount of potential into things.

Basically everything I couldn't do in VX Vanilla I can do now, and I can do it REALLY, REALLY well. I positively want to make these fights fun and work very hard on designing encounters, boss battles, and abilities that make the game truly enjoyable. I've got notes, plans, and I've been working a hell of a lot on things. There are still things I haven't quite figured out how to make like "triggered vulnerability" enemies, but I will get those down in time.

As a result I don't think I'll be making a single "Combat Release". It's ending as a large enough thing that it is far better I don't just try and hammer it out in a short period of time. Instead I'll gradully work on it alongside other game improvements as the game comes out.

My next goal is to release a version with the monstergirl village and some basic combat improvements. Right now the village, initial cave area, mountains, and graveyard have had some combat revamps. The monsters there now have abilities and use them; the enemy types vary a bit so some need magic to hurt or encourage you to use certain abilities against them like the three slaves Bash skill, or the upgraded Thrash skill they'll get that I've added in.

I'm trying to add depth to everyone and it is particularly important that I do so well. Rather than hit crunchtime and do something that isn't up to standard, I'll work on it more gradually while filling in more content and rewriting weak sections.

Expect the Monstergirl Village release complete with sex scenes by about March the 9th, along with some revamped combat for the first half of the game. After that I'll be working on rewrites and on Ilmatar's chapter.