Supporting creators of visual novels and story-based games since 2003.
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I'm also playing with the idea of new character art. I'm talking with an artist right now and received sketches. I'll post more if it becomes official.I have been slowly working on Seraphine in the background for a while, transitioning the game from 640x480 resolution (ouch!!) to 1280x720. This includes a complete overhaul of the battle system, since I created it back in 2008 when I barely knew Python. All variables and information used to be stored in lists ... Yay for learning! Object-oriented coding is so much better, I don't know how I lived without it.
I'm presented with a dilemma while re-creating the battle screen, however. Originally, the skills were just text buttons with their AP cost and an icon symbolizing the character's weapon. But I would like to use graphics to represent the skills as well, as shown in the screenshot at the very top. But it doesn't leave room for the name of the skill, which you would only see when hovering over it. Which you would have to do anyway with either format to see what the skill does. And then I have the choice of making the information in a pop-up that covers up a portion of the screen, or in the top corner of the parchment bar - which wasn't that much of a deal when the game was only 640x480. A lot more distance to travel with your eye in this resolution. Then again, I have the characters arranged all horizontally instead of in a 2 x 2 grid like I did before. Maybe I would have room for more information if I did it that way? Arggh, layout woes!
Anyway, updates to the battle system will include upgrade-able skills. Before, you got a static skill and used it for the whole game. Now you will get experience points which will earn points you can spend into your skills. A skill that had a chance of 30% to blind an enemy can be upgraded to be 50% or more. So now characters won't have similar attacks at differing degrees of intensity but a wide variety of types of attacks that can be grown into stronger skills.
I will also be increasing the number of skills each character can "equip" for battle from five to eight. Six default skills and two slots for skills you can teach them later. Meaning you can find the "Toss Potions" skill by either buying it or as a quest reward and can teach it to any character. Originally the skills would be completely random each battle, because I want the game to operate sort of like a card game, where each character brings a "deck" of skills with them into the fight and you work with the cards you're dealt with. But I will also include the option to hand-select which 4 skills you want to bring.
Also, just as a random note, I think I'm going to change Ere's primary weapon from katars to daggers. It was a weird weapon choice to begin with.