Progress Report 2021.11.03

Hi friends,

It’s November!

This month I am continuing development on Chapter 2. The alpha build was updated on November 1st, so if you haven’t checked out the new content yet, see this post here (also pinned to the top of Patreon). This will give you the link and November’s password to the alpha build.

Game Updates

With Scene 1 finished (which covers the MC’s arrival in Velantis, gives some exposition on new lore that will be important throughout the game, and sets up a number of complications they will have to deal with later), I am starting work on Scene 2.

Scene 2 is quite large and complex. In addition to some ongoing conflict with Aeran, the MC will also have to attend a gala at the Mahanin Palace as part of Zenaida’s entourage. The gala scene uses the action point system, so the player will have control over which areas they visit in the palace and which characters they meet. It sets up a number of upcoming factions (including the Order of Solarath, the Arathian Empire, and the Velantian Loyalists). It will also introduce a number of major characters, including Sophia and Sandro Anaxas (Zenaida’s parents and the rulers of Velantis), Phaedra Amestris (an aristocrat with secret lies to the exiled Velantian royal family), and Melchior Larkspur (a con artist and theatre artist who is a future companion/party member).

I am hoping I can get the full scene written and coded within the month. It’s NaNoWriMo, and while I am not actively participating, it is nice to have in the background as an additional goal. I am pretty use to writing between 40k and 50k a month at this point. 😅 The scene may not end up being quite that long, it depends on how many variations/paths I decide to keep and which to cut.

Once Scene 2 is done and coded, it will be added to the alpha build. Scene 3 will round out the chapter, giving the player the chance to meet more members of the Order of Lethalis and its leader, Umbria Bellaris. The MC will also have the chance to prod Aeran for more information on the Spire and the secrets he’s hiding, which has a number of potential outcomes (good and bad).

Originally, Scene 4 would take the player to Diradan Tower so the MC can retrieve the Astrial. I have decided to split Chapter 2 here and make the assault on Diradan Tower its own (comparatively small) chapter. Chapter 2 already contains a lot of content, exposition, and key decisions; adding the Diradan Tower scene feels a bit tacked on.

This also gives me a little more breathing room when it comes to updating the public build. I want to update the public build with Chapter 2 in January, however I also want to make sure that the alpha build is always one chapter ahead of the public (at the very least). In the current outline, Chapter 3 is a three-way split depending on the player’s choices at Diradan Tower, which means there are essentially three versions of Chapter 3. That’s a lot of content to create before January, which is not going to be possible. Splitting Chapter 2 in two gives me more wiggle room for the three-way split without delaying the public build later than I want.

Other Updates

At some point, I need to finish the Velantis map and add it to the alpha build, so there will be more map-making content.

I am also hopefully going to start working on an in-depth Chapter 1 walkthrough this month. It may take me a while to get through it all, since there are so many paths in the chapter!

Fingers crossed for a good writing month and getting new content out. Thank you all so much for your support! 💕