Hi everyone,

some time has passed since our last blog post - namely two months. I still have no real devlog ready, as I am currently in a sort of 'mixed bag' phase of tackling stuff. So there is not that much ready to write about.

That being said, I do not like leaving you in the dark for so long either, so I will try my best to make this a worthy replacement. I also plan to finally have the next devlog ready for July. Whatever that means now will be seen, I guess.

Note: This post is related to Late Shape Journey (Beta).

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Topic I - What did I work on?

The only thing I can really show a picture for is the concept of a new 'Add-On Menu'.

You will be able to access this from the Game Input Menu. It will contain official - and unofficial - changes to the game.

I guess for this one I have to explain a bit more. While I do not know how much of an user base the game will get in the future, I simply like to play around with features like this. In the best case scenario, someone will work with it, in the worst case scenario, there will be some options provided by myself and it will simply be another addition to the game.

The idea here is that you will be able to adjust game data - provided you own the software the game was made with - and upload it (externally) as unofficial patches and translations. While this is nothing I would really have to adjust the game for - as these would just be changes users add by replacing the data files - I want to make sure that there is also a structured guide and setup for the game you can follow in order to reflect the changes in a more professional way.

As long as you follow the structure provided in the game events, you will be able to link your changes to the Add-On Menu - and even make them toggleable if desired. This will help players to see what adjustments you have added and switch them on or off accordingly.

By working together with other users creating patches, you can also make sure to have compatible features sharing the list of add-ons. In such a scenario, multiple features would take different slots of the interface and either complement each other, or toggle each other on or off.

Now as said, all this is heavily based on user interaction. If none of this happens, it will at least be a gimmick in the game where you will be able to toggle and add some additional things provided by myself. Also, take in mind that we are talking about a system where every update from my side may or may not break your changes, so you would have to adjust or re-make them. It is not the most thankful system and rather something for people who simply want to do it - so the option will be there.

All of the above will be part of the 'Creation Core' feature you will be able to find in the game folder. There will be additional terms and rules to follow (in regards of how you can setup your patches and what they are allowed to contain), as well as mentioned guide and other stuff.

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As part of 'Adding the absolute final bonus assets' to the game, I have added 3 more characters to it. They will not be part of a chapter directly, but will focus on the part in between them, so to speak. Or said differently, they will be the meta part of the game. Based on that, I have changed the line-up of characters you will be able to speak to within the Game Input Menu, as well.

One of the characters you will be able to meet is the one you can see in the 'Add-On' interface. The second one will be your guide during gameplay. The third one will be... someone you meet when you play the Board Game.

If anyone remembers back on the Arcade Menu presentation, there was one Unlock (if you finish all Minigames on Level 1) I was not yet sure what it would be. Well, it will be a Board Game. Of course within the limits of being another Minigame, so do not expect too crazy gameplay.

Still, there will be a board. And some minigames. And events. And stuff.

So what did I want to tell you here exactly? That I took quite some time looking into more characters and their background, as well as adjusting their graphical assets and implementing them.

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I have also added 6 more music tracks (1 for one of the new characters and 5 for the Board Game) - as well as 3 new MEs for... things.

Additionally, I added some more characters from the default assets and implemented 2 new dungeon tilesets since last time. (3 left to add)

I have also replaced the plugin for gab talk (as I will do those pictures myself) and added another one for the battle system instead.

So this being the 1.000.000 time I am telling you that the project is finalized in this regard, I always tell myself that it will be true this time.

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A few days ago I also switched back to database work and finally tackled the animations for the game. Or, well, I am currently on it.

For now, I have added 320 animations. And while this sounds like a lot (and it was a bit of work as the animation editor is not as flexible as I had hoped), these of course contain upgrades to prior animations. So for example, I have added all Magic Impact, Ailment and Debuff Animations from Rank 1 to 10, where the animation effect gets duplicated for every upgrade. The Debuff Animation is also just a simple colour change on the enemy.

So nothing too vast - but my goal is that the animations will be efficient and good looking in what they are. I am not going too crazy here, as I would probably go literally crazy if I had to fiddle around with the editor even more than that.

I will probably continue working on this for now, as well. I still have to add animations for the pet, basic actions and some other stuff.

Edit: As there was a small time window since writing this before I released this post, we are now at 452 animations. I have used all 65 animation files I want to include and still need to expand some of the placeholders into multiple variations/upgrades. I also forgot to mention that all of them still need to get the final polish (sound effects and maybe some visuals).

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Finally, I have also further expanded the credits scene since last time, but not finished it. We are now at 40 pages (yes), as I have added more text for some of the additional features, as well as a community area with listing for future contests and testers. Again, something that may not get too much use - but I guess I can still add pun names to these lists if I have to.

I have also adjusted some things on the website. The game got an adjusted logo, and the fav-icons now feature the beta and stable icons of the game respectively.

As you can see, I am currently all over the place with what I am working on and I just hope that it will eventually fall in place.

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Topic II - Future Plans and Schedules (Outdated)

Hey, remember when I told you I would work on the Portfolio Content two months back? Ah, good times...

Yeah, I did not. As some of you remember I also mentioned I would probably not have as much time this year. And well - I moved places. Which I knew would happen. It did take some time to get back into this afterwards and I also had some personal blockades during that which demotivated me as well - so overall what I presented here was more about 1 month of work instead of the passed two.

That being said, while there could still be more distractions in the future - I should be able to tackle this as before as long as I myself can keep up with it. So 'not enough progress as there should be' lies ahead of us once more!

I have increased the development time to 2040 already, by the way.

As mentioned, I plan to release a devlog next month. I am not sure what it will contain (obviously not what I planned it to), but I want to put a lot of content into it, still.

Now, of course the downside of me writing all this is that a new devlog will become more and more of a summary than really being a 'Wow! New!' thing - but I guess that is how it is.

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End of Special Log

The idea was to give you a still entertaining text to read - and it probably just ended up being another 'whatever' blog. Sorry about that.

Maybe it was of some interest to you (which was the idea of posting something at all) - if not... well. I guess the devlog would not interest you that much... either? Or maybe you just want to read something more professional and presentative. That could also be it. Yeah.

Anyway, I will get back into implementing animations and all the other stuff I want to do. Write you soon.

Like always, thank you for reading and have a nice week, everyone.

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