Hi everyone,

as said in the last devlog, I wanted to share some concepts for the Sanctum Abilities you will learn throughout the chapters of Late Shape Tale.

Keep in mind that these are obviously not created yet, so all I can give you are the planned out mechanics.

So if you are not into reading text-only concept logs about stuff coming in the (very far) future, feel free to skip this.

Note: This devlog might be (partly) outdated.

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General Information

Before we begin, let me state some guidelines that will hold true for - I believe - all of the abilities in the game. Keep these in mind when reading them, as otherwise you will probably expect something they will simply not be in the end.

- 1  - They are set within a tile-based engine

This means that there is no real 'action' involved in any of them - at least not the one you would assume at first.

- 2 - They are position-based

Because of the first circumstance, you will also only be able to cast them in specific places to let them do... whatever they will do.

- 3 - Some "eye-candy" is involved

Which is simply a result of the two circumstances above. If you deal with event-chains in a tile-based environment, at the end of the road, all these abilities could be cut down to 'they will do something'. But of course, I am displaying this a bit drastically. All games and features are about making the journey entertaining in both interactivity and visualizing it more than 'I hit 1,000 switches'.*

*Not that hitting switches is a bad thing. But you would not mind spicing things up a bit, right?

Anyway, let us talk about the different genres of abilities you can get:

- Object - : Will allow you to interact with objects in some way or fashion

- Person - : Will allow you to interact with yourself or another person in some form

- Area - : Will allow you to adjust or change the area in some way

- Movement- : Will allow you to traverse the environment (you guessed it - in some form or way)

Depending on the specific ability (regardless of its genre), you may have to activate the ability and consume Power Points. Or not. There are some passive abilities - and some active ones do not consume Power as they work better without it.

You also have to use your active powers by pressing one of two 'Field Ability' keys (Q and E on the Keyboard). These keys are set up differently for each power in order to (hopefully) make their use logical and comfortable, while also (sometimes) working in chain with your other abilities of the current Sanctum.

While abilities may not be as 'awesome action oriented' as they first seem, they will instead focus on clever usage for puzzles and traversal in quick succession, among some... probably related mechanics that work out a bit different in detail (they are probably still just puzzles and stuff).

Now, to give you at least one picture after all this, here is how the Sanctum Abilities will be displayed as part of your 'Handbook Skills' in the menu:

As you can see, the information tells you everything you need to know about the ability. The 'Area' depicts where you got the ability from for future reference. (It is also stated in the placeholder when you not have yet found the ability)

The short description will tell you what the ability does, so that you can get some picture in your mind which you can connect with the dungeon environment.

So... what is this ability, actually? Let us start with listing some of them below, now.

-- Iron Melt --

This is actually the very first ability you can get, at least if you play the chapters and sanctums in chronological order. It is also the only ability where I will mention this that specifically, as I want to keep the rest of them as a surprise for when you find them.

As the name suggests there will be iron contraptions (of some form) in the sanctum. By holding the 'Q' key, you can consume Power to heat up the iron and make them break. This will result in removing obstacles, opening doors, moving objects... for example.

Again, I want to stress that the very details of what will be there will come when creating the Sanctums. But you get the general gist.

Now... what have we in store next...

-- Light Block --

'Create and Erase an immovable block'

I always love reading these descriptions and going 'what did I even mean by that'. And no, I am not kidding. I designed these texts with a gameplay mechanic in mind, and I am very positive that I will create something (hopefully) fun around that when the time comes, but I am pretty loose about that... apparently.

Anyway, the idea behind this ability is to create a block you would maybe recall from The Legend of Zelda's 'Staff of Somaria' (I believe? There were multiple of them across the games, so forgive me - it has been some time). The difference of course, being that this ability will not allow you to move the block - this will create not only an opportunity to give out such an ability somewhere else, but also create different gameplay based on the limitation.

-- Break Object --

'Just hit it hard enough'. Funny descriptions, everybody.

These are all abilities of the first sanctum area, by the way. While some may be more interesting, these often set up the basics for that dungeon.

Oh, the description continues: 'Damaged Objects/Structures'

Ah, so you can destroy obstacles in your way and even make larger things move if you damage something.

Great. Next.

-- Dimension Shift --

'Switch between Dimensions (A <-> B)'

Ah, a bit more intriguing. This will allow you to jump between two spaces with some differences in each. A neat ability at the very start - may this lead up to some interesting follow-up?

-- Plant Friend --

'Summon a friendly Plant! (Interaction Help)

Well, not yet. First we have this one. An ability that creates an NPC. While you are not able to control them directly, they will do... things. Things you cannot do, apparently.

-- Build Power --

'Re-Build destroyed Structures'

Another set-up for something more enjoyable later on. Who is not interested in repairing stuff?

Now, let us take a look into some Field Abilities of the Third Area.

-- Shadow Hide --

'Let yourself immerge in the shadow beneath'

An ability which not only makes you invisible, but also keeps you out of move routes of something... or someone. Better keep holding that button to stay immerged.

-- Current Stop --

'Block the primary flow of Circuits'

One of my personal favourites when coming up with them were certainly the 'Thunder Abilities'.

This one will allow you to block current from flowing where it does natively, so you can adjust the flow into somewhere else.

-- Create Object --

' Create various Objects made of Light'

Something to note: Not all abilities of a type are found in the same sanctum. Or said differently, you will encounter a sanctum theme more than once. This light ability here is actually a third area ability from the second light sanctum.

And well... the description is again quite obvious. It will let you materialize various kinds of objects I will eventually plan out for the gameplay.

-- Dimension Connect --

'Anchor an Object to pull it into the other Dimension (A <-> B)'

Aha, the follow-up! Now you can not only switch dimensions, but also take their differences into the other one to work with them. I wonder what the last one will be?

-- Blood Flow --

'Liquidize yourself to Traverse Blood Currents'

... Did I ever mention that the game will have the obligatory gory dungeon? ... I will probably add a disclaimer to that above the download.

Anyway, our first Traversal Ability in this list. You can follow the 'river' from one point to another. Maybe you will even be able to change the flow of it, to reach different places with it? Maybe - maybe not.

With that, we are off to our Fifth Abilities. If you are wondering what the Second and Fourth will be, they will actually be the optional Resistances you can gather for Heat, Cold, Breath and Time. If you want to know more about that stuff, you can visit this Concept Log about the Map Interface, if you like: Click me.

-- Take Back --

'Reverse Time within an Area'.

Oh boy, Time mechanics - in my game? I cannot believe it. No really, I cannot.

While this is the fifth ability, you may now wonder what the first and third would be. Oh, the possibilities of playing with Time... unbelievable.

And no, you do not have to get that insider about my not totally flopped game about time back in 2011.

-- Dig Mode --

'Get below Dig Zones and emerge somewhere else'

One of the Mode Abilities in the game, as I like to group them. You will be able to (automatically) follow corresponding lines from where you dig in to either emerge somewhere else... or to find something in the ground. And maybe you even have to make that dig possible in the first place - crazy, I know.

-- Evolve Object --

'Pour Light into Objects to enhance them'

Aaaah... and so you create an interesting evolution of a prior ability. Now you can not only create objects, but transform them into their... final form? Whatever.

-- Lightning Split --

'Create an immovable Copy of yourself while Time is slowed'

Probably my personal masterpiece after having a blank for the last Thunder Abilities for the rest of the prior evening. While traversing currents to reach someplace else, a copy will be created for you. Depending on where this copy stands at that point, it could make things... happen. I know, I know, psh. Anyway, this also means that as soon as you leave the traversal, time will be on a, well, timer for you to do... other things! (Psh!)

-- Create Power --

'Create new structures to build with'

Probably one of the funniest abilities, although they also incorporate the 'eye-candy' thing more than one would assume by the name if not remembering the guidelines. (You all remember them kids? Good.)

This ability will (probably) allow you to choose from a pool of structure parts to create something. This something will activate mechanics or allow you to reach places. And stuff. Yeah.

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And that is all. How many did I list now? Let me count:

16 abilities in total. Oh my, that only leaves 80 abilities left for you to discover on your own.

... Yes, there will be a total of 96 abilities across all 8 chapters of the game. And while I have picked some more interesting ones, I also left out some others on purpose. And there are of course some follow-ups, so not every ability will be a total 180 to the one before. But they will all have their purpose on their own - and then maybe even to create more intriguing puzzles and traversal chains.

And while I have given my utmost to make this devlog as sarcastic as possible, I hope you can see the potential these abilities can have. I am actually very eager to plan out the Sanctums and incorporate them into gameplay - and I hope they will be enjoyable.

Now. For everyone who read through all this absolutely fascinating text (which was certainly not the reason I said 'no guarantees' to this concept log) - I also said that I may write about some other things in here. So I will. But first let me get in that text divider - whooooop.

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There we go. So let us talk about 'Features'. Namely, all the features I still want to integrate into this project - and the ones after.

While I believe I mentioned this some time ago - I actually intend this foundation to be everything I want. Which in reverse also means I do not intend to create something completely different afterwards. I intend to take this foundation with me when the time comes to switch to a new iteration of the engine and only adjust/upgrade what is necessary.

I do have some very small additions planned for every project afterwards, but they will be really, really minor compared to... everything there already is.

And of course I will also always appreciate feedback to fix and adjust things. Keep in mind though that my mentality here is that I created what I wanted, with everything I wanted. So there will already be a lot - and probably everything had some sort of mindset put into it. Every little detail - at least as much as I thought of it. Am I perfect? Nope. Could the game be horrible? Theoretically. Would it be important then to change 'Everything(TM)'? Probably.

But it could also be the other way around - which I of course intend while giving it my all. Even if, of course, tastes will differ. But I also do not have to change my game for every taste. So there is that. But enough about that, I just wanted to get that off my chest in a concept log that will probably vanish into obscurity not long after publishing. How tragic, I guess.

So yeah... about features. What features are still intended for the project I did not implement or talk about yet?

- Hub World -

Which I am actually working on right now. (Oh my god, are... are we live? We are live, everybody! Oh my-)

The Hub World will be the central point within a chapter. Not only will cutscenes be triggered from there, you can also access all chapter-based features: Your Character and Partner Adjustment, having Conversations, going into Sanctums and adjusting additional Settings.

So far I have created the base layout and am sitting on designing the character / partner displays. Which is a bit of work for every. single. chapter. and character. But hey, otherwise it would be boring, right?

- Nature System -

In that regard, I have also adjusted how Natures will be usable in the game. I intended for them to be set for each chapter - or rather character. Because it makes sense right, if a person has an impulsive nature, this is how they are and play it out in the story.

But... seeing how I will eventually (in the year 2060+) upgrade that system - and as I always like to give you a lot of options - I re-designed it to make it switchable in the character display. There will be a note before, asking you if you want to break the canon of the characters - but you can do so.

This will basically enable you to give the current character whatever benefit in main and secondary attribute each of the 9 Natures provide. No mix-matching! (Not before 2060+)

- The Pet Manager (2025 Edition) -

As mentioned from time to time, I want to give the Partner (Pet) some interactivity. While upgrades to your character will be applied automatically, you have to access the Partner Display in order to Feed, Train and Evolve them with the various items you have found.

While I am currently planning that one out in more detail - the idea is to give you some simple interface-based mini-games to play in order to give your partner these items. You will probably also be able to deactivate this in the same fashion you can enable Nature Switching, as I do not want to force that 'chore' onto anyone.

For everyone who does not think that it is a chore - rejoice! As you will be able to play with your partner just for the sake of it, as well. Probably. Maybe. (Again, planning it out)

- Weapon Inlay System -

The last feature (at least chronologically). I think I mentioned it back in the... concept log about the game structure... that I wanted to give the player some interactive adjustment as well.

While I planned to give you an Allocation System at first, I came to a point where it just seemed overdoing it. There are already so many mechanics in the game that play on enhancing the stats of the character, that I felt it would be too much. So nothing for our game here, I believe.

Still - I wanted at least something. So I gave that adjustment ability to the Weapons.

The idea is to let you choose one of 6 secondary stats to lay into your weapon to enhance. And do that for every of the 10 Ranks, where every rank will increase the enhancement by +1% (so a total of +10% maximum). This would mean you could decide for yourself which bonus you want to give which score to build your character yourself. If you chain this with switching your Nature, it could create some varying builds. At least in theory.

I guess I have to mention that, as I have already designed the stats and enhancements for everything... yeah. The game will probably be on the easier side. For normal run. If you go into plus run, it will probably become quite broken.

And while some people would now say this means I have not balanced it right (they would be correct from a point of view, obviously), I actually think this could be quite enjoyable. But you have to - of course - see the combat for what it is then, as well. Not all options will be viable at all times, as the encounters will probably not ask for all of it. And while you have all these abilities to experiment for enjoyment, it will probably not come to you needing to do so much of it.

Then again, you still need to find upgrades, and I can also still be wrong here. Especially as I also still need to create the enemies and encounters. So I can still fiddle around with that. I guess the gist I want to explain here is: It could be a total imbalance fest, not enjoyable for anyone because doing all the things is pointless and not fun. Or it could be just the right flow while playing  - at least for people who get hooked by it.

... What were we talking about? Oh right, Weapon Inlays. Keep in mind that I only brainstormed that so far. I think having upgrades for each rank will probably be too much, so I will downgrade that a bit alongside some other detail fine-tuning.

- And more? -

Of course there are still other things which debatably do not deserve their own spot on here, so I will also probably forget quite some of them.

One thing I still want to create is a proper tutorial system. It will function during chapters (and outside them) in a smart way of saving your preferences in between, as well as being re-called within the Hub World. Another thing is me wanting to stuff the sanctums with more minor things (again, wanting to have a foundation I will probably not change too much afterwards except maybe the detailed gameplay construction).

One of these things is a fairy - who will warp you to the last save monument you have visited, or the start of a sanctum. They will also be able to give you information. Something along those lines.

I also intend to place orbs into the dungeons. These will fill up your energy and power, alongside some other things... I currently forgot. Ah, the spice of getting old!

Well, these things will become important when the time comes - and I tend to get new/improved ideas at that point as well from time to time. So working as intended, I suppose.

And then there are of course the sub-menus. But I talked about them enough, I believe. I still owe you the Unreach Menu, which I started to work on, but postponed it for now as I like to switch work from time to time. (What, I should be working on the database? Pshhhh.)

I think that should be all. If not, well, I have at least some things I can write about in the future. I will anyways, after I worked on those things. I guess I just wanted to mark a point where 'Yes, I actually planned out all I want in the project(s) and... well, also what I do not intend to add in the future.' Which is a good feeling.

Anyway, let us grab one more of these dividers to finally end this log. Whoooop.

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"And the big question which came up in his mind was: ...."

Is this blog finally longer than the 'Retrospective Special Log'?

So... I hope you enjoyed this... maybe pointless concept log? Maybe I am too negative to myself. I mean, yeah, not too many will read it and think 'Oh boy, I'm gonna stick with that boy...'s game!'. But, maybe it will potentially interest someone. So I guess it is okay for that.

(Maybe I will also be famous one day and everyone will leach onto these old logs to get all the hidden information and stuff.) 

"Yeah, this crazy guy over there, gentleman. Please take him away before he starts throwing with cereals."

Anything else to write about? I am not sure when the next devlog will come out. As said I want to make a shorter one for the next update. But I also want to add into it the amount that makes it feel right. So yeah, back to work for now.

If you want to know where I am currently at, you can also check my twitter profile. I have already posted some sneak-peeks since last time. You can find the link at the top of each log - as I do not want to advertise it again. (Find it on your own, for once!)

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

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