Everlasting Journey Part One v1.2 is out! It can be downloaded from this page!

If for some reason, you’re reading this instead of my RMN page, a new beta is being tested as we speak! Here’s the changelog:

CHANGELOG:

v1.1b:
-NEW SIDEQUEST ADDED: “Ortia Tower,” unlockable by talking to Floo after getting the airship and finishing his first request
-BATTLE: Party members now have Physical attack skills
-BATTLE: Instead of Static/Bolt1/Bolt2 spell naming scheme, spells now have individual names (Static/Bolt/Discharge)
-BATTLE: Crystal Bombs are now called “Energems.” Phillip can only equip one ring at a time (as an Accessory), thus giving him one spell at a time. This was done for balance/strategy purposes
-BATTLE: Val has been given a different HP curve, MP Absorb skill, & a 20% Insta-death skill
-BATTLE: Sueto has been given the “Scan” battle command in addition to Athesis. This was done for plot/design reasons
-BATTLE: New battle animations, Stat Up/Down animations & graphics
-Numerous item changes. Removed “Cure-All” item and added individual status healing items (Antidote/Mirror/Bilberry/Reefer/Normalizer/Order/Caffeine)
-Item & Spell descriptions are now consistent
-BATTLE: Scan values have been updated to description consistencies (“/” characters, etc.) & it’s now possible to scan every enemy
-BATTLE: Attributes provide better damage value control (discussed in one of my blog entries)
-Scene after exiting Underground Caverns has been adjusted
-Numerous other dialog changes. Mainly flow issues
-Changed some graphics in the last chapter. Reworked the ending slightly
-New airship music, added jukebox “system” now supporting 34+ songs
-Migrated blackjack mini game from my Alex III map, along with Roulette (not yet playable) & slot machines (not yet playable). Talk to the man in Borland & Orxler to trigger Blackjack. Winnings are limited for balance reasons
-Changed opening credits text & made it consistent with “Controls” & “Extras” text

Overall, it looks awesome, plays awesome. The style is right & the feel is right, so I’m really psyched for the next public release. There’s no official release date yet since I’d like to add 1 or 2 more sidequests over the next couple months (in addition to some NPC fixes), so maybe by spring?

Also, some screenshots of the new sidequest:

Hey there, loyal followers! As you can see, the ol’ production blog has received an upgrade with the help of WordPress!

Since the release of “Part One” last month, I’ve been taking a hiatus over the holidays, to gather the feedback I’ve received so far and plan out what I’ll be working on before the next big release to polish what’s already been done. The general consensus is that the battles need a lot of work. Before the demo’s release, some battle additions were added in late, and became too difficult or too easy, varying from player to player.

Needless to say, that’s going to be the main focus. Spells will be a lot different, characters will have additional  attacks to use, and the numbers/calculations will be adjusted as best as I can get them. I also may add in one or two more side-quests before the end of the demo depending on how much I can get done with the battle system over the next couple months.

Once that’s all set, and most people are happy with the balance, I’ll get going on “Part Two” which will be a lot less linear than the first chunk of the game. The characters are all established at this point in the game (10 hours in or so), and so part two will have each one develop in some new way.

That’s pretty much it. Play the demo if you’d like and leave me some feedback.

-PepsiOtaku