Progress Report #16: April, 2022

"Code! Make it work, make it right, make it fast... or at least try?"

Hi again folks o/

Concluding our final report of the month, we bring you a focused review on the technical work done "under the hood".

It's mind boggling how often our programmer starts off his day with positive vibes like integrating new content hoping to enjoy the simple pleasures of his job, only to somehow end up grappling with techno goblins that spring out of nowhere and wreck his entire day. Thankfully, we still managed to achieve manifold progress tinkering with the combat system so, lets walk you through it!

One of the biggest challenges working with RPG Maker engines is their "one size fits all" framework that makes most games look unsurprisingly similar. Though the similarity also brings ease familiarity, as far as esthetics and customization go, the control over it leaves a LOT to be desired. Given VoidBound's extensively detailed combat system, there was no easy way to take such a massive amount of information and cram it into RPG's default user interface. Believe us, we tried and it came out a royal mess. So, a plugin was written from scratch, making sure it ticked all the right boxes, some of them being:

• A fully new framework not only to incorporate combat related elements in a concise format, but also to suit VoidBound's sci-fi theme.
• Extend the framework with a toggle functionality to display detailed additional information on player demand. This included but is not be limited to Resistances/Loot/HP/Skills/Movement Range etc. to aid the player in strategizing their next moves
• At the same time, the additional information can now be further customized based on player preference. This will help mitigate player drowning in unwanted information and prioritize only what's needed.
• More quality of life improvements like overhead display of enemy HP bars and unique sounds based on skills/arms used.

Though internal testing of these changes are still underway, we're quite satisfied with the initial observations. If things develop further, we might explore this subject further in a future post.

Apart from that, some light work also proceeded on architecture and *ahem* art. Feel free to partake the details in the report itself. On that note, we bid you well and will pick up the progress once again in May!

Kind Regards,

Cursed Atelier