Happy Easter!

I just recently finished playing Child of Light, and the equipment in that game is very simplified, and yet it works really well. The gem system it uses is fun and I found it to be rather inspiring. Well, I'm sure I can't make anything near that complex for FSA, but I've decided to simplify the equipment as much as I possibly can. 

This coincides nicely with what I've been working on, which was Sienna's outfits. I've been doing a LOT of brainstorming and thinking and searching for outfits and deciding what they should all look like. Her nude sprite, as well as 4 outfits have been finished thanks to Bebecake. :)

I want a lot more in the game, but I'll have to use placeholders until I can
get Mavis to do all the concepts. In the meantime Bebe is working on Rosevynne's new sprites. 

And going back to equipment again, which will basically be: weapon, tool, hairpin, ring, amulet. 

The tool slot will just be for tools. There's no point in stressing players out with having to equip a stat boosting item just before a fight (and honestly most players either wouldn't bother, or only do so just before a boss fight).

I haven't worked with the weapons much yet, but I do want to include at least one upgrade for each character's weapon. I wish I could do more with the weapons system, but it boils down to 2 options:
A: A few epic upgrades for each weapon as the game progresses.
B: Change the weapon slot to a basic elemental damage type for all characters, and everyone can equip the same thing there.

Option B sounds fun, but it might be visually awkward since everyone's basic attack animation would be the same (well, depending on which element they're equipped with). Plus I find the animation system in RMVX to be rather complicated and difficult to work with. Even with new animation sheets I would have a difficult time implementing them.
So I'll probably just stick with option A.

I've pretty much finalized all hairpins, which will be the only items capable of resisting status ailments (and critical hits). I haven't decided on how to include them in the game yet, but I think a dedicated hairpin making merchant might be fun. 

Rings are also finalized, and will increase stats (5, 10, and 15 points, as well as a % bonus). These rings will likely be rare treasures, and you'll be able to combine 3 of a kind to make a better one.

Lastly, amulets. The type of amulet that Sienna wears will determine what outfit she wears. This way I can use the same type of amulets for every character. The amulets will reduce damage against certain elements, and some will provide special options like double exp, half mp cost, and HP regen.

The idea, basically, is that amulets will function a lot like FF7 materia. Sienna will wear a certain amulet type, and then later on she can spend "essence" that she earned from wearing that amulet to get more amulets like it, upgrade that amulet, get stat boosting items, etc.. It should function much like the current skill trees, except that some nodes will be repeatable (like purchasing more amulets). Some nodes will likely require a mix of different essence types to unlock, or perhaps you can exchange essence at double the rate (like if you really don't want to change your outfit).

Well that's all the stuff I've been working on, brainstorming, and thinking a lot about. Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. :)