Going Forward + July plans

So it seems like the Chapter 1 alpha was a success! and while a lot of folks seem to be having trouble making it far in Hard Mode, it is very possible to make it through to the end. Kinda like Dark Souls. Try try again, eventually you'll find a way to get past it! and since I'm talking about Hard Mode, doya guys like that Hard Mode is a thing? I mean, it originally wasn't! but I decided what the heck, it'd be super fun to make that and it'd extend the content by a full double! Plus new surprises are always fun. :)  I actually intend to do this for all future chapters, but I'll get into more detail about this in a moment. 

For now, let's talk about where we are going forward. With the release of Chapter 1 Alpha finished, July is gonna see a lot of updates and fixes to it in preparation for the beta, and I'm also gonna begin development of Chapter 2, which will feature Bunnie as playable in the party, meaning the next chapter will have two characters in battle, and will open up a LOT of doors for the gameplay. I designed the first chapter around Sally's solo battling. And honestly, it feels pretty good. Her moves work well by herself, and I'm proud the first chapter feels like more than a spam attack RPG. 

So, here are my plans regarding July's content for CoA:

1. Chapter 1 beta: So what's the beta of Chapter 1 gonna entail? Well, it's going to include a few new mechanics, UI updates, and things to make it look nicer in general. I want to make the maps look cooler :) Also we're gonna be putting in original baddies instead of the placeholder RPG Maker ones. The beta is gonna focus on visual polish mostly, as I dont think there's much to change unless feedback hints at tweaking balance. So far I haven't heard it's unbalanced. The only thing that seems to be a bit too unforgiving is Hard Mode, which I might make a BIT easier to survive in. ^^; but ya. This is going to be sent to all Tails tier and lower patrons for July. Sadly not much new content is gonna be in this one. >.< it might be a bit of a wait for Chapter 2's beta, but it'll be worth it.

2. Chapter 2 alpha: Chapter 2 is extremely exciting for me. I'll be adding a playable Bunnie, which I actually did a lot of work on setting up her playstyle before making Chapter 1. What's more, is I'll be designing the battles around two characters this time x) So it'll be a bit easier, but still hard! You'll really get to see their Roles shine with two of em. Example, you'll be able to set up Sally's moves so much easier with Bunnie taking most of the hits off of her. She wont have any healing moves save for items, but the good news is, Sally will be able to provide support with her First Aid Slingshot skill! Yeah, First Aid is getting a slingshot variant, it'll be castable on any party member :P 

Aside from Bunnie being added, I'm also going to be designing Central Great Forest and a new dungeon for it, both of which are going to be around 3-4 times larger than Western Great Forest and Western Great Forest Dungeon respectively. They're going to feature a lot of exploration, a lot of variety in level design, and a lot of baddies to fight. It's going to be so big that certain areas will have way tougher enemies than others! Sonic Tier and up will be getting the Alpha of this new content in July, so please look forward to it ^^

3. Hard Mode

Hard mode is interesting. For one thing, you dont gain any exp, as if you did, you'd level up so much that you might get way too far ahead for Chapter 2 and onward. Instead, I implemented special Star equipment that are much more powerful than your standard mode equipment. So there are rewards for completing Hard Mode, and they're quite awesome :)

Hard mode is intended to be a true test of Sally's abilities at max level(12). It's also for folks who really enjoy challenges. There's a lot of surprises in Hard Mode, and I intend to make a Hard Mode for every chapter! If that is, ya'll like it. If not, well, I see no reason to work so hard on it if no one wants it. ^^;

I'm really hoping some of you consider the Game Tester Tier, as I'd really love to work with some of ya'll on finding bugs and testing balance! Anywho, 

thanks for reading! Hope you guys are excited. And thanks for the support! :)

-Blazeymix

P.S. For the foreseeable future, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MONTHLY UPDATES! Depending on the content, it might be two months unless I just split up a large chapter and send it to ya'll. but ya. This project isn' gonna be ignored or lose interest someday, we're gonna be workin on it nonstop for the next few years! Dont you worry, from here on out, monthly updates are-a guarenteed. :)