I will start right away with the bad news: we've got FIVE projects to do until the end of this session. Two of them are optional, but I must take at least one to have the chances of passing. Most of the projects involve working in random teams (and dealing with the language barrier). Since we haven't been taught any appropriate framework, none of my present skills matter. Some projects halve your points if you split by roles (like any other team). Halve again if someone can't explain something out of their role.

The game's development WILL come to a halt at some point, and I feel it's worth to warn beforehand. I clearly care about this game, and I would hate it to get abandonded. When it's time to focus on the projects, I'll be making sure that the rest of the assets are being made.

Wish me luck.

The Atonement route

The mercy routes in genocide fangames have always been a crazy idea. What do you mean that the power of love and friendship somehow still works? The mercy route of No More Deals left a lot to be desired; it was there simply as a replayability option. You were never given a reason to try "spare" Chara, and it was never truly explained why sparing chaged the course of the fight.

Rather than being a fun easter egg, what if I *push* you to this route, by flipping the entire battle upside down? For the most of you, the game will not end with the Duel route. The battle will adapt to this, by stripping down all of its fun interactions and visuals. Quite appropriate for the situation you will find yourself in.

This is where the new route comes in.

The first half of the Atonement route follows the same old formula of "click the spare button 15 times to make a change", but this clearly can't work with Chara. Regardless of how many times you fought them; this is nothing but a waste of time that Chara can quickly act upon.

As I said in the previous post, you will have to be a bit more creative to stall the fight.

Luckily, you get the new act options suited just for this! Wait...?

(The dialogs and acts are subject to change)

Lockets in battle

I find it interesting how Chara's locket, a practically useless item in a real combat, has been weaponizied throughout the years. One of the popular fangames used it as a flail, while NMD somehow turned it into an explosive bomb.

The locket got a unique use in Arkangel. Rather than being a conventional weapon, I doubled down on the locket's true purpose: holding memories. It has nothing to do with anything you've seen or interacted with on the genocide route. I would say this will be something much, much more darker.

		
			"I cannot see in time. But I treat my most resilient visitors with a vision. Those who survive are guided by their novel fears for the rest of their lives. ... Let's see how you handle *yours*."
		
	

Other improvements

I had to spent most of the time refactoring my old code to make sure working stays enjoyable. In the meanwhile, we finally figured out how to execute the ending!

Overall, I would say the fight itself got pretty close to being fully playable, but it needs a lot of polish and assets (music, sprites, vfx). And don't forget about the rest of the game and secrets too!!

Looking at how elaborate the game is getting, I figured I could give each route more toys to play with. More on that next time.

Thank you all for your support!!