Hey everyone!

So um… It’s been around a 3/4 of a year since I made my last post, regarding the status of BLANK, the Spirits Within. Well unfortunately, I have some bad news regarding its development.

Life kinda screwed me over this past year

For context, I started a Master’s Level Degree in Mobile Media Applications at the University of Portsmouth back in September 2016. Throughout the entire year, I have spent an unhealthy amount of time ensuring that my schoolwork was up to snuff and that I would gain the qualifications needed to make my resume look fine as heck. Additionally, I also enrolled for a part-time job, that took even more time away from me. Essentially what happened is that I essentially no time to work on The Spirits Within, because of Schoolwork, Real Work and house moving.

But that doesn’t mean to say I didn’t manage to work on ANYTHING. In the spare time I had, I successfully nailed down the story I wanted to tell with this, as well as the enemies and bosses Veta will be fighting in the Isles of Sanctaros. In fact, I even have a nice little music surprise for you.

{% soundcloud 348245926 #000000 %}

Yup, this is the Main Theme for “The Spirits Within” Expansion, composed by the very same and excellent artist, Adam Halpin. This track was actually completed around the time of the Expansion’s announcement, but I thought it’d be nice to give you guys a little taste. As for what’s to come, here’s a nice little taster before getting into the full meat of “The Spirits Within”

Patch 1.3: That one regarding Quality Control

I’ve been watching you guys and girls carefully. In fact, I’ve been stalking your online alias accounts and soon to hope to extend my loving embrace into your real lives. Okay, so maybe I don’t go that far, but I’ve been keeping tabs on what you’ve all been doing in relation to BLANK. I can see that there is still growing interest in the game, especially considering that there’s always at least 1 to 2 downloads every day, and occasionally I will see a small discussion page on it.

And I’ve been listening to your feedback, you naughty birds.

So that’s why I’ve decided in light of a literal desert of updates for the game, I’m going to release another patch before The Spirits Within hits. Unlike Patch 1.2, it won’t be anything too special. But I do have a list of the changes that I wish to see implemented pending its release.

Revamped and Restructured Dialogue

Yeah, this is the big one. Throughout all the testing and playing of the game, I’ve noticed SEVERAL errors and design decisions in the game’s narrative and text-systems that are in need of a desperate overhaul. First and foremost, all text in the game, including key cutscenes will have their content improved and possibly altered. Furthermore, certain key words like “Veta”, “Tenark” and other abilities will be coloured on-screen for the player. Certain key details like the Ancient Notes found in Solena Forest were often left hidden for the player and I still get questions from players asking how the heck to beat the Solena Forest Maze. Well hopefully with the new update, those problems will be made easier. If not, I’ll just have to keep trying until it get it right.

Contasma Rework

Yep, Miss Silence the Sky will be getting her rework in this patch. I’ve already begun to experiment with her new abilities and have to say, she hits ALOT harder than she did before. Almost all of her abilities are now either focused on STAT-Boosting or dealing significant damage (Don’t worry, Silence the Sky is still there, albeit dealing less damage than before). Hopefully when Patch 1.3 comes, people will really like the changes I’ve made to her. If not, there’s always the newcomers.

Negata, Accelion & Blightanis

When Patch 1.3 comes out, these little spirits will be accessible for players, offering a wide variety of abilities to the player on how they approach certain encounters. Sadly, you may still only have three spirits alongside Veta, but don’t worry… For you can change your party members on the fly, thanks to a new script I can’t remember the name of. :<

Either way, whether you like dealing high burst damage, or supporting hard, these new spirits will always have something new to offer.

Maybe new areas…

Who knows? I might just be generous and throw in more optional content. But you have to promise that you REALLY want it. (Oh who am I kidding, I’m just gonna add it anyway).

But yeah, that’s about it for BLANK. Again, I’m really sorry for the delays and I do hope that this news doesn’t spoil your eagerness for what’s to come for BLANK. I really do appreciate your company and feedback, I really do.

That’s all folks! Have a great day and I’ll be back soon (Hopefully)!

• Sangos