Greetings.

Though the devlog is out a bit later than usual, It’s been an entire month again, and we’ve made quite a lot of progress this time.

Please keep in mind when viewing this devlog, however, that the game is still pretty early in its development right now and as such, is filled with placeholders.
Honestly, at this point in time, the game doesn’t look very good.
But we’re working on changing that, and have recently recruited a new spriter to our team, so be sure to expect some huge improvements next month!

Now then, let’s get riiiiiiight into the news.

This month has probably been the most productive month so far since the game got a reboot 3 months ago.
Two major mechanics have been finished, we’ve made great progress with the game’s script, made the game up until the moment where Samuel gets summoned into Generica…
Of course, like I said, placeholders are still everywhere.
But hey, it’s there.
So, let’s get into it.

Dual Combat
The dual combat mechanic I told you all about quite some time ago is finished. Over the course of the game, like I said earlier, you’ll meet many characters, some of which will join your party.
One of these guys grows to be Samuel’s main companion.
Everyone give a great applause for…
Lucas, the aspiring hero!

Original concept and design by Jelst

Digital art by Snowie

Lucas will play a huge role in the games story, so be sure to remember this weird fella.

Anyway, back on track.

Lucas has been completely coded in as a party member.
His sprites are still placeholder, but he works.
Party members will follow the player around through the dungeon and, depending on who it is, will attack enemies in their own way.
In Lucas’ case, when an enemy gets close, he will go after them and attack them with their sword.

Like, I said, placeholders, and it’s still a bit janky.
But it nonetheless still works, and will definitely improve as the game progresses.
If Lucas isn’t fast enough to attack the enemy first, he’ll get damage himself.
When your party member’s hp reaches 0, they will die, and depending on who it is, it results in a game over.

“But Chris, Wouldn’t that make it extremely annoying when your party member constantly runs towards enemies by itself and then dying?”

Well worry not, dear follower.
When a party member’s hp reaches 0, a quick time event kind of thing starts. You have a few seconds to rapidly press Z and try to recover some health. If you do it fast enough, your party member is saved from death and you can just continue playing.
This has also been completely coded in already.

That about covers it for the Dual combat.
Now, for the second main mechanic that has been finished…

Magic Burst

Like I’ve said before, magic will be a pretty important mechanic in Samuel’s Holy Quest.
However, Samuel doesn’t start off with the ability to perform spells, as he is just a regular human like all of us.
What Sam does have is a great potential for magic.
But before he learns to control the raw, magic power inside him and bundle it into useful spells, another mechanic comes into play.

When Samuel kills an enemy, his “percentage” goes up a bit.
This meter represents how much strain Samuel can take before his raw magical power bursts out.
When the percentage is 100%, Samuel begins floating and can no longer interact with things, as he will now be unconscious.
When X is pressed while in this state, an explosion of extremely powerful magic burst out, dealing damage to all enemies in the room.
This makes killing enemies more worthwile and makes for more variation in gameplay.
The percentage meter can also go up when Samuel is at low hp, though this hasn’t been coded in yet.
The rest of the mechanic has.

Now that discussing these mechanics has been finished and I’ve introduced Lucas, time to get into more minor stuff and new information regarding the game and its release.

• A ton of bug fixing was done, like always.

• I’ve begun putting my own money into the project.
  Basically, I’ll be comissioning people to make assets for the game.
  The main level theme has already been finished by Condorius, so be sure to check it out once you’ve finished reading this. It will give you an idea of the type of soundtrack the game will have.

• Like i said earlier, the game has been finished up until Samuels summoning, which is about the first 10 minutes of gameplay. We’re working hard on improving what we’ve got so far and replacing placeholders!

• I’ve started getting into making music. No idea if this will result in anything good, but maybe it will. Only time (and a lot of practise) will tell

• The overworld menu has been redone. It now shows what spells Samuel has (once you actually learn them), your current party members, and the kind of equipment you have. Samuel will get upgraded armor and weapons throughout the game, though their effects won’t be as great as they were in the old build.

• I’m making a ton of progress with scripting the game, which is good. There’s a good chance the entirety of chapter one will be completely scripted in a month or two. A ton of things later in the game have already been written out as well.

• Price reveal + chapters :

Samuels Holy Quest will be released in 3 parts/chapters.
The first chapter will be the entire 5th floor of the Dungeon.
The second chapter will probably be floor 6 and 7 and will be the longest chater.
Then, the third chapter is the one to finish up the story with the 8th floor.

Chapter One of Samuels Holy Quest will be between 1 - 2 hours of gameplay. As it is the first chapter, you can pay however much you want, even if you pay nothing. This allows you to get the game for free but still pay money for it if you wish to actively support development. All money made with chapter 1 and ad revenue will be put directly into the game itself. That way, the money will come right back to you!

The entire game will probably be around 6 hours long, though this may change.
On another note, your safe file will be kept between builds. So once chapter two of SHQ comes out, you will be able to play right from where you left off in the first chapter and won’t lose your progress.

Though it’s still early development, we’re working very hard to make this a reality.

See you all next month!

• Chris Zflenki