welcome back to the shadowfell devlog.
yep, we're still doing these!
(no, this isn't an april fools joke either!!)
it's been a VERY long time since an actual damn progress update!!!!
this is partly because i wanted to switch to a video-devlog format, but about halfway through making the first one i gave up.
i feel like text-devlogs are easier to work into my workflow than giant scripted video-devlogs, it just seems like a waste of time and effort that i could be using to work on the game.
speaking of:
happy anniversary!
a year in development! wooh, that flew by quick...
you'd think we'd be almost done the game by now, but we practically haven't started yet!!! (there's still only like 6 rooms in the entire game)
you might be wondering why development's taking so long. let me go into VERY SPECIFIC detail!
PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING IS OVERHAULED
basically, a lot of the game's code was kinda fucked.
the c menu and battle systems were completely broken and bugged
the cutscene system was limited and unintuitive
the overworld system WORKED... at a glance, but really the code for that was kinda fucked too.
tl:dr a lot of the game was either severely limited or straight-up broken, so i took on the task of rewriting basically the whole game's code.
(my favourite dumb bit of temp code i've written)
it's pretty difficult to rewrite an entire game, especially when i'm not completely sure what i'm doing, BUT i've been slowly and surely getting through it.
the overworld works pretty great now and cutscenes have been completely overhauled
new features include:
character actors (basically, easier movement animations and character sprites actually talk along with the portraits)
pauses in dialogue
dialogue interruption mid-sentence
support for sequences (which makes animating complicated things a whole lot easier)
tiny emote bubbles
screenshake
the spacing in sans' text is fixed
and most importantly, multiple actions can happen at the same time, which is something that the previous cutscene system didn't allow due to the way it was coded. this one is just a lot better!!
i also wasn't exactly happy with the way the game was looking, SOOO i started on a complete visual overhaul for the game. you might have noticed some screenshots on the game page look a bit different!
the remaining screenshots are subject to change very soon. visual overhaul MEANS visual overhaul!!
we also completely rewrote what little script we already had. as a side-effect of that rewrite, we now have a new character:
INTRODUCING: TOQUELLE!!!
so, you know how in a lot of mario rpg games there's always a little shit fairy-type character that sort of follows you around everywhere?
stuffwell in partners in time, tippi in super paper mario, starlow in bowser's inside story...
that's basically what toquelle is!!
papyrus' sentient hat, with a bad case of amnesia.
there are two main reasons we decided a tutorial-fairy character would be a good fit for this game!!
1) that it'd be fun to have another more logical main character for paps and sans to banter with. the skelebros are fun characters, but i feel like they're at their funniest when there's a sort of neutral third-party for their jokes to bounce off of.
2) that it's a good way to subtly break the fourth wall, but not in a way that completely takes character away. instead of having a big emotionless prompt onscreen that says "press z to jump", just have the tutorial fairy say that stuff and have the characters in-game react accordingly. it's good material for jokes too, considering we're going with possibly the furthest thing from the "silent protagonist".
NEW... THUMBNAIL?!
that's right!! you might have noticed it by now but we now have an ACTUAL thumbnail and piece of promotional art for the game!!! WOWIE!!!
this was made by the wonderfully talented XERON!!! thank you!
this thumbnail will be subject to change slightly later on, mainly adding more characters and stuff to fill out the page.
NEW MUSIC
the battle theme! this was a WHILE in the making, but i finally got it done!! huge thanks to shiiv for helping with music writing here.
to go with the battle theme, here's the battle victory theme! heavily based on "PAPYRUS' COOL SONG" from the undertale kickstarter!
here's an update/replacement of the song "growing pains". i just felt the megalo motif worked a little better for this cutscene.
the title theme!! heavily inspired by the bowser's inside story title theme, if that isn't obvious lol
toquelle's theme! this is using a motif that was previously used for a small area, but i think it fits better as a character theme.
i figured i should also make a small announcement. we have a new soundcloud playlist up!!
this playlist is for specifically tracks that are going unused in the ost at the moment. that means early versions of songs that are already in the ost, but more excitingly it means early wip versions of songs that haven't been finished yet!!!
i have two of these uploaded at the moment:
"medium low", which was gonna be used for an early hotland-inspired area (but is probably going to be repurposed for a volcano-type area)
aaaand "to the summit of mt ceramic", which is a lot more fleshed out. this is like an "our maiden voyage" part 2!!!!
FEATURED ASKS
not long ago with the opening of our tumblr page, we also opened up asks for our characters.
here's some of my favorites!
feel free to send in characters asks for next time! you can send them in either in the comments here or on the shadowfell tumblr.
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
speaking of.... asking things???
(i couldn't think of a better segue)
a couple of people have asked:
WHEN THE DAMN GAME'S COMING OUT?!
well, y'see!!! i have no clue!!
i'd still consider the game to be in pre-alpha, there's barely anything tangible apart from some systems in the game right now.
i DO have somewhat of a plan for the next couple months though!! (which i quickly threw together in 5 minutes)
i managed to get everything i wanted to do for march done, except for fully spriting the first few rooms. they're still a little scuffed, but that's okay!
in april i'm going to be attempting to get the first 5 minutes or so of dark world gameplay working. we'll see!!
i have a loose plan for how i'll handle the game release:
tech demo --> part 1 --> part 2
the tech demo i'd estimate to release at the end of the year. the rest i have no idea!!! it's hard work making a game from scratch, but i hope you'll all be patient enough to wait and see what i'm cooking up!
wait, don't click off just yet!!
i wanted to announce that i now have a PATREON!!
this wasn't really made for funding the fangame per-se, but it has a bit of crossover.
on this patreon i will be releasing:
the project files (FLPs) of all upcoming song releases, INCLUDING (but not limited to) the shadowfell soundtrack
high quality versions of all upcoming song releases (in .flac format)
art and animation project files, occasionally (.clip files for still art, .aseprite and .blend files for animation)
i've already released the flps for a couple of shadowfell songs on there, specifically "KITCHEN NIGHTMARE !!!" and "Toquelle". more will be coming, i got a whole list of 'em!!!
i would just release all this stuff for free, but working on a fangame full-time doesn't really pay the bills!!
if any of you would be so kind as to donate, it'd be greatly appreciated!
that's all for this month!! check back sometime later for more news.
join the discord for some extra teasers and wip content in between these devlogs!!
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