It sure has been a long time since I've posted on kind of update on Senra+. Truth be told, the scope grew larger and larger until I lost interest in the game. Then it became a remake, and another... and it all went nowhere.

This month I rolled back the codebase to before a time the game started going down scope-creep valley, with the objective of tidying it up and keeping it simple. So, here it is. Senra+. (without the scope creep!)

Summary:

• Updated to GMS 2.3

• Refactored battle system, allowing for improved stability and a system to build on. (less code spaghetti too.)

• Bumped up game window to 640x360.

• Several rooms have been updated to make use of the bigger screen space.

• Quality of life improvements: skip dialogue text quicker. Save system. Outline active battler in battle.

• Mage has a new Blizzard ability

• Graphical improvements, particles, weather effects.

• Music

• Battles are far less frequent.

• Bosses have been given abilities

• "Defend" effectiveness has been buffed in battle.

Now given I have mentioned about avoiding scope creep. I did experience some desires to add additional content. First, I added a new desert area.

The desert area was cut as I felt like the game didn't have the systems to take advantage of a longer game. To solve that, I introduced an additional character development layer.

What I decided on was to remove level based skills and instead use skill points earned from battle to unlock/upgrade skills. But again, that got cut. I wasn't a fan of the idea of having players jump through menus for the sake of developing skills, and well... scope creep, right?

Closing up

In closing, I really wanted to do more with this. However, I had to keep a tight control over the direction I went in. Otherwise it'd never get finished, or just evolve into something else. (This is exactly how Vagrant Heroes came to be - which has problems of its own).

Considering there is a save system now, it is possible for me to add additional content without forcing players to start again. I guess I'll just see what the reception is like to the update and go from there.

And next...?

Maybe check in after another 8 years. :)