itch.io

Saving on the web version has always been finicky. I think I have fixed it so that saves won't get deleted from version A.2.1.0 onwards, but I can't guarantee anything. 

Cloud Save was supposed to fix the saving issue for the web, but the Cloud Save I use doesn't work with the web version for security reasons. I hope to fix this soon.

For now, I suggest using the downloaded version of the game as it does not have any of these issues (and has Cloud Save).

Yeah, this happens if you play one run, then play a run as Stan. I made a mistake with adding the new map for Stan. A fix will be uploaded in a few hours.

For now, closing and reopening the game will fix it with no penalty. Sorry about that!

Not yet, but the Cloud Save is coming soon! I hope to have it for next update, but I need to do some more testing.

Perhaps if any adjustment is to be made, maybe it could go into the next stages' development instead, e.g., somehow make the enemies difficult for Stan's natural attributes but easier on Apolonia's.

The first stage you'll be able to play after completing Glades with Apolonia and Stan, is... Apolonia and Stan working as a team, fighting in the same battles. So they'll be naturally balancing each other out.

I'm happy you enjoyed the game! I hope you'll come back as more content gets added.

I was expecting some more lore lol.

You're right, it doesn't feel finished. Keep in mind that this is an alpha test, where you're only seeing 2% - 5% of the game's main story. Final game will be 100+ hours long, so this story is just beginning. The idea is that after defeating the final boss, the story and lore will continue  being explained in the second Zone (Oasis).

I think you misunderstood that I only played with Stan.

Oh I see now, yeah Apolonia needs to spend a lot of Stat Points on Attack/Agility/Luck because she already has so much Defense.

I'm glad you like the game though! I hope you'll come back when more content gets added.

beating the final boss of glades was rather underwhelming

What do you think is missing? Is it too easy? Do you think the Final Bosses should have custom animations?

core gameplay loop got a bit stale towards the end, felt somewhat grindy

I agree, but I think some people love the grind. I will say though, Stan's endgame was balanced around having already beaten the game on Apolonia. So the benefits Apolonia would've provided through extra Boss Points would've made it feel a lot less grindy.

I never got to reach those (??? difficulty) mysterious islands, any idea how to get there?

Those will be available in a future update :)

Thanks for the feedback!

You can! Pressing the "x" key will close any menu. Check the hotkeys section in the Settings menu to see which hotkeys are available to you!

The last update was about 20 hours ago, so I don't think that one was because of an update.  Some people never have issues with the saving on the web version. Some people are constantly having issues with the saving on the web version. I don't think this is an issue I can reliably fix until Cloud Saving is the main saving method. The only thing I can suggest is downloading the game, as that won't have any save issues.

You can still go full Attack on Stan, but it is much harder (and risky). Balancing Health, Attack, and Defense is key now. Because the Stamina mechanic has been removed, being tanky enough to live for 10 to 15 turns is optimal for winning the most battles.

That's a great idea! There are archetypes I had in mind when designing the optimal playstyles for the characters, but which archetype I chose isn't clear. But uh... unfortunately there are only two characters right now lol. I will add this though, thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks for mentioning this! This does seem to be a widespread issue, which is different from the random deletions that happen on the web version. I think this happened because I added a new difficulty mode.  I'm sorry about this! It is not intentional for players to lose progress. I will try to add cloud saving as soon as possible so that this doesn't happen again.

I have trouble identifying when to progress into the next zone and the punishment for doing so too early, or having a build around luck where random loss is part of the build, is very harsh.

The game is meant to allow you to meaningfully impose your own playstyle on to the characters, but unfortunately, not to the regard that you might be hoping for. 

Your experience has been heavily negatively impacted by your stat allocation. The first Character is all about having great defensive stats as she has lots of armor. As a tradeoff, she doesn't get much luck or agility. You can see how many stats you get per stat point in the Extra Info section of the Stat Allocation menu. Characters are partially bound by their inherent weaknesses and strengths, making your playstyle hard to pull off on the first Character.

Additionally, the problem with your allocation is that Agility and Luck are only as powerful as your Attack Stat. Agility gives Combos, increases Crit damage, and Luck increases the chance for those Crits. This synergy where Agility and Luck and Attack all benefit each other means you can't skip out on Attack.

With just a dozen or so allowed fights (unless slightly modified by equipment), every loss in a playthrough hurts very much, especially when the level-up curve is so extreme (which I generally approve of!).

You get almost 50 Encounters by the end of the game because defeating a boss gives back Encounter Points. To get to that point though, you need to have a somewhat appropriate Allocation spread.

For the equipment, some random-stat dynamic equipment may help lessen that issue (Diablo-Style)?

In a way, this already exists. You are meant to have the ability to get all non-accessory equipment slots unlocked before the first boss. And each equipment type specializes in a different stat. Your weapon gives Attack, your armor gives health, your shield gives Defense, your helmet gives Luck, and your boots give Agility. This way, you'll always have a little bit of everything.

I can only really see your Allocation spread working on 2 out of the 8 planned characters. And I want to keep it this way. You are meant to be able to strategize to bring out the strengths of your characters, while also bringing into consideration what your power fantasy is. The problem is that you can only do that to an extent. Making it so that you could do whatever you wanted Allocation wise removes a core part of the strategy of this game.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm sorry that your playstyle doesn't work well on the first character. But because many players like the game for very same qualities that make you dislike the game, I'm afraid I won't be changing this mechanic.

Not yet, but those areas do not contribute to your total Defeated Minion count. You're missing those Minions from currently accessible areas. Next update will have this:

This will very easily let you see which enemies you have not yet defeated.

The game should save automatically multiple times per run. If you try doing one encounter and then refresh the page, does the game save?

Are you on the web? If you don't allow your browser to save data or if you clear your cookies/browser history your save could get deleted. Unfortunately, that problem is inherent to web versions and is not something I can fix.

I'm glad you've been liking it! 

I will keep it on as many platforms as possible, so long as it makes sense. Right now I see no reason to stop, so itch will continue to get all of the updates.

If you click again, the black screen goes away. It's a weird issue, I think I know the solution and I'll see if it works on the next update.

Have you made progress on both characters? Both characters benefit each other, and that should help you get over the part where getting more than 5k gold is difficult. Then you'll be into the end game where you're making 20k - 40k per run.

there's a LOT of information here, and the vast majority of it is displayed with text.

the art style is super inconsistent.

I agree with both of these. The solution isn't simple though. I would like to display information with icons that convey the same message, but in a less "nerdy" format. There would of course be a setting for those looking for all the numbers, but at least initially, a iconographic style could help ease players into the game. The problem is that I don't have an artist. I am one person whose skillset is mostly limited to programming.

And yes, the art is mostly from asset packs. If you click on the Info button on the Main Menu, you'll be able to see where I got everything from. I agree it could be better with a more consistent art style. But I am a single indie developer with no funding/resources. Maybe in the future I can implement these changes, but not right now.

I'd like to see some sort of cloud save system so I can switch between devices.

Cloud saving will happen! I want every platform to support this feature.

It's more satisfying to click the thing and have number go up

What do you propose I change it to? You get hundreds of stat points, and clicking for each one would take forever. I could implement something like "hold to allocate quickly", but still imagine you want to allocate 100 stat points to each of the 5 stats equally. It would take forever compared to the current system.

Still, I agree it can be confusing initially. I might add an animation or something of the sort that demonstrates how it works.

menus need juice! I want things to jiggle when I click them 😂 in Unity that sort of thing is really easy

I will experiment with this! I do need to add these little things that make a huge difference. As I am a programmer, UI things haven't been easy for me to develop. Take a look at what the game looked like 3 or so months ago:

It's almost comical... While it is a lot better now, I'll keep on working to improve it!

Thanks for your feedback! It doesn't matter to me if you've never played this type of game, I want you to find this game fun!

It is likely possible. Unfortunately I don't entirely know yet. But I would think that once I implement cloud saving, you should be able to save to the cloud, and then continue on Steam with no problems.

This does require for you to wait for cloud save though... I'll try to get that out as soon as possible!

The idea of having equipment with opportunity costs that makes you stronger in some ways and weaker in others provides an avenue for strategical decisions in an otherwise simple game. This game takes the IRPG concept and adds a layer of skill expression that people like myself enjoy.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the game! But this is a core mechanic of the game that I don't think I can feasibly change.

There are 6 PNGs that were created using AI and then edited by me. They will all be removed and replaced by real commissioned art. I hope you'll come back and give the game a try once I remove all of the AI art from the game!

If you go fullscreen, you have to click the screen once and the game will show as normal. This doesn't affect anything but it can be annoying. I will see if I can fix it for future updates.

When you swap to a loadout that would put your EP at 0 or below while on the Overworld, a warning shows up telling you to swap loadouts . If you then swap loadouts to something with more than 0 EP, that warning disappears.

If swap to a loadout that would put your EP at 0 or below while a menu is open, your Remaining EP will flash and say you have 0 EP. If you try to close the menu at this point, it will show you the warning. If you swap before trying to close the menu, everything will play as normal.

In every use case, the game is designed to make sure you don't accidentally end your run by swapping to the wrong loadout. Of course, there could be a bug, but I haven't heard of any problems with this feature until now. Let me know if you run into something like that again, and you think it's a bug. I'll be sure to fix it!

The continuing feature will be implemented in the future! There will be more Zones to explore in addition to the Glades, and this is where you'll be able to use everything you've gained.

It would also be cool if the base for the log graph itself increased each bar so that higher bars are increasingly unresponsive

It's an interesting idea, but I'm afraid very few people would use it. I'm glad you like what the game currently has though!

I like the routing aspect of the game, and I hope that remains a focus in future versions.

It will! In fact, I'd like to make it more complex. The reason that it is fairly simple in this first Zone is because I didn't want to overwhelm the player with too many choices. But once they understand how things work, as they will in future Zones, I can adopt a more exploratory "open world adventure" approach to map design.

It's a little weird that you can keep playing if you switch to an equipment set with more encounters after using the last one fast enough, but will die if you take too long clicking.

I'm not sure what the quoted text means. Where would you die if you take too long to click? If you end an encounter and have no EP remaining, the run should end with no option to swap loadouts. I think I am misunderstanding something. 

Although I don't understand that, I understand the solution, and I think that is a cool idea! I will add it.

I'm not sure I like the multiple health bars.

This has been requested by multiple people, and so I will be adding a setting for variations on the health bar including making it linear and showing the exact numerical health of the enemy.

Have you considered using abbreviations for large numbers

I assume you're not on the latest version ;) That feature has been in the game since the A.1.0 update. Even getting to 5 figures could make the formatting weird in the Stats Allocation menu.

having the character skill screen and character select default to the character last played

This will be available in the next update! Many people have also requested this feature.

I hope the feedback is helpful, feel free to ignore if you disagree, you are clearly better at this than me.

It is helpful, thank you! I don't care how crazy or unqualified your ideas might be. I am designing this game for you, and all ideas are good as they help me understand what I should be working on. I will push back on those ideas if I don't think they fit well, but if enough people in the community demand it, I will create it.

Not yet, but that feature is at the top of my todo list!

I see, but I'm not sure what the solution is. To get to the EXP Progress screen, you have to click on the "Save & Continue" button. With this saving, it is implied that you won't lose progress if you pass that point.

A through explaination for how resetting works is given in the Settings Menu. There isn't room to do the same here. 

If I were to replace the reset icon with text like "Reset Run" or "Try Again", it would lead to the same confusion in your conclusion. A "Play" button would be out of place. What do you propose I show instead of the reset icon?

I am working on making loadouts much less tedious to use! I think in the first iteration of this I'll have two settings. Copy/pasting entire loadouts and equipping a certain equipment to all loadouts. I'm already struggling to find the space to do this, but I will add more customizability in the future if needed!

I am working on adding  a setting that drastically speeds up animations!

I do wonder what your concern is with conversations is though. There is a setting that lets dialogue instantly appear, as well as the fact you can click to instantly finish a select dialogue. Additionally, there is a button to entirely skip the dialogue. What would you like to see added to this to make things flow smoother?

I am working on making it remember your last Augmented Character and last Story played! Also, Adambob is right. There is a reset button there as well as in the Settings menu though -> Other -> Reset Run.

 Thanks for the feedback!

There is currently a difficultly spike while playing Stan at around level 600, but other than that the game should be smooth sailing.

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/WtKweNpdYp! There's a strategy channel you can use to get help with progressing.

I'm glad you're enjoying the game!

As far as I know, you can't download the save off of the browser version. Eventually, I'd like to have Cloud Save so you can play on any device and carry over your progress. Sorry about that!

Thanks for playing!

All of the AI art will be gone before the game is published and out of the playtesting phase, I promise. And the real art I commission an artist to make will be better than the AI art, but it will take time.

Thanks! :D

That's a great idea! I think I will make zooming out a setting.

I also like the idea of adding effects to the borders, and that should be easier to do. I'll see if I can add that in the next update.

Have you been playing both characters? Playing one character benefits the other one, making it much easier to progress. If you swap between the characters often, you should be able to afford more than just one equipment per run.

The EP in the top right is shown after you unlock Achievements. It stands for "Encounter Points" and represents how many Encounter Points you've used during that run. This, along with the timer, help you know how close you are to completing an Achievement. Your Remaining Encounters can be seen with the red bar in the top left.

I'm really happy you like the game! It's amazing knowing that my hard work is paying off.

I'm glad you like it! The reason I'm not on all the platforms is because I am very new to the scene. I am most certainly not a millionaire haha, I'm just a kid fresh out of college. Everything here has only existed for 5 days or so. I applied to be a developer on Steam on 7/11 and this is what the page says right now.

Your tax and identity information is pending verification from the third party service. This process may take 2-7 days and you may be asked to provide additional documentation. Please keep an eye out for an e-mail requesting additional documents.

So it will be there soon, although I'm not sure if I want to make it a paid game. I had always thought this was going to be a free game, at least for the first couple of stories/zones. I would like for there to be paid content through DLC/extra stories eventually though.

The game already has a wonderful community over on the Discord! It is awesome having so much help when it comes to ideas for features, bug fixing, or just general strategy discussion.

I am working on replacing it! In the About Page inside the game, you can see my stance on this as well. 

 > There will not be any AI art in the final release of the game.

 > This is a free game with no ads, and was initially made for educational purposes.

I am currently looking for a real artist to redo all of the AI art that is in the game. All of the AI art will eventually be gone, I promise. I dislike the idea of artists not getting compensated for their work as much as you do. 

However, I do want to retain the quality, and that is why it's not a quick fix.