Episode 2, Update #9

Last week, I've made some improvements to the "trainer select" screen which now shows a bit more useful information. I don't have all the information in there yet, as it's still a work-in-progress and depends on the various stats the fighting game will provide.

Work has started on the fighting system. I have a basic version ready, which as of now is a turn based one. I feel this is the best approach (for a ren'py game) as I'm not a fan of quick-time events and prefer people being able to take their time instead. For those that are absolutely not interested in any of this whatsoever, you'll be able to likely skip it, for reduced rewards.

I hope to have a working version by the end of next week (or the week after) which I will present as a standalone app to those that have expressed an interest in early testing. I will gather the feedback from those awesome people and make changes... or if it's really shit, probably delete it all together which will in turn save me time, that is not wasted on making it all look awesome.

I want people to feel involved in how they craft their MC and have started implementing something that I call "The Combo Builder". As of now, this is an app that is available on your phone once you reach a certain point in the game.

Once activated, it will allow you to string your own combos together from moves that you use in the fights and make it a bit more unique according to your chosen fight style and whatever moves you enjoy seeing. At first, you obviously have a limited amount available to you, as you need to spend time with your trainer and learn new moves, but as the game progresses, you'll unlock more. I'm considering having these moves attached to persistent unlocks. That way once unlocked, they will be forever available to you and if you want to start another playthrough, you can take a different path with a different style and have your MC already be experienced in some.

I'm still working out the possibility of being able to train with multiple trainers (as suggested by Markus K.) and think I can make that happen. However, doing so will make you more of a Jack-of-all-trades and master of none, and you'll likely end up slightly weaker that way, depending on how often you switch in the long run.

It's looking rough right now as I'm trying to prove out the concept first, so apologies for that!

Here's an image of the first iteration of the combo builder:

https://i.ibb.co/YjXscZp/image.png

When you are at your starting level, you'll only be able to string together 3 moves. As you progress and get more experience, you'll eventually unlock a 4 string combo all the way up to a 5 string combo.

Anyway, I guess that's it for this week.

Have a good one!