Alpha Demo no longer available for download + Game update
A small update to let everyone know that the Alpha Demo is no longer available for download. It has served it’s purpose: to gather feedback and technical issues from players. Now, the game is progressing so well, that i don’t feel like the Alpha Demo is still a good representation for the game anymore. Everyone’s feedback has been so helpful and I’m super stoked to show the results of implementing it in the game in the next “Story demo” (yup, the word Alpha is gone!).
I have implemented a lot of fixes and i’m finally implementing things I had in my mind for a long time such as interactive states, an updated Teachings system, a fast travel system… I finished all items and they are all working in the action battle system as intended, and now i am also building all the skills, for both Livia and enemies.
Check out the Teachings System here:
The last thing I am further improving is fps and stability. Everyone who works with both MV3D and Chronoengine in RPG Maker MV knows this is an issue. So far I have made good improvements thanks to my ancient Windows laptop that i use for testing. Areas that had only 10 fps before will now hover around 30 fps, with an occasional dip to 20 fps. Better, but not good enough. The base issue is: the bigger the map and the more events, the more lag.
I’ve been thinking on ways to improve this without harming the gameplay, or ideally find a way that improves both. While my girlfriend was playing The Cult Of The Lamb, i had an idea on how this could be done: the dungeons, forests and fields (basically any place that has enemies to fight) could be built up in rooms, like many roguelites such as Hades or Cult Of The Lamb do. This will make each map small and compact and gives an opportunity to make the game more unique and drastically improve FPS again.
I’m working now on introducing this new set-up to the game and it will be present in the “Story Demo” I will release next. This demo will be much closer to what the final product will be and will also be used to support the Kickstarter campaign. These are my main goals for the next months!
Want to stay up to date about the development? Are you an indie game developer yourself or have an interest in it? Join our little community on Discord!
Alpha Demo V1.2 now available + 2022-2023 Roadmap
A new demo is now available to play!
Hello everyone! It’s been a little while since i shared an update about Eniko, but sometimes you just have to sit down and get some work done :) After receiving a lot of valuable feedback from players, I concentrated on two things the last couple weeks: improve performance and fix bugs. I think the new version has vast improvements for both and as such improves playability a lot! The list of improvements is vast, please visit the official blog to see the full list: https://eniko-game.com/alpha-demo-v1-2-now-available-2022-2023-roadmap/ - in short: expect a lot of bug fixes, dialogue fixes, big improvements to performance, and new functions like skills tied to your weapon.
The new Alpha Demo V1.2 is the first version that is stable and polished enough that i’m confident to share it with press, gaming websites, let’s players and streamers. So in the next weeks, that is where I will focus my attention on.
With all this bugs fixed, I am already looking forward to version 1.3 which will simply be called Demo, not Alpha Demo. For version 1.3 I will focus on having ALL technical parts + database 100% done (well, when is something ever 100% done in indie game development? :) ), which will be a huge step in the development of Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace.
Roadmap for 2022 and 2023
So all these progress made me look towards the future and I can share with your all a roadmap for Eniko for this year and next year. I will make an official post with nice graphics later on, but these are the plans for the next 15ish months:
November 2022: Demo V1.3 release – Further increased performance and stability – Implementation of new Teachings-system – All skills implemented and working correctly – All states implemented and working correctly – More custom graphics – Fixes for Hookshot and Pick-up & Throw graphical glitches – And much more
January 2023: Extended Story Demo release (V1.4) – Further increased performance and stability – A LOT more story content and new areas to explore (Crypt Of Aidalina and Apostate Ceremony)
February 2023: Kickstarter Campaign – A crowdfunding campaign that will get Eniko to the next level – These funds will fully go towards custom music, custom graphics and getting the game released on more platforms (Switch, Stadia, PS4? Mobile?)
Q4 2023: Full game release – Hype! :)
I’m looking forward to see how the game will evolve in the next months, if the gaming press, let’s players and streamers will pick it up or not and how you, the players will interact with it!
I will be back soon with new content, in the meanwhile please enjoy Alpha Demo 1.2!
Alpha Demo development update & personal life update
Hey guys & girls, it has been silent for a little while from my side but that doesn’t mean i’m not working hard on the game ;)
I’m currently on a trip in Berlin with my girlfriend. The city is a great place to find new inspiration and exciting stories. Taking a little break from wandering the city, i thought it’s the perfect moment for a little write-up: after releasing the alpha demo i got positive reactions and great feedback, which I’m very excited about! The reactions were motivating and the constructive feedback very valuable!
I’m implementing these improvements, fixes and balance changes now. I also added a bunch of new things to this demo! (Find the full list below!) But most importantly, I think i’ve almost fully fixed the main issue with the Alpha demo: the lag spikes. The person who helps me coding gave some great feedback (Thanks Minai!) and I also found multiple ways to increase FPS and decrease lag spikes a lot! It should be a very noticeable improvement on almost every computer!
Also, I’ve been testing the demo on tv as you can see (on the picture) and compatibility with Steam Deck: the games runs very smooth. There’s only a small issue with one menu. So I can confidently say the game will work for Steam Deck!
I’ve been silent for a bit because of day-to-day stuff in my life. First the company I work for during daytime moved places, then I injured my foot which obliged me to take some rest, but just then my girlfriend and I had the chance to buy the perfect home for us.
It’s a very exciting time, but in Belgium it takes a lot of time and paperwork to make everything official. Being barely able to walk didn’t help either to visit banks, real estate agents and notaries ^^’
Aaaanyway, most of that stuff has been taken care of and my foot is pretty much healed so i can make time again to not only work on Eniko but also post updates and share new stuff on social media!
PS, here’s a list of improvements I have included for Alpha Demo V1.2 so far, as you can see it’s pretty extensive:
Improvements
More dialogue fixes
More passing error fixes
Improved chests animations & sound effects
Improved Shrines animations & sound effects
Removed all mentions of levels as classic character levelling is not used in the game
You can now skip the intro credits
Removed unnecessary help and guiding dialogues to provide a faster and smoother experience (“Show don’t tell”)
Licences are no longer equipped in a separate menu but are now an extra equipment slot
Unified the colours for HP, EP, Increases stat, Decreased stat etc. Andal has his own face graphic in the HUD during the introduction battle
Performance
Removed unnecessary console log files that negatively impacted performance
Implemented YEP Event Hitbox Resize to drastically reduce the amount of events on big maps, increasing performance significantly
Splitted the biggest maps in half, increasing performance significantly
Removed the autosave feature as it caused too much lag
Removed unused plugins
Bug Fixes
Fixed issues with the Battle BGM not playing and stopping properly at the right moments Fixed a bug where only the first attack in a combo has a SE
Fixed a “Maximum call stack” issue when leaving Belrynna Main Street
Fixed a bug in Bartel’s sidequest that causes the game to be stuck in a loop
Balancing
The skill you have equipped is now directly tied to the weapon you use, each weapon has one skill
Bows have a durability statistic and will break after a certain number of uses (you can craft new bows and arrows yourself)
All items will now be placed in the correct item sub categories in the Supplies menu
Rebalanced some loot drops
Added a couple recipe drops
Additions
Extended the total amount of Armors to 24
Armors, Helmets and Shields can now also be upgraded (up to level 4)
All craftable items added to the database
All recipes for craftable items added to the database
Shops and merchants now have correct inventories, some have limited amount of items
You can now buy recipes from the Alchemist shop
All Procurement upgrades added to the database
Licences menu in main menu replaced with Crafting menu
Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace Alpha Demo V1.1 now available!
Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace Alpha Demo V1.1 is now available on Steam! Thanks for all the players who shared their feedback and bug reports. Below is a full rundown of the changes for V1.1. Meanwhile I'm already working on an even bigger update for V1.2. Keep you posted!
Improvements
Removed various spelling errors
Fixed multiple clipping and passing errors
Fixed multiple events that could be jumped through
No more jumping on people’s heads in Doriosz Crypt!
Narrowed the boundaries of the introduction battle
Shrunk some of the largest maps where possible to further increase FPS on these maps
Changed upgraded weapons and armor names
Extended the total amount of Swords to 41, each with a unique skill
Removed access to the current Teachings system – this will be replaced by a better fitting and more stable system in the next versions
Bug Fixes
Fixed a bug that stopped treasure pop-ups from showing
Fixed a bug where you could move around during a part of the introduction credits (a skip-function will be added soon too)
Fixed a bug that stopped the gamepad controls image showing during configuration
Game will no longer close/soft lock when missing file errors pop-up
Balancing
Changed various smithing-related items names into more recognisable and logical names (Smithing Ingots)
Replaced old Smithing item drops with the new Smithing Ingots
Changed smithing costs for existing weapons and added smithing costs for all other weapons
Additions
Weapons can be upgraded 10 levels instead of just 4.
Added a unique Skill to each weapon – This system will be further developed in the next versions
Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace Alpha Demo now available on Steam for download!
Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace Alpha Demo is Officially LIVE on Steam!
The demo is NOW live to play! Click the button below and click the Green “Download” Button on Steam to get the Demo! 🐺
👉 WISHLIST the full game to stay up to date about the future of Eniko!
What is your opinion on the Alpha Demo? I’d love to hear your opinion!
Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace Demo Release Date revealed: May 26th at 18:00 GMT!
I am happy to announce that a date for the release of the demo on Steam has been decided: On may 26th at 18:00 GMT, the demo will be available for download! One week later, on june 2nd, the demo will also be available on other platforms such as Itch.io and other supported platforms.
What began as a personal lockdown-project has grown into a indie game project that I'm working on with heart and soul and the help of very talented, coders, musicians and artists. Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace is a game i started building for myself, but it could never have become the indie game it is now without the help, support and feedback from you: the player.
Now it is time for the game to take the next step and become a publicly available and playable product. I'm looking forward to your experiences and feedback! I hope I can provide to you a slice of that unique 90's rpg gaming experience mixed with fresh elements and a gripping world and story.
In this demo version, the emphasis lies on exploring Belrynna and the Woodlands Of Yarle. You can find hidden areas and piece together the world's lore while completing sidequests. Complete three (major or minor) sidequests and you'll be allowed to fight the Behemoth in the Arena, the final boss in this demo!
Can't wait to watch you enjoy it! Most of all, I can't wait to hear your impressions of the story, lore, dialogues and battle system!
Devlog: What 2022 has in store for Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace
First and foremost I would like to wish everyone a happy new year! We are still in troubling times, but I firmly believe the coming year will bring us hope, new memories and hopefully lots of events!
In 2020 I decided to take up my old hobby of game making (well, tinkering with game making) when the first lockdown happened because I had a good story and mechanics idea in my head. And a lot of time on my hands! In 2021 I was at a point where I liked where the project was heading to and started to think that Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace could become more than just another experiment. I decided to take a dive into the deep end and show the game to the internet and see if there might be an audience for it. The feedback was very positive and I’m excited to see people are starting to follow the game on social media and such. By the end of 2021, Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace had 1000+ followers on Steam, 700+ followers on Twitter, 30 betatesters on Discord and in just a couple weeks time, over a hundred Wishlists on Steam!
It is now clear to me that this passion project might have a chance to become a full-fledged game. In 2022, I have these goals in mind for Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace and myself as a game developer:
Release a public demo
In november 2021 I have released the beta demo that is being tested by some people. Since then, I have been working on bugs, performance issues and gameplay adjustments for a public demo. Even more recently in December I have launched the Steam page through which the demo will be shared. This will be the first goal for 2022 and should be available for download by the end of January. Soon after I will also make the demo available on Itch.io. An important milestone! During betatesting it has become clear that there are some issues with the Mac release, but I’ve been looking for solutions and am happy that these solutions exist. I’ll do my best to have this implemented for the first public demo version.
Player feedback, Q&A’s, Behind the scenes and Tutorials
Once the demo is available for everyone to enjoy, I hope that Eniko: Ghosts Of Grace becomes more of a community and a dialogue. I want to know, what was fun playing, what confused you, what was unclear or dull. That is the best way to improve the overall quality of the game. I also want to have some Q&A sessions regarding any questions you might have about the game itself, but also game design, pixel art, inspiration…
While all content I share on social media now are screenshots, gameplay videos and music, I want to extend that with behind the scenes stuff, tutorials and Q&A sessions like mentioned earlier. I might also give YouTube (development videos en tutorials) and Twitch a go to see if I feel comfortable using these platform in a more personal way.
Launch a Kickstarter campaign
If all goes well, I can extend and improve the first public demo based on player feedback and implement more of the story. Once I come to a point where I’m happy with the gameplay, stability and story writing, I want to take the next step for my indie game by launching a Kickstarter campaign. A Kickstarter campaign is both a great way to gather a bigger following and receive more financial support. Right now I get the help of an amazing composer, coder and artist. If I manage to launch a successful Kickstarter, I will be able to hire these talents to make additional contents and improvements for the game, such as:
An extended soundtrack
Steam Achievements
Fishing minigame
Allied characters battle AI
Port for Nintendo Switch
Artbook/Walkthrough Guide
And much more…
Quit my job, found Halcyan Studio and become a fulltime developer
If all of the above steps work out, my lifelong dream would finally become tangible: to found my own indie game studio and become a full indie game developer. Right now I works as a web developer for a marketing agency. Which I combine with a side job of web development but aimed at e-commerce. I enjoy my job to some degree, but like many I don’t want to be stuck in a 9-to-5 grind the rest of my life. I want to create and be creative, I want to learn how to build and publish a successful project.
I already gained some experience on how to found and run a small company through my side job, which I founded before Covid started. If the first three milestones: public demo, build a community and launch a successful Kickstarter, I feel that it is both a safe-ish and wise choice to take that leap into fulltime self employment as an indie game developer!
