The Enhanced Edition is completely free for anyone who already owns Knight Bewitched. The price of the game itself will remain at $4.99. If you'd like to support the Enhanced Edition after its launch, you can check out the Player's Guide and Soundtrack DLC!
Will all the old content be returning?
Yes. Every optional boss, as well as everything added in content updates, such as The Depths, will remain in the Enhanced Edition.
Will the old version still be available?
Yes. When you launch Knight Bewitched from Steam, you'll be presented the option to either launch the Enhanced Edition or the "Legacy Edition" - this way, you're free to compare and contrast the two versions as you see fit.
Note that, due to an engine upgrade and the massive number of changes, save files *will not* transfer between the two versions.
Will the Enhanced Edition recieve new achievements?
Yes. There will be at least 6 new achievements, with most of them being tied to the new content.
How much will the player guide and soundtrack cost as DLC?
Current plan is to price the guide and soundtrack at $2.99 each. This might change depending on how large the guide and soundtrack end up being.
Note that the soundtrack DLC will *only* include the new music tracks composed by Jazz Stewart as I don't have the rights to distribute any of the other tracks.
Do I need to play the entire Knights of Ambrose saga to understand it?
Not anymore. I explained this in an update from long ago, but long story short: The Knights of Ambrose Saga has 2 timelines:
Timeline A: Knight Bewitched -> Mari and the Black Tower -> Knight of Heaven (Finding Light) -> Knight Eternal
I've temporarily disabled the minimap in the demo due to a game-breaking bug involved with it.
EDIT (5-17-21): The bug has been fixed (as well as a few other minor bugs) and the minimap has been reinstated.
If you encounter any bugs or have suggestions, feel free to email me anytime at jkweath@gmail.com.
That's all! Have a great day!
5-15-2021 Demo update and Kickstarter wrap-up
Hello everyone! A small update was made to the Enhanced Edition demo today:
Various minor bugfixes
Battle speed was slowed down slightly, making it easier to keep up with the flow of battle
Changed Alduin's "Guard" command to "Spellburst" which does minor damage and saps MP
The minimap is now available on the World Map and can be toggled by pressing C
If you encounter any issues with the demo or have suggestions, you can email me anytime at Jkweath@gmail.com.
Kickstarter
The Kickstarter wrapped up Friday morning. We reached 153% funding! I'm happy that everyone else is just as excited about the Enhanced Edition as I am, and really blown away at just how far funding was able to come. Thank you!
Though I never set any stretch goals, I am adding two additional things I didn't plan on originally:
-Bonus character art for the other 3 main characters (Stray, Uno and Alduin) will be added to the Player's Guide
-(no spoilers) An alternate version of the final boss and a bonus ending scene can be unlocked
(It's worth noting that the final boss I speak of has their own backstory now. They're much more fleshed out this time around.)
I'll begin distributing Kickstarter rewards in the next few weeks, starting with digital keys and statues, then progressing on to the remaining rewards in late July-early August.
For now, I plan on launching the Enhanced Edition on August 16. I'll let you know if this date needs to be pushed back.
Have a great week and stay safe!
The Enhanced Edition: FAQ and Screenshot Comparisons
I recently received a pleasant email regarding the Enhanced Edition that gave me the idea to share some screenshots comparing the current version of Knight Bewitched to the Enhanced Edition. I also have a short list of frequently asked questions. If you have any questions yourself, feel free to ask!
First, here's some side-by-side screenshot comparisons:
The new main menu showcases a few new features coming with the Enhanced Edition. No longer does the player need a quest log to track their progress--it's right there in the menu!
The battle scene hasn't changed much. I tinkered with new battle layouts, but decided on a cleaner version of the original layout instead. You might notice the turn order display is missing; that's an unfortunate side effect of the engine upgrade. I will hopefully be able to hire someone to restore that before the official release.
As a fun bit of trivia, I initially considered adding a stretch goal to the Kickstarter to convert the entire battle system to side-view (like the SNES Final Fantasies). Unfortunately, the one artist I really wanted to work with to do this wasn't available, and even if they were, doing so would've easily doubled the goal of the Kickstarter. Regrettably, I had to scrap the idea.
A simple comparison of old Gabenport to new Gabenport. Gabenport's still a fairly small port town, but it has a little more style now! Many other locations in-game have received similar cosmetic upgrades, though not quite on this scale.
Nothing too major here. I finally fixed the layout of the throne room. The font and dialogue windows are much cleaner. The Enhanced Edition's native resolution is smaller, which is why everything appears bigger as well.
In the Enhanced Edition, Morgoth's Cave is a fully fleshed-out dungeon with enemies and a boss. Only a few of the original puzzles remain, and they're all optional--though you'll want to do them anyway. Trust me.
The original Midnight Desert was... Something. I don't know, man. I made a giant, empty desert, threw in some terribly frustrating puzzles and called it a day.
No puzzles in the new desert! It also looks a bit nicer in-game:
(Pro-tip: This guy will give you a Transmutation Stone, allowing you to craft new stuff. Don't miss it!)
Will all the old content be returning?
Yes. Every optional boss, as well as everything added in content updates, such as The Depths, will remain in the Enhanced Edition.
Will the Enhanced Edition recieve new achievements?
Yes. There will be at least 6 new achievements, with most of them being tied to the new content.
How much will the player guide and soundtrack cost as DLC?
Current plan is to price the guide at $2.99 and the new OST at $1.99. This might change depending on how large the guide and soundtrack end up being.
Note that the soundtrack DLC will *only* include the new music tracks composed by Jazz Stewart as I don't have the rights to distribute any of the other tracks.
Do I need to play the entire Knights of Ambrose saga to understand it?
Not anymore. I explained this in an update from long ago, but long story short: The Knights of Ambrose Saga has 2 timelines:
Timeline A: Knight Bewitched -> Mari and the Black Tower -> Knight of Heaven (Finding Light) -> Knight Eternal
In the future, I may end up deeming timeline A "non-canon" just to avoid any confusion and drop the timeline stuff altogether. The three main titles in that series aren't nearly as popular as my other titles, so I don't think this decision would be too controversial; still, I'm not 100% sure on it.
That's all I have for today! Until next time!
Kickstarter Updates
Hello again!
In just the first week, the Enhanced Edition crowdfunding campaign has reached 70% funding! I recognize a lot of names from my previous campaign, which is awesome! I'm glad that you all are as excited as I am!
Posters and CDs
I added two new tiers to help promote the campaign's physical rewards:
A $10 tier for the 11x17 cover art poster and a Digital Key
A $35 tier that includes everything in the other tiers (digital key, player's guide and soundtrack, desktop wallpapers and in-game statue) + the poster
You can add a physical CD copy of Knight Bewitched to both tiers for just $6 without any extra shipping cost.
While the cover art poster will be printed with the story's new cover art, the CD itself will be printed with the original cover art:
Statues
The statue room makes its return from Celestial Hearts!
For those contributing at the $25 tier or above, you'll receive a randomized statue with your name and a message of your choosing. Some customization options will also be available, though not quite as many as there were in the Celestial Hearts campaign. (Good news, though: Cat Ears are still available!)
Player's Guide and Soundtrack
Anyone contributing more than $15 will receive a digital copy of the Player's Guide as well as every new music track composed by Jazz Stewart. I figured I'd show off some progress on the guide with a list of the Alpha Beasts:
I've shared this a couple times already, but if you haven't heard it, here's the Enhanced Edition's new battle theme:
[previewyoutube="e2fKyKQNQC4;full"]
The Enhanced Edition itself
I finished most of the Enhanced Edition's content right before launching the Kickstarter so that I can focus on crowdfunding and all the non-game-dev-stuff (such as the Player's Guide). Once crowdfunding ends, it'll be time to work on the new art illustrations, the remaining music tracks, and QA testing. Right now I expect the Enhanced Edition, as well as most of the backer awards, to be fulfilled by late August-early September 2021.
If you're interested in trying out the Enhanced Edition, all you need to do is launch the game and select "Play the Enhanced Edition Demo". The demo is also available with the demo version of Knight Bewitched, so you can play it even if you don't own the full game!
If you have any feedback or suggestions, feel free to comment or email me anytime at Jkweath@gmail.com. Until next time!
4-14-2021 Demo and Kickstarter Update
Hello again! I released a minor bugfix patch for the Enhanced Edition demo today:
Fixed some tileset passability issues
The charm-crafting window is now available after Gwen joins the party. If Gwen's already in your party, the window will be available from the Main Menu after you enter the world map once.
Kickstarter Info
The crowdfunding campaign for the Enhanced Edition will launch on April 19, 2021.
The goal of this campaign is to raise $3000 to fund:
Art illustrations added to the story's most impactful cutscenes by artist Rae Stilwell (who also did the Enhanced Edition cover art!)
A mostly-new soundtrack composed by artist and composer Jazz Stewart. If you've played the demo, then you've already heard the new battle and boss themes!
QA testing and misc. script commissions
Backer Rewards
As I've stated before, The Enhanced Edition is completely free for anyone who owns Knight Bewitched. The price is also staying at $4.99.
That said, if you'd like to contribute to the crowdfunding campaign, there's some fun rewards you might be interested in:
$15: Player's Guide and Soundtrack: You'll receive a digital PDF of the new Player's Guide (made by myself) as well as all the new music tracks. The Player's Guide and OST will also be available as paid DLC when the Enhanced Edition launches.
$20: Desktop Wallpapers: In addition to the above, you'll get full-resolution images of each art illustration to use as desktop wallpapers or however you see fit.
$25: Become a Statue!: In addition to the above, You'll get a randomly-generated statue placed in the Halonia Statue Room as well as your name and a brief message of your choosing.
All three tiers also include a Steam key for Knight Bewitched (if you already own it, then give it to a friend!) as well as your name in the end credits.
The Kickstarter will also come with physical rewards that can be added to any reward tier (cost includes S&H):
$14: You'll receive an 11x17 unframed poster of the Enhanced Edition cover art and logo.
$16: You'll receive a physical copy of Knight Bewitched in a traditional CD jewel case with a front-and-back insert. The CD itself will be printed with the original artwork for Knight Bewitched.*
*After some consideration, I've decided to change the physical CD to include a 2-panel insert instead of the 8-page booklet. This will help keep the cost of the CD down.
The estimated launch date for the Enhanced Edition is August 2021. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment or email me anytime at Jkweath@gmail.com.
A demo of the Enhanced Edition is now available!
Hello everyone!
A big update released for Knight Bewitched today. You now have the option to continue playing the legacy (full) version or to try out the demo of the Enhanced Edition!
After the update, all you need to do is launch the app and select "Play the Enhanced Edition Demo". Note that save files WILL NOT carry over from the legacy edition and vice-versa. The demo contains the first hour of gameplay (up to the point where Gwen joins the party).
I've never released a demo ahead of an official launch, and since the Enhanced Edition is still in its early stages, there's bound to be some bugs or other problems. If you do try it out, I'd love to hear your feedback! You can comment here or email me anytime at Jkweath@gmail.com.
Kickstarter Info
I'll be launching a crowdfunding campaign in 2-3 weeks to help fund new art illustrations, a mostly-original soundtrack (a few of the new tracks, such as the new battle and boss themes, are in the Enhanced Edition Demo!) and an official player's guide. Stay tuned!
Announcing Knight Bewitched: Enhanced Edition
(A new logo is coming soon, too!)
Hello everyone!
I've mentioned it a few times, but this is the official announcement for the Knight Bewitched Enhanced Edition.
A *lot* of stuff is coming...
Here is an incomplete list of changes:
(this list is subject to change)
Engine and game info
Knight Bewitched: Enhanced Edition is being ported to the recently released MZ engine. This upgrade is mainly focused on back-end improvements, but it also comes with a new battle animation system and enables many of the UI upgrades and new features
Lighting effects have been removed and replaced with fog/other effects where applicable. You'll still need the Blue Flame to enter the Midnight Desert, though!
8-directional movement was added
Auto-saving was added
Mac and Linux support
Auto-battle was added. You can toggle it during battle or have it on automatically through the options menu.
Due to the engine upgrade and the massive changelog, old save files will not be compatible with the enhanced edition
The Enhanced Edition iscompletely free for anyone who already owns Knight Bewitched. The price will remain at $4.99. If crowdfunding succeeds, a comprehensive player's guide and soundtrack will be available as paid DLC
ETA is mid-late fall 2021
UI and menus
Almost every menu in the game has a new and improved layout
Default window resolution was reduced to 1109x624 as the original 1280x720 resolution just caused a lot of empty space
Story and Dialogue
Dialogue and cutscenes have received major writing revisions
Many scenes, such as the Northshire Inn scene, Ruth's first meeting with Gwen, and the throne room scenes have been altered significantly (as in, more than just dialogue touch-ups)
Character backstories and motivations have been improved as a result
Aside from all this, the main storyline will remain mostly the same...mostly
Locations
Every area in the game is being rebuilt from scratch. Some areas will only receive cosmetic changes, while others will be changed or expanded significantly. Here are a few examples:
The entrance to Typhus the Younger's Lair has been expanded slightly, and fog effects/cave ambience were added. Typhus' Lair can also be revisited later in the game as part of a new sidequest
The Underbog has a new section. The swamp areas can no longer be traversed, but a new mechanic was added with switches that can raise/lower the swamp level
Halonia has many cosmetic improvements. Ruth's House is now in its own separate new section of Halonia. A new building was added in Halonia's middle section for Kickstarter backers
Gabenport was completely revised
The Midnight Desert, Morgoth's Cave, The Sealed Tower and Typhus' Castle will also be revised significantly
The World Map is larger and significantly improved from the original. Many small areas, such as Arcanite Ore locations and the secret merchant, were relocated
Stats, skills, equipment and Battle Mechanics
Stat spreads for hero classes and equipment were ported over from Knight Bewitched 2. In brief: Numbers are bigger, equipment upgrades feel better, and everything hits harder
Helmets are out. Chest armor gives higher stat bonuses in their place
Slash, Blunt, and Pierce weapon "elements" were removed
Weapons and armors give smoother and more predictable stat bonuses
About 1/3 of all hero skills were cut. Most of the skills removed were "fluff" i.e. they were useless/rarely used/had the same effect as a different skill/etc. Some new skills were added to each character, and many skills that remain were either made more powerful or given new effects
MP costs were adjusted, mostly higher--but many new spells and items grant MP recovery/MP regeneration
Trinkets only grant 1 skill each. Except for Uno, each character can now equip 2 trinkets
A new "Charm" equipment slot was added. Enemies now drop Essences that are used to craft charms
Enemy mechanics, such as Counter-Attacks, Empowered buffs, and new Fog and Enrage effects were added
There are now 12 Arcanite Ores to find. Each character has an associated legendary weapon that they can reforge at Ullo's Forge with 3 Arcanite Ores.
New features
An in-game encyclopedia tracks all items, weapons, armors and enemies encountered
A charm-crafting system was added and unlocks after Gwen joins the party:
Enemies drop unique essences that are used alongside other items to craft powerful charms
The player can combo together certain charms, equipment and skills to devastating effect in battle
Some unique potions can also be crafted
More potions and charms are unlocked as the story progresses
Alpha Beasts make their return from Knight Bewitched 2. Alpha Beasts are rare, much stronger creature variants that'll drop extra cool stuff--if you can defeat them!
Secret Areas: Similar to the secret areas in Celestial Hearts, almost every town and dungeon will have a hidden area that contains gold and powerful items. Keep an eye out!
New content (subject to change)
The quest for Daedalus - Stray's desecrated hometown of Nilheim, where the player can engage on a sidequest to retrieve Stray's family heirloom stolen by the Cult of Drakon
Shipwrecked! - a naval confrontation with a certain Archmage will result in the party stranded on an island where they'll face new enemies and learn more about Uno's past. This'll also lead into an updated cutscene (hopefully with an art illustration) back at the Witch House
Redemption - The very same Archmage mentioned above will have a slightly different character arc toward the later part of the story. Without going into spoilers, endgame events will unfold somewhat differently
Kickstarter Goals
A Kickstarter will be launched in late March-early April to fund the following upgrades:
In-game art illustrations added to the most impactful cutscenes
A comprehensive player's guide featuring illustrations, complete map layouts and locations, appendices, etc
The new soundtrack and guide will be free for certain Kickstarter tier backers and available as paid DLC for everyone else
A demo of the Enhanced Edition will be available during the Kickstarter.
[previewyoutube="e2fKyKQNQC4;full"]
Out of all the new stuff, I'm personally most excited about the story and dialogue revisions. When I first started on the update, I was surprised to see just how...rough...the writing was in Knight Bewitched. While the story will still play out the same way, I can't overstate just how much better the dialogue is this time around. I've had a fun time re-writing the characters, and I hope you'll enjoy it too!
I've already made significant progress on the Enhanced Edition, so I'll be setting up the crowdfunding campaign soon and aiming to launch sometime early-mid April. Unlike the Celestial Hearts campaign, I plan on having a physical reward or two this time too!
Suggestions
If you have any feedback or suggestions for things you'd like to see in the Enhanced Edition, you're free to leave a comment here or email me directly at Jkweath@gmail.com.
If you'd like to see frequent updates on the Enhanced Edition, and just more stuff about me in general, you can also follow me on Twitter.
Until next time!
Celestial Hearts releases tomorrow at 2 PM!
Hello everyone!
As a reminder, Celestial Hearts will release tomorrow (February 15) at around 2 PM CST.
(If you're wondering why I release games so late in the day, it's because it helps maintain visibility in the "new releases" list on Steam, which moves really fast anymore)
I'd like to ask anyone who plans on purchasing the game on a later day (or even later in the year when the discounts get bigger) to add Celestial Hearts to their wishlist.
Wishlists--alongside other metrics like average playtime and review count--help indie games retain visibility after their 1-2 week "grace period". It's sort of the YouTube equivalent to "like and subscribe!" but less annoying.
Knight Bewitched Enhanced Edition
...or "Reborn" maybe? Deluxe Edition? Definitive Edition? Spellbound Edition? I'm still trying to figure out what to call it!
Regardless, the enhanced edition of Knight Bewitched is coming along nicely. I'll have more information to share in a week or two, such as all the stuff that's changing and the new content I'll be adding.
Since the crowdfunding campaign for Celestial Hearts was so successful, I plan on launching another campaign in the coming months for this project. The goal is to add art illustrations and commission new music to replace many of the game's less impactful music tracks.
That's all I have for now. I hope you all enjoy Celestial Hearts, and I'll see you again really soon!
Celestial Hearts release date and my next project
Hello again! This is just a quick announcement that my next title, Celestial Hearts, is finished and set to release on February 15. Be sure to wishlist it if you haven't already!
I generally don't announce projects before they're at least 25% finished, but my next likely project is a complete remastered edition of Knight Bewitched.
Knight Bewitched was my second title (for context, Celestial Hearts is my 8th). I've debated with myself whether I should re-do Knight Bewitched for awhile now, and came to the conclusion that I should after realizing that I don't feel comfortable recommending content creators play it in its current state.
I don't have any details to reveal about the remaster itself, but the goal is to keep the story mostly the same while changing and adding enough new content to warrant a 2nd play for old fans and make the game even more attractive to potential new fans.
That's all I have for now. Have a great week and stay safe!
