Legends of Astravia
Developer Demo Playthrough and Q&A
Tentative Date: Saturday, June 15th at 8AM EST
Please keep an eye on our upcoming updates in case this time changes. Finalized dates and times will be announced a week before Next Fest.
Developer Demo Playthrough and Q&A
Tentative Date: Tuesday, June 11th at 9PM EST
Please keep an eye on our upcoming updates in case this time changes. Finalized dates and times will be announced a week before Next Fest.
Legends of Astravia is Coming to Steam Next Fest!
I’m pleased to announce that Legends of Astravia will be in the upcoming Steam Next Fest from June 10th to June 17th! Be sure to follow the game right here on Steam to be first to know when the demo launches, as well as catch livestreams, chat with the developer (me!) and learn more about the game.
Note that developer streams and Q&A will only be available in English, but I’ll do my best to answer questions from all languages with the help of machine translation!
Visit the Steam News hub and make sure you’re following Legends of Astravia:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1233680
Stay tuned for more information!
-Jaiden
Developer's Log - February 2024
Things are going well, especially with regards to the game's new demo. This developers log will be jam-packed with announcements and exciting news, so let's jump right into it!
Announcements
Marketing Refresh, New Art and New Trailer
For those of you who missed it--there's a brand new trailer that showcases the new art, gameplay and snippets of story since 2022. It's very short, but I think it's a great little teaser.
Check it out here:
There's also a new vertical box art, which illustrates the main cast you'll be traveling with the first half of the main story:
A very special thank you to Ryuuen Tanaka for putting the lineart and shading for this piece together!
And to go along with all of this, marketing got a big refresh across all channels. You can check it out on the Steam Page.
Demo 100% Complete!
The 2024 demo is done! Of course, this doesn't mean it's ready to play just yet. It is currently in a QA and testing state in order to iron out any bugs and gameplay issues.
Beta Testing
There will be a private, opt-in beta in the Discord Server soon, likely in April. There was a plan to run it sooner, however I decided that I wanted to really take care of some user experience issues and features first and share a more "polished" version with everyone. So if you're interested, be sure to join and keep an eye out.
Enrolled in Steam NextFest
I'm pleased to announce that the Legends of Astravia demo will be re-launching for the summer Steam NextFest! I will make a more formal announcement, such as the release date, when we get closer to that time.
Temporary Devlog Hiatus
With the push to get the demo launched in time for the Steam NextFest, it will become increasingly difficult for me to keep up with these long-form developer's logs. As such, I am temporarily suspending monthly developer's logs until July 2024.
Never fear! There will still be plenty of news and announcements especially leading up to the big demo launch this summer.
Game Progress
Battle Overhaul & Preview
Astravia's unique battle system has always been the most challenging to get right. When I launched the demo in 2022, a lot of players were interested in the system, but really struggled to adapt to it. I've since then had plans to modify it for the new demo using all of the feedback I received.
The result ended up being something that looks surprisingly "modern JRPG", and feels pretty fun to control:
While the colored "ABXY" face buttons looked nice, it created a lot of issues across varying control schemes, such as different controller brands and keyboards. I also really wanted the system to be more friendly one-handed for accessibility reasons. So, the system now uses a universal sign: directional arrows, and a standard "confirm / cancel". No more button confusion!
Some other improvements include the target window appearing closer to the target, control help, and clearer target highlighting.
But I really can't understate how iterative this process is. I had dozens of tries, especially with regards to the UI and camera elements. Here's an early attempt:
And of course, to those who get motion sickness (me!), do not fret: there will be an option to disable camera movement entirely. I actually tend to get quite motion sick myself, and while I think the camera movement makes it clearer where your attention belongs, I understand the importance of being able to turn those wiggles off!
Battle Tutorial(s)
I spent a lot of time reworking on the battle tutorial as well. This time around, Oliver will walk you through it as he tries to remember what Mordin's local swordsman taught him:
The system is pretty unique in that it ramps up and gets increasingly more complex the more characters there are on the field. So a second tutorial was necessary, and will feature Azel's...encouragement, just like the last demo:
macOS and Steam Deck Support
I was able to test and confirm support for two platforms other than Windows: macOS and the Steam Deck! The Steam Deck is especially exciting, as I think this will be a big benefit during the Steam NextFest.
More Screenshots
Here are a couple more screenshots to share:
That's all for now. Thank you as always for your patience and support, it's exciting to finally see all of this work starting to pay off.
-Jaiden
Developer's Log - January 2024
Hello everyone,
So far we're kicking the year off nice and strong, as progress on the new demo is going extremely well. This month I have the opposite problem that I usually have when putting together a devlog--there was too much done to share!
I'm also going to structure devlogs a little differently now; I will start with any exciting news, announcements, etc. before moving on to the actual progress. Wall of text first, then pretty pictures :)
New Demo 80% Done
It's almost a bit surreal working on the revised demo. A lot really has changed, and it's fun to see how my process has become more optimized. The process for making cutscenes is more streamlined, with a clear process from writing the draft, integrating, and testing. And by applying the "layered cake" method that Fang taught me earlier in the year, things went even faster.
Beta testing will be very soon, there are just a few more mechanical issues I want to iron out. Be sure to keep an eye on the Discord server if this is something that interests you!
Getting Ready for (Next) NextFest
As many of you are aware, we're currently in the middle of a Steam NextFest (very exciting!). Legends of Astravia's spiffy new demo will be in the next one, and there has been an endless amount of work to do in preparation. In the world of indie games, making the actual game is only half the work.
I've been very focused on the game's marketing, trying to come up with a proper push leading up to the launch. Expect a ton of screenshots, snippets, and other exciting new visuals leading into the Demo's release.
The current "Trailer" on Youtube is due for a serious update, and the Steam page will get a little gameplay montage as a holdover soon. Also, the game's description, marketing text and FAQs will get some updates over the next couple of weeks as well.
Development Archive
Part of this marketing strategy is ensuring all of the game's visuals are up to date across the world wide web. With the release of the new demo in June, and the big visual change to the game last year, it's important that all of the screenshots and artwork reflect the final game as much as possible.
As such, I removed most of this artwork from every single social media channel and itch.io.
However--it is not gone forever. In fact, I think these old screenshots, gifs and other snippets give a very important peek into Legends of Astravia's complicated development process.
So, check out the Dev Archive on the website to take a little visual stroll through the game's development from 2017-2022, 5 long (...long...) years!: Link
Development Progress
Since the demo is nearly completed, I think progress in January was pretty darn good! One of the more exciting things about the demo is just how much things have changed--for the better. The game honestly feels like, well, a video game?? (Crazy, right? I don't know!)
The premise of the demo is largely the same as 2022, Oliver will have an encounter with the mysterious Azel and the two will traverse the Earth Leyline together. However, we have a new recontextualization with Mordin Village, very similar to the game's demo in 2019.
Oliver and Azel have already had a prior meeting at this time, and so their encounter in the temple is a reunion of sorts (I hope the FF7 fans reading are extra excited by that word. I sure am!).
New Areas
In addition to some restructuring of the "paths" you'll traverse (need to keep veteren players on their toes!), the demo will feature two new areas that were not seen in the 2022 demo.
First, Oliver's Dream...
And secondly, Mordin Village!
Unfortunately, the town will be asleep, so there won't be many NPC interactions, but I feel it will still invoke some nostalgia, especially in those of you who played the demo all the way back in 2019.
New Characters
The most exciting aspect of the demo is that it will feature several new characters who bring a very fresh and distinct tone to the game. I have to give Fang a lot of credit here, this was one of her writing suggestions that really made things come together.
I also had a lot of fun drawing their faces. The switch to my own art style really renewed my confidence in my abilities overall. I honestly can't wait to draw more.
That's all for now. I look forward to sharing more progress next month--there are some even more exciting changes coming up!
Thank you,
-Jaiden
2023 Year-End Summary
2023 has finally come to an end. I'll admit, I began writing this developer's log thinking I'd only have a couple of bullet points for the game's development and progress. However, it turns out this year has been a very productive one, and just because the game isn't done yet doesn't mean amazing progress wasn't made.
My resolution is to be more kind to myself as an independent developer, and understand that the project is not funded and that I am working on it entirely in my spare time. With that in mind, and looking just how much we got done this year, I think the project is doing pretty darn good!
This devlog is a lengthy summary broken into three parts: December's development progress, a summary of the entire year, and plans / announcements for 2024.
Buckle up, because this is a long one!
December Developer's Log
December went well, likely due to the holidays and the significant amount of time off that came with them (a bit of a backwards concept, I admit). Here are some of the quantifiable accomplishments for the month:
Finished all of the map layout changes for the new demo
After readjusting the story, some of the core elements of the demo from 2022 will still be in place in the new demo. The order of events has changed a bit though, and as such, so did some of the maps. I actually worked out this initial layout on a piece of scrap paper ahead of reconnecting all of the maps:
The demo is thus playable from start to finish, with just some of the important bits missing. Some new maps were also added, and one was brought back from the dead, which some of you elder fans that have been here since the beginning of time may recognize:
Integrated all dialogue for the new demo
Since the first draft of dialogue for the first act was done and the map layout in place, I was able to get all of the dialogue actually integrated into the game for the new demo. This is relatively close to final and will only need a few more passes of editing.
A fun side-note; I do all of my initial dialogue writing in Google Sheets, using a pretty fancy setup that fills in the face graphics and text for me. That way I have a good idea of what everything looks like before I have to muck around in the editor. Pretty cool, (I think?!):
Updated essence and shop menus
The shop menu hasn't been touched since 2020 (woah!), so it needed some attention. I reworked the layout and flow so it was a lot prettier and a lot less clunky to use. I also gave the essence menu a few updates, improving several UX issues reported in 2022's demo:
At the same time, I also made some much-needed backend improvements to windows and menus in general that should make adding, updating, and revising new menus in the future easier.
Squashed even more bugs
Bug-hunting is a never-ending battle, but there were quite a few issues that were present in the game's 2022 demo that I was able to finally address.
I should point out that these efforts in December were all related to my attempt to bring the demo back for Steam's February NextFest as previously discussed. However, after some thought, I decided that doing so would be cutting it too close, and wouldn't give me enough time to ensure the game is as polished as it can be.
The new demo will absolutely launch in 2024, as discussed more below. But unfortunately it will not be during the Steam NextFest in a few weeks.
2023 in Summary
It's easy to get overwhelmed by the idea that "nothing was accomplished" when you spend an entire year on a game and don't have a releasable product to show for it. However, looking back, this was probably one of the best years for Legends of Astravia, as it felt like it lead to some much needed improvements to the game's development operations, brand, and roadmap.
Fangsoft joined Studio Alemni and helped massively with development
Fangsoft has been an incredible help this year, and without her, I probably wouldn't have been able to get the game's development back on track. She helped me get the project reorganized and set more concrete goals that inevitably lead to all of the great progress we made this year.
Completed several passes through the entire game, start to finish
Even though there haven't been a lot of visual updates, Legends of Astravia's first part is in a sense, playable from start to finish. We completed several passes through the game to integrate map layouts, item placement, environmental effects and sound.
Made numerous development tools to speed up the game's production
This was the year where I really honed my scripting abilities, employing what I've learned over the years to ensure I am working "smarter, not harder".
I made a lot of cool stuff, honestly to the point of forgetting just how much I did:
- Made a generator that takes a list of filenames and generates placeholder image files for each of them
- Made a global transition system for all of the maps in the game, for both a smoother development and gameplay
- Made a system to initialize and assign special data--including color and lighting information--to maps, eliminating the need for manually eventing each one
- Created various in-game debugging tools, including a dedicated scene for testing and constructing battle sequences
- Changed how data is loaded into the game to permit custom attributes and lightning-fast game content editing
- Documented all of the game's custom functions and attributes
- Made a spreadsheet tool for fast templating and editing of dialogue exactly as it shows up in-game
- Made a "grid-system" for window layouts to make constructing new game menus easier
- Reorganized and cleaned up a good chunk of the game's code base
These things will continue to relieve some of the burden of being a solo dev, and will help get the entire game to the finish line.
Updated the Studio Alemni website
The Studio Alemni website got a makeover, which I designed and implemented myself. I think it's easy to miss how big of an improvement this was, as the old website was slow and hard to navigate. This also cut the time it took for me to write my monthly devlogs in half, which freed up some more time for development.
Finalized the game's story
Legends of Astravia's story has been the biggest crux with regards to development. It has been changed, modified, rewritten and reworked so much, which has ultimately resulted in so many revisions to the final playable game.
With Fang's help, we finally locked it in this year, and for the first time in the several years of working on the project, I'm finally satisfied with the story is and where it is going. A lot of it required returning to my roots and remembering the "why".
I try to remain humble, but I think the story is one of Legends of Astravia's stronger points. I really hope everyone will enjoy what we've come up with.
Made the game visuals feel less like "RPG Maker" and more like "Astravia"
While the initial venture into this was done in November 2022, a lot of the work was done this year. When the demo in 2022 launched, a big point of contention was it's "RPG Maker Default Graphics".
I found myself often demotivated and unwilling to work on the project knowing that many people would be immediately turned off by the game's visuals. So switching to something that aligned the game with it's classic feel was a huge confidence boost, and really helped move things forward.
Additionally, I was able to secure more confidence in my art skills by replacing the character graphics with my own artwork. Legends of Astravia feels like it's own thing now, and I just think that's pretty cool.
Plans for 2024
Part 1 (of 2!)
While the work in 2023 ultimately didn't result in the release of the first part of the game, I'm very pleased to announce that Legends of Astravia will be delivered in two parts instead of the originally announced three. This means less waiting for the "complete" saga (complete in quotes here, because the first part will absolutely be a complete game!).
How this will work mechanically is yet to be decided (DLC vs two full game releases), but plans will become more concrete with the re-release of the demo in the summer.
Demo return (Steam NextFest)
Speaking of which, the demo will indeed make its comeback this year during the next NextFest. An official announcement will be made sometime in March, and beta testing will begin soon. If you're interested in helping test the game and iron out issues, you can join the Discord server to get involved!
Get the game back on the map
Legends of Astravia was doing reasonably well from a marketing and interest standpoint at two points during its development: the first demo in 2018, and the second demo in 2022. It seems when people get to play the game, news about it travels. Go figure!
In the year and a half that I've been working on the game since it's demo in 2022, interest in the game has naturally waned a bit. I've also had significant difficulty maintaining a consistent marketing campaign on social media sites such as Twitter, Tumblr, etc.
Besides just the demo launch, I'd like to revive some of that interest through more consistent visual updates on social media, trailers, and content creator outreach. I hope that more people will become aware of the game, especially those who it is really catered towards.
Part 1's release (Attempt #2!)
This one is tentative. Delaying the game's release over the years has been discouraging, but I also need to remain realistic with my schedule. I'd like to have a holiday launch, but otherwise, the plan for Legends of Astravia is to launch in Q1 of 2025.
I hope this developer's log renews confidence for those of you who have been patiently waiting for release news. It means so much to have so many people interested in the project and checking in, especially as a small developer who can only work on the project part-time.
It's been a long time, but I do see the finish line on the horizon. Here's to a productive and successful 2024!
Thank you,
-Jaiden
Developer's Log - November 2023
This is a shorter developers log, but I am happy to report this has been a productive month. A lot of work is still being done "under the hood", and as such there's not quite as much to show.
Backend, Backend, Backend
One of the biggest bottlenecks in development at this point is data editing and testing. Legends of Astravia uses a lot of custom scripts and data, and as such, this requires closing the game, making edits to code, reopening the game, in an endless cycle during content development.
I finally bit the bullet and decided to change how the game handles and loads custom data, and it's likely quadrupled my efficiency. Now instead of needing to constantly close and reopen the game when making edits, I have a couple files I can edit right at runtime.
Additionally, testing battle sequences was a horrifying process. It admittedly lead to me delaying on making cool new battle animations numerous times. Finally, after months of thinking about how I would execute it, I was able to create a proper tool for testing animations. Now I can quickly create and test animations and get through developing new content even faster.
Along with this, I made some much needed improvements to the battle animation code that squashed a lot of the weird glitches and bugs that existed in the last demo.
Writing
Fang and I have continued with the game's writing, and are now at the dialogue drafting phase. This is really exciting as the story is starting to unfold into something tangible and game-like.
Here's a very serious, 100% accurate preview of what the live story document looks like:
Jokes aside, meaningful exchanges between characters is an important part of Legends of Astravia, and we hope you'll enjoy what we have planned!
Revisiting Battle UI/UX
I think an unintended benefit of getting away from certain parts of the game for too long is you lose that "developer's bias". Jumping back into the battle system, I quickly noticed a lot of the issues folks experienced during the last demo.
I'm making some small adjustments that I hope will make the system more approachable. For example, I noticed that it's not particularly clear when your teammates have already chosen an action--it feels like the game is glitching. Adding the action indicator bubbles just like the monsters have was a trivial change that actually helped a lot:
That's all for this devlog. I will be working very hard the next month so that I can hopefully come back with an exciting announcement at the start of next year.
Thanks you for your support, and see you in 2024!
-Jaiden
Developer's Log - September & October 2023
This is indeed another combined two-month devlog, sorry to keep you all waiting. Things have been immensely chaotic, making it difficult to round up progress. But no matter how quiet it gets on social media and update channels, the game is always being worked on!
Fang and I did some really cool stuff the past two months, and we made some interesting discoveries about the best way to deliver this massive game. I do hope it will make the wait worthwhile.
Let's take a look at some progress, and some info regarding the demo that was due for the fall.
Development Progress
Animation Graphics
Fang sorted through and put together dozens of battle animations. I look forward to bringing these fancy effects into the game soon so you can see them in action:
Writing
Fang and I have spent a lot of our time in the past few months working on the game's writing. We thought we had it down a few times, but there were still some things that didn't quite feel right. While this is part of the reason development has been drawn out so long, I think writing is one of the most important aspects of an RPG often overlooked.
We're feeling really good about where it is now, and solved a lot of the game's major issues. Nailing the nostalgia factor while avoiding falling into tired RPG tropes and dull characters is an incredibly challenging thing to do, but thanks to Fang's expertise in story structure, we've got something really great now--all the way through the later parts of the game.
We've almost put the bow on the full game outline, and when we do that, we're good to continue strong with the game's content.
Battler Sprites
I started implementing some battler sprites this month, and completed the main character's basic movesets:
New enemies are finally beginning to take form as well (which means no more damn mushrooms in every single promo shot of the game):
New Promo Art
When the demo is made available again, we'll have some new promotional art. This has actually been in the works since the beginning of the year. Ryuuen put together the piece's linework, and I've been coloring it. It's too soon to reveal it, but here's a silly teaser in the meantime:
Tentative NextFest Plans & Demo Relaunch
Earlier this year we took the Demo from February 2022 down in favor of the changes we've been making--mainly, the new lovely 16bit pixel art and story adjustments. It is long overdue for its re-release. Unfortunately, as you can see, I didn't quite meet the goal to make it live for the fall NextFest.
While this is not an announcement by any means, we are shooting for the spring NextFest for the demo's glorious return instead. Again, this is not a guarantee, but we are really hoping to get it launched then. An announcement will come closer towards the end of the year if we stay on target.
That's all for now! Thank you as always for your patience and support.
-Jaiden
Developer's Log - August 2023
August was a good month, as we finally wrapped up the placeholder pass. Fang continued creating awesome assets, while I added tones, fogs, and color to the game in order to set the mood and tone throughout the game.
While this looks to be a short devlog, there's a lot of stuff that was done behind the scenes.
Also, excuse the glaringly ugly watermarks on screenshots from now on. As the game gets closer to completion, I'd like to have these in-development screenshots marked appropriately so they're not mixed up with the real deal when Chapter 1 releases.
Finished Battlebacks
This month Fang finished creating all of the battlebacks. Each major area in the game now has a matching battle background:
(No, the desert won't actually contain more mushrooms!)
We tried a 3D background with the overworld tileset in order to link the two styles together, and I think Fang really nailed it.
Finished "Atmosphere" Placeholder Pass
This month we finally finished adding all of the placeholders for the game's "atmosphere". Every map from start to finish has an appopriate color tone, as well as any placeholders for fogs and special effects.
The game can be played in this state, making it already feel kind of complete. The game's music, colors and tones already set a distinct mood for different parts of the game, and that's without having added any fancy tileset graphics yet!
With this, the entire placeholder pass is done, and we're ready to move on to the next big chunk of the game's development.
Other Progress
While this devlog may seem a bit light, it's easy to underestimate just how much we accomplished by finishing the placeholder pass.
There were also quite a few "under the hood" fixes and adjustments with the game's code that don't really deserve their own section. As we get into the asset and content development stage, more tangible updates should be available in future develogs.
Thank you for your continued patience and support.
-Jaiden
Developer's Log - July 2023
Atmosphere - Sounds & Color
The last part of the placeholder pass through the entire game is to set the overall tone with sound effects, lighting, and color. We made good progress on this through July.
Lighting & Fogs
Lights and colors play a big part, and even with a map that only has placeholder tiles, you can see a big difference between no lighting effects and lighting effects and fogs added:
The goal is to do this for the entire game in one go. This has been my task for July, and while I'm not quite done yet, the game will start to have a sense of completeness once the lighting pass is complete.
In some cases, the graphics still need to be made, which leads to some hilariously literal displays when testing:
Sound Effects & Ambience
Thanks to Fang, all of the sound effects and ambient noise has proper placeholders. Those pleasant sound effects are an important factor in the excitement when finding a new treasure, and background sounds really set the tone for an area and scene.
Asset Production Begins
Perhaps the most exciting yet time-consuming pass was started in July. We're finally making assets for the game! This means there will be a lot more to share visually over the coming months as the game really takes form.
Battle Backgrounds
I previously experimented with using a 3D background in the battle scene to try to create a perspective shift that wasn't too jarring of a separation from the main map scene. However, I wasn't really satisfied with my own attempts.
Fang decided to experiment with making them in a 3D editor, and the results were phenomenal. It really helps lock everything together, and is reminiscent of old PlayStation JRPGs:
The process itself was very cool, and I think worth sharing:
There are still some small adjustments to be made, but Fang managed to create a battleback for each area in the game. We can't wait to share more soon!
Features & System
I continued to work on some backend features and the game system as well, slowly making QoL improvements that are important to the final game.
Transition Adjustments
Ensuring the map transition system worked correctly took a few tries, but I finally managed to get something that works well. Adjusting a map's effects between different areas will be seamless and easy to implement.
Save System Update
A big request even during the demo was the ability to have more than 4 save files. I finally got to making this adjustment last month, and the final game will have 50 slots available (possibly more with the release of Chapters 2 and 3 as well):
That's all for this month, I look forward to sharing what we've been working on in August next month.
Thank you for your support and patience as we continue to work on the game.
-Jaiden