We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
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It's October. Back in September, it still felt like there was some time left before the end of the year, but October feels like we're nearing the end already. I can't believe this.
Anyway, here's a status update. I've mainly been designing the maps and events for Chapter 4.
Chapter 4 will take place in the Everspring Forest, which is located in a snowy land. It's surrounded by snow, but the forest, and only the forest, is always warm like spring, all year round. As a result, all sorts of living things grow very big and strong here. And plenty of fairies—everyone's favorite, I know—live here too.
But I've also been working on other stuff on the side, so I'm not quite done with the above yet. Right now, the Steam Turn-Based RPG Fest is underway, and so we're grabbing this chance to improve the store page and update some things so we can sell more copies.
We made a new trailer, rewrote parts of the store description (again)... And since the game sells a LOT worse in Chinese and English regions compared to Japan, we've focused our efforts to reach a wider audience in that direction.
As for updates, I added some new features which you can see in the ver0.5.09 patch notes. https://steamcommunity.com/games/1483370/announcements/detail/4657374909389692420?snr=2___ The Hints for the Road feature has now turned into a nice conversation with Elmaise where he patiently walks you through some detailed hints. (Which means I had to do a whole lotta writing and well, I suffered through it.)
There's also a few minor bugs that you guys have reported that are still in the game, so I'll be working on fixing them next. After that, I'll go back to writing events.
There's still a lot of work to do, but I'll pick at them one by one until I'm done.
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And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
================================= It's September! Here's a status update.
It's been a hectic month for me due to a lot of changes going on, such as my day job and stuff, but development is going smoothly. I've finished designing the events, items, and equipment for Chapter 3, as well as the maps.
In Chapter 3, you'll visit a market asking around for information, while also trying some street food with Kohaku...
And your next destination will be the Maneater Mountains, with a bone-chilling peak and snow that only gets heavier the higher you climb. Chapter 3 of the other route takes place in a scorching desert, but this time you'll encounter events that can only happen in a freezing cold climate.
This month, I'll be working on the same things, but for Chapter 4!
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And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
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◆Status Update
I worked on the game scenario in July. Here's what I did.
Decide what the dungeons will be like and what characters will appear in them
Worldbuilding for the aforementioned dungeons and characters
Decide what events will happen in the main story
Decide what choices to offer and how these decisions will affect the story
Decide what the endings will be like
Simply put, I worked on building the story and deciding how it'll turn out. When I write a story, I typically start by deciding on an ending, and then I write a story that builds up to that ending. That's why I design these elements before I actually start writing the story. The plot itself already exists, and has for a few years now, but now I've fleshed it out further and written down a more detailed summary. And all of that has been completed, right on schedule. Yippee!
◆Plans for the Next Month
Next up is creating the maps, designing the dungeon events, equipment, items, etc... All of these elements affect one another, so they need to be worked on at the same time. (If I want to make this piece of equipment, I'd need an event like this to happen, and if I'm making a map like this, I should make equipment like this... and the like.)
There's a lot to work on here, so it might take more than a month. (I think it took me a month back when I was still working on each chapter separately.) But hey, there's no need for me to panic just yet, so I'll go at it at my own pace and spend as much time as I need on it. Slowly, leisurely, like a newborn kitty who just woke up.
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And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
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This time, I would like to talk about what I plan to do next.
It's been a month or so after the release of the final chapter, during which we've rolled out multiple updates, but I plan on starting development on the other route soon. (Except for just one more small, boring update that's right around the corner.)
This time, I'll be working on the route where you decide not to look for Misha, and instead end up traveling with Kohaku and Veronika and starting a completely different journey. The "uses of life" that will be explored in this route will also be different from what I've already depicted in the completed route.
But let me preface this by saying that the next story update will take a long time. I'm so exhausted both mentally and physically so I'll be off to a tropical island to take a little vacation! ...Okay, I'm not. The real reason is that I know for sure that if I keep making the game the same way as I have up till now (i.e. making a chapter and updating with that chapter), nothing good will happen.
(I'm going to explain in detail from here, so if you don't want to read all the text that's coming up, you can just read the last point.)
------- Accomplishments and Current Situation -------
First of all, let's list out all the releases we've accomplished to face the (sad) reality of development...
◆ Releases So Far
May 2022: Early Access version released
March 2023: Chapter 3 released (10 months)
November 2023: Chapter 4 released (7 months)
June 2024: Final chapter released (7 months)
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That's 24 months in total. And if I spend around the same amount of time on the other route, that means it'll take 2 more years to complete!!!
That's what the numbers show, but to be honest, I do NOT want to spend 2 WHOLE YEARS on this!!! Not again!!! And I don't think anyone else wants that either.
It's also not that great that there's more than half a year between each release. Ideally, I'd want to update with a new chapter every 2 to 3 months... But as you can see, in reality, it took 7 months. And to break down what I've done over those 7 months...
◆ Task Breakdown Per Chapter
1st month: Post-release bug fixes and adjustments, feature implementation
2nd month: Chapter design (deciding what to do for that chapter, plotting the story, and designing the gameplay portions)
3rd month: Commissioning art and supervising the process
That's a whole lot of work. All of them are important, so I can't just get rid of any of these tasks, but I can't make the other route much smaller/shorter than the completed one just because I want to lessen my workload. But with this schedule, I'm still in the preparation stage on the 2nd~3rd month, and I don't actually implement anything into the game yet... So if I keep doing the same thing, I'll have to spend half a year per chapter release yet again. And I don't wanna do that!
------- What Now? -------
I think I want to switch my priorities around a bit. Before, I hadn't gotten to the ending yet, so my highest priority was to "release the next chapter ASAP". And so I had to think about each chapter separately and think about how to make the next chapter only when the time comes. (Even so, I wasn't very fast...)
But now, I have a completed route that you can play until the ending, so instead of rushing towards the next chapter all the time... - Shorten the time needed to make everything up till the ending - Shorten the release gap between chapters These two will be my top priority from now on. And since I've gotten the experience of reaching an ending, now I can see the bigger picture better than before.
And so, what I'll do is...
Group Tasks Together (Overall Design/Development)
Instead of just making the enemies that appear in the next chapter, I'll make all of the enemies that appear throughout the route all at once (including equipment, items, etc.)
Come up with map and event designs for the whole route before starting developemnt, and make maps for all chapters
Leave implementing overworld events for later, and finish all of the story events first
Then I would know exactly what artwork I need, and so I can commission all of the artwork needed for the entire route all at once.
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Release a Chapter Every 2~3 Months while Working on Tasks (Individual Development Tasks)]/h3]
Come up with map events and text, then implement them
Balance tweaks, debugging
Localization
That's the gist of it. Working on each chapter separately involved trying to remember how I did things half a year ago, which was very inefficient. Grouping tasks together will make everything go smoother. And as long as that's dealt with, each chapter will require less individual work. All I need to do is to make a schedule where I can release a chapter every 2~3 months, and then release Chapter 3 of the second route.
------- Upcoming Development -------
At the beginning of this post, I said that the next story update will take a long time, and this is why that's the case. I think the tasks in overall design/development will take quite a lot of time. That's because I'll be working on Chapter 3, 4, and the final chapter all at once.
I think this alone will take at least another half year, and even when that's done, I wouldn't be able to release Chapter 3 right away. Creating each chapter still takes time, and so does localization. But in exchange, I think this will shorten the time it takes to reach the ending, and once I've released Chapter 3, we'll be able to pick up the pace and update more quickly.
However, I won't say here how long exactly that will take, nor when I plan on releasing Chapter 3 of the other route. I can sort of guess, but I'll end up being wrong, anyway. When I actually start working on it, I'll gradually get a clearer idea, and when I do, I'll tell you all in another status update. And although there'll be a long wait until the next chapter releases, I'll still post monthly status updates like this one, so if you're interested in knowing how my development process is going, please follow this Steam news.
I hope you'll be patient and look forward to the next route.
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And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
Thank you playing The Use of Life! We have updated the game to Ver.0.5.08, Here are the bug fixes and changes.
◆ Class and Skill Adjustments
General
Adjusted the stat boosts for each advanced class.
Reduced the CP cost of Incantation from 3 to 2.
Removed the VIT-lowering effect of Incantation
Swordmaster
Strengthened its dodging capabilities, buffed certain skills, and added new skills to further encourage specialization.
The passive skill Detect now has the additional effect of raising maximum CP depending on the total number of perfect dodges performed.
Added the new passive skill Acute Reflexes.
Added the new active skill Tranquility.
Final Tachi [Moon] is now a red skill, and Second Tachi [Flash] is now a white skill.
Final Tachi [Flash] has been changed to a two-hit attack. The first hit is an Iai slash that ignores defense, and the second is a smash that has the chance to stun.
The skills Second Tachi [Flash] and Final Tachi [Flash] have been renamed to Second Tachi [Break] and Final Tachi [Break].
The skill Final Tachi [Moon] has been renamed to Final Tachi [Shine].
Sage
Buffed certain incantation Spells and made it possible to cast incantation Spells more frequently.
Removed the VIT-lowering effect of the skill Multi-Incantation.
Reduced the cooldown time of Multi-Incantation from 3 to 2.
Added the new active skill Swift Incantation.
The incantation Spell Endless March now has an additional chance to nullify enemy attacks.
Added an instant death effect to the incantation Spell Willed Blade.
Swordmage
Strengthened the defensive capabilities of Enchantments, improved sustainability, and renewed incantation Magic Sword Skills.
Buffed the VIT-raising effect of the skill Enchant Earth.
The skill Enchant Curse now raises all stats.
Changed the skills Holy Thunder and Glacial Glint to Wind Blade: Izuna and Aegis Blade respectively.
Added the new passive skill Impart and Focus.
◆ Equipment Adjustments
Leader Robes now have the additional effect of raising MP by 100.
◆ Get Skills Menu Adjustments
Added the ability to raise the selected class to the highest possible level at once.
Changed the position of the Skill Details button guide while the level-up module is being displayed.
◆ Bug Fixes
Fixed a bug which caused the cursor in the item menu to become unaligned with the items in the list when Goshe was holding Raw Materials in the final chapter.
Fixed a bug in the final boss of the survival route where if a battle ended at the same time as Rage subsided, the game would freeze when the boss entered Rage again in a subsequent battle.
Thank you playing The Use of Life! We have updated the game to Ver.0.5.07, Here are the bug fixes and changes.
◆ Bug Fixes
Fixed a bug that caused the screen-shaking effect that occurs during events to carry over to the next event if the event was fast-forwarded through.
Fixed a bug in Chapter 3 that caused Elyon to think that you killed his warriors even if you didn't.
Fixed a bug in Chapter 4 that triggered the wrong dialogue choice when Goshe is asked whether he's afraid of death while his flame of strength is relatively high.
Relatedly, fixed a bug in Chapter 4 that triggered the wrong text during the same conversation under the same conditions.
Fixed a bug in Chapter 4 where the stargazing illustration wasn't displayed when Goshe reminisces about his time with Misha while his flame of life is relatively high.
Fixed a bug in the survival route of Chapter 5 where choosing not to fight after triggering the paralyzing bowgun trap would cause the boss' paralysis status ailment to carry over to the next battle.
Fixed a bug in the survival route of Chapter 5 where the list of items received during random ★ item events appeared to have a blank space between the second and third items.
◆ Event Adjustments
Made Goshe more expressive in the dining hall event in Chapter 1.
Changed the sound effect that plays when your barrier is shattered in the sandstorm in Chapter 3.
Edited some of the text in Chapter 3.
Changed the item rewards you can choose from in the burning desert event in Chapter 3. (Frost Orb x3→Barrier Device x1; Calamity Orb x3→Glacial Orb x1)
Added an option to the burning ruins event in Chapter 3 that allows you to nullify the damage caused by collapsing rubble by activating a barrier device.
You now have a lower chance of encountering events that cause damage in the burning ruins event in Chapter 3 if you could successfully hold a conversation with the Kangah-Rooh before entering.
Changed some of Misha's expressions in the event where you walk across the narrow bones in Chapter 4.
When Suu describes the three heroes in Chapter 4, illustrations of each hero are now displayed alongside the descriptions.
If Goshe is not particularly attached to either your clan or Misha in Chapter 4, his flame of life will now decrease by 2.
Removed Misha's portrait from the event in Chapter 4 where Goshe reminisces about his clan.
◆ Balance Adjustments
Slightly increased the amount of EXP obtained after defeating Great Sage Marsa, General Baldos, and King Elran in Chapter 4.
Any status ailments applied on Zein will now all be removed when they change forms.
Thank you playing The Use of Life! We have updated the game to Ver.0.5.06, Here are the bug fixes and changes.
◆ Bug Fixes
Fixed a bug that caused the Boost Gauge to fill significantly more slowly when the Booster was equipped.
Fixed a bug that occured when you chose to finish off the Pala Galan warriors in Chapter 3 that caused Goshe to leave the event early and be able to move on the map.
Fixed a bug where Goshe would only get a +1 SP bonus instead of +2 after defeating the three mid-bosses in Chapter 4.
◆ New Features/Adjustments
The barrier devices obtainable in Chapter 3 can now be used in battle.
The Pala Gayan warriors in Chapter 3 now use their barriers at the start of battle.
Adjusted the maximum HP of the Pala Gayan warriors to accomodate for this change.
Made it so neither Goshe or any enemies can be Poisoned while they are protected by a barrier.
Thank you playing The Use of Life! We have updated the game to Ver.0.5.05, Here are the bug fixes and changes.
◆ Bug Fixes
Fixed a bug in one route of the final chapter that allowed the spiked log barricade trap to be activated multiple times.
Fixed a bug that caused the location name to not be displayed in the save files of the 4th and final chapters.
Fixed a bug in one route of the final chapter where spamming left while moving from the forest to the river would allow players to skip straight to the skipping stones event.
Fixed a bug where loading a final chapter save file would cause the game to assume you have killed Elyon even if you hadn't.
Fixed a bug where if the Saberworm doesn't use "GULP!!!" while underground, it would then proceed to stay underground for the rest of the battle, making it impossible to defeat.
◆ Text Fixes
Fixed typos.
Rewrote the explanation of the Reset function to more accurately reflect how it actually works.
◆ Gameplay Improvements
Added a video in the difficulty select screen that shows the difference in dodge speed in each difficulty.
◆ Balance Adjustments (Zein)
Buffed certain stats.
Raised the speed of certain skills.
Raised the power of certain skills.
Blade Tail now has 2 actions instead of 1.
Added new skills. (Shining Roar and Further Radiance)
Changed Zein's dialogue for when they're at a disadvantage and changed their portrait accordingly.
