Single Player
The code for our gathering system is fully implemented! In addition to the code, we also have new SFX for picking up different kinds of items (ordinary, gatherable, etc.). Items can be spread across the environment with adjustable respawn times that sync with our archiving system. This way, respawn times persist between play sessions as the game is saved and loaded. Here’s a demo of the current state: (the respawn times were greatly reduced for example’s sake, and the large fern models will be replaced with the correct Aloe models soon!)
With the Switch port, we’ve continued fighting the good fight! Earlier this week it started crashing more frequently, but we’ve since fixed those issues and continued gaining ground. The open world is very slow on Switch still, but the main menu is holding 60 FPS- that’s progress!
We’ve started to work on implementing our newly-created crouching and sneaking animations for our human player. We also have new idle, walking, and running animations for the human characters in the works!
We have a functional version of the game’s cooking mechanics now! Similar to the gathering system, the next big step is getting the remaining art assets together and polishing it up.
In Kinfolk art news: We have concept art for a new Dark Type underway. The two Gaia types we mentioned in the last newsletter have complete concept art and are moving on to the modeling phase. Two Water types have completed modeling, and one of those is rigged and ready for animations!
A new set of clothing models is well underway now. You might have some trouble getting your hands on this outfit in game, but anyone who does will look very sharp indeed.
If you don’t want your open world to feel empty, you’re gonna need set piece models! Modeling work is currently wrapping up on several new set piece models for the open world, with many more scheduled to be completed this upcoming sprint. Some of these will be various trees and plants that support the gathering and cooking mechanics, while others will be notable structures.
We’ve implemented a lot of dialogue for several non-story NPCs this week. As a part of this, conversations with 8 new characters were added. Even in the wilds of Hinterlock, you can expect to meet a few interesting characters with stories of their own.
Writing for the game’s story missions made major progress last week! We filled in important blanks and connected some dots in ways that we feel will make a much stronger through-line for the story as a whole. We know you’re eager to see new gameplay and info related to the story. Rest assured, this is our primary focus right now and we’re looking forward to sharing some of it with you as soon as it’s ready.
The concept art for each of the interiors and exteriors of houses in one of the game’s main towns is nearly finished! We’re really happy with how well the concept art is capturing the tone we had planned for this town. There are still 2 buildings left to concept but we’re able to begin modeling for the others starting this upcoming sprint.
We have new VFX and SFX for a few abilities in the single player portion of the game, and we’re really excited about how well they’re turning out! One of them will be an attack Hull_Piercer uses often.
We rebaked our navmesh with some newly adjusted settings and optimizations which reduced the memory size of the navmesh for our entire world by 50%. This should be especially helpful for getting everything working on the Switch.
We’ve improved how we edit the navmesh when adjusting for things like new bodies of water. This is extremely important for allowing aquatic and terrestrial Kinfolk to limit themselves to their intended environments when pathfinding. The game wouldn’t be very challenging if the ideal way to defeat your enemies was to lead them to a body of water and watch them drown as they run out of stamina.
Our Utility AI for combat has continued to improve. After making these changes, it should be even easier to author new unique AI for different characters or Summoners. This will help us continue to scale out our AI as new characters are implemented.
We’ve fixed many issues with objects and projectiles updating their position properly when the Kinfolk is on a moving platform, and also fixed issues with saving and reloading, including when a Kinfolk’s state is “Occupied.”
We updated our debuff values to not be so radically lopsided. Buffs and debuffs now scale at equal rates.
We fixed issues with Kodoki not healing properly after leveling up.
Community
We mentioned in our last newsletter that we’ve been working with a writing consultant. His name is Derek Alan Siddoway! He’s an internationally bestselling author, and this week he launched his second Kickstarter for the next novel in his Mana Beast series! He describes Mana Beasts as “Digimon meets Avatar: The Last Airbender.” The series was also inspired by Pokémon, Monster Hunter, and Monster Rancher.
Storm Totem is the second book in the series but you can grab the first book, Beast Mage, as part of the Kickstarter as well. The books are available in ebook, signed paperbacks and audiobooks, so there’s something for everyone. Like Kindred Fates, Mana Beasts was made for fans who want a more fulfilling monster taming story. We’ve really enjoyed working with Derek, and if this sounds like something you'd be interested in we're sure he'd appreciate it if you check it out!
Thanks for stopping by, everyone! We’ll see you next time, on February 24. Until then, we hope you have a good couple of weeks!
