NEW ALPHA BUILD!

I present to you this little doodle for all the trouble I've caused. Presenting Hanabi Inoue intimidating Devi (Stage 1 Boss). I thought it would be a nice change of pace from how I normal post these (despite it hasn't been that often.

Hello everyone! It's been awhile. And Happy New Years!

This announcement is pretty late (I know), but now I think it's time to upload a new version of the game for you guys to try out.

Before I get to what's been added to the game so far, and why it has took me awhile to do so, I would like to appreciate for those who do stumble upon my post, or (if you happen to be one), coming back to check up on what's been updated since my last postings. It's been pretty difficulty trying to meet these milestones on time, because either there's a bug that's not suited for deployment, or I've overlooked things that needed my attention. Plus, there was also the holidays, so there's that.

Also, UI and Sprites are my one weakness, so forgive me if I haven't gotten to polishing the stage and player sprites in the game. I'll be sure to make that a priority now that everything's stable enough for me to do so (at least what I've tested on my end. It could be different for you guys when you get the updated version of the game).

But with that out of the way, let's discuss some of the changes that I have included into this game since the last update

-- Player-Specific Changes

The amount of damage given to enemies have been recalculated. For the boss, this was very important because the game would be easy whenever you played as Raven, but not so easy playing as Maple or Hanabi (especially Hanabi).

Maple's LV 5 "Dimension Breaker" (her laser attack) now takes less mana to use, reducing the chances for her to run out of mana. This means that you can send off more fires to take down you enemy.

Hanabi's LV 4 "Harmonic Echoes" now takes less damage (and despite some nerfs given to her, especially with a hidden mechanic called the "Stress Mechanic", she's still one of the most overpowered characters in the entire game).

Because of the damage calculation change, Hanabi can now easily destroy enemy bullets. There are still some she can't destroy compared to the other characters, but at least now she has an easier time doing so.

Some of the character's stats have changed, which may affect the way that they play on this build.

-- Gameplay Mechanic Changes

There is now symbols that spawn whenever you or the enemy destroy bullets. Because of the priority system that's in the game (which I still need to discuss that, and everything that's mentioned in this posting), you now have the ability to know if you have the highest priority or not, effectively reassessing your game plan to go through the stage.

Fade out from a "Spell Calling" (when the screen dims), actually dims back to normal. Originally after you brought an boss's patience (the Green Meter around the boss), and have actually brought their health down (the Red Meter), it would go from "slightly-dimmed" to "normal" in an instant, which was not the original intent.

Retrying, Restarting, and Resurrection got a patch. Restarting and Resurrection for sure should work, but Retrying may have some mixed results.

You are allowed to show how many bullets are in the screen during your run of a stage by going to Options>General>Devlopement.

All difficulties are now different from each other (meaning if you go on "Easy", it shows for both the enemies and the bosses, as opposed to just the enemies).

There is a final phase added to Devi's boss fight on Genuine Mode.

Stage 1 had gotten some changed in how enemies spawn in Genuine mode. Changes to Stage 1 and it's difficulties will have further changes during the development process of this game to assure it's well-balances, and manages to stay fun for those who's playing it.

Stage 1 Theme and Boss Theme have been altered. I reworked them for the game. You can unlock the songs in the Music Box by either reaching the boss, or completing the stage flawlessly.

Results are now in the game. In the future, when Stage 2 is in development, be careful for the "Qoam" penalty. This can be received for resurrecting within a stage, and will greatly affect your "Stage Clear" bonus (which is 1,000,000).

And for that, that's all the changes that have been made in this current build of the game. Now, I'm aware that there's no manual or documentation on how to actually play the game, or what the game is even about. I'll be posting on how to play the game soon! (Yes! Soon!)

The video goes over what each character does, how the ManaSystem works, the Priority System, Active Dodging (a special way of saying "Dashing"), and plenty more. Be sure to take a look at it, because I worked really hard to put the video together.

That is all we have for this major update announcement. If you have any questions, you can DM me either on Twitter, my email kayaneseera@gmail.com, or comment on the video provided in this post.

It'll be awhile for the next Alpha Build to be released. I can't make any promises that the next build will come next week. Still, it would be great to keep an eye out in case one does come out. I hope you Enjyoii what I have to offer. It's crazy to see how a little game made in 2019 for a Game Jam has come such a long way in just almost 3 years. Honestly, if I had the motivation to make this game earlier, you would already be enjoying a really amazing product. For now, you're continued support will always be wanted!

Again, Happy New Years! 2022 is going to be BIG! Catch you guys on the next announcement.