Welcome back!
This week we have created a simple shop to use in the upcoming update, an awesome animation for consumables, added parallax layers and fixed tons of smaller issues. We also remixed the exploration area so that you can progress a bit faster while looting all the treasure!
Shop Incoming
Many players already suggested this and what kind of RPG would CrossCode be without a good old shop. So for the next release we wanted to have a shop where you can buy consumables and higher tier equipment. So I went ahead and put together a small but functional menu for it and here it is:
This design will be used for the next release but we do want to change it slightly and add an option to sell you items too. The shop itself will be available through Carla in the exploration area, so make sure to check our her goods!
Buff Display, Food and Sorting
Consumables can have buffs and when you hover over them you'll want to know what kind of buff you'll get. Since we don't want to put this information in the description text, we decided to add a small interface in the bottom-left corner of the info box. This shows the same icons you see when you activate the Buff. Here's a screencap of it:
You'll also see how long the buff stays active! When opening the help menu you can see what each icon means. This way we can build in all the funny descriptions while still showing you what a buff does. Awesome!
Noticed the new Sort-Button in the top bar of the screen? That's right, that is the same button we talked about in DevLog #61. This buttons is both available in the inventory and the equipment menu.
Finally Felix sat down and created a custom animation for Lea when eating consumables. Check out out:
New Option
Normally you can open the quick menu while holding down the SHIFT-Button (or the Left-Trigger on the gamepad). While playtesting some of us noticed that it's actually quite cumbersome to hold it down all the time. For this reason I added a new option which enables 2 different possibilities to access the quick menu:
- Hold: Default behavior. Just hold down the button as long as you wish to stay on the quick menu
- Press: Press to toggle the quick menu. No need to hold down the button anymore!
The option will be added to the general tab in the options menu.
Parallax Layers
Felix actually finished this right before the last DevLog was written but we decided to put it in this update. He added the possibility of parallax layers! This will be used when walking near pits or leaves above Lea. Here is a short gif that shows the effect. Click on in to get a longer (and larger) version:
The coolest part is that the background is actually a normal layer inside our map editor. This mean we can add multiple layers for both background and foreground parallax layers. So expect some cool effects in the future!
Fixes and Changes
Aside from the bigger changes we spent quite some time fixing smaller issues and expanding our systems. We added a new system that allows us to let every game module have custom checks for saved variables. This sounds very technical but this allows us to build quests or check if you have a specific amount of items right in our editor.
There is also a new puzzle room in the making! This one will feature the new bouncing switches mechanics we introduced in DevLog #60.
Henning spent some quality time remixing each map in the exploration area. We reduced the density of enemies and gave them a bit more experience points. Additionally there is a small quest now to get some good gear earlier.
Alright this all I got!
Hope you enjoyed this update and until next time!
That HI Sandwich must be extra tasty. :)
Looks great, keep going!
Mmm Cheese Cracker. Just what I needed after my co-worker stole my lunch. Don't mind if I do!