As we head into the final stretch of development, I’m excited to finally reveal the reason for the radio silence over the past few weeks. Myself and the team have been working relentlessly on a massive overhaul to the game, and while it is not quite ready for release yet, we’re sufficiently excited that, with the start of a fresh month, we decided to roll out the patch notes ahead of time, and build some expectation for the update to come.
Unfortunately it was necessary to roll back the v. 0.2 changes, meaning this will no longer contain Act 3, outside the first two chapters. But this sacrifice will be worth it, to ensure the game is in a more timeless and memorable state.
v. 0.1.4 Patchnotes (Tentative)
- Weapons changed to cleave closer to vanilla numbers
- New weapons added such as the ‘Machete’ and ‘Katana’
- Secrets and semi-secrets changed to become more impactful (e.g. Master Seal in ocean tile in 10B)
- Reversion to vanilla experience formula
- Reversion to vanilla S-rank bonuses; only one S-rank now available per unit
- Unpromoted movement decreased
- Enemy palettes reverting to vanilla ‘pale red’ across the board
- Mapsprite palettes reverting to vanilla configuration, no longer change with faction
- Several mapsprites and animations reverted in order to evoke an aesthetic more in line with the ‘classic’ GBAFE house style
- Healthy amount of profanity added to script, in order to better evoke the feeling of a mature story that is not in thrall to the ‘classic’ GBAFE house style
- Change of engine to FE7 in order to facilitate Augury coming before chapters, not during
Rena:
- -3 Skl/Lck, -2 Con, -1 Str/Def
- -15% Skl, -5% Str, +5% Res growths
- Gilded Edge nerfed
- No longer has Convoy
- Name changed to ‘Renair’
It was felt that, in order to add jeopardy to earlier maps, the lord should be made more fragile and less effective, forcing her to rely on more muscular comrades as she slowly becomes able to defend herself. It was also felt that the name ‘Renair’ was more befitting of her class and status.
Garath:
- -4 HP, -3 Skl/Lck, -1 Str
- Growths significantly reduced
- Greatbow reduced significantly in Mt, Hit, Wt
- Now fits into conventional hackbox
It was felt that, with the changes to level curve, Garath should be reined in. Accuracy was a particular concern, as his inflicted damage was overly reliable and did not contribute to the sense of jeopardy in the earlygame, which the reshuffle regarded as paramount.
Kolbane:
- -2 Def, -1 HP/Str/Skl/Lck
- -5% Str growth
- Class changed to Mercenary
As mercenary is an extremely popular and classic GBAFE class, it was agreed upon that it felt like an oversight not to add any in the earlygame. His stats were then reduced in order to not risk overshadowing Rena.
Asher:
- -1 Mag, B → D Staves
- No longer arrives with Physic
- Can now use Light magic
- Now more strongly resembles FEU personality
In order to remain competitive with Lizaveta, it was felt Asher should be able to contribute with chip damage. It was also felt he should have fewer options outside of contributing with chip damage.
Cyrille:
It was felt that, in order to increase focus on the initial trio of units and encourage reliance on them - as well as increasing the ‘Fiana Freeblades’ vibe of an unusual, ragtag starting squad - a conventional, defensive-slanted cavalier should be removed.
Eilene:
- Can now use lances as well as swords
- C2 Sheila Village now drops Ivory Ranseur instead of Rapier
It was felt that action was required to ensure that the traditionally weak Pegasus Rider class got its due.
Tricia:
- Class changed to Merchant (non-combatant)
- No longer takes a deployment slot
- Mug changed to reference ‘Katrina’ from Rune Factory 3
- Name changed to ‘Katrina’ to reference ‘Katrina’ from Rune Factory 3
An advantage of the change of engines is that Tricia no longer needs to fight to bring her utility to bear, and no longer takes a slot.
Cathale:
It was felt that access to a tough and reliable armour knight would undercut the sense of jeopardy in the early chapters.
Crowe:
- -2 Str/Skl
- Change in writing direction
It was felt that in order to encourage reliance on Garath and fit with the narrative, his weapon-sharing competitors should be weakened. Furthermore, in order to further enrich the world, the decision has been made to make Crowe more foul-mouthed and to explicitly have committed war crimes.
Driscoll:
- Base stats reduced, particularly Spd
- Now wears vest
As above.
Cothiva:
With Asher now covering light magic, Cothiva’s existence was redundant.
Marie, Alexis:
- Removed; now serve as framing device
In order to fully make use of the exciting Tactician feature in the FE7 engine, Marie and Alexis are now the stand-in player avatar, appearing in a new scene just before the prologue.
Jolyon, Marin and Florent:
- Now revert to base stats on re-recruitment in C10A
Franseza:
It was felt that, in order to increase the player’s sense of isolation during the separation arc, Seren should be single.
Blixa:
- Recruitment changed to visiting a yellow-roofed house
- Name changed to ‘Adrian’
Rozelle:
- Base stats significantly reduced
- Renamed to ‘River’
- Redesigned to more strongly evoke the character ‘Mist’ from Fire Emblem Heroes
Meliza:
- Staff rank reduced from B → C; starts with Light rank of B
Lyndra, Corbeau, Eudira, Nikita, Brill, byor’Dal
To add a greater sense of value to trained growth units, the Act 2 prepromotes have been excised. To add more male representation, Corbeau’s role in-story has been given to a male Warrior named ‘Cullahan’.
Chapters:
C2:
C3:
In order to give a better sense of the Darkwrights’ fortified position, they now inhabit a castle tileset map full of winding 1-tile width corridors, being shot at constantly by longbows. This also instills in the player a sense of badly wanting to recruit Crowe, after spending a dozen turns being shot at by him.
C4:
- Giant mountain re-implemented
C6x:
- Valin/Merri replaced by nameless green unit reinforcements
C8A/C8x:
- Kolbane and Ioan swap positions
- Garath no longer has bodyguard in 8x
With Kolbane now a sword infantry, it was felt having him in these sections would be redundant. Removing Garath’s guard in 8x helps add to the sense of jeopardy, while also adding an exciting element to the gameplay based around using precisely the right weapons until you don’t die.
C9A:
- Now significantly more challenging
- Blixa now recruited from yellow house instead of talk
With the smaller cast now meaning far fewer units flood the map, C9A is now free to destroy the player with no holds barred. Players are encouraged to attack the map very quickly and decisively, and to not miss an attack at any time.
C10A, C11A
- Maps now almost entirely grey to reflect gravity of situation
C12A, C12B:
These maps were changed in order to fit the rest of the new aesthetic (larger, longer, more convoluted).
C14A:
It was felt that the only way to properly add gravity to 14A was to make the map a long 40x36 corridor.
C7B:
- Weapon triangle house now gives defining Prf to Ioan
- Terrain on map increased several times over in density
C8B:
- Boss now am’Roan from 9B, now reclassed to Swordmaster, renamed ‘Marroan’
C9B:
- Boss now Droon from 8B, renamed ‘Druenin’
- Boss avoid increased drastically
- Boss equipped with Kris
- Vision radius reduced to 2
- Wren now recruited from initial town
- Drake reinforcements will now move on arrival
- Frequent ambush spawns added near boss
In order to add jeopardy to the highly emotionally charged moment of the betrayal and flight from the town, several exciting measures have been taken to increase player engagement and tension.
C10x / C11B:
- Sidestory requirements now flipped; C10x becomes C11B, 11B becomes 11x
It was felt that the ship travel chapter was more important to the bones of the Onduris arc than the chapter introducing mir’Katal. As reward for unlocking the new 11x, a novel narrative technique has been introduced into the script for the chapter, in which a minor female character is slain so that an attached, more significant male character can feel emotions.
C14B:
- Several ranks added to south of map
As ever, it’s a pleasure to have such a strong community, and I hope the final version is not too far away and that this incomplete gamestate is not left to linger past its due date. All the best!
