Hello! I'm Mr. Slate and here you can find the patch notes for v.0.9.19 of the MoonWard Demo! This is the latest and as of today current MoonWard patch version.
The focus for this patch was the codex feature and content for it, some smaller onboarding features, polish and bug fixing.
Lastly, before I continue, you can download the latest version of the MoonWard Demo here!
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Let's get to the patch notes!
1. Added in-game codex.
Well to be fair it's called "Notes" in-game but it does the same thing as any other RPG. Playing the game and reaching certain triggers unlocks notes. Yo can then view and read them in this new menu. It's fairly simple on the mechanical side.
Content wise, I've added about 30 unlockable entries ranging from playable race descriptions, to world lore. There's so much more I want to add but I didn't have the time this time round. Rest assured I'll be adding more entries as I go. Likewise, there are only 4 categories right now, but I plan on adding a few more over time.
I played through the demo a few times averaging about 75 minutes per playthrough and I managed to get most entries. I'm happy with that pace. It means playing the main story gets you most but if you want to collect all of them there'll be a bit more time investment. I think some of you will enjoy that. Let me know in the comments or on social!
2. Move names in brawl can be toggled on and off.
Fairly simple new addition, coming from feedback from the live event a few weeks back. Some players were confused about the function of the moves in brawls. I was also told it's difficult to tell what icon means what. Granted these were players that had about 10 minutes at a time with the game and didn't go through any onboarding or tutorials but I think it's a valid point nonetheless.
To address this I added text to the move icons and a little background fade so you can read it clearly. Some names are still a bit unclear, especially the two-hand specials, however those are elaborated on in the item moves list.
To wrap this up nicely, I added a toggle in the settings menu to enable and disable the move names. This way nobody has to make a compromise. I personally don't need the labels and I think everyone will eventually turn them off but it's nice to have the option for new players at least.
3. Help screen for brawl.
This is an overlay that appears on top of the brawl screen when you tap either clock. It gives you information on a few things with labels. It also gives you the basics of move stages through a coloured icon and a corresponding brief description. You can also see the three types of hands shown as icons with their own corresponding short descriptions. While the overlay is on the brawl is paused.
Something you can easily do now is start a move so the stages and hands are shown in the clock, then tap the clock to see what the stages and hands do.
There are a few main reasons to place the overlay buttons in the clocks. One is that I wanted to keep the UI clear of any more buttons, the others are a little more complicated. I noticed at the live demo that some players tried clicking the clocks - there was no feedback for that so most were just confused. Having something happen, even if it's not what you expect is always better than nothing. The other reason is that I was told at the event that it's difficult to remember the move stages and clock hands purpose. Both of those elements are inside the clock so tying them together felt natural.
4. Less obscuring tutorial messages.
This is something a designer friend of mine pointed out - a lot of the tutorial messages would obscure the part of the screen they were referring to. Also, the tutorials in brawls had multiple sets of information which was a bit overwhelming.
To address this I put together a way to move and scale the tutorial pages. Pretty much every single tutorial message was altered by this system. I also used it to scale down the popup when the message itself was too short, so now the size of the popups should fit the information inside.
To address the overwhelming amount of text at times, I split some tutorials into multiple smaller popups. I was originally counting on the rule of three for player information retention. What I didn't think of is that this still applies if the information is provided in individual popups and smaller chunks in succession instead of a single popup with a few pieces of information.
Simply put, you're more likely to remember a few short notes if there is a clear distinction between them and they don't obscure the subject of the text, than you are to remember a list of items that also makes it difficult to see the subject of the text. Lists like these patch notes are better for reference and not for memorising.
5. Improved brawl tutorial.
More specifically the active brawl tutorial with Rowan. This was my designer friend again coming to the rescue with some advice about the length and actions the player takes in the tutorial.
Essentially, there wasn't enough repetition. That sounds like a good thing, but by repeating some actions and adding about 20 seconds to the tutorial I made sure that:
Players would see the move they're practising against a variety of other moves.
Will have a better understanding of the move they are practising in general.
Will be more confident about getting it right as opposed to passing by a fluke.
This might feel like a minor change but considering the uniqueness of the combat system, I have to use anything I can to help players understand what their actions lead to.
6. Fixed bugs and typos.
Mainly just handled a few bugs that were left over, some typos and improved on the v0.9.9 hotfix for the map screen.
So these were the MoonWard Demo patch notes for v0-9-19. Let me know what you think in the comments or on our Discord server!
Considering the majority of my time is spent on content for the full release, I'm a little surprised I've been able to keep up with the 3 week release schedule. Feels nice!
Thank you all for your time! I work hard on these patches so please give the MoonWard Demo a try!
Have a great week and like always,
stay awesome!
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