Happy Halloween! We may not have much in the way of the full game or a demo update, but we do have significant news regarding the progress of development.
Firstly: Pediatric is rapidly approaching completion, and while you may not see it in the demo, you can see plenty of it on the game twitter which I am trying... VERY hard to update frequently, though it may not happen as much as I like.
Secondly: As we continue to rebalance characters and enemies and overhaul the combat, we've decided to overhaul the Despair/Anxiety system! While I was alright with the current system- the way it is in the demo as it is- after some feedback and talking with our encounter designer, we've thought of a more dynamic and engaging way for players to interact with this mechanic, while still preserving the feeling of anxiety and the helplessness that comes with it. So, come the next demo update- or the full game, god willing, your menu will look like this!
That stress meter will be the new implementation of the Despair system. Put simply, the more you have, the less you can do, and a lot of stuff makes it go higher- taking damage, using moves, and certain events. As the player, your job is to manage that bar so Robin can continue to take part in the action, keep up her pace, and avoid the Panic Attack state- a state where Robin isn't likely to take commands, and may skip her turn entirely! With more detail on it, a word from our Encounter Designer regarding the system:
All of Robin's unique abilities will essentially have two costs:
1. The amount it increases her Stress by.
2. The overall amount of stress she must be at or below to use the skill.
This means that exceptionally powerful abilities can be balanced around either their availability or stress cost or even both, leading to a greater level of decision making for players.
Certain skills, like Deep Breath, regulate stress and lower it alongside their other effects. A means of showing her character growth and support network through the game can be to give her and her allies progressively better coping skills that lower stress by a greater amount and may even supply other benefits!
To compensate for managing a somewhat complex mechanic like this Robin is, generally, being balanced to be a strong character. This is already true in the current demo version and is something I want to carefully hone in future versions.
Having her be a strong party member is also an incentive for players to learn and engage with the new Stress mechanic as, currently, it is generally faster to win battles non-boss battles with just Jay and SG. Even in cases where using Robin as well is ideal having every battle require a single, static action that completely purges Stress for just one battle is not engaging in a way we are seeking.
If Robin's stress meter caps out or goes above a value of 100 she will enter a 'shutdown' state, much like the current status effect where she cannot take most actions until her stress is properly regulated. She is still in combat and still can be targeted by skills and attacks.
I (the encounter designer) will be drawing up an in-game booklet explaining these mechanics in simple, easy to parse terms that will be given to players by Jay shortly after meeting him. That way, players can easily reference it if they are ever confused or forget how part of this mechanic works. I don't want this mechanic to be stressful for our players! Just for it to represent Robin's own stress.
I still intend for the game to be completable without a huge amount of trouble for players. This is mostly a way of making Robin's stress more engaging and parseable for all parties! It also gives us, the developers, the ability to make more challenging and complex optional battles for players who want to dig into those!
Thank you all for taking the time to read this and I look forward to doing my part to help deliver the best version of Ghost Hospital that we can!
And lastly, not so much of an announcement, but please remember that if you want to have some custom dialogue or add your own NPC to the game, have custom icons and art made for you, or just want to support the project, please consider subscribing to the Patreon! While I may not post there that much, I try to make up for it by posting elsewhere.
Thank you all, and happy Halloween!
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