Greetings once more VoidBounders,     
                     
                              A few days back we introduced to you all the new crafting system. It gave a brief glimpse into the logistical aspect of the game and how it could affect Caly's combat performance in a dungeon diving scenario. Continuing on the theme, today we'll be showcasing some more features that will be making their debut with this expansion patch. Without further adieu, lets get to it.

Menu Icons:
 Voidbound isn't an average run of the mill RPG Maker game.In-fact, it's a unique hybrid of 2D RPG gameplay and Visual Novel elements. To actually populate and provide access to a multitude of menu options and links, is a task that is near impossible for the default User Interface to pull off. Thus, it was decided that the players would need a more vivid and intuitive menu system that would not only make the UI easier to navigate but also be beefy enough to properly organize and index an array of choice elements. And so, the menu icons were born: 
 


With the advent of this patch, players will now have a vertical string of icons stacked neatly upon each other that on the right side of the dialogue box. Here's a quick breakdown of those icons: 
 
  • DialogueLogs: 

       Much of VoidBound's dialogues comprise of full length conversations that are not only reflected during the lewd sections of the game, but also during story critical moments. A mis-click or a wrong tap of the skip key during such a time might blow away a few dialogues which may cause irritation for a story immersed player. In such a case, they're forced to load an old save just so they could catch the missed text . To remedy such an issue, we incorporated the Dialogue Log system.
 
Initially, the system comprised of a "snapshot" feature which displayed the picture that flashed alongside the dialogue. Unfortunately, it caused a massive load delay and in a few cases resulted in the game crashing entirely. For now, we have decided to keep it simple and let players access only the last 20 dialogues. This feature will see more improvements in the upcoming patches. 
 
  • Close Dialogue Box:

       Nothing major about this except for a neat little feature that hides the dialogue box temporarily so you could either have a clear look at the sections behind the box or capture screenshots with the UI cluttering the screen.
 
  • Save
  
      This is the highlight of our new UI system. In our alpha release back in January, though we had the VN elements already incorporated into the game, the players had no way to save their progress during conversations that weren't triggered outside of the dungeon. That included the hefty intro prologue the story behind VoidBound. With this patch, that prologue was extended extensively. To make sure players face no continuity issues, we incorporated the SAVE feature that would allow users to save anywhere, where a dialogue box makes an appearance, which should make navigating through a word intensive game like VoidBound, more manageable.
 
  • Load
   
       Same deal as above. Just the opposite in terms of functionality. No need for exhaustive explanations.
 
  • Game Options
     
        As the name suggests, an option icon that lets you quickly access the technical aspects of the game. At the moment it only consists of the basic choices that an avid 2D RPG Maker gamer would find all too familiar:
 
 But that is just the tip of the iceberg. In the upcoming few patches, we'll be adding more utility to this index and let players cycle through the game-play related aspects as well. For example, at one point players will be able to quickly access the Crafting System, Modding System, Inventory and much more through this menu as well. Nothing is set in stone though but the basic framework has already been set through this icon.

Combat Animations:
   In our January release we showcased our maiden attempt at the combat system. The feedback was largely encouraging, but it was the combat animations that was especially well received. Further enhancing on this system, starting with this patch, Caly's suit will now reflect the damage that she suffered during combat.
 
Furthermore, when Caly gets subdued by the enemy, she will have another animation variation.
 
Combat Logs:
   The last thing that we'd like to showcase for today, would be the Combat Logs. During a battle, so much happens in the blink of an eye that tracking important developments might become an impossible mess.

 "Did Caly just crit? If so, for how much? Who, out of all the multiple enemies on the field, did she crit? Wait, why is her damage suddenly so low? Did she get de-buffed? If so, who or what de-buffed her?"

Combat data, like the above, is crucial. It helps players strategize their next move. To aid in player's combat management, we introduced the Combat Log System, a scrolling text bar that will continuously update as the battle rages on. 
 
 
 The feature is still in its infancy and constantly being improved upon but the basic system does its intended job well. No matter how long the battle rages, players will have access to all the damage/debuff reports and once old reports get replaced by newer combat updates, players can simply use the mouse scroll key to revisit them anytime they want during the combat. 
There is a second facet to this system as well, but we'll reserve that for our next update post.

This finishes today's expansion content breakdown. The next post in the series will be the last before the patch officially launches for the general public. 

Kind Regards,
Cursed-Atelier Team