[h3]Hello rebels![/h3] Our fourth devlog video is live on Youtube. We talked about [b]new lights, room and map system and game expo[/b]. [previewyoutube=QkAjOwCZBRg;full][/previewyoutube] [h3]Room and Map System[/h3] First and foremost, we've made significant changes to the game's storyline and progression system from its initial concept. Trying to create some kind of open-world structure was a daunting task. We combined elements from games like Slay the Spire for map structure and games like Moonlighter or Cult of the Lamb for room-based level design. In recent times, especially in independent roguelike games, we noticed that many developers use "randomly generated" systems to reduce their workload, but we decided to adapt these systems to our "branching" narrative by manually creating them. Each node on the level map which allowing us to make critical choices in the story progression represents a map composed of rooms. This change has been beneficial in many ways for our game. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, it keeps us as developers within specific boundaries and accelerates our development process. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43974442/d6335cf113ba09e9b31cca48f211ecda0419b77f.png[/img] [h3]Lights and URP[/h3] One of the most significant developments we made recently is related to lighting. When we started developing Arcane Revolt, I had no knowledge of Unity's render pipelines. However, to use 2D lights, we had to change our project's entire pipeline to URP. The atmosphere that lights add to the environment from the beginning was very impressive. Additionally, the level of detail and their realistic working mechanisms are fascinating. Just take a look that: [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43974442/e84f246f9fcec3ff05db6b483298dfebda2a415b.jpg[/img] [h3]User Interface and Menus[/h3] We enhanced our basic cooldown bar to make it more interactive and understandable. But before that, I think I need to talk about our visual interface because we redesigned all of them from scratch. We moved our character's skills to the bottom left and added a simple minimap to the right. Currently, the minimap has a very basic style, but we plan to transition to a map system similar to other room-based games in the near future. In the top left, there is our character's portrait, health bar, and a bar to store experience points. The most challenging aspect of interface design was the color palette because we needed colors that wouldn't distract from the game's main color palettes but would still be noticeable. For now, I think these colors are eye-catching enough. We completely revamped the "pause menu" and "main menu" designs even though they are a bit unnecesarry. Now, back to skills and the cooldown bar. Providing players with visual and auditory feedback on whether their abilities are ready to be used again is crucial. For this reason, we added both a radial cooldown timer and a small sound effect and red flash when players attempt to use an ability that is not ready. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43974442/644b62b5858abbab831d2041858e9c6e36e33e62.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43974442/2ba193bf0b202eb6e8785d259471e3519ec7f815.png[/img] [h3]Dialogue Portraits[/h3] In addition to our game's simple pixel art, we tried to create detailed character portraits that would catch the players' attention and create a stronger connection with the characters. We also plan to add different emotional states to these portraits according to the dialogues. Don't forget to let us know what you think about them. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43974442/3a3e595e51e3b7aa7eb62f263732cad9ade4e74f.png[/img] [h3]Gaming Expo Participation[/h3] In September, we participated in Gaming Istanbul, the largest game expo in Turkey, and had the opportunity to showcase our game to a large and diverse audience for the first time. This opportunity allowed us to gain experience and change our perspective in many aspects. It was quite satisfying to see many people appreciate different aspects of the game. The game's visual style, colors, and atmosphere were well-received by most. The game's dialogues, artwork, decision points, and combat received positive feedback, which is quite encouraging. One major issue that annoyed players the most and made the game unplayable for many was our control scheme, which solely relied on keyboard input. Therefore, I've already started transitioning our game to a mouse + keyboard scheme, similar to what most ARPGs use, which allows more flexible control. [h3]Don't forget to wishlist Arcane Revolt[/h3] Please consider wishlisting Arcane Revolt if you are interested in what you see and want to help [b]passionate students in their indie game dev journey.[/b] [url=https://discord.gg/uAxWJDVG9u][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43974442/510849ba6fade762a1d971f709d8e56bef29a2c0.png[/img][/url]