Hello everyone! It's been a while since our last announcement, so we just wanted to drop a message and say hi! We've been hard at work on Card Survival: Fantasy Life! Some of the things we've been working on recently are the Magic system (which I'll describe in more detail in this announcement), a new and improved cooking system that we believe will greatly enhance the experience and many improvements to the general interface/interactivity of the game like for example a new type of mini-inventory (for items like fishing rods or kitchenware), and a new feature that allows players to expand and collapse stacks of cards (especially useful for farming). Content implementation is progressing well, and the forest setting for the game is gradually coming to life. Art development is taking bit longer than anticipated, but it's progressing nonetheless. I'm putting considerably more effort in trying to make cards more visually appealing and as a result they're taking a bit more time... Hopefully you will be happy with the results! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40952036/07c0933a7c85b9c4e6dd90958f372b244047c5af.png[/img] Addressing some questions and concerns we've seen, I want to clarify and reiterate that Fantasy Life, like its predecessor, is primarily a simulator game. Whether the survival scenario takes place on a tropical island, a primordial nordic forest, the ruins of a post-apocalyptic city, or a spaceship on its way to Mars, Card Survival is still going to be Card Survival. :) Our main goal with this game is to create a deeper, richer, and more fulfilling experience than Tropical Island. We're adding many new systems to make our engine more robust and pave the way for new and more complex features in this and future games. It's important to note that Fantasy Life is not going to be a High Fantasy adventure with elves, dwarves, and wizards casting fireballs. Instead, we're crafting a grounded, small-scale, living world that immerses you in a survival situation, closer to the life of an iron age pagan in a northern forest than that of an epic fantasy novel hero. We want the game to be a day to day survival experience (like tropical island) where players have a complex relationship with the primordial forest that surrounds them, as they fight to earn their own unique place in it, be that of a hunter, a farmer, a spirit seeker or something else. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40952036/44660e6974d25d954603ce13b15a3891977b98b4.png[/img] For those interested, here's some more in-depth information about the new Magic system which I think can help convey some of these new flavours the game has. [h1]Magic:[/h1] The main magic system in the game aligns with what many call low magic, or perhaps folk magic, i.e., the practice of working with and understanding spirits. It is a very coherent and traditionally intuitive system where one sees the world as a manifestation of the spirits behind it. Here are some of its features: [h2]Spirit Binding:[/h2] Every time you start a fire or warm yourself by one, your fire affinity will slightly increase, symbolizing how familiar and attuned you are to the essence and properties of fire. Then, sometimes while gazing into the flames of your campfire, if your affinity is high enough, you might notice a fire spirit. You can then attempt to bind this spirit to your soul. If successful, the spirit becomes a part of you, possessing you in a way (or at least a minor part of you), and granting some of its abilities and desires. For example, a minor fire spirit might warm you up at night, but also instill a desire to burn things. The stronger the spirit you bind, the more significant and potent the abilities granted, but also the more its will merges with yours, altering you in the process. This makes magic a double-edged sword, where those delving too deeply run the risk of losing themselves and their soul to the spirits within. [h2]Charms and Enchantments:[/h2] An alternative to soul-binding is binding spirits to places or objects. This allows you to retain many of a spirit's powers (though not all) while keeping the spirit at a safer distance. For instance, a fire charm might warm you without the urge to burn things. A spear imbued with a boar spirit will strike with additional strength without influencing you with the animal's temperamental nature. Spirits, in this way, can be used to create what are basically magic items, such as weapons that grant courage or special moves, necklaces that warn you from danger, and cloaks that help you blend with your surroundings. [h2]Spirit Strength:[/h2] Spirits vary in strength. Only a minor spirit may emerge in a campfire, but a large pyre might summon a greater fire spirit. Unique spirits can be found in special locations or under unique circumstances. Generally, stronger spirits are more challenging to bind and control but offer greater powers to their host. A minor spirit might provide warmth, while a greater one might allow you to walk through flames almost unharmed. However, such power brings the risk of losing your mind or meeting a fiery end. Smaller spirits can be nurtured into greater ones too. By maintaining a high affinity to their essence (e.g., fire for fire spirits) while bound to your soul, their power will gradually increase and eventually transform them into a higher category. Conversely, neglecting a spirit can weaken it, potentially leading to anger and backlash, and eventually reducing it to a weaker form or causing it to leave you. [h2]Spirit Variety:[/h2] The game features a large number of spirits and a powerful magic user will have a wide selection of useful ones. Spirits are typically connected to a concept, such as an element (fire or water), an emotion (fear or anger), a creature (a deceased person or animal), or a force (like decay or growth), among others. Each spirit has its own unique discovery method, with greater spirits being more elusive. For instance, water spirits might be found in rivers and lakes, wind spirits in high, windy places, and animal spirits in the remains of hunted animals. [h2]Spirit Relations:[/h2] Some spirits allow basic interaction and communication, while more powerful ones can engage in proper conversations and impart knowledge. Keeping a good relationship with your spirits is essential to staying attuned to them so they can be nurtured into strength or prevented from leaving you (or worse). We hope this gives you an insight into the magic system we implemented for the game. In the world of Card Survival: Fantasy Life, people are closely connected with spirits, using them for protection, farming, healing, and other everyday tasks. It's important to note that spirits usually provide minor effects or boons, offering practical benefits in most cases unless one chooses to delve deeper into the paths of magic. For most players, spirits will mostly be a special flavor that hopefully will help capture the vibes of what living an existence in the shadows of a powerful and mysterious nature might be like. The most powerful spirits and more "out there" abilities will require one's character to walk the path of magic by learning to interact with spirits, to understand them and to bind the more powerful of their kind. That path that will be difficult to walk! That's all for now. Thank you all for reading! ;) Until the next announcement!