[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43792072/4359f13464d70583210fab7bf83bd02ec8ea598a.jpg[/img] Hello, Survivors! In last week's Dev Note, we introduced the major overhaul of the Stage System and provided a preview of the changes to the system based on a New World Map Concept. We mentioned that in order for a Single map to become the "smallest unit of experience" and for those maps to function as "Routes," a different approach would be needed compared to the stage system currently in Remore. Specifically, we need to come up with a way to provide an experience where maps are directly connected. In the previous version, in most cases, successfully escaping from a map would immediately lead to returning to the Hideout. However, for a map to function as a "Route," leaving one map must directly lead to the next map. This experience should feel natural; not simply "transitioning from one map to another," but rather feeling like exploring a large, interconnected world. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43792072/ab04b781378ac6513d9a52336af584875a496c22.png[/img] With that in mind, we had to come up with a new stage system. The reason we're making changes on such a large scale, is that when we change or add one system, it inevitably impacts other connected systems, as we mentioned in a previous Dev Note. Today, we're introducing a new stage system that directly affects how you control your character when moving between maps: Real-time Free Movement. [h3]A New Way to Journey: Real-Time Free Movement[/h3] Real-time Free Movement lets you move your character freely within a map without being restricted by turns when Out-of-combat. This system is our answer to the challenge of smoothly connecting maps while balancing combat and non-combat phases. We wanted to reduce the size of each map to make clearing them less tiring. But using a turn-based system that also requires loading every time you move to the next map could make the game more exhausting. Plus, it could break the feeling that the maps are connected, interrupting the experience of exploring Remore’s world. While we were brainstorming ways to reduce the fatigue from frequent map transitions and still make the maps feel connected, someone threw out a bold idea. They suggested that during non-combat situations, like exploring a map, we let players move in “real-time.” At first, everyone in the room laughed—it sounded pretty out there. But the more we thought about it, the less crazy it seemed. We had already played around with real-time movement during the game’s development (we even mentioned it in the archives). The more we discussed it, the more we realized this idea could actually solve a lot of problems and make the game more enjoyable. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43792072/daa427274d216e17488215ef436f23c1ed6fb01f.gif[/img] With the idea of real-time free movement on the table, we started thinking it through from different angles. [h3]First Question: Will Real-Time Free Movement Really Make the Game More Fun?[/h3] We started by comparing how the game feels without real-time movement (like in the older versions) versus how it might feel with it. In the older versions, each map had specific objectives, and you had to stay on high alert the whole time, keeping up that constant tension. This could get pretty exhausting, and it was something people often pointed out as a downside. But with free movement, the default state in a map would be “safe travel.” This change should help reduce fatigue and also give you more of a feeling of “exploration” as you move through the map. As a result, maps will work better as “routes” in your journey. So, in the new version, instead of every map being a high-stress, turn-based experience, there will be some maps you can pass through with a bit more ease. This way, the tactical advantage of turn-based controls is still important, but the freedom to explore with real-time movement becomes just as essential. Introducing real-time free movement would allow us to increase this freedom of exploration to a significant degree, meaning that the experience of exploring Remore's world would be much more "hands-on". Especially in our game, which aims for a high level of detail in its depiction of a medieval apocalyptic situation, this hands-on experience of exploration would further immerse you in the world. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43792072/61cd346471f261a21dd53a7a34f4b11d2f8f3153.png[/img] Instead of just giving players a simple “escape” goal in each map, where everything in the map is just a means to that end, we’ve now created a new and exciting experience where players explore the world of Remore to achieve a “broader goal” that spans across multiple maps. This shift moves away from a straightforward structure where players solve tactical puzzles one stage at a time, and instead, they now get to explore a world hit by catastrophe, making choices to either fight or sneak past enemies, which adds more depth to the game. [h3]Second Consideration: How Much Real-time Free Movement Should We Allow?[/h3] As mentioned earlier, we’ve already implemented real-time free movement in our game before. Also, since we can use the resources that would have gone into a random map generation system to implement free movement, adding this feature to the current version didn’t seem too hard. But the real question was, “How Much” free movement should we implement? Bringing in real-time free movement would mean making big changes to various game systems, like the stage system, combat system, and level design. We’re developing this feature because we’re pretty confident it’ll make our game a lot more fun, so avoiding it just to keep things the way they are wasn’t really an option. However, we did need to figure out the scope of when and where real-time free movement should start and stop in our game. Since our game is based on “Turn-based Tactics,” there’s no reason to include real-time free movement during combat. So, the most basic rule we came up with is that free movement should be limited to “when you’re not in combat.” But that means we need to define what exactly counts as being “in combat.” In earlier versions, “in combat” was when an enemy was “aware” of the survivors. This could happen if you entered their line of sight, failed to take them down in one hit during an ambush, or made noise that alerted them. But in free movement mode, the player’s actions are the focus, and combat situations also involve tactical preparation, like ambushing enemies to start a fight or positioning your team before engaging the enemy. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43792072/1fbd001460d6774bae39545b3c5299d75b82e7c5.gif[/img] So, we decided that “combat situations,” or the point where the game switches from free movement to turn-based mode, would be defined as “when an enemy comes into the player’s line of sight.” This way, when the game shifts from free movement to turn-based, players will know they've spotted an enemy. They can then start planning their strategy for the fight, which will still use the game’s existing combat system. Once all the enemies in sight are dealt with, the game returns to free movement mode, letting players continue exploring the map. With that, we wrapped up our discussions and brainstorming about how useful free movement would be, how to implement it, and how far to take it. But even then, we still had that nagging question: “Can we actually pull this off?” It was time to find out. [h3]So, We Went Ahead and Built It…[/h3] After some intense debates and development, we created a prototype of the free movement system and tested it to see if it really worked. For the basic free movement controls, we stuck with the familiar system from previous versions where you select a spot and move to it. But unlike the turn-based controls, where you control each party member individually, free movement requires all party members to move together. So, we designed it so that when you pick a location, the whole party moves there as a group. For moving between maps, we added a fade-in and fade-out transition to smoothly shift to the next area. Plus, we designed the levels so that when you move off the right edge of one map, you start at the left edge of the next one, making it feel like the maps are connected." [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43792072/b1a72532a45885d1d0c88afe5e0d091bd9901fa7.gif[/img] We've also implemented a temporary transition from free movement to turn-based maneuvering: as soon as you spot an enemy, your maneuvering state will switch to turn-based, and you'll be ready for combat (we're still working on the UI for the transition). In the combat state, you can see how many enemies you can currently sense, and once you've killed them all, you'll switch back to free movement. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43792072/6aad736b6058923ecd89f5f537503347ab1d49d7.gif[/img] Meanwhile, all loot earned during combat can be freely equipped, unequipped, and used while in Free Roam, meaning that you can do the maintenance that was previously done after returning to camp during Free Roam mode. [h3]As a Result, Is It better?[/h3] The internal tests of the prototype turned out really well. We were already pretty confident since the controls in the previous real-time movement version got good feedback, but this new system ended up fitting Remore even better than we expected. The idea of having smooth movement when you're exploring and then focusing on tactical decisions during turn-based combat worked great. Because of that, the free movement system is now a core part of Remore's new stage design. Of course, there are still plenty of other adjustments we need to make because of the free movement system. I'll talk more about that next week. Thanks, Survivors! REMORE