Hello Rabbits! It's been a little bit, and I've been pretty busy! You'll see why at the end of the post. I'm getting a lot closer to finishing the demo, and my last few weeks of work has been solidly focused on the super-hard "Lunar" difficulty boss attack patterns. So, I thought it might be nice to introduce a few of these patterns, along with the enemies that use them. (Disclaimer: Some of these patterns haven't been properly tested for difficulty yet, so they may change before the demo or full release!) [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/bbc35cf584cf26a362addb81f17728f9d712317b.png[/img] Maxi is one of the first enemies you'll run into in the Moonlit Kingdom. She has a bright and uplifting personality, and specializes in large, slow moving AoEs. In one of her possible patterns, you're beset by moving AoEs that run sideways over the top and bottom, forcing you to move in-between. There's moving arrows on the AoE warnings to let you know what direction they're heading in. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/48dcf75e3a4bf546fc90399785414b27d4809c0d.png[/img] In harder modes, a tether mechanic is added: you become unable to move too far from a point in the center. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/41a96d8791f2af742042e678a3254b350431d2df.gif[/img] Here's a screenshot of Lunar difficulty: [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/58587060bbd013924a9b9aeaa414356cae6991a9.png[/img] The players are all tethered in the center, with different tether lengths. "Group 1" has shorter tethers than "Group 2". To avoid taking damage, "Group 1" must stay close to the boss, while "Group 2" takes a wider radius, all while moving so that they don't get hit by the moving AoEs or each others' spread AoEs. It's a little bit complicated, but very satisfying to do correctly! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/4b14280e96432e8cccc9397810e1ad761ae22701.png[/img] A cocky, dark haired wolf, Rem tries to mix things up by dashing back and forth across the screen. In normal mode, her dashes will leave line AoEs and stack circles in her wake. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/9c9af765e4a0e0fee25fcb3ed418a886692277e4.png[/img] In harder difficulties, she might mix in the "Turbulent Winds" status effect! This will cause your character to briefly "slide" in any direction they try to move. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/83b54948cb5bcb3b9848a3739f396a1668757ee6.png[/img] In Lunar difficulty, this gets combined with line stacks and spreads to make quite the challenging pattern! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/e3a6521fd4bf39d6eeb2b46e0b1492c7386c3449.gif[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/83ca188f716d6d4b97278698ebe55a57727764b2.png[/img] A solemn and independant red dragon, Sohko can knock players back with her attacks. In this normal mode pattern, she tries to knock players back into corners where they'll get hit by AoEs. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/aae682b32f80bf1cc3c63c9290740bc6a956728a.png[/img] In higher difficulties, she adds in a spinning laser as well. Think carefully about which direction you need to move! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/c8f849cb4c30336c7e7c69c11d4ae0c25d0dfd08.gif[/img] These are some of the first enemies you'll fight each run! Hopefully by demonstrating some of their attacks in more detail, you have a bit of a better idea of what to expect from your foes. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/b1a6c769d6c7355d65dace5b594c0f6ce0d09ab2.png[/img] So I said I've been busy... Busy preparing for events! I'm happy to announce that Rabbit & Steel will be showing at both PAX West and Tokyo Game Show!! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43296890/9fc73a9bad5f1c19a3f92258aa6e060471e53373.jpg[/img] If you're attending either, please come by the booth and try out the demo a little early! [b]...But only a little early! Because the demo is also coming to Steam very very soon![/b] Well, maybe not "very" soon, but it will be in time for the October Steam NextFest. Hopefully a little earlier than the NextFest actually starts, just in case adjustments need to be made. I don't want to announce a specific date just yet, but it isn't far off. See you again soon!