It's been a while since I last wrote a Dev Log here, so best get to it… I'm still here, still working away on Fhaloness! I've recently finished my Master's, so there's a lot more spare time in my life again. At last!

I've been humming and hawing on which skills to integrate from OpenQuest into Fhaloness. Production has definitely switched over to Godot, with currently one plugin in use, the Dialogue Manager by Nathan Hoad. In this screenshot you can see the current skillset that a playable character (Fabian in this case) would come with. I may review some of these skills as the game evolves, since I've actually added all skills from the OpenQuest SRD into the game at this stage. I'm not sure I would need all of them, however...

Part of my efforts to re-use and update backgrounds I've previously drawn for Buccaneer 2, this bar was originally known as "The Pit" in Amsterdam in the 17th Century. Since Buccaneer 2 is not happening any time soon, I'm repurposing a lot of my old artwork. This bar is a work in progress at this stage, but it's already integrating quite nicely into its new setting: Aeramor, the first big city you get to explore in Fhaloness.

I've begun to map out the interface for the game in more detail. I think these buttons will be sufficient: the character screen, the map, the inventory, the codex, the journal & options. Movement currently works with WASD and Controller (any will do).

The inventory screen is rather bare at this stage, but it's there! And it shows you how much money you have (in Gold Ducats, Silver Pieces or Copper Pennies (again, taken from OpenQuest). I'm not using the Lead Bits (since I already feel the Copper Pennies may be a bit much), but we'll see. As the trading system evolves, I may have sufficient items to warrant Copper Pennies?

The main menu at this point. It randomises the stars (since I wanted to play with that for the day-night cycle). It currently checks whether we're on Steam Deck or not. Since I have one, I'd like to build full compatibility from the get-go for this amazing device.

As you mouse-over the different places of interest, details appear at the bottom of the map screen. The green arrow (currently in the top-left) will dynamically track where you are in the world as you navigate around the four lands of Erdien.

Cutscenes in the game are told in a storybook. As you can probably tell from quite a few of my screenshots, I'm heavily inspired by Betrayal at Krondor, the first (and still one of the most epic) RPGs I've ever played.

So as you can see, progress is definitely being made! I've got a loooooong way to go, but am having an absolute blast figuring things out, writing code, drawing art, trying out music, etc.

Please consider following me on Mastodon for more details: jaap@mastodon.defiantjc.synology.me

Thank you all and see you next time!