Malise and the Machine V0.04 Release Recap

Hey everyone!

Malise and the Machine V0.04 was successfully released on Patreon on May 16!  I want to apologize for the lack of updates here, but we were incredibly busy with this release.  I just finished up the artwork PDF pledge reward for this release last night (which now totals 236 pages), and still have more rewards to send out.  If you missed the pledge deadline on Patreon for this release, or simply don't want to use Patreon but are still interested in checking this version of the game out, please email me at eromancergames@gmail.com and I will give you details on how to get a pledge to me.

In case you didn't know, news updates show up first (and sometimes only) on Patreon, so if you are interested in the project I highly recommend that you consider pledging at the $1 tier to unlock the news feed!

I also apologize for any misconceptions, but Patreon releases are still for paid patrons only unless specified beforehand.  Another public demo in the future is definitely not out of the question, but it would largely be to show off improvements we've made to the game mechanics and to give a clearer depiction of what the final game will be like.  For that reason, it will probably be awhile before we have another one to show off.

With all of that being said, here are some of the changes and new features we've added since the public demo!


New Features

• A continuation of the main story featuring a new area and the addition of Malise to the party.
• New story H content
• A new enemy that is fully H-compatible with both characters.
• Added a new boss encounter.
• Added enemy armor damage.
• Expanded enemy battle spritesheet functionality.
• Added prototype framework for what I'll call "enemy reinforcements" for now. Basically new enemies can join mid-battle, and for these battles K.O. enemies will fade out so as not to clutter the scene.
• Added prototype framework for the enemy level system. 
• Added framework for windows with custom skins. 
• Added prototype framework for equipment based status effects / buffs / etc.
• Side-scrolling maps.
• Added framework for animated battle and dialog backgrounds.
• Added a new music track.

Changes / Fixes

• Improved the way doors behave when entering (player must face the door).
• Improved the readability of fuse markers
• Previous map is no longer faintly visible when loading a new map.  Transitions in general have been improved.
• Loading times for maps have improved.
• Narrative text is now consistently colored gray so as to not make it ambiguous with dialog or choices/instructions.
• Added 'Default' button to the Options menu.
• Fuse panels have a new graphic for when they are powered on/active (keys light up white)
• Fixed an issue where sprites at the edge of the screen would disappear during the map scene.
• Added first batch of map optimizations.  Depending on map, performance gain ranges from 1 to over 20 FPS.

Now that there's a small breather I'll do my best to catch up on answering questions.  Be aware if you ever have an important question I always respond to emails (eromancergames@gmail.com) as soon as I can, so don't be afraid to contact me that way!

- Eromancer