Zetheros
Developer
Hey Exanimates,
Recently we've found it difficult to communicate what we're working on and why while avoiding details and spoilers. Partly this is because we don't want to drip feed information without context and painting the whole picture. So, we've decided to do a deeper dive this week and properly explain what we're doing. Some of this could potentially be considered spoilers, but if you've been around then you've probably known bits and pieces for a long time and we'll still try to avoid details. Some of this will be deliberately vague, so try not to jump to conclusions.
We're going to give you a broad overview, which includes some slightly longer term goals. Not all of this will be featured in this coming update, but we're focusing on things that we think add the most immediate gameplay value, while setting the foundation for the rest to follow soon after. There's always more to build on here and more longer term goals, but we'll focus on what we have planned for the near future here.
The basic topic here is thaumaturgy. Currently in Exanima you gradually learn new powers, but a very important part of the progression has been missing: your powers growing stronger. There is a measure of your character's overall power which is called "Potential". This will be increased in various ways, and then you can choose which powers to invest it in, making those stronger, while also making all powers in that domain stronger. If you've played the test branch you may be familiar with some changes to the tree and this new UI element, which allows selecting domains, but also shows how much unspent potential you have in the middle, and how much potential is invested in each domain:
Potential and its investment provides not only a new progression mechanic, but also build diversity as you choose which powers to specialise in, even across multiple domains. Already in early testing we saw how new skill requirements and usage cases for Force can lead to quite different skill choices and builds.
This is all a little complex because the ways you increase potential are varied and reliant on content that has not yet been introduced, some of which are specific to Unknown's story. Most of this missing content is now being introduced with this update, as well as a second domain, and the pieces are coming together. Another reason this is complex is because each power scales and changes in unique ways, this is very rarely anywhere near as simple as increasing some numbers. In many cases it becomes quite involved and can also be difficult to test and balance. It's something we'll probably do in increments.
One fundamental way in which potential is increased is by absorbing it from other "thaumaturges" as they die. There will be a kind of thaumaturge encounter in the late game that increases your potential when defeated. There are other sources of potential, but this is certainly one of the more interesting ones. In time a number of these will be found throughout the late game, and they will use various powers against you, including ones from different domains to yours. As a further progression mechanic and a sort of "rare drop", defeating these thaumaturges may teach you basic powers from these other domains.
So, this is what we've been working on, introducing AI thaumaturges, teaching them how to use various powers, surrounding systems, mechanics and tools, and even starting to introduce some powers from domains beyond Mind and Force. This means new challenging and diverse encounters, new progression, builds, rewards and objectives for the player and a way for us to gradually introduce other thaumaturgy domains while expanding the player's toolbox. It's a huge addition to the game that touches on many areas that are still lacking.
Again, you won't see all of this as a complete system just yet, but we've tackled the biggest challenges and properly established how everything works, so we can gradually expand on it from here.
Have a great week!
-the BM team
Recently we've found it difficult to communicate what we're working on and why while avoiding details and spoilers. Partly this is because we don't want to drip feed information without context and painting the whole picture. So, we've decided to do a deeper dive this week and properly explain what we're doing. Some of this could potentially be considered spoilers, but if you've been around then you've probably known bits and pieces for a long time and we'll still try to avoid details. Some of this will be deliberately vague, so try not to jump to conclusions.
We're going to give you a broad overview, which includes some slightly longer term goals. Not all of this will be featured in this coming update, but we're focusing on things that we think add the most immediate gameplay value, while setting the foundation for the rest to follow soon after. There's always more to build on here and more longer term goals, but we'll focus on what we have planned for the near future here.
The basic topic here is thaumaturgy. Currently in Exanima you gradually learn new powers, but a very important part of the progression has been missing: your powers growing stronger. There is a measure of your character's overall power which is called "Potential". This will be increased in various ways, and then you can choose which powers to invest it in, making those stronger, while also making all powers in that domain stronger. If you've played the test branch you may be familiar with some changes to the tree and this new UI element, which allows selecting domains, but also shows how much unspent potential you have in the middle, and how much potential is invested in each domain:
Potential and its investment provides not only a new progression mechanic, but also build diversity as you choose which powers to specialise in, even across multiple domains. Already in early testing we saw how new skill requirements and usage cases for Force can lead to quite different skill choices and builds.
This is all a little complex because the ways you increase potential are varied and reliant on content that has not yet been introduced, some of which are specific to Unknown's story. Most of this missing content is now being introduced with this update, as well as a second domain, and the pieces are coming together. Another reason this is complex is because each power scales and changes in unique ways, this is very rarely anywhere near as simple as increasing some numbers. In many cases it becomes quite involved and can also be difficult to test and balance. It's something we'll probably do in increments.
One fundamental way in which potential is increased is by absorbing it from other "thaumaturges" as they die. There will be a kind of thaumaturge encounter in the late game that increases your potential when defeated. There are other sources of potential, but this is certainly one of the more interesting ones. In time a number of these will be found throughout the late game, and they will use various powers against you, including ones from different domains to yours. As a further progression mechanic and a sort of "rare drop", defeating these thaumaturges may teach you basic powers from these other domains.
So, this is what we've been working on, introducing AI thaumaturges, teaching them how to use various powers, surrounding systems, mechanics and tools, and even starting to introduce some powers from domains beyond Mind and Force. This means new challenging and diverse encounters, new progression, builds, rewards and objectives for the player and a way for us to gradually introduce other thaumaturgy domains while expanding the player's toolbox. It's a huge addition to the game that touches on many areas that are still lacking.
Again, you won't see all of this as a complete system just yet, but we've tackled the biggest challenges and properly established how everything works, so we can gradually expand on it from here.
Have a great week!
-the BM team
