Thanks so much for checking out our first official devlog for Hero.EXE. Let’s get started!
In
this post we are going to be addressing three main points. What is
Hero.EXE? Where is Hero.EXE now? and Where is Hero.EXE going?
What is Hero.EXE
It’s
become apparent not everyone fully understands what Hero.EXE is
supposed to be, so let me fully explain. Hero.EXE is an action RPG
inspired by the Megaman Battle Network series.The player controls a
character on a 6 x 3 grid where half of the grid is yours and half your
opponents’. You then use a combination of cards and abilities to defeat
your opponent or alternatively get defeated by your opponents’
abilities. To put it in no uncertain terms Hero.EXE and Battle Network
have nearly identical combat.
Now where do they differ?
Well, Hero.EXE uses a deeper card system than other games like it.
Cards function as the game’s main attacks, customization, and depth. We
took a lot of inspiration from games like Magic the Gathering and
Hearthstone for the card designs, but we made them unique to our system.
Cards can
only be gained as drops from enemies or through in game merchants. We
will
be showing off more of the card system in the future.
Hero.EXE is also about the story and journey you and your
character go through. You see when you play Hero.EXE you are not your
character. You are still yourself and the relationship between you and
your character affects the game.
At the start of the game you
choose an A.V.A. (Artificial, Virtual, Assistant) An Ava is your
companion throughout the game. Each Ava has their own quirks abilities,
and story.
Now during the game you will experience visual
novel like scenes where you and your Ava come across some sort of
encounter and you will have a decision or dialogue option. Dependent on
your Ava’s personality and ideals they may disagree or even resent you
for your decisions. This in turn has some effects on combat and your
ability to control your Ava.
As you and your Ava progress through
the game your relationship will affect different things. If you treat
your Ava badly they may disobey you in combat. If you treat them well ,
they may survive a hit that should have defeated them. The relationship
and context between you and your Ava really important to the game.
Where is Hero.EXE in Development?
Originally
when we announced Hero.EXE it was a different beast. We planned on
having the Demo done and showing to publishers by December. However, in
that time we’ve gained a lot more resources. New team members, top notch
voice acting, and better tools. Hero.EXE has been development for half a
year. In that time we have implemented a lot of systems and mechanics.
So why haven’t you seen any definitive game play? Three reasons.
The
first is our team. We have 7 core developers but, this is a passion
project for us. We fund the game entirely by ourselves and we all have
full time jobs. We have a Mom, a Student, a Security Guard and others on
the team. We try to put as much time as we can in the game, but
obviously we have responsibilities.
The Second is the card
system. The card system proved incredibly difficult to program.
Thankfully the system is now “Mostly” complete with some touch ups
needed in the future. The programmer working on that system is so
incredibly burnt out that we are going to switch him over to something
easier. Shout out to Tom stay strong and pass your classes.
Lastly….Well,
to be blunt a lot of the game needs a combat overhaul. Over the past
few weeks it has become apparent that we made a mistake early in
development.
When we first started building the game in May; we
decided that it would be best to imitate Battle Network’s combat as much
as we can. This was actually a huge mistake for several reasons.
One, being that Battle Network’s combat was designed over ten years ago.
Two, being that the combat was designed to be used on a really old portable piece of hardware with limited processing power.
Lastly, the combat as is just doesn’t feel very good compared to today’s games.
We
have a ton of stuff done, but none of it is really that interesting.
Menus, Over World UI, Title Screens, etc. We’ve started work on a much
smoother and faster pace combat system. So that leads us to…
Where is Hero.EXE going?
To
be perfectly frank. There is a 0% the game will not release in some
form. We have spent too much time, energy, money, and love to give up.
We have started on a complete overhaul of the combat with a new pipeline
and a new focus. The team has been reinvigorated to show what we can
do.
What does this mean for me? It means starting on January
first you will be seeing actually living game play works in progress, consistently. We
will be posting real content from the game in all of our media.
Discord,Twitter,Tumblr, Reddit all of it.
So when will the demo be
done? With the new overhaul we will have to push back our demo date
some months. Tentative answer Q1 or Q2 of 2019, but that will be the
publisher demo. Our main goal right now is to have the funding to finish
the game in 12 months. That means getting the demo together showing it
to some publishers and hopefully getting the funding needed to have a
couple of our team members quit their jobs to work on the game full time. We have a few contacts in publishing that are interested, but we need
the demo first.
What’s in the overhaul? New movement systems, character specific mechanics, defensive mechanics, a bunch of stuff. Its going to take a while to finish, but I promise it’ll be worth the wait.
What about Kickstarter? If we need to do any crowd funding we will have
the full demo for the players to try as part of the campaign. We will
also be conducting some early play testing on our Discord Server. No crowdfunding without a fully playable demo.
Phew
and that’s everything. Sorry this post was so long we wanted to give
everyone a really solid idea of why this is taking so long. We promise
you’ll be seeing stuff from us.
@rwbyfanservice has been one of my biggest supporters for a few years now. They are top A+ and i wouldn’t nearly have as many people following me right now if it weren’t for their support
Currently reading Izekei Izakaya, One Punch man and currently catching up with Girls of the Wilds on manga. Dont read much manga since i prefer that kind of media on light novels or anime atm. Also love Boku Hero, but Studio Bones is such a fucking amazing studio i just wait for their animated episodes instead of reading
Maui is a powerful demigod. Big and strong and… oh, you think he looks fat?
That’s probably because you’ve been conditioned by the media to accept this
as what strong and fit looks like. Amiright?
Sadly… these guys are not all that strong. Yeah, they got muscles… but they aren’t built in a useful way. They are built for looks and that’s about it.
This…
is a strong guy. Actually a competitor in the Strongman competition. But… his tummy sticks out and he doesn’t look like a Dorito.
You know who else is strong?
These guys…
And Maui…
Look at those arms, omg. And that solid, sturdy torso. You can see a shadow where his meat covers his ribs, but he doesn’t look like any slouch to me.
And this guy…
That’s Dwayne Johnson’s grandfather. When the Disney animators showed him their sketches of Maui, he pulled out a picture of his grandfather and showed it to them because he was amazed how similar they looked. This dude was also a pro wrestler.
There’s actually a great infographic about ab muscles and stuff over HERE. but this is the part i want to show you.
That thickness don’t move like fat. It doesn’t jiggle and he’s able to flex it. Look at how it sits on his body. It doesn’t sag… he doesn’t have a gut. There’s even a slight V shape to his torso.
It’s just big and not ‘defined’.
And people aren’t used to that.
(sorry, this isn’t the most organized post… i kinda just let it all spill out)
Its genuinely a good show, and the fandom isnt that bad, it’s a p supportive fanbase in all honesty and i love them and the show. Its just….this season and last season, some of the fanbase has really gotten outta hand lol
Ikr? I stopped browsing the tag after vol 4 premiered. Too many children throwing temper tantrums. It's been really nice just following the reasonable and respectful people though!
my dashboard somehow just has racial complaints, sexist complaints and plot complaints about the show and it’s *everywhere*. Then theres the drama outside the show too regarding the people making it.
Im probably gonna watch season 4 around when season 6 is out cause atm the fandom is too much for me.