Hey everybody! Here with another update! Last month I spent a bit of time doing some post-dcjam2024 fixes to Escaping the Cosmic Abyss, of which I placed 10th out of 167 entries! I'm very proud of my placement and congratulations to everybody else! It was a ton of fun. I'll post a link to the project at the end of this update.

Going to go for more of a list of things I completed this time around. Here's what I got done on Realms & Ruins over the last month:

1. Monster Adjustments:
   • Tuned down defense scaling for all monsters outside of Ivywood.
   • Significantly increased monster gold drops, including ones previously that were missing gold drops entirely. Further testing is needed but hopefully it's possible to survive better outside of Ivywood when it comes to your coinpurse
2. Location and Map Changes:
   • Removed some spawning locations in the Orc Cave.
   • Fixed navigable grid squares on several maps.
   • Fixed script issues in the desert when transitioning maps.
3. Enemy Behavior:
   • Adjusted movement frequency and speed for certain enemies.
   • Enabled orcs and wargs to actively chase the player.
4. Game Mechanics:
   • Changed how the desert mechanic works and made the compass more useful.
5. Model and Animation Updates:
   • Modified the priest model to align with other character models.
   • Fixed the Culceth Merchant 2 idle animation.
   • Created and animated 5 new monsters.
6. Player Experience Enhancements:
   • Increased player starting speed to be less sluggish.
   • Modified Field of View (FOV)/Camera height to better align with Dungeon Crawler conventions, improving visibility of adjacent tiles.
   • Changed key bindings: turning to Q and E, and strafing to A and D.
7. UI Improvements:
   • Moved some UI elements to temporarily resolve issues with disappearing skill/quickslot bars.
8. New Additions:
   • Added a mermaid to Mermaid Rock (additional content planned).
9. Dungeon Development:
   • Began work on the Sea Cave dungeon.

That's all! I'm going to keep grinding away. Stay tuned for more updates next month!

Wishlist on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2467200/Realms_and_Ruins_Abencor/

Check out my 10th place Dungeon Crawler Jam 2024 Entry and all the others here:
https://itch.io/jam/dcjam2024/results