Hello and welcome back to my (every other) Saturday DotO update blog! Development has been moving along great recently and each week feels like we’ve accomplished so much.

With each update, the list of bugs shrinks, then grows again. Little things keep popping up, as they always do. But overall, the game has been feeling like its really coming together.

The biggest new thing is that our dungeons no longer have placeholder artwork! I’ve been talking about this for a while now, and it has been an incredible amount of work for Ben to draw. But now that they’re in, they look fantastic.

As you can see from the screenshot, there’s an alarming amount of “slime” flowing everywhere. We’re definitely in a sewer, but is that stuff supposed to glow green?!

There’s also been a lot more work done that is more difficult to show. Inventory sorting has been improved greatly. And Tiori, the Blacksmith, now has almost all of her abilities working properly. It’s great to finally be able to see how Reforging and Leveling Up changes the balance of the game. Now loot with the wrong Stat for your build is no longer useless!

Another thing that has really been exciting to me is that Ben started the rough, preliminary sketch for the town map. As you can see in the screenshot it is still bare bones, but has been great to finally start testing where things should be situated in the town.

Artifacts and Companions are starting to get their functionality added to the game too. They’re shaping up to be really cool items that are available in the shop once you’ve saved up enough Crystals.

These still have placeholder art (Ben really has sooo much to draw… ) but having them function correctly in the shop is fun. Here is a little about how they work. Each artifact and companion has a Power Level from 1 to 30. When you buy one at the shop you get a random Power Level. You can then use materials that you get from salvaging other artifacts or companions to Imbue them at the Blacksmith, which increases their Power Level.

I think this is a fairer way to handle loot boxes than what I’ve seen in other games. This way, you know what you’ll get and then you can choose to try again for a higher Power Level or to head to the Blacksmith. This keeps you from being screwed by the RNG of a loot box, but still provides a challenge if you want that maximum Power Level.

So I hope that was an interesting look into how things are going here at Knob Cat. Hope you have a great week and don’t forget to check out our podcast for even more DotO updates!

Cheers,
Joe
Executive Prime