This major update adds "Arcade Mode β".
The full version (ver1.00) is planned to include a total of 8 stages.
In this beta version, stages 1 through 3 are currently playable.
Arcade Mode Rules (Beta)
When you win a stage, the difference between your score and your opponent's score is added to your money (y).
If you lose a stage, you can continue by spending a continue cost (cc) from your money (y).
The continue cost is calculated as:
(opponent's score - your score + 1) × total number of continues
For example, if you lose by 10 points, the cc will be:
First continue = 11y
Second continue = 22y
Third continue = 33y
Draws are also treated as losses.
Continue cost for a draw:
First continue = 1y
Second continue = 2y
Third continue = 3y
If your remaining money (y) is lower than the required cost after losing, the game is over.
Character AI Behavior (Beta)
Stage 1 (Tsunayoshi)
He challenges Kotaro to a match as an excuse to give him some spending money.
He intentionally makes bad plays in order to let Kotaro win, essentially giving the player a handicap match.
However, he cannot control which cards are revealed from the deck, so victory is not guaranteed 100% of the time.
Stage 2 (Sasuke)
He does not seem particularly skilled at strategic play.
He will not make obviously bad moves.
However, he tends to overcommit to large combos and frequently misses more stable opportunities as a result.
Stage 3 (Yamamoto)
He is strong.
More specifically, he is roughly as strong as the Normal AI in Free Play mode.
Tips
Try to earn as many points as possible in the early stages.
Even if you are about to lose, reducing the score difference as much as possible will help minimize the continue cost.
Stage 1 starts with 0 yern, but your opponent will go easy on you, so it is unlikely that you will lose immediately. (It may be a good idea to clear Stage 1 with a high score to secure enough money for future continue costs.)
Battle Hanafuda adjusts difficulty purely through "thinking strength," so even early stages can be lost due to bad luck.
To balance this, I have experimentally introduced a game design based on resource management that assumes players may need to continue.
Other Notes
The illustrations used in Arcade Mode are based on pencil sketches that I drew by hand, scanned into a PC, and then refined with supplementary use of generative AI for things such as anatomy correction and adding detail to roughly drawn backgrounds.
I am currently considering whether these illustrations should remain in the game as they are.
Possible options include:
Redrawing and polishing my original sketches without AI correction (by myself)
Hiring an artist who is better at drawing
Keeping the current versions
The second option may be the conventional approach, but it is difficult due to limited budget and connections. In addition, outsourcing also makes it difficult to maintain consistency as my own creative work, so it is not as simple as “just outsource it and solve the problem”.
Outsourcing has its own challenges.
Because of that, I am currently studying toward the first option by preparing equipment such as a pen tablet and learning materials (typical commercial books like “how to draw manga” or “manga drawing guides”).
If the first option proves too difficult, there is still a possibility that I may go with the third option.
I would appreciate any opinions or ideas posted in the discussion board.