Heya!
It's been just more than a week since the launch of the game.
And good news: the game's profitable! ːsteamthumbsupː Now, it's not selling gangbusters, but it's paid off all the contractor costs (music, announcer and localization), and there's a decent enough profit margin from it, even with purchasing power conversion. Thankfully, I don't have to live off of this, since I've got a IRL job.
The game's (almost) reached... 2000 copies sold! It's off by 50 copies, but it'll get there. :)
Speaking of contractors, the music composer for the game, Arno Cyreus, has released the soundtrack for the game.
You can check it out on their Bandcamp: https://arnocyreus.bandcamp.com/album/ecrazeus-castle-ost
Alternatively, you can listen to the soundtrack over on Youtube: If you wish to support the artist, consider purchasing their album from their Bandcamp.
He was a pleasure to work with.
While we're with the external links, if you're into making youtube thumbnails, or need some official renders for whatever purpose, feel free to check the Press Kit OneDrive of the game.
Earlier on, I was reticent to even check any of the Steam related feedback areas, like discussions and the reviews. And technically, I still don't have enough confidence to do so at the moment, although I get relayed info here and there through family members.
Yeah, unfortunately the game wasn't in the most ideal state at launch, especially performance wise (I'm sorry portable gamers, it's unlikely it'll ever perform well, even though it'll do wonders on such platforms). Some patches even broke existing systems (like, enemies being able to deal damage) due to how quickly I was patching them (and unfortunately with barely any testing).
The RPG Developer Bakin engine is still a pretty new engine in the grand scheme of things, and it was definitely NOT designed for the type of game I made. I mean it's probably better than those pros on Twitter who made a FPS proof of concept in it, but still...
A special thanks to all those who file bug reports in the bug report thread, such as :D?, who filed in many bugs with video proof. ːsteamthumbsupː
To some extent I'm happy people seem to have gotten the hang of the game. Disregarding the v212 incident, people are getting more and more impressive scores over time.
If you're struggling to get enough points, you can check a few tips and tricks regarding the game over on my website's dedicated page for it: https://meringue-rouge.neocities.org/ec_tips. It's also got a few pointers for some of the less achieved achievements. I'm wondering if people reached 100% completion... there's a small reward in there!
Also, in a previous patch, Boss Rush modes obtained online leaderboards. You need to beat both possible final bosses in Expert course to unlock the secret that unlocks this mode, and each final boss is determined by the selected character.
I can't guarantee there will be future content updates to the game, outside of bug fixes.
However, v217 just went out. I kinda joked about throwing in a jump rope game (cough changing industry cough), but I didn't feel like adding a new, more readable jump animations for that. So instead, you can get the ':)' minigame that's... not a game at all, just an automatic camera panning simulator around your character that you can't control. You'll need 100% completion to see this. There's no win condition, and the only exit is the pause menu, return to title screen, but hey, if you wanna have a closer look to the player models, be my guest! :) I made it in like a few minutes, so there's nothing too deep about it.
Thank you so much for purchasing the game, playing it, registering your score onto the leaderboards, getting the secrets, and trying out various things in the game. Heck, even if you haven't, I'm glad you've (likely) wishlisted the game. It's nice to see that one's work is at least valued to some.
I need to start working on my next project. I'm eyeing a small, more story-focused turn-based RPG, something to which the RPG Developer Bakin engine was... well, designed for.
If you want to keep track on any thoughts or micro updated on the future, make sure to check my X/Twitter: https://x.com/MeringueRouge
See ya!
| Meringue Rouge