Hello Vampires!
In the last devlog, we announced planned changes in the game mechanics based on your surveys. Since then, we have managed to implement most of them.
World
The world is open; the player is limited only by the enemies in a given area, but they are not artificially strengthened when the player's level is too low. The enemies' power increases with the player's actions. When the player kills people in an area, the area is fortified, bringing in more substantial defenders. After a few such strengthenings, vampire hunters appear in the area, who roam the area in search of vampires.
Movement
The controls are now WASD-based, and the player can freely rotate the camera and zoom in and out. The controls in Chronostasis remain unchanged. We are still working on improving the animations.
We added a dash ability, which allows us to dodge incoming attacks; when the player dodges the attack at the perfect moment, a speed buff is applied.
Combat
We've made some huge changes to the combat system. Chronostasis is now a powerful secondary mode, but fighting without it will still be possible and satisfying.
We've changed the basic attack. Now, attacking doesn't block the character; instead, the movement of the controlled vampire slows down, but it can still be controlled while attacking. Some other skills can also be used while the character is moving.
Aiming some skills, mainly projectiles (e.g., Blood Ball), ends when the skill starts flying toward the enemy (previously, the possibility of aiming ended when the casting started).
We implemented more complex statistics to balance the fights better. There are different damage types, defenses, and resistances. Enemies are more vulnerable to some damage types than others; for example, heavily armored vampire hunters will block much physical damage but will be susceptible to mind control. The player can now prepare the vampires' team for different journeys based on the enemies in the given area.
Also, there is more damage feedback, including new sounds, physics, blood, VFX, and animations.
Stealth
Aggressive enemies have dynamic detection cones. When the vampire is in the detection range, the cone fills. If the fill field reaches the vampire, detection is finished, and the enemies start fighting. The detection speed depends on the enemy's statistics (better-trained enemies such as Gendarmes detect faster), the vampire's current behavior (destroying things and using skills attracts more attention), and the crimes that vampires have committed before in the given area.
Story
We deleted unnecessary story parts from the game to allow the player to make his own story. There will be no more walking with NPCs or too-long dialogues. We deleted the mechanics' limitations based on the story's progress. There will be hints in the Castle instead of the quests, and quests in the World won't be mandatory. You will be able to choose which quest you are willing to accomplish.
The dialogues are no longer linear. The player can now choose the answers and thus influence the game world.
If you have any questions or ideas, please let us know in the comments or on our Discord Channel.
