Major Demo Update — Reworked Combat, Better Performance & Quality of Life

Thank you for playing GEKOKUJO: Vagrant Crown!

Since the demo launched on October 18, we have been improving combat, controls, field performance, compatibility with existing saves, and more.

This major update focuses on three things: making battles easier to understand, making the world smoother to explore, and helping you continue the adventure you have already started.

⚔️ A major combat overhaul

We have introduced Combat System V9, rebuilding the foundations of combat.

• Reworked how basic attacks and active skills fit together
• Reorganized the AP system used to perform skills
• Adjusted attack intervals and skill activation
• Clarified combat outcomes such as hits, misses, dodges, and guards
• Revised the balancing framework for levels, Jobs, equipment, and skills

Swinging your sword, defending against attacks, and building AP to use skills now follow a more consistent set of rules.

We will continue tuning combat balance and animations.

🎮 Clearer AP and combat information

We have revised the AP display in the lower-left corner of the screen.

• Enlarged the AP number and gauge
• Made it easier to distinguish when a skill is available and when AP is insufficient
• Added a marker showing the approximate AP cost on the gauge
• Improved combat-result text such as Miss, Dodge, and Guard

The goal is to help you understand your options even in the middle of a battle.

🌲 Better village and field performance

We focused on optimizing the processing behind villagers' movement and activities.

• Reduced the cost of NPC pathfinding
• Spread processing work across frames when villagers gather
• Improved tasks that previously caused large spikes in workload
• Improved overall field stability

In one set of development-environment tests, average performance improved from roughly 20 FPS to 44 FPS.

Please note: this compares three runs with each setting around 11 a.m. in the village, using the same development setup. These results apply to specific test conditions; performance varies with PC hardware and the situation in the game.

These changes are aimed at making a world full of active people more comfortable to explore.

💾 Compatibility with existing saves

We have improved equipment compatibility for older saves affected by the combat-balance changes.

If an iron sword from an earlier demo no longer meets the new equipment requirements, a fallback weapon can now be provided so that you can continue your adventure.

Your original iron sword is not lost. You can equip it again once you meet its requirements.

We are also continuing to check and improve save-loading safety.

✨ Coming improvements: level-up and village-entry effects

We are also revising the notifications shown when you level up or enter a village. These changes are not included in the currently distributed Build090 and are being prepared for a future update.

We are reducing large decorative elements and ribbons in favor of text, motion, and sound effects that better fit the atmosphere of the world.

The aim is to make growth and arrival feel rewarding without interrupting exploration.

🔧 More improvements ahead

This update does not mean that everything is finished.

Weapon reach, combat animations, your Wolf Companion's positioning, NPC daily life, animal and enemy activity, and further field optimization are all areas we want to keep improving.

Our goal for GEKOKUJO is a Living World RPG: a world that does not exist only for the protagonist, where people go about their lives and events continue beyond the player's view.

We will keep working toward that world, one improvement at a time.

To everyone who has played the demo or taken an interest in the game: thank you!

If you encounter bugs, confusing controls, or anything else that stands out, we would love to hear your feedback.

Shirokuro Games

GEKOKUJO: Vagrant Crown on Steam