Progress has gone fairly well during the month of March! Most of the work done was more in the behind-the-scenes part of the engine, so I haven't been updating my Twitter as frequently as I would like. And now that I finally had a Trello to-do list set up, I can track exactly what was done a lot better. A few accomplishments:

• Dungeons are fully integrated into the game world and support multiple floors
• Dungeon battlefield generation based on the area surrounding the player
• Tons of new enemies and battle formations for dungeon and overworld
• Improved overworld encounters

There are still a few major things I need to get done before I feel comfortable with doing a private alpha, but once those are done, it should be coming soon!

Character Classes

A few months back I had promised on Twitter to talk about the different classes you can choose for your party. It was a bit too difficult to elaborate on that kind of thing with a strict character count, so I saved it until I could find a more appropriate place for long-form discussion -- which just so happens to be here!

As far as class design goes, I didn't want to do anything too fancy right out of the gate. I've got mostly standard archetypes, with a couple of small additions to make everything interesting.

Arbitrator

Focused entirely on physical combat. Very high HP, no TP, and can use almost any weapon proficiently. Able to handle two-handed weapons without speed penalties.

Medic

Skilled with the use of healing neuronics, but also has excellent physical combat abilities. High HP, very high TP, and gets a bonus to all healing techniques used. Has an innate resistance to malicious Life neuronics.

Eletracer

Skilled with the use of offensive neuronics. Low HP, very high TP, and gets a bonus to all offensive techniques used. Has an innate resistance to malicious Element neuronics.

Scoundrel

Disables security systems with ease. Average HP and no TP. The best class at hacking. Makes hidden passages visible in dungeons.

Savant

Learns both Life and Element neuronics. Average HP, high TP, and is above average at hacking. Has a little bit of innate resistance to both Life and Element neuronics.

Forceblade

Equally skilled with physical combat and Element neuronics. High HP and average TP. Can use non-attack Element neuronics with 50% of the normal TP.

Guardian

Has an affinity for aiding allies. Very high HP and average TP. Can use non-healing Life neuronics with 50% of the normal TP.

Mercenary

A combat specialist focused on tactical use of items. Average HP, no TP, and has some hacking skill. Able to use multiple items in one turn.

And that's a lineup of the different character classes you can expect to use in Eysir! There's a class-changing mechanic with relatively minor drawbacks, so don't worry about being too tied to your initial choices. You're free to experiment and customize your party until you get them exactly how you like them.

What's next?

During April, I'll be focusing on more design-heavy aspects. You should expect to see more towns/cities, dungeons, and a more fleshed-out plot in-game.

See you next month, and stay home and stay safe!