Synopsis:

• New area revealed: Venn Swamplands
• New Monsters and a look at Erditu
• A glimpse at the Opening Cinematic
• Engine Progress

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back to another update on Echoes of Eternea! Let's get right into it.

New Area Revealed: Venn Swamplands:

The Venn Swamplands, is located off the Perju River to the South of the continent of Brighton, just before the Port City Vannault. The Venn Swamplands effectively separates Vannault from the rest of Brighton and gives them the independence they crave. Over the years, the land inside the Venn Swamplands has continually sunk into the Perju River, causing passage through the Swamplands to be difficult. The Venn Swamplands also hold an invaluable treasure! The Indar Erditu can be found here just off the beaten path. She is a challenging opponent, but can become an great ally if bested!

New Monsters and a look at Eridtu:

Since we just revealed the Venn Swamplands, we thought we would also show off some of the monsters native to the area. Please enjoy the fantastic sprite artwork by Tomas Frose!

A Glimpse at the Opening Cinematic:

Done in the same style as "Jessica - The One Winged Angel," which we announced in a past update, this Cinematic will tell the player a bit of the back story to the world of EoE and set up the games narrative. We plan on completing this Cinematic in the coming weeks and tie it in with Echoes of Eternea's first trailer! Enjoy!

Engine Progress:

In our last update, we informed you all about our issues with the engine and programming and we also stated how we planed on fixing that. We are happy to announce that not only did our changes meet expectations, but they have exceeded them! Our new programmer, MIke Upshall, has done an unbelievable job in getting our engine to where to need it to be while also designing it in a way that will make scripting the game far easier for the rest of the team. By the rate that the programming has been going, we estimate to have footage of EoE running in about a month - Six weeks time. We will be sure to keep you informed on how that is going.

For an interesting read, our Lead Programmer, Robert Dellafave, wrote an excellent article on EoE inventory system and how we went about designing and programming it. Trust us, it's more complicated than it sounds! You can check it out by clicking the picture below.

Synopsis:

• What has been going on?
• Progress is still being made!
• Where do we go from here?

Hello Everyone!

Thank you all for your amazing patience with us since our last update. Over the last few months we have been dealing with a few minor internal issues and one large one that ultimately began to effect production. We are happy to say that these issues have been solved and the future of EoE is looking brighter than ever. One of our goals with running this Kickstarter was to be very forward and translucent to our backers, so below we will discuss our issues with development and our solution for going forward. 

What has been going on?:

That is a question some of you may be asking yourselves and this update is specifically for answering that question.

About a month after being funded, we choose to move to a custom built engine in order to escape the limitations of the RPGMaker game engine. While at the time, we knew this choice would extend development time, there were other issues which we could not anticipate. Namely, our primary programmer was having trouble meeting his financial obligations. As a result his work on the engine suffered. Given this, we've made the decision to part ways, and are happy to announce that we are working with a more experienced programmer, able to devote the majority of his time to the project. However with a change in direction comes additional costs.

As I'm sure you can imagine, programmers don't come cheap. Since we could not have foreseen this cost in our original budget, many of our team members have had to take on extra work to afford him, thus taking away some of their time from development. While we don't require your assistance - you've already done more than enough to exhibit your support - it would be greatly beneficial to us if we could alleviate the financial burden away from our teammates to ensure the can spend that time on development. We announced a way to donate via PayPal in our last update by visiting our website, www.eoegames.com, so spreading knowledge of that will be a great assistance. (All digital rewards are still available.)

Progress is still being made!:

By what you just read, you might assume that no progress on EoE has been made since our last update. Let us assure you that is not the case! In fact, much progress has been made!

We used this down time to look at our story as a whole, picking each and every scene apart. We found better ways to streamline the story and conversations so that the player will always stay engaged and attentive. We also used this time to fill any holes we found in the story, ensuring a solid narrative throughout. Although we would have liked to spend this time building the literal game, we are happy that it led to a more solid game narrative (And we are positive you will be too!).

Our graphic production also continued and almost all departments are nearing completion! We have prepared a short, still framed cinematic for our trailer that we are very excited to share when the time comes! It's been so exciting seeing our work materialize and the game as a whole develop visually. 

We have also made some minor improvements to our battle system to keep things interesting and speedy. We also spent some time tightening up the stats for the characters and monsters to ensure a limited need for "grinding."

Finally, we were able to complete a for more areas of the game world are about to begin building the next big dungeon! We will have screenshots featuring these areas soon.

Where do we go from here?:

As mentioned in our first topic, we were able to secure a new programmer to replace our old one. While he does not start officially until February 1st, he has already begun working on the engine out of sheer enthusiasm and has completed more in 1 week than our old programmer could do in a single month! We are very optimistic about our new programmer and what he will bring to our development team!

So, going forward, our game engine is to be completed in 5 months. During this time, our game engine will be completed by our new programmer to allow our team to finish production of Echoes of Eternea. Even though the engine wont be done for 5 months, we will still be able to begin coding the game (In fact, we already have been for months!) albeit at a slower rate than if the engine and all features needed were done. We still don't want to put any specific date out for a release, but we are positive that we will have that information soon.

______________________________________________________________

We thank you again for your patience with us during this stumbling block. We will be back much sooner than usual for a more meaty update, so please look forward to that! Also, please leave any questions you have for us in the comments and we will get to them ASAP!

Hello Everyone! 

Thanks for holding out till this update! As we head into the holiday season, we wanted to offer you all the treat of sharing some of the work that has been going on since we last posted! 

Synopsis:

• Completed Logo
• Development Progess
• EoE Games Website goes live!
• PayPal donations
• Tales of the Maiden
• Brand new wallpapers!

Completed Logo

 One of the most compelling elements of the game’s production has been the correspondence between our team and our backers and fans. We would like to thank you all for your feedback about our logo prototype. Your responses helped us to shape it to what it is today. We are proud to present the new and final logo for Echoes of Eternea! 

We released the new logo two weeks ago on Facebook and it quickly became the most popular post that we ever made. The responses were very encouraging. Some said that just the logo alone makes them want to play the game! One of the core design tenets of our game is “A Modern Take on Classic Design.” We wanted our logo to capture that JRPG spirit and are happy with both the end result and fan reaction to it. 

Development Progress:

Over the last two months, Echoes of Eternea has seen the most tangible growth since it’s inception! In fact, we are nearly done with the EoE’s entire first act! This can be attributed to our plan to shift around responsibilities between myself and the programming team, that while initially rocky, quickly became invaluable to production. A new engine, assets developed from scratch, and a far-flung array of independent contributors in all facets have made for some *interesting* design pipelines, but now that it is all coming together, it’s wonderful to see. 

Over the next few weeks, we will be going back through Act 1 and populating it with NPC’s and polishing it up to Beta status. We have plans to begin releasing gameplay footage shortly after that. We are also working on producing EoE’s first trailer that we hope to have completed by the end of this year, though it is very art intensive, so please understand if we can’t meet that goal.

EOE Games Website Goes Live!:

Now that the game is taking shape, we've hit another production milestone: the right time to launch the website for the game: www.eoegames.com. Work on the site is still underway, so look forward to seeing updates to it's information and design! Bookmark us and visit us often for new screen shots, gameplay videos, and important information about all things Echoes of Eternea and EOEGames! 

PayPal Donations:

Along with our website launch, we have opened up the option to donate via PayPal. We have received hundreds of emails from fans who missed out on our Kickstarter and who wanted to chance to help fund production. The funds that we receive through this process will allow us to develop more unique assets for the game during its production - additional music tracks, sprites, and original art. If you’ve been following the game but haven’t pledged or if you have friends who feel they missed out, here is an opportunity to come onboard! We would love to have you!

Tales of the Maiden:

The Eternal Maiden is not one person, but a title held by many people through the centuries. While Echoes of Eternea focuses on the newest, Namie Alguard, we were always on the lookout for unique opportunities to share some of the world’s rich lore with the players. Scattered throughout the game are multiple cinematics which give the player a glimpse into the world’s history and what it means to be Eternal Maiden. We call these the Tales of the Maiden, illustrated stories narrated and scored in similar fashion to motion comics. Attached are a few of the drawings from one of the tales, The One-Winged Butterfly. 

Brand New Wallpapers!:

Show of your support for Echoes of Eternea with these stylish new wallpapers! You can find both wallpapers in the links below in various resolutions.

Logo Wallpaper: http://tinyurl.com/khw9qyb

Logo Wallpaper Glitched: http://tinyurl.com/k4wfccl

FOLLOW OUR PROGRESS 

Along with our website, be sure to follow our progress at

https://www.facebook.com/EchoesOfEternea

https://twitter.com/EoEGames

http://eoegames.com/

For all our American friends, we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving week! Safe travels! For all the Echoes of Eternea fans around the world, have a wonderful holiday season and be on the lookout all through December for updates large and small as production moves along! 

Thank you for your support!

Synopsis:

• Battle System: A Collaborative Effort.
• Backer Feedback: Echoes of Eternea's New Logo.
• The Last of the Indar: Summer.
• New Area Revealed: Fire Temple and the Indar Sutan.
• Sprite Upgrades.
• Soundtrack Complete!

Hello Everyone! 

Thank you all for joining us for another update on Echoes of Eternea. We are excited to share with you some of the things we have been working so very hard on these last few months. We've got a lot to talk about tonight, so let's get started!

Battle System: A Collaborative Effort

We received so much feedback from everyone about our Battle System and are over whelmed by how positive it was. We made it a goal to read all the comments and to seriously consider the critiques and suggestions that were given to us. After doing so, we found Two reoccurring critiques. The First was that the overall action felt slow and the Second was that some animations (while looking good) seemed slow and awkward. We are pleased to announce that we have corrected these issues along with many others that we were aware of before the video release. 

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions. In the end, this will truly be a collaborative development process!

Backer Feedback: Echoes of Eternea's New Logo

Directly following our praises for your feedback is a brand new "Backer Feedback!" This time, we are requesting your help in selecting a new style for our official game logo. We have had plans for a long time to remake our logo into something much better, but we have just now been able to set aside time to make some prototypes! Listed below are two versions of the logo and will be referred to as "Logo Blue" and "Logo Red." Please comment below stating which logo you prefer, along with why you chose that logo.

Please note that the font choice and styling are not final.

The Last of the Indar: Summer

LORE

Continuing our look at the Indar, the strange beings associated with the months and seasons of the year, here is a list of the three Indar of Summer.

Summer is a time of hope, when crops are planted and life is teeming. It is a time of commerce when the trade winds carry the fleets of nations across the waters. It is a time of adventure when pirates take to the seas, armies clash in the field, and airships are most often seen in the sky. It is the season when mankind feels most in control of its destiny and tests itself against the world. 

SUMMER INDAR 

Name: Ekaina 

Element: Air 

One of the Three Sisters of Harvest, Ekaina represents the harmony of nature at its most pure - the scent of life in full bloom carried by a warm wind across the land. Ekaina’s winds are a sign that it is time to plant for harvest. She appears as a farmer facing center, but her aspect facing stage left (toward the next season), and she wields a sickle and oxen crop. 

Name: Larre 

Element: Water

Larre is a powerful kraken. It is said his movements in the waters were what created the migratory patterns of all sealife, as they fled from him lest they be consumed by his insatiable appetite. Knowing that Larre will catch them eventually, the creatures reproduce and spread out so that their kind will never be destroyed completely. This is why the waters of the world give up such a bountiful harvest. Merchantmen and all who make their living off the sea have a love/hate relationship with Larre. They thank his name for the bounty of the sea, and curse him when ships are lost. He is an example of how, even though the Indar are physically locked away, it is still commonly believed by most that they still exert their will. This may be true. 

Name: Sutan 

Element: Fire 

Sutan is man wreathed in flame, wearing only a loin cloth and a set of walking chains. The legend goes that Sutan was so powerful a creation of Reia’s that he threatened to burn all of Rivera to cinder. Dovah, in his wisdom, created chains that bound him. For eleven months out of the year, these chains contained Sutan’s elemental power. However, in the eighth month - Sutan’s month - the Indar's power was such that the chains broke and his powers were unleashed. For a month, Sutan roamed the earth unfettered. Dovah understood that this would be the case, so over the course of the month, the chains magically reform and at month’s end, Sutan’s power is once again contained. The cycle then repeated down through the years. This is why Sutan's month is traditionally the hottest of the year.   

New Area Revealed: Fire Temple and the Indar Sutan

Atop the Illian Mountains lies the resting place the the Grand Eirin of Fire guarded by the Indar Sutan. Serving as Echoes of Eternea's first "true" dungeon, the Fire Temple will be considerably more difficult than any other area so far. Aside from housing the Grand Eirin of Fire, the Fire Temple serves another purpose. The towns people of Illia are protected by the cold temperatures brought on by their high altitude by piping in heat directly from the Fire Temple. That is why you can see piping all through the Fire Temple and Illia.

Sprite Upgrades:

Now that we are done producing new pixel art, we have the opportunity to go back and polish the assets to optimize their quality. While many of our sprites have received tweaks, below you will see Two examples of what has been done. How do you like their upgrades?

Soundtrack Complete!

We are very pleased to announce that last month marked the completion of the soundtrack for Echoes of Eternea! Many thanks go to our composers Aakaash Rao, Angelo Cicero, and Aaron Krough for their excellent work. Today, we are sharing a remade version to an older song that we shared many updates ago. The track is titled "That Which Brings Us Together" and was composed by Aaron Krough. We are pleased to announce that it will serve as EoE's opening track!

Synopsis:

• Early Battle Demo!!

With more fireworks than the whole of July, we finally programmed our battle system into an alpha mode. Here it is: your first look at the combat for "Echoes of Eternea!" Many changes are head of us as we implement features and playtest the dungeons. For now, though, we are thrilled with what we have managed to put together in the Red Game Engine.

For the sake of the demo, we decided to feature Namie and Apollo along with the plant enemy "Onndo." There are still many features and such to implement into the engine, so this is by no represents final quality. In fact, we will be rewriting all our path finding code soon since that is really the only big issue we have with the battle system currently.

Now that this demo is out of the way, we will be putting most of our time into creating an actual playable demo that will feature all aspects of gameplay. To avoid the issue we had with this battle demo, we will not yet give a date you will see this demo as we really want to take our time and not rush it out.

Until next time!

Follow us:

facebook.com/echoesofeternea

twitter.com/eoegames