At least, v0.04 of the alpha has been released! I'm excited to share the single biggest feature of the new build: the Character Creation Screen!  This utility allows you to finally do something that has existed in this game's description since I wrote it almost a year ago: build your own character.

This utility is still not complete, as some of the artwork and the music is still being worked on. Additionally, you'll only be able to select from four races currently. But that is something that I am still working on - you'll be able to choose from a total of seven when it's completely finished!

The character creation screen allows you to craft your character as you see fit, with lots of bonuses and abilities that you can get along the way. You'll also be able to choose a spell to learn that you can begin casting right away - I felt that this was a great way to introduce the spellcasting mechanic, as most of my playtesters were unaware that you could cast spells at all.

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The first screen lets you choose the race of the character you want to play as. Each race comes with its own bonuses and special feat that you can take. You'll get a preview of what that character looks like, plus a large portrait of that character in higher detail.

The second screen allows you to choose from one more bonus from a list of three. The list of bonuses changes for each race you select.

The third screen is where you can adjust your starting stats. Increasing one statistic decreases another, and vice versa. Stats can only be adjusted so much, so no min-maxing.


The fourth screen is where you can choose a spell that your character can start with.


Finally, confirm your selection and begin your journey!

Presently, you will be able to play as a Human, Lizardfolk, Goblin, and Kobold. In the future, you'll also be able to play as an Elf, Dwarf, and Orc, opening up more possibilities for your character.

This is by far the biggest change in this update, and the last major feature that will be added before the demo is complete. When v0.05 is released, I intend for the remaining races to be added, as well as the music I'm currently composing for it to be finished as well. There will be some updates to the artwork as the screen looks fairly plain at the moment, plus I know the character portraits could use some more refinement.

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Other changes to the game include:

-Fixed some issues with muting music and sound not working as intended.

-Added some knockback to the Armored Skeletons.

-Frigid Air has been removed from the Magic Shop, since it's been made a starting spell. I plan on adding in the other starting spells to the store in the future.

-Various animation fixes.

-The room with signs at the start of the game has been re-designed. The sign dialogue has been rewritten to be more clear on how the game's controls work.

-Added some dialogue to the guard at the start of the portal in the Slime Warrens, where she re-states that you need to get a weapon if you try to initiate dialogue again before doing so.

-Condensed the weapon shop dialogue sequence into a single conversation when getting your weapon. Too many players have mentioned being confused by what to do at the start.

-Various minor bug fixes.

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There really isn't much left to do after this. Wearable armor sets are the last big thing to do, though I don't really consider this a feature since the change is just cosmetic. Combat still needs balance changes, so I plan on soliciting feedback as much as I can from this point on. I will continue to make improvements to animations and artwork, and I will weave in better/more obvious explanations of the game's mechanics over time. 

I hope you all enjoy this new feature, and please let me know what you think about what's is already here, as well as the ways you think I can still make the game better!