I had some friends play the game in it's current state in order to gauge how well the game runs and is designed, as well as how well written the game is thus far.
I came away with some very interesting results, and thus, some changes were made.
This interface should be familiar. Okay, not really, but the idea should be.
Field tools will be making a return to SEM. It just has to be done. Dungeons are bare and merely strolls through the scenery without them. So as it has been suggested, Field tools should return in order to mix up exploration once more.
The tool menu is tied to the same process as the main menu, so it was relatively easy to create it. It only took about ten minutes in fact! But that's besides the point here. The menu is tied to the shift key and when pressed, this interface will slide in from above. You merely press left or right to move the highlight over the tool you want and then cancel out.
All the tools from SEB, minus the watercraft, make a return. A slashing action replaces it, and a new tool called the 'Memory Fragment' is also available. This was included based on the point that dungeons were long and save points were few and far between.
Memory Fragments are consumable saves. You open the tool menu and select it with Z/Enter. If you still have fragments, then you will be prompted to save, and then a fragment is consumed. When you enter a dungeon area, you are given three fragments. No more, no less. Once you run out, that's it. Your Memory Fragments are replenished when you leave and enter a dungeon area again.
And on the subject of the design of the areas where you can use tools; they will not be as obvious as SEB with panels or glaringly obvious recurring cues being placed around. You will have to experiment.
And that's all for this update. Have some art!
Art by Replicated-Marchen
