Hi! How are you? I wanted to tell you that about three months ago, I returned to this project and made some big changes. First, I reprogrammed most of it. I'll tell you about the improvements, and I'm taking into account several points you suggested that I found interesting and will probably implement.
Here are the changes:
1. Now there will be a 5x5 grid of generic enemies. You'll have to defeat between 2 and 5 of them to access the bosses or main characters.
When you choose an enemy, there's a chance it will come with an item (card, I'm not sure what to call it) that slightly modifies the character's stats. For example, MP (that's what it's called now; before it was ENERGY) starts at 100%.
Or a percentage increase to STR, or shields. Enemies now have shields equipped, ranging from 1 to 10. The only way to break a shield is with strong attacks, and if it's not broken, normal attacks won't do any damage.
The DEF stat has also been modified. These items can be stolen by certain enemies, and when they are stolen, these stats benefit the opponent.
The special moves are already in place, but now they must be discovered. First, there are the weak attacks, which increase MP. MP is needed to perform strong attacks. Weak attacks now appear in a sequence on the half of the screen where the enemy is located, very similar to the previous version, but now they are circular and not in a line. The game is also played with the mouse, not the keyboard. Each enemy or boss has a different system. For example: Trinity: a button appears, remains for a while, and then disappears; you have to click the button.
Another enemy appears randomly, but the button moves to the left, with varying speed depending on the enemy.
Another does the same, but the button moves up and down (Sine).
And finally, the buttons appear and move in a random straight direction, making it more difficult to hit if you move quickly. The speed at which these buttons disappear when we're defending depends on the SPEED stat. Strong attacks don't use this mechanic; instead, they're linked to a stat called IMP. When my MP equals the number of hits, I can perform strong attacks, subtracting 1 MP for each hit. At this stage, I have to guess the sequence to unlock the special.
For example: StrongAttack, GF, GD, GD, PD, PD. The character launches into the attacks, and if the sequence is correct, the special is executed. For now, I've modified some of them, but it takes a lot of time, so I'll leave most as they are. Later, I'll modify and add more, as it requires more work. If the sequence is correct on the first or second hit, the discovered sequences are shown at the top. This system is very similar to Legend of Legaia.
When you win a battle, you get three cards that increase your stats. They have a bug, but I haven't focused on it yet because I worked on it a long time ago.
The super attacks are still the same.
Another thing is that enemies don't use MP in order to perform strong attacks; it's random. If they have MP equal to or greater than a special attack, they'll also use it randomly. I'll remove the SURVIVER mode or make one where HP doesn't regenerate between battles and only the main enemies appear, like in the original tower-style version.
Aside from all this, I think I'm about 60% finished with the game.
One of the things I wanted to add was new illustrations, because I don't like some of the ones. I also wanted to change the cover art and add frames to the status effects (hit, defense, hit) to make it look smoother. The super attacks still look like they're in comic panels, and I was thinking of making them fully animated, but that would take too much time... anyway.
I'm streaming the development of both games regularly, or at least twice a week. I have the Kunoichi game, which is Jen, the same character from Factor D, but she transforms into a ninja.
Here are the channels where I upload updates:
Development:
https://www.youtube.com/@SSJIN3
Illustrations:
https://www.youtube.com/@ssjin3dibujosmangaanime878
Animations:
https://www.youtube.com/@2Dimensionalz
I'm going to take several of your suggestions into account. Thank you very much. I also wanted to know if you have Factor D on Steam. If not, I'd like to give you a key.
Cheers!