Avast Crew Logs

Sorry for the long, long, long wait it's been to get a proper update out... I think the last major one was in September of 2017! Time flies!

To cut a long story short, the last year and a half has been hectic for many of us on the team, which is one of the many scary dangers of developing a game from passion alone... Needless to say, we're doing okay now... and now we're moving full sail ahead on some exciting new developments...

I can't talk about everything we've got planned today, but for now, I wanted to show you all a little bit of the bounty we've been preparing!

Footage?!? Of Our Game?!?

You may have seen this video here a few months ago. Here it is in case you haven't.

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you! As you can see from the video, the game is currently in a playable state! No more mockups here! Everything you see from this project from now on will be taken directly from in game.

Do note that many of the things in the video are placeholders and will be updated very soon--but for now, relish in the fact that we've made one more step towards actual completion!

So why don't we take a look at some other things we've been working on? After all, I didn't call this update "Taking Inventory" for no reason... Here's another video!

No RPG is complete without an inventory... and we've been setting our sights on making ours as nice as we can! Items are displayed on the left with spiffy icons that make each one feel nice and unique. Each character shares the same inventory space, but we plan to make sure that the max inventory size is something that won't get in the way.

(also, did you notice that dropdown menu? it's almost like we have a real game shaping up here!)

We're still working on extra details on the menu, like spiffing up sound effects and giving a little extra flair to the UI, but for the most part, this is a near final screen. We're especially happy with the scrolling background...

You might recognize that Pendant... But what does that other symbol mean?

Anyway, that's all I have for you all today. We need a little more time to get the more juicy stuff ready... How does 2 weeks from now sound?

Until then...

Hello again!

As promised, I’m back with another update.

This week, I’ll be showcasing some fun facts about the characters in Avast: Scourge of the Sea, including some you’ve seen before and one you haven’t! Let’s begin!

Ahoy, ya scallywags, Kululu here, happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Are ya ready for me’ latest bounty to share?

Alright, alright, I’ll cut the blabber. I couldn’t dare write this much in pirate speak, after all.

Today, we’re celebrating Talk Like a Pirate day (and also National Butterscotch Pudding Day, which was not known to us until earlier today) in style by providing you with a lot of juicy details about what we’ve been working on behind the scenes.

We’ve got a lot of stuff to cover, so let’s get started with our first update:

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Font Factor:

For a while, we’ve been using a custom made font for dialogue. You’ve probably seen it in small ways through our UI and battle mockups. Here’s a refresher in case you’ve forgotten how it looked.

I mean, he’s old, but he shouldn’t be so insecure about it!

Of course, with all things overtime, improvements and overhauls are abound. So, I stayed up late a few nights and concocted the New Avast Font, which you can officially see for the first time here!

He’s like the older brother who also gets all As on his report card, but he leaves that part out.

Of course, these aren’t the only sprites that have been updated…

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Overworld Overhaul:

This is probably one of my smallest updates today, but it’s still a very important one. We like to change how our sprites look every so often, as you’ve seen in a previous update. Well, we’ve taken our old overworld sprites and given them a slight makeover. Take a look at some of the more updated sprites:

This isn’t exactly the newest version, because there have been some slight color corrections, but this is as close as I’m willing to put the effort into getting right now.

The colors here are good though!

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Jamming Out:

You’ve heard some of our music being posted here over the last few months…

But, now, it has a new home!

You can head down to Our SoundCloud Account

It’s run by a new “character” called Jammer. He’s weird, but he knows a lot about music, and it seems like he’s got all of these tracks on hand, so give them a listen. I hear he’ll be adding some more songs over the week.

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Acolyte of the Unknown:

You might remember a silhouette I posted a few months ago. Well, I suppose it’s time to meet the man behind the shadow.

Meet The Acolyte: An ominous dark harbinger of something unknown…

…anyways, there’s one more thing to share today, and that’s…

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Discord:

This has been something we’ve been working on under wraps for a while. I thought today would be a good time t share it publicly at last!

Wanna hang out with other fans? Maybe talk to some of the crew? Or, maybe you just want a cool place to hang out? Well, the OFFICIAL Avast: Scourge of the Sea Fan Discord is the place to be! Join it if you’d like!

https://discord.gg/Y2DBCWc

Stay tuned next week for another update regarding the characters you’re familiar, and maybe some new ones!

And with that, it’s finally time to say,

Hello once again! It’s been quite a while since we last had an update, huh? Well, that changes here!

Before I get into the meat of this particular update, I am happy to announce that the first complete story draft for Avast: Scourge of the Sea was completed recently. Of course, I really can’t say more, but, it’s a big announcement that deserves some recognition.

Anyways, on with the show!

For the past few months, we’ve been internally discussing where we want to go with this project. One of the first things we discussed was the battle system and how to make it better. So, today, I’m pleased to share the fruits of our meticulous labor!

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What’s changed?

(a lot)

Battles now have a new perspective! It’s indeed very evocative of the Mario & Luigi series, which is indeed intentional. The kinetic energy and expressive animation those battles possess were a perfect fit for our characters and the world we’re striving to create.

The battle backgrounds are no longer the minimalist backgrounds made popular by the Mother series. Battles will have unique and detailed backgrounds. This battle takes place in a bar, after a particularly drunken customer (the Coconut person is a placeholder!) is rather rude to Dee. You might notice Butterscotch Beard in the background, cheering Dee on from the sidelines as he teaches her the basics of battling. Speaking of…

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The Basics of Battling:

Attacks have action commands, similar to games such as Paper Mario and LISA. As an attack becomes more powerful through leveling up, the attack’s action commands become more complex.

Defending and avoiding attacks is also possible by utilizing a similar process to the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series.

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The Pendant:

The item you see in the bottom right of our battle mockup is The Pendant. Perhaps it’s familiar? Here’s a better look at it.

The Pendant gives off a strange energy that allows Dee and her party to use Special Attacks. However, The Pendant has a finite amount of GP, or Greed Power. You have to choose which Special Attack—and who uses it—wisely, because Greed Power doesn’t last forever.

But, of course, it can always be regained…

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Stealing:

So, let’s say you’re out of GP, and you need some more fast. It’s easy… Just take it from someone else!

The Pendant has the ability to draw out the GP in anyone. By landing a Critical Hit on an opponent (the result of a well timed action command), a specific amount of GP will be restored. The amount is determined by how well timed the action command was.

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Also, I’ve included 2 new songs, courtesy of our Music Team!

Hello again! It’s me Snarferman, an artist on the Avast team, back with another small update. We’ve been moving steadily along in the development of Avast, and we have a lot to share, but not much of it is ready to be shown yet. 

To tide everyone over, I’ve got a few head sprites for the characters, as well as two new characters to introduce.

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Moving onto the new characters we have, there’s two more additions to the crew.

Maximo: A cowardly “conqueror” from a distant land. His armor might be strong, but he isn’t.

Tyra Nee: A brave and ancient warrior trapped within ice, waiting to be thawed...

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Hey, guys! This is Kululu speaking... I’m the director of Avast: Scourge of the Sea! First of all, let me thank everyone for their support so far! We’re glad to finally share the first details and seeing the warm response has REALLY motivated our team. Of course, we’re working really hard on a lot of really cool stuff, but it’s really cool secret stuff for now.

Here’s a taste of what’s been going on for the past week.

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Isn’t he scary? Or, don’t you think he looks scary?

Regardless, today I wanted to talk more about how this project has changed throughout the months. In my mind, there’s no better way to show off the natural progression and evolution of this game than through the art! You might not know, but there have been MANY versions and variations of our character overworld sprites. Here’s a look at the evolution of some of the more updated ones.

Dee was the first character we ever sprited… Every time we would experiment with an artstyle change, she would be the first one we experimented with. Needless to say, she’s been through a lot of changes.

Fun Fact: Avast started out as a platformer, believe it or not. I’m not posting those old sprites though! Not yet, at least.

Jean-Pierre has also gone through some big changes…

Fun Fact: Jean-Pierre was originally supposed to be a member of the pirate crew Dee is a part of. This changed to for a multitude of reasons.

Finally, here’s a stranger look at one of our most heavily edited sprites.

Fun Fact: He’s still a Mysterious Man, under all of that shadow…

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In conclusion, Avast has been a project with a lot of history. When I started the project, I was but a novice at pixel art, but by developing the project more and more, I learned new techniques and tricks which I carried over to the sprites we had at the time. The evolution is very clear, and I think most of us would agree that the sprites currently being used are far better than the others that came before it!

Art is something that likes to evolve and change as time goes by, and I thought by showing you all these sprites, it might motivate some people who have always wanted to try art to jump in. My advice to those blooming artists out there is simple—never stop practicing. Never stop trying to better yourself. The more you work at it, the better you’ll become.

Bon voyage, and smooth sailing!

 Ahoy! This is the development blog for a project that’s been worked on for a while now!

Avast: Scourge of the Sea is a fairly traditional RPG about pirates.

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In Avast: Scourge of the Sea, a mysterious pendant sparks mutiny and leads a young girl and her eccentric captain on a amazing adventure that puts the whole sea at stake! Meet new friends and foes as you learn the secrets behind the Scourge of the Sea himself!

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Dee: A young girl who gets thrust into adventure after finding a long kept secret—a strange pendant!

Butterscotch Beard: The fearless and eccentric captain of the Boundless Bounty. He has an arm of steel and a heart of gold. He also… really likes candy, if you can’t tell.

Yar Har: Formerly a close friend and confidant of Butterscotch Beard, Yar Har turned against his friend due to his incredible jealousy and greed.

Jean-Pierre: A grimy street urchin who is surprisingly flexible and skilled with music. Guess those years at music school didn’t go to waste after all…?

Of course, these aren’t all of the characters, but there are some more that have some impact on the story, who may come into play later.

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We intend to implement a few feature that would set it apart from other RPGs of the sort, such as:

*A unique battle mechanic that lets the player choose how they want to play! This mechanic is all about Greed! In short, there are moves that can increase a Greed stat tied to your character. Have it be higher or lower, and you can unlock certain abilities and moves… but, your Greed can also determine the risk you play for in battle!

*You can plunder your enemies! This raises your Greed stat and might net you some valuable loot! Of course, with higher Greed comes more risk, so be wary!

*What would any game be without a good soundtrack? We’re working with talented musicians who are diligently working on music for the game!

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At this moment, our team is beginning the process of programming and building the game. Here are some mockups of how we want the game to look. All assets used in these mockups are official assets made by our Art Team.

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We hope that this little taste of what’s to come has interested you. If you want, please check out our Twitter account and Starmen.net forum! Future updates will be posted there as well as here!