[p]Hey, everyone! It's Ryan, creator of Wicked Seed.[/p][p][/p][p]October was an exciting, but busy month! Let's dive into what I've been up to.[/p][p][/p]

Spoiler Warning

[p]I'll be discussing new features and additions to the game, but nothing story related.[/p][p]Please remember Wicked Seed is still in active development and any current or planned feature could be changed.[/p][p][/p]

Demo Update

[p]Sometime in mid November I'll be releasing an update to the demo. The update will include all the new features and changes I've been going on about over the last 5 or 6 months. The content of the demo will remain the same (ends at Wyatt Park boss) but you'll get to play around with all the improvements and changes as well as check out the new voices. I'll be releasing a separate post detailing the changes and when exactly the new demo update will come out.[/p][p][/p]

What I've Been Working On

[p]My main goal for October was to wrap up work with voice talent and look for ways to polish and optimize features.[/p][p][/p]

UI

• [p]Overhauled the look of the UI and made sure I had a cohesive and consistent design[/p]
• [p]Improved mouse support by allowing you to change tabs by clicking on them in the Status, Options, and Extras screens[/p]
• [p]Improved mouse support for inventory and stash making it easier to transfer to and from[/p]
• [p]You can now sort your inventory and stash by item type[/p]
• [p]Redesigned the equipment parts window at the tool bench so you don't need to press a button to toggle between your part list and the gear's installed parts. You can just navigate between the two normally or just click on whatever you need if using mouse[/p]
• [p]Redesigned the "Rest Area" UI. Ella will now be sitting in a chair taking a break while you go through the options[/p]
• [p]Added a "Dynamic" HUD option. While moving around out of combat, the HUD will fade out. Standing still for a short time will fade the HUD back in. Since this is just a new option, the other HUD options (always hide, always display, only in combat) are still available to choose from[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue, where if the HUD was being hidden, you wouldn't see important pop ups relating to level ups, new items, xp and scrap changes, etc.[/p]
• [p]When making volume adjustments in the options, their changes will occur immediately without needing to exit the options menu[/p]
• [p]A bunch of other various, smaller UI improvements and polish[/p]

Gameplay

• [p]Added a "Dynamic Zoom" option. By default, while in exterior locations, the camera now sits back a bit further giving you better visibility of Ella and her surroundings. When entering buildings, caves, etc. the camera will zoom to the previous over the shoulder distance. If you prefer to just have the over the shoulder view at all times you can just turn Dynamic Zoom off[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where your weapon wouldn't be hidden when using certain items or skills[/p]
• [p]Improved some of item icons[/p]
• [p]Certain items will no longer be used if they have no benefit (for example, trying to use a health drink while at full health)[/p]
• [p]Added more unique sound effects for items[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where using multiple skills in a single action queue wouldn't acquire a new target if the intended target had died[/p]
• [p]Shortened the time Ella is stunned when receiving heavy attack damage[/p]
• [p]Changed some previous heavy enemy attacks to a new medium attack which temporarily slows you down when taking damage[/p]
• [p]Manual Cutscene skip should now be fully functional. You can still enable Auto Skip cutscenes in the options menu to skip transitioning into a cutscene altogether[/p]

• [p]Earlier in the month I worked on new content. I'm about halfway through the level design for the final area![/p]

Fixes & Optimizations

• [p]Improved the visuals and design for some areas of the Seaside[/p]
• [p]Performance and load time optimizations for the Seaside area[/p]
• [p]Improved the "safe spot" calculation when selecting Retry on a failed battle. Hopefully no more respawning back in the middle of the encounter![/p]
• [p]Changed the visuals for the "fog walls" that create the bounds for an encounter to be more visible and better indicate its collision area[/p]

What's Next?

• [p]The first part of November will be spent capturing new/updated footage for the upcoming trailer and getting a new demo build out.[/p]
• [p]I also want to give the Steam page a bit of a refresh with updated screenshots, GIFs, etc.[/p]
• [p]I'll be reaching out to content creators and gaming outlets to try and get more coverage and showcase the updates to the game[/p]
• [p]After that, it's back to finishing up the game! [/p]

[p][/p][p]Thanks again to everyone keeping tabs on the game. I'm excited to get the updates in your hands soon![/p][p][/p][p]Here's a look at this month's costume: Agent[/p][p][/p][p][/p]