Dragonfaith (Solipsism 2.0)

This isn't the next big update I promised, but it's still a significant revision to my last release. I'm calling it Solipsism 2.0, as it follows the same philosophy as the last one - open world - but with some considerable improvements. Here's what's changed:

*More interactive objects, including signs (but no people yet).
*The canoe is now working, which opens up two more dungeons.
*In select areas, you can now go swimming, and walk behind waterfalls.
*Fog and weather effects have been implemented.
*Dark areas now feature torch light.
*You can now go ice skating, and visit the hot springs.
*Spike traps are functional.
*The custom balloon vehicle is operational.
*I've implemented some fairly complex behavior involving the airship.
*The modular world map item is fully functional, complete with compass and landmarks.

I wanted to do everything I reasonably could in this solipsistic version of my RPG, before I move on to the next stage, and add in a lot more functionality with more switches and variables and common events and items, etc. The next major milestone will be a version of this game that's less an open world, with regular progression restored. Also, people - dialogue, dramatic events. Basically everything except combat-related functions. As I said before, that will take a little more time, but stay tuned! We're taking this one step at a time, and each step gets us closer to the finish line!

Dragonfaith (Solipsism) 2.0
Download (427 MB): Windows [see sidebar for latest release]

Dragonfaith (Solipsism)

I'm very excited to announce my first Dragonfaith release in - what, eight years? I want to temper your expectations, though. It's not a full game. It's not even really a partial game. This is just the first step in the process of creating a fresh project, so I can tidy things up a bit, and eliminate some of the waste that's collected over the years. Think of it as a disk defrag for my project file. Anyway, as I slowly build my game back up from an empty file (by selectively copying all the work I've already done - not redoing it), I'm getting closer and closer to having a finished product. And that, alone, is exciting!

So, what this release is - it's an open world. All the maps in my game, freely explorable. No combat. No NPCs. Nothing really to interact with. You can just walk around and check out the world I've created. Now, there are a couple of maps that are partly or wholly inaccessible, just because they require functionality that I haven't added back in yet (e.g., the canoe). I'm going to work on doing that for the next release. Officially, I don't actually recommend you play this version of the game. I just want to make it available as a backup, in case I drop dead tomorrow. But I can't stop you from downloading it and taking a peek. :-p

Do look forward to the next release, though. It'll probably take a little longer, as the process becomes more complex. My vision is to add a lot of that functionality back in - like getting the canoe working, and activating all the atmospherics. Ultimately, I want to have a game that's otherwise complete, start to finish, minus all the combat mechanics - which is the next thing that I'll have to hammer out before the game is done. I've already got the enemies, troops, and equipment mostly worked out, so it'll be a lot of tweaking numbers. Oh, and also designing animations for the battle skills. Not looking forward to that, but it's gotta be done. Stay tuned!

Dragonfaith (Solipsism) 1.0
Download (426 MB): Windows [see sidebar for latest release]

World Map Progress

Would you believe it if I said my New Year's resolution for 2025 was to finally finish my world map?

What if I told you I'd been working on it extensively over the past month, and that it's already finished? Would you believe it?

Well, it's true. I mean, I could still decide to make modifications in the future, but the important thing is that it's functional, it's complete, and it looks great!

Unfortunately, you'll have to take my word for it, because I don't want to spoil the sense of discovery you'll get from exploring it when you finally get to play my game.

So, what's next? Now that the mapping for my game is officially complete, the next step will be to start a fresh project (which I haven't done in five years) to clean things up - with the hope that this will be the last time.

I still have a lot of tinkering to do with the combat mechanics and mathematics, which will require a lot of testing. But I want to put out a combat-free version of my game, so that if I drop dead and never make it to the finish line, there will at least be a version of my game out there that people can play - to explore the extensive work I've put into mapping this game over the last too many years. So all that work won't have been for naught.

I'm looking forward to getting the combat functioning properly, but it's a big job, and even without it, I've created this exciting world that you can just get lost in. And I want to be able to feature that, regardless of what happens from here on out.

Update: It's only been two days, but now that I actually have a world map, I spent some time implementing a map function in my game. I added a compass and beacons that flash to show where you're at, and where all the important landmarks are - which I designed after the way the map functions in Final Fantasy 1 (Tceles B Hsup).

Except that my map is an item you can pick up and select from the inventory menu. The unique part is that it's modular. I split it up so that you can pick up pieces of the map to gradually fill in the whole picture. That way, the player still has the advantage of having a guide on where to go, without spoiling the entire adventure right from the start. It's working great, and I'm really excited about it!