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It speaks for itself, doesn't it?

It took months of effort, but Acts 1, 2, 3, AND 4 have all been polished.

From tiny little description changes to entirely new sections added or changed, all four acts are now in a state of "basically being release ready!" so to speak.

Of course, there's still a lot of work ahead of us, but this was an important milestone to reach. 

Up until now, myself and my team of Testers have only been able to play the game "in chunks" because certain parts were incomplete or under construction. But now, with the exception of the final boss and ending, we can play HorrorVale from the moment Alice walks out of her room to beating the Act 4 Boss.

Hitting this was a great place to send off 2022, and a great place to START 2023 fresh. 

One of the major hurdles jumped over to get to here is the completion of a brand new Dungeon in Act 1.

Savvy HorrorVale fans will remember the Forgotten Mansion, that really gray old house from Act 1 with the funny Pink Guy. 

Well, in order to improve pacing, it's since been moved to Act 2, and in it's place a brand new dungeon has appeared.

The HorrorVale Police Department

Did you ever wonder where all those Frankenling police officers actually work?

Well, they work here!

In the midst of all this Creepy Chaos, the HVPD have managed to lure one of the scamps into a cell in their station. Unfortunately for them, it immediately broke out and caused havoc in the station, cutting the power and trapping several Officers inside. 

In order to get access to one of the Generators required to get to the Mayor's Lab, Alice will have to brave the Station and come face to face with one of the nastiest Creepies out there.

Most players exploring the town for the first time will encounter this place before encountering any of the other Generators, and the great thing about this new dungeon is that it not only acts as a better addition to the overall story of Act 1 (Frankenlings and the Mayor's influence), but it also provides an actual proper introduction into what Creepies actually ARE.

Do you remember playing Act 1 and hearing people talking about Creepies but... Never really understanding WHAT they were talking about?

You guessed that maybe that weird guy that took your dog must be one but... How many people also knew that Mark the Murderer was a Creepy?

Through this new dungeon, you'll not only meet an incredibly fearsome Creepy first hand, but the characters will give you a bit more insight into what Alice is actually dealing with. 

To fans of Resident Evil, they'll probably feel right at home at this place.

And while we're on the topic of Act 1, a few other changes were made as well. For instance that one Generator by the Abandoned Shack actually has a proper "Puzzle" behind it now, even though it's more like an introduction to a mechanic you'll use later.

Another puzzle that was replaced was in the Mayor's Lab, where that kind of really lazy chest memory puzzle has been replaced with something a bit more interesting.

To anyone who's already played through Act 1 with the Demo, all these changes should help with ensuring it still feels fresh for you when you play the Full Game.

So what's next?

Next on the list is Sidequests and Second Quests.

There's a whopping total of 60 Sidequests in the game, and although all the Party Member recruitment quests are complete, there's a handful of non-PM quests we want to implement as well as the Second Quests/Ultimates Moves. This is the next big hurdle and one we'll be running straight toward in January. 

The largest challenge here being the Second Quests and Ultimate Moves. Ultimate Moves are essentially extremely powerful moves all Party Members have that can only be used once per battle and are generally pretty costly. They're your big reward for doing that particular character's Second Quests.

So, that essentially means... 31 Animations to coincide with them, all surely much more impactful than any of their regular moves. Fun stuff!

(Early Ultimate Move Activation concept art)

In the previous Progress Report, we mentioned that we'd talk more about our 2023 Plans in THIS Progress Report. Well... Not yet. 

We have something in store that's not quite ready yet, and when THAT happens, then we'll be more willing to openly talk about our plans for 2023. 

Just stay tuned!