It's been some time since I published my last devlog. I've had some real life obligations that have prevented me from making regular process on game dev and so Trailblazer had to be put on hold while I sorted things out. But, I'm back in the saddle now. My devlogs and updates may not be as frequent as they once were, but rest assured, progress is happening, and the game is nearing completion.

With that said, let's see how Trailblazer's has been progressing!

Why is Chapter 5 taking so long?

Chapter 5 is MASSIVE, with nearly as much content as the first four chapters combined, and takes up more than triple the space on the overworld. This Chapters contains:

• 2 New Towns
• 5 New Bounties
• 7 New Sidequests
• 5 New Dungeons
• 3 New Points of Interest
• A dozen new bosses (including a new overworld super boss)
• Over 40 new enemies

You're going to need a horse to explore all this content!

You can read the progress report in more detail below, but for those of you who have been craving anything new from Trailblazer; here's a video showing off a sneak peek:

Progress Report

Mechanics

Switching from Standard Turn Battle to Order Turn Battle (OTB) allowed me to introduce a lot more depth and nuance to combat. As a result, I've made a ton of tweaks to enemy AI and their skill selection - in particular enemies is Chapter 4.

One of the biggest changes has been the addition of the Curse status effect. This new status effect deals 5AP damage every time you use a Skill or Feat in combat, making it a unique take on Damage Over Time. It won't be too common, but expect to see several enemies to have added this to their repertoire.

Skill Trees

All Trees have been condensed, redundancies removed, and have been rebalanced. You should find that there are more useful skills lower in the trees. These changes should make it so that less SP feel "wasted" on prereqs that don't seem useful. But not only that, but I've added a whole new Skill Tree! Caleb now has access to the Totem Tree, giving him access to several party-wide buffs and powerful Wind magic.

New Locations

While most of the Chapter will focus on the Southern Badlands, the Lakota Territory will also become available, truly opening up the world of Trailblazer. The dungeons in Chapter 5 are larger and more complex than in previous chapters. While you'll see your share of canyons and caves similar to other chapters, you'll find yourself traversing ancient holy sites, steampunk bunkers, and the mysterious Devil's Tower...

New Items and Equipment

Lots of new items, equipment and accessories are now available. One of the biggest quality of life improvements you'll notice is that every Weapon, Armor, and Boots will tell you the equipment Tier, making comparing them against one another much easier. You'll also find "Unique" as a possible Tier. You can only carry 1 of each Unique Weapon and Armor (even if you cheat), and they have stats and abilities that rate them somewhere outside of the standard Tier level. They won't be blatantly overpowered, but they will offer unique benefits. Anyone who has obtained the Hard Reset shotgun or the Steam-Powered Gun will have already experienced this. These new Unique Equipment pieces will allow for much great build variety and party versatility.

Not only that, but Doctors' Offices now sell specialty drugs and tinctures that can be used both in and outside of battle to give temporary buffs, giving you a way to get an edge going into a particularly difficult combat without having to waste your first few turns buffing.

Lastly, I've added A TON of new Items, Hats and Accessories which grant a variety of unique benefits and effects. One of my personal favorites is the Sundown hat. Not only is this a reference to one of my favorite RPGs of all time, but it allows the wearer to enter battle behind cover!