May 2020 Update

Dear Backers,

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Little Orbit is finishing our 7th week working remotely, and while it has presented some challenges, I continue to be impressed with the enthusiasm and work ethic of the entire team. We are currently managing three titles in-house, and honestly it's a lot to juggle. There has been a lot of learning for me personally over the last 3 years on how much is too much to take on. Fortunately we've been consistently hitting internal milestones across the board, so we're making good progress.

Things we didn't get to

I want to start by acknowledging the things we didn't get to in April.

Community Discord Server

This is high on my list to get up and running for backers and fans. However, for various reasons, we are running behind. We're still researching moderation solutions and staffing. I suspect we have more than a couple community members who would be interested in helping moderate. More on this below.

Game play stream / Q&A

This is another thing that I am committed to getting started. We have had some very favorable responses in this area on our other titles (when we can organize it), and I think Unsung is finally in a good place to show it off. These streams require a lot of coordinate and setup, but the goal is to build up to one of these a month. More on this below.

Reaching out to more backers for their art/design rewards

This the last major area where we're behind. We have done several rounds of feedback with a couple high tiers, but I wanted to be able to contact the next couple levels of backers to start more rewards, and we just didn't have the bandwidth. Sorry about that. It's going to happen.

General Update on Progress

I have previously mentioned that these are getting harder and harder to write without just spoiling the whole first chapter. In this case, I had my lead producer skim through check-ins. Here is a high level list of what we did in April:

• Turn order communication improvements
• Updated models for various classes including the new female human model
• New animations for many classes
• Polish cut scenes and cinematics on Missions 1-3
• All level 1 weapons for each class complete
• Tier 3 Vanquisher Axe complete
• Game UX/UI polish pass
• VFX pass for multiple characters and game moments (death, resurrection, heal, etc...)
• Character customization system backend work
• Text/dialog polish
• Job Captain UI and functionality polish

There were a number of things I wanted to show off, but one or two items about each screenshot prevented me. Next month, I'll try to discuss these blockers as I go through everything in more detail.

Now for something completely new...

The Harmony Skill System

Our lead designer made significant progress on one of the last remaining systems to be designed --- providing bonuses for coordinating units together properly. We've spent a lot of time iterating on ideas for this system trying to determine the best way to showcase hybridization and experimentation with Unsung's sound-based magic and abilities.

The Harmony Skill System helps to remove some pressure of putting support roles on just one or two characters, and it allows the player to make meaningful choices with the tools at their disposal.

Here's a brief rundown of how it will work:

The game will have a new Harmony UI with 6 empty slots. Brandon's initial idea is to stylize it as measures in sheet music using 3/4 time. For those who aren't familiar with the difference between 3/4 and 4/4 time, in 3/4 time there are 3 beats per measure and in 4/4 time there are 4. Beats are typically quarter notes.

The difference between 4/4 and 3/4 time

Every skill in the game will slot into three different categories; Offense, Defense, Support.

For now, we're using colors to show this.

• Red = Offense
• Blue = Defense
• Green = Support

When you use an ability, its color gets slotted as an eighth note in the current measure of the battle you're playing. After filling in 6 notes, (I.e. using 6 abilities) the player will trigger a team wide bonus for X amounts of turns. This team wide bonus is dependent on what colors are in the measure.

Design idea for how to illustrate Harmony skills

The last skill color a character used will be shown in the character portraits as well, to help make it clear which type of role they current playing and what notes they are adding based on the skill.

Here are some potential examples for how the colors would work.

• Scenario #1: The bar has an even distribution of all colors: RED, RED, GREEN, GREEN, BLUE, BLUE. Everyone on the team gets light buffs for Attack Damage, Focus Regen, and Defense increase.
• Scenario #2: The bar has an even distribution of two colors: RED, RED, RED, GREEN, GREEN, GREEN. Everyone on the team gets medium buffs for Attack Damage and Focus Regen.
• Scenario #3: The bar has all one color: RED, RED, RED, RED, RED, RED. The team receives a high bonus to their Attack Damage.
• Scenario #4: The measure is random, but has a majority color: BLUE, GREEN, GREEN, RED, BLUE, GREEN. The team would receive a medium bonus to Focus Regen.
• Scenario #5: The player figures out a specific sequence we create and hint at during the game, and the bonus ends up very powerful and unique.

Integration with other systems:

• Leveling a skill can increase its contribution to the bonus. For example, having a maxed out RED skill can increase the Attack Damage buff by X%. Stack a bunch of maxed out RED skills and get a very powerful Attack Damage buff.
• Using a Crescendo while the buff is active increases the buff by X for the party for X turns.

Class Experimentation:

• Build a group of Berserker types that execute BLUE skills to get a monster defense buff.
• Make a defensive, shield class with all RED abilities that can contribute to and get that attack increase.

The important part is that even if the player chooses to never engage with this system, they will still receive periodic buffs that complement their playstyle.

Sneak peek build

The biggest news for this month are some items that are coming soon.

First, we are planning to be send out "sneak peek" builds to the Press for Missions 1-3. We have a number of journalists who have been following the progress of Unsung Story for years. Some of them haven't written or blogged anything since we took over. We are down to the last couple weeks of bugs and additions, and then those copies will go out.

Second, it wouldn't be fair of me to send out WIP to the Press and not give some of the most active backers the same opportunity. This month I'll be hand selecting backers from the highest tiers that have made the most comments and suggestions on Facebook, Twitter, our forums, and Kickstarter updates. This isn't a challenge. Please don't spam comments to this update just to get noticed, and don't be offended if you don't get picked. My goal is to trial the game with a group of backers who are willing to sign NDAs, and then have them give us some initial play through feedback.

Don't worry. For the rest of you who don't get hands-on, I will be Live streaming my update on June 1. We're going to start at 11am PDT. It's a Monday, so hopefully everyone will be able to join. I have no idea what state the world will be at that point, but we'll post the stream on YouTube and Twitch for those that miss it. No matter what shape the game is in, I'm going to get on the Little Orbit Twitch channel and spend some time playing through Missions 1-3 and answering questions from you. http://twitch.tv/littleorbit

Lastly, the team is going to work hard to get the Discord server up, so directly after the stream I will post it in the Kickstarter update, and you guys can jump on and share thoughts and impressions (please be gentle).

Also please note that our Facebook page has changed to: http://facebook.com/UnsungStory

I appreciate your patience and support.

Sincerely,
Matthew Scott