Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 22 / 2025

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It took way long than anticipated, but after extensive experimentation and playtesting, I finally nailed down the aftermath of The Eminent Quartet sidequest with the tools at the player's disposal.
The only compromise I had to make was increasing the amount of monsters you need to have captured for your prison before you can start the chain of sidequests, from 10 to 14.
I think it'll still be a few weeks before the finalized version of the characters involved have their pixel sprites done, so the next beta will unfortunately have placeholders instead to not hold it off further.
I believe the update will drop the coming week, although I'll have a more precise date next Tuesday.

I've also included a new area to Brightstone, mostly to add a shop that deals with jewelry and to move the wagon service from another section of the town to the new location.

I believe that covers everything for today, so I'll see you next week!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 21 / 2025

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Did you know; Exactly one year ago, it was May the 27th!?

All five sidequests including the core "The Eminent Quartet" one is completed.
They just need some minor adjustments, along with the aftermath of finishing the whole set.
Everything regarding "Sin Swallows" is also now in the game, this being her pixel model, the two movies you can catch at the cinemas during daytime, and her outfit you'll automatically unlock after finishing the Duchess Mansion arc.
Of course, if you've already done that and reached the end of the previous beta, the outfit will be waiting for you in the costume selection screen for the appropriate character.

Speaking of betas, I'm still unsure when I'll be releasing the next one.
I don't know if there is enough time to get everything done with placeholders by the end of the week, so it's more likely this will be one of those rare early-in-the-month releases for June instead.

So with that, I'll be back again next Tuesday!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 20 / 2025

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Day 20, Week 20 of Year 20...25? Coincidence? I think not!

While progress on the "The Eminent Quartet" has progressed, I decided to split it up into five different sidequests with the mentioned kinda being the one bringing them all together.
But mostly they are split up, giving each of the eminent four their own sidequest, so you can easier track which ones you've already approached and/or completed.
Out of the five, two are in progress, another two are finished, and the last one is still waiting.

I would like to say a new beta is being released this month, although even if I finished all five sidequests before the end of the month, there are too many placeholders currently waiting to be replaced with finished versions than I'd like...we'll see how it goes!

Until that time, I'll be around again next week as always!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 19 / 2025

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Tuesday the 13th!? Oh no, that means it's...uhh, a perfectly normal day!

Unless I missed or forgot something, all the work required for the additional costumes should be done by now and I also fixed a handful of maps I somehow overlooked earlier.
But the main work has been on a new side-quest called "The Eminent Quartet" which ties together with all the new assets and pixel animations I reported on making last month or so.
I'm not sure how much I should detail without spoiling it, hmm...let's just say it only triggers after you've captured enough monsters during expeditions using your army.

While work on that continues, I'll see you next week!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 18 / 2025

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The work on tweeking the maps concluded early last week.
Ever since, I've been doing a little bit of here, and a little bit of there.
Some bug fixes, preparing a new enemy, alongside a legendary, but mostly focusing on adding a couple of new costumes for a few characters and updating their wardrobe selection screen.
Which means the Sin Swallows outfit will be available in the next beta!

I don't think there was anything else to share, so I'll see you again next Tuesday!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 17 / 2025

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And the work is proceeding, ever onward!

Nearly done with the 800+ maps with the last handful likely being done by tomorrow.
While it may not be the best comparison, I did add two screenshots at the bottom to show a location before and after some tweaking, making the bridge look more like a proper drawbridge than something you'd have to order an entire regiment to clumsily, manually pull back.
It's small details like that I've been adding, another example would be the towers in the desert now having hatches at the top to show there is a way of getting up there without being Ezio Auditore.
 
That'll be it for today, and I'll be back with another update next Tuesday!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 16 / 2025

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Happy Easter! Not the exact day, but hey, close enough!

The number of edited maps have grown quite a lot, but I should be all done with that by next week unless I run into something unexpected that takes more time than I predicted.
When you make a lot of small changes, they add up and make the whole package better.
Take the screenshot below for an example, you might not realize it at first glance, but that table didn't had anything on it before I made some card assets to better indicate they're playing a tournament of MyGeek, and there is also a graphical issue with the table I fixed which has been present from the very original tileset pack that came with the purchased game engine.
If you're able to spot it, since its still present in previous builds using that specific type of table, you have a keen eye as it's only a single pixel in width, but a lot more vertically!
(The original tilesets actually had a lot of errors with them I've fixed over time)

The next location in the game will also introduce a new kind of "CG Scene".
It's the best way to word it as it's not something with descriptions, but rather dialogue over an illustration to show something that is better representated with art than pixels.
Closest example to this currently available would be very early in the game, when you could walk up to Laquadia taking a bath, a scene I will probably go back and edit to only involve dialogue.
Teen Farah's mini-game might be another good sample.

But that's all I have for you today, see you next week!

 

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 15 / 2025

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While most will probably go unnoticed, a shit-ton of stuff has been done this week!
Literal light adjustments, several map tweaking, additional assets, all going hand in hand.
But if you want to take a few screenshots of the current build and compare it to the next beta when it comes out, then here are a few samples of what to look for!

Odidania - The harbor where the water meet the edge of the pier.
Colussia - The ledge along the small river running along the eastern district.
Port Ronod - The small bridges to the anchored ships.
Grassland Road - The large, wide open area.
The Ravaged Booty - How you access and leave the ship.
Various Sewers - How the wooden bridges function.

The way yellow lanterns give off light is also slightly improved, although that might be tricky to capture with a screenshot since it's the "motion" itself of the sprite that makes it different.
The Ravaged Booty has the most obvious change, even without comparison.

And that does it for now, see you again next Tuesday!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 14 / 2025

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Not much to announce for this week either.
A large focus has been to make additional assets in order to overhaul the Magna Gerulus, as I wanted it to stand out a bit more and showcase the wealth Lynevere spent on it.
But I also went over the Illythium Trading Vessel (which took you to Tseneria Isle) and made it appear more like a cargo ship with the interior, rather than having unaccessable "dark" areas.
That ship will also be available for re-visiting, in case you missed anything the first time!

And that'll be it for today, so I'll see you again next week!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 13 / 2025 [Updated]

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April Fool's Day!
Aaaand there isn't much difference from last week, still hammering away at the worldmap with currently nine different locations at this time being available to discover during seafaring.
Out of those, only two are areas you've been able to previously explore in this game but now with the opportunity to visit them as many times as you'd like, The Drowning Castle and Tseneria Isle.

That'll round up today's news, but I'll be back next Tuesday!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 12 / 2025

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Worldmap shenanigans has continued throughout this past week as well.
Along with additional resources having been made to...hmm, reintroduce a certain "faction"?
I'm currently working on four different locations at the same time to bring them to completion,
those being the Pirate Cove and three areas from LoQOII with a visual/presentation overhaul.
Since not much else can be said, that'll have to be it for this short update!

As always, next Tuesday I'll be back with more news!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 11 / 2025

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Not too much to report on for this one, due to the nature of the work.
That is to say I've spent this week continuing tweaking away at the huge worldmap, which is about three times larger than seafaring was in LoQOII as it includes the three nations of the Beldorian Empire, Kingdom of Namaria and the Frozen Continent.
Although, where you can dock and which locations from the previous game will be available is of course limited, since adding the whole inland Namaria as an actual explorable area would just be insane and take up way too much time...but I can spoil you'll at the very least be able to visit Stonehedge and Tel Ravida again.

Back to work, I'll see you next Tuesday!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 10 / 2025

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Here we are for another Tuesday!

What can essentially be called an asset pack I've been working on lately is done and ready to be implemented once I get around to the finer details in a hopefully not too distant future.
But most of the time this past week has been spent on creating the next location you'll be visiting, which in turn will unlock sea traveling shortly after, much like how it worked in the previous game.
It's how you'll reach the final Iron Spire and gain access to a bunch of optional locations, both old and new, such as being able to revisit Tseneria Isle and even some familiar places from LoQOII!

And that about does it for this little tidbit update, see you during the next one!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 09 / 2025

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As always on the first update after a new beta release, today will be pretty flaccid too.

The beta was released like scheduled and most of the time leading up to that point was frantically putting the last puzzle pieces together and some last minute tweaking...thankfully with minimal errors, although one mistake I did make was locking out the latest addition to Castle Warrengard who joined you after the Duchess Mansion Arc.
She is in her room, waiting, having a conversation option, but not currently available through normal means in the release because I forgot to replace a trigger.

I've also been working on a bunch of sprite assets for an idea I have in mind.
And that's about it, really!

I'll see you next Tuesday as always!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 08 / 2025

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The next beta will be out on this Friday the 28th, curse ye' shorty February!

It'll be a close fit, but the only thing left except some loot placement is fixing NPC movements when getting back to Castle Warrengard after the arc is finished.
And due to all the work for this release being exclusively storymode related, don't expect a long list in the patch notes for other various additions as it'll be all about that Duchess Mansion arc!
But that alone will contain two new CG Scenes, one with and one without the protagonist involved.

So I hope you'll be enjoying this weekend and I'll see you next Tuesday!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 07 / 2025

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It is no exaggeration to say extensive playtesting has been going on!
Counting for the various parts, I've probably replayed the Duchess Mansion arc over 20 times.
All while tweaking and/or changing NPC movements and some dialogue, but I believe the only thing left to test is the wrap-up sequence back at Castle Warrengard and the initial ambush before going to the estate.

As I don't know how much or little trouble those two parts may cause, I feel it might currently be too risky announcing a precise release date at this time, although the beta is still scheduled for this month nevertheless!

I'll see you again next week with news regarding the beta launch day!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 06 / 2025

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While Duchess Mansion was finished last week...now I think it's done, even!

To elaborate since that sounded contradictive, what I mean is last week I finished stringing all the cutscenes together and now I've also completed adding all the NPC movements and emoticons.
Only thing left is to playtest the whole arc and correct whatever issues I find along the way.
The "optional" stuff I mentioned last Tuesday turned into manditory content and I ended up making one additional cutscene towards the end to really wrap things up.
So between today and when the beta is released later this month, it'll be all about playtesting, polishing and adding some extra tidbits I have in mind if there is enough time.

That'll be all for today, but I might even have an estimated release date for next week!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 05 / 2025

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Duchess Mansion Arc, finished!

Or at least everything at the location has been completed and stringed together.
Although I'll still need to add one more cutscene elsewhere to wrap it all up and prepare players for the next step in a later beta, while including some tiny, additional side content as well.
Size wise, it's probably about the same as the High Lord Gathering Arc at the Imperial Manor, maybe slightly bigger if you count the sequence leading up to visiting the Duchess Mansion.
Then I also have to playtest this portion myself, but it should hopefully not take too long if the branching choices and everything else involved is working as intended.

And that's that, I'll be seeing you again next week with another update!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 04 / 2025

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Still hammering away at the storymode content, piece by piece!
A few more interractions have been added, chains of cutscenes has been stitched together and some dialogue has been tweaked to fit the overall narrative better.
That's really all I can say, and I would've surely released a new beta this month if it weren't for those three lost weeks of sickness, but at this pace the Duchess Mansion arc should be finished in February and I'll be able to release the updated version during that same timeframe too!

So with that said, I'll see you again next Tuesday!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 03 / 2025

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I think it's safe to say I've finally recovered by now.
The snot factory has closed, my brain no longer feels like scrambled eggs and my cough is back to it's normal self I've been living with since contracting covid that one time 5 years ago, woot!

It doesn't make for a longer Tuesday update, though, as I've mostly just spent time on storymode content and extending a certain cutscene to include a segment I totally forgot to add before.
But hey, at least we're back in business!

See you again next week!

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 02 / 2025

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One more week on this crazy journey called life!

And while I don't think I'm sick anymore, there are still parts of me that need recovering.
Most importantly, the big ol' noggin' up top since these past two weeks really wore me out.
I'm slowly getting back into things, but not much as I've mainly been working on some maps and tracking down what is (hopefully) the last bug related to the party remembrance mechanic.

So let's aim for all thumbs-up for next Tuesday, alright!?

Legend of Queen Opala: Origin - Week 01 / 2025

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Geez, been a whole year since last Tuesday already!?

I've sadly not been able to do any direct work across the week, though.
That flu I got was a really, freakin' nasty one and has been hanging on to me for over 8 days, but I do feel way better today than I did last week, when merely watching TV was too exhausting.
Thankfully I don't tend to get sick very often, as apart from one case of food poisoning the other year, I'm pretty sure I've not been sick even once since early 2020.
So there isn't much to say besides I'll hopefully be back to full health sometime later this week!

And with that, I'll see you again next time!