September 6th Weekly update (Patreon)

This week started with me putting out a test build to get feedback on some changes to how the charm mechanic works.

I had gotten a lot of feedback around charm that it was 1. Uncomfortable to tap a button over and over, especially E on the keyboard.  2) Kinda boring and 3) ( My personal gripe )  Actually interacting with charmed enemies I wasn't happy with (it was always a temporary thing that you hit a button to get enemies to jump you like you did)

I came up with an alternate system that would require the player to kinda watch enemies closely, and and use knowledge of their patrol routes to plant "charm bombs"  in their paths.  The creation of these bombs would also allow a reason for charmed enemies to "engage" with Meridiana that was more lore and character friendly.

I've gotten some feedback on this system, and so most of my week has been spent responding to and making changes based on the feedback.

1)   There was some AI issues with all enemies becoming a little too frisky too quickly, I fixed this in the AI, and even added some new hooks that I can plug into down the line.  

 If you come across an enemy who is ready to charm, and do not charm them, they will become aggressive instead of frisky.   

2) Currently, when Meridiana um "concentrates" by holding E, after 3 seconds a cloud will appear that will make enemies charmable.   People had some issues as it was a little more difficult to use this cloud, such as enemies walking away just as you finish casting it.

The plan for it was that the player would leave the cloud in enemy patrol paths, and then wait for the enemies to pass through it.  Or eventually, to create a cloud and then use the wind or other factors to move it into position.   This didn't seem to be how it has played out based on feedback.  

In response, I've made an adjustment so that just by "concentrating" (flicking the bean) near an enemy, Meridiana herself has the effect the cloud did.  This way you can move up to an enemy, and quickly put them into a charmable state.  

The old cloud I will likely recycle into a throwable "love" potion or some such.

I've made this a toggle, so I can adjust it back to how it was previously used if needed.

3) People had issue with forcing enemies to see the player before they could be charmed.  This is a pretty easy fix, and now I've built a toggle that let's me turn that off, and only require the player to be near an enemy to charm them.

There were a few other concerns, and I'll look at those as well, but these are the big ones I wanted to address first.

I've got a few other things related to this I want to fix and add, and then will release a new test to get further feedback.

I do appreciate everyone helping me make this stuff be as awesome as I can make it!  
Hope you guys have a good week!