Hey, guys. Last BeNeVoLeNcE, here...

I know this is WAY earlier than expected but I SOMEHOW pulled it off just YESTERDAY...


To get it working, I blended some modified scripts from the Prologue Demo for "The T.O.T.E." and ran some tests! When I found that it was working, I just had to adjust different story scenes and graphics used for certain parts of the game and then it just worked!

I've been testing it since yesterday and it seems to work pretty well--even better than the Prologue Demo.

It's not perfect, and it probably never will be but it sure is better than those ugly black bars on the side. Lol Plus, if you have a Steam Deck to try it on, it'll have thinner horizontal bars on the top and bottom that make it look way more cinematic. Pretty cool stuff.

Now, the only slight issue is that there might be some unexpected bugs or even unintended camera angles in the game due to the changing of the base resolution. I'll probably just continue enjoying my playthrough on the Steam Deck so if I spot anything glaring, I'll be sure to patch it all up now that I have all of the files organized and ready for bug fixes again. Feel free to post in the community threads to let me know if you notice anything is off as well. You guys have definitely helped a lot with that up until now.


Here are some smaller fixes that are coming with this update:

Fixed Mega Ran's attack AGAIN so that it now destroys bushes (it was only working on pots and boxes before).*
Changed the Black Mic's backstory scenes at the beginning of the game to the way they were in the earlier versions of the Prologue demo so that they are more cinematic.
Changed the UI font to a more readable, chunkier font.
Resized the UI font.

*Quick note on Mega Ran's basic attack: It now goes through walls. I remember this being a complaint before concerning him being "OP" but I'd like to test out if this will REALLY affect the game's balance enough for it to be a serious problem.

I'm also aware that there are some strange differences in the font sizes for the UI (ie, the 1st player's health vs. the followers' health). I'll be looking into those later.



Hope you guys enjoy this update as well as the last one!

- LB

Hey, guys. Last BeNeVoLeNcE here--

I just released an update for Tales of the Elements that you may find interesting!

Details below!


~ SINGLE MODE ADDED ~

Are you TIRED of your AI members constantly running off into their deaths? Can't seem to figure out how to configure them to heal and keep themselves alive?

Well, in this new update, I added a quality-of-life feature called "Single Mode."

This mode is a single-player mode that DISABLES your party members in areas where there are enemies so that the selected character that you are controlling is the only one one the map during battles.

Any character in your current party can still be selected from the character select menu. Whoever is in your party at the time will also still gain experience.

Single mode can be toggled from the in-game sub menu.

IMPORTANT: When toggled ON, this feature will ONLY become activate at the next time an area with enemies is entered into so it's best to activate when in-town or in an area without enemies.


~ Cloud Saves now supported! ~

I'm actually late to announcing this as I had shadow dropped this to the game awhile back. Cloud Saves are now working across all devices!



~ Testing for Steam Deck ~

I've been playing through the game here and there on my Steam Deck to make note of some details to further development of the new remake, The T.O.T.E., which I'm planning to launch hopefully this summer.

So far, the game runs REALLY well on the Steam Deck with only a slight blow to performance on 1 or 2 of the 3D special stages.

So, if you were a fan and enjoyed playing Tales of the Elements, try giving it a try with the new updates on your Steam Deck and be sure to leave whatever feedback you can so that we can get Steam to test this game for Steam Deck Verification!



Thanks for all of your guys' support and patience.

This game was my first game release as a (mostly) solo developer so it's important to me. With that being said, expect a couple of updates going forward as I continue developing the remake "The T.O.T.E.!"
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Update fix log:
Fixed the early game "rhyme writing" tutorial not displaying correctly.
Fixed the satellite switch on the 2F so that it's displaying correctly before being destroyed.
Fixed the Flower Girl transaction in the base game so that it now gives the correct item when standing on the left.
Fixed Mega Ran's basic weapon attack not being able to shoot through breakable objects such as bushes, pots, boxes, etc.*
Added a short bit of dialogue to wrap up and the beginning of the "sky bloom" side quest.
Edited a slight typo where "BeNeVoLeNcE" says "lock down" instead of "lockdown" right before the Treeble radio station boss.

*This will not work on current loaded equipment from previously saved data. So, you'll need to get a new weapon for Mega Ran added into your inventory or you'll need to start a new game. Either of those will work.

OTHER changes:
Removed beginning video from game as it was an early concept video that no longer adds any meaningful context, supports or conveys the proper plot points brought out in the story (can be still viewed from within game files).
Added the option to toggle on or off the new Single Mode when starting a new game.
Also removed the opening text scroll from the game.


Plans for next update(s):

Remake soundtrack BGMs
Dialogue fixes and adjustments to vague objectives within a certain main story task that happens to mostly take place in a desert-y area....
Maybe something else...


- LB