Sorry for the lack of updates, but I am still working! Today is a smaller update, a fix to the Linux versions that seem to have been having issues. I’ve included the font to be installed before playing the game, but I’ll look for a way to make sure the font works without having to do that, too. For mac users, if you are having issues with saving, try putting the game folder on your desktop or in documents, something about how the program saves its data doesn’t like other folders.
That’s it for now, I’ll be back with a real update soon enough!
Hey guys! As I mentioned before, the update yesterday was a bit on the smaller side because most of the development has been going into the game at large- and we haven’t shown any of that to you guys yet, so let’s give you a little tour of the Purgatory Ridge Ghost Hospital Lobby!
Right upon leaving the emergency ward, you have your option to go right back in, and Vinny! A man’s gotta stay on top of his market. From here, you can go back into the emergency ward and interact with the patients in the south wing that you didn’t have access to before, and you can also go back to bug Carna!
You can go to the cafeteria and get healing items and a sort of inn-system for general healing!
The Pharmacy, a place to find new weaponry, and perhaps a new friend…
The gift shop, where you can find more defensive items and various other odds and ends!
…along with a few other areas that are a bit non-essential, but they’ll certainly be a bit more essential once you gain access to sidequests!
Yes, this game will have sidequests! These quests are totally optional, but will give you some nice insight into the lives of the denizens of the Ghost Hospital, and perhaps even Robin herself!
Alright, that’s all we have to offer for the time being- things are still a bit in development, there’s still a couple of default and placeholder assets that will be replaced in the future, but we’ve made significant progress!
Hey guys, we’re back again with another Halloween Update, and a little early this time! The changes aren’t super huge this time around because more focus has been going into creation of the game at large, so expect an update about the full game tomorrow!
Here’s a list of what’s new:
Minor visual updates to make the graphic style more uniform.
All NPCs now have names and dialogue sounds.
New music! Carna’s battle theme has been tweaked to be slightly less headache-inducing, and Libitina’s theme has been completely overhauled.
After much feedback on the hospital rooms, there’s now more of a visual indicator of when you’re able to start exploring (nothing too hand-holdy, just the doors that don’t require keys now being open).
Said hospital rooms also have minor cosmetic updates, just to make them look a bit different.
A bug causing the line of text before opening the door to Carna’s office to appear again after going inside has been fixed.
The loading screen isn’t the default asset anymore! Almost sad how long it took to fix that.
And I believe that’s all for this update! Keep your eyes out for the following devlog, where we show off what’s to come after the Emergency Ward! Happy halloween, everyone!
Happy Halloween! We may not have much in the way of the full game or a demo update, but we do have significant news regarding the progress of development.
Firstly: Pediatric is rapidly approaching completion, and while you may not see it in the demo, you can see plenty of it on the game twitter which I am trying… VERY hard to update frequently, though it may not happen as much as I like.
Secondly: As we continue to rebalance characters and enemies and overhaul the combat, we’ve decided to overhaul the Despair/Anxiety system! While I was alright with the current system- the way it is in the demo as it is- after some feedback and talking with our encounter designer, we’ve thought of a more dynamic and engaging way for players to interact with this mechanic, while still preserving the feeling of anxiety and the helplessness that comes with it. So, come the next demo update- or the full game, god willing, your menu will look like this!
That stress meter will be the new implementation of the Despair system. Put simply, the more you have, the less you can do, and a lot of stuff makes it go higher- taking damage, using moves, and certain events. As the player, your job is to manage that bar so Robin can continue to take part in the action, keep up her pace, and avoid the Panic Attack state- a state where Robin isn’t likely to take commands, and may skip her turn entirely! With more detail on it, a word from our Encounter Designer regarding the system:
All of Robin’s unique abilities will essentially have two costs:
1. The amount it increases her Stress by.
2. The overall amount of stress she must be at or below to use the skill.
This means that exceptionally powerful abilities can be balanced around either their availability or stress cost or even both, leading to a greater level of decision making for players.
Certain skills, like Deep Breath, regulate stress and lower it alongside their other effects. A means of showing her character growth and support network through the game can be to give her and her allies progressively better coping skills that lower stress by a greater amount and may even supply other benefits!
To compensate for managing a somewhat complex mechanic like this Robin is, generally, being balanced to be a strong character. This is already true in the current demo version and is something I want to carefully hone in future versions.
Having her be a strong party member is also an incentive for players to learn and engage with the new Stress mechanic as, currently, it is generally faster to win battles non-boss battles with just Jay and SG. Even in cases where using Robin as well is ideal having every battle require a single, static action that completely purges Stress for just one battle is not engaging in a way we are seeking.
If Robin’s stress meter caps out or goes above a value of 100 she will enter a ‘shutdown’ state, much like the current status effect where she cannot take most actions until her stress is properly regulated. She is still in combat and still can be targeted by skills and attacks.
I (the encounter designer) will be drawing up an in-game booklet explaining these mechanics in simple, easy to parse terms that will be given to players by Jay shortly after meeting him. That way, players can easily reference it if they are ever confused or forget how part of this mechanic works. I don’t want this mechanic to be stressful for our players! Just for it to represent Robin’s own stress.
I still intend for the game to be completable without a huge amount of trouble for players. This is mostly a way of making Robin’s stress more engaging and parseable for all parties! It also gives us, the developers, the ability to make more challenging and complex optional battles for players who want to dig into those!
Thank you all for taking the time to read this and I look forward to doing my part to help deliver the best version of Ghost Hospital that we can!
And lastly, not so much of an announcement, but please remember that if you want to have some custom dialogue or add your own NPC to the game, have custom icons and art made for you, or just want to support the project, please consider subscribing to the Patreon! While I may not post there that much, I try to make up for it by posting elsewhere.
Hey, everyone! This update was supposed to come out in November!
Oops!
Anyway, we have 1.3.0 live, and I’ll list out the changes under the cut:
Massive overhaul of combat! The anxiety system is still present, but most everything else has been modified- damage formulas, attacks, enemy behaviors, the whole nine yards. There’s also some new enemies and skills.
The Emergency Ward Key Puzzle has been shortened! This is the one thing that I’ve gotten consistent complaints about, and honestly, I agree, there’s no need for it to be as long as it is. It’s been shortened significantly.
Saving is different now! You can save anywhere now, but save points now allow you to heal, and talking to Minerva will net you some new dialogue just about every time, once you have all three protagonists, so there’s extra incentive to use them! But like, you don’t have to. Do whatever you want, I’m not a cop.
Dr. Poe has a unique track now! While I love Sim Gretina’s musical stylings, our team and composer agreed that it was still a bit weird to have that one royalty-free track sticking out like a sore thumb. So that’s in there now, and there’s a new ‘resting in your bed’ jingle.
Sparklies have been redrawn in order to increase visibility. I don’t want these things to be hunt-and-find searches, so they’re clearer now.
More flavor text! Who doesn’t like flavor text?
Carna has been nerfed. I thought I already did this, but it’s done for real now.
Some dialogue has been tweaked for better flow and personality consistency.
Enemies should all be at a consistent resolution now, I know that was bugging some people, myself included.
General optimization and bugfixes.
Thank you so much to Liquid Mikan who’s worked very hard on translating 1.2.0 into Japanese! It’s amazing to see this little project have its scope broadened to a wider audience! Check it out on Youtube, or on NicoNico! Be sure to check out the OST Playlist on Youtube, too!
We’re hard at work on the next chapter of the game, which everyone will be able to experience in the full version! Thank you immensely to everyone who’s supported the project on Patreon! Remember, being a patron for three or more months not only means a credit in the game, but depending on tier, the ability to add content into the project itself!
Thanks you all for your continued support, and we hope for your continued support in the future! If you run into any bugs or troubleshooting issues, please feel free to let us know.
Hey, guys! I know it’s been a while, but I wanted to check in with you all and let you know that the project is still up and running, and thanks to a new person brought aboard, has been given a bit of an injection of life!
Currently, the two major things being worked on are the next area of the game, the Pediatric Ward, which will focus more thematically on the visceral feelings of anxiety rather than the overarching doubt and panic that Emergency did. To do this, the first step is making an environment that, unlike the Emergency Ward, will be able to let the player feel like they could truly get lost, so I’ve been working hard on making the scenery fit! This is just the starting hallway, not a maze yet, but I think it’s coming along pretty nicely, take a look!
Along with this, our composer has been composing great music to go along with this, and really drive home the pressure- unfortunately, we can’t show this off quite yet, but believe me when I say it does the job!
The other major thing that’s being worked on, once again thanks to the new team member brought on board, is a massive overhaul of the combat! The system itself isn’t being changed, but rather, the numbers. Considering that I was doing all of that myself, previously, and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I’m still honestly shocked people had as much fun with the combat as they did! Balancing the game is tough work, and something that was frankly intimidating to me, so I owe our new team member a lot. With this being handled, though, it gives me a lot more motivation to get the rest of the game going, and to go back and fine-tune things I was too scared to touch before, so when we’re finished with the retooling of the combat up to the end of the Emergency Ward, we will be re-releasing the demo, with that, and multiple other improvements alongside it that we’re excited for everyone to be able to experience!
Lastly, one more important announcement, a lot of people have been asking how to support the project, and yes, throwing a few dollars our way in exchange for the demo is a great way to do that, but if you’d like a more substantial way to do that, I finally have a Patreon up and running! This is for me, Lev Lefton, rather than Ghost Hospital as a project, but I plan on adding specific Ghost Hospital-related benefits when the updated demo comes out! So, with all of that, thank you all for sticking with me despite the sporadic updates- this is a passion project, and I don’t always have the time or energy to work on this, but I still want to give everyone the best work I can, so thank you all again, and please consider donating on Patreon or putting a few dollars down on the demo! Thank you, and see you in the next update!
