Prologue - The Two Alchemists
about 6 years ago
– Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 01:38:32 AM
At first revelling in the bright side of their bittersweet eternal lives, they spent centuries protecting the world, nurturing it, and creating wonders to inspire its mortals. Over time, however, Aephorul grew increasingly jealous of the ephemerality he would never taste again.
Thus began his wicked journey into the forbidden schools of alchemy, a journey through which every last bit of good within his heart dissipated as he experimented with soul, bone, flesh, and blood alike.
As fate would have it, Aephorul eventually embraced evil and emerged as The Fleshmancer, a wicked immortal who bore no second thoughts about cursing the world with his monstrous creations. Resh’an tried intervening as best he could, causing unspeakable chaos and collateral damage to the world as the two former friends fought their endless war.
After much struggle, Resh’an discovered the flesh minions’ only weakness to be Solar and Lunar magic, a power gifted to humans born during a solstice. He began training these children so that they would become Solstice Warriors, tasked with culling the presence of The Fleshmancer’s creations.
But Aephorul’s knowledge was also gaining ground, and he eventually started creating oddities of unlimited potential known as Dwellers. Dwellers were impervious to all but Eclipse Magic, a special kind of power available only to Solstice Warriors during a total eclipse. Time was always of the essence, as Dwellers would, left to their devices long enough, turn into World Eaters, spelling doom for all.
Armed with knowledge and power, Solstice Warriors were patrolling their world, tracking Dwellers to determine which one would have to be taken down during each eclipse. If they kept their guard up, there may never be a World Eater, but Resh’an knew it was only a matter of time until The Fleshmancer devised an even more wicked plan.
In a desperate attempt to get ahead, Resh’an boldly performed transmutation alchemy on the very space-time continuum, breaking reality down into countless timelines and parallel universes. He then hung up his alchemy vial and took up the mantle of Archivist, setting out on an endless journey across all realities, cataloging every single possible outcome in search for a resolution to the throes of The Fleshmancer. Meanwhile, Aephorul rejoiced at the seemingly infinite potential for destruction he had just been offered.
And so this game of cat and mouse, played by Dwellers and Solstice Warriors on one level, and by Resh’an and Aephorul on another, took place across seemingly infinite timelines. While some were getting lost to World Eaters, others were being cleansed and reclaimed by heroes who would know lasting peace, provided The Fleshmancer never set foot in their realm again.
Our story begins in such a world, visited by The Fleshmancer decades prior, causing much turmoil and leaving a mark that has yet to be fully cleansed. Indeed, the threat remains as the infamous Dweller of Woe gains power with each passing day, getting ever closer to morphing into a World Eater.
With only three Solstice Warriors left, a ray of hope appears as two Children of the Solstice are born during the same fateful year. If there is to be any chance for this world, they will have to complete training at an early age, and unlock their powers in time for the next eclipse...
As always, join us on Discord to discuss with the team! - https://discord.gg/sabotagestudio
New Music Track Release - Jungle Path
about 6 years ago
– Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 12:27:50 AM
A lot of you have been asking for more music, so here we are!
Jungle Path is an outdoor dungeon and the starting area of Watcher Island, where the demo takes place. Here is the music track for it, which you might have heard glimpses of in our Kickstarter video. It starts off with the day version of the track and switches over to the night version around the midway point.
So feast your ears, and give Eric's commentary below a read:
- I wanted a very percussive, rhythmic soundtrack, because you don’t really get that in an RPG. Especially a retro RPG, you might have a tambourine, and a bongo, that’s about it. There are literal hundreds of thousands of percussion instruments in the real world, and each region of our world has unique instruments and rhythms, I think it’s only right that the game world feels similar in that respect.
- We had several discussions about finding a “signature instrument” for the music, and I kept coming back to various types of Bells. Not only is there a large enough variety to never run out of options, they do sound rather “starry” which is theoretically appropriate for a game called Sea Of Stars. And they’re a percussion instrument.
- SNES soundfonts. It is my correct opinion that nothing makes a true retro gamer’s ears perk up more than the identifiably sultry sounds of the S-SMP audio subsystem. Given that the SoS art style has a lot more depth than The Messenger, 8 bit chiptunes would not be appropriate here. But it’s still supposed to feel retro, and the best way to make that happen is to use actual sounds from actual SNES games.
So this tune came about from exploring many different possibilities, and I’m reasonably pleased with the result. The drums in this song are a little more deliberate than some other areas of the game, but it’s the jungle level, so more tribal beats were necessary."
As always, join us on Discord if you want to chat with the team! - https://discord.gg/sabotagestudio
Area reveal - Mooncradle Village
about 6 years ago
– Tue, Apr 14, 2020 at 02:42:14 AM
We still can't believe the million dollar mark has been passed! To celebrate, we are dropping all social media stretch goals (which we quite frankly overestimated), and will be offering three updates here in the form of lore primers for those who want to learn more about the world of Sea of Stars.
First up is the reveal of the game's starting area!
Sitting on Evermist Island's crescent-shaped peninsula is the town of Mooncradle, where a humble community prepares welcoming ceremonies at every solstice, expecting The Great Eagle to bring them a newborn baby.
For time immemorial, Mooncradle's villagers have been nurturing these Children of the Solstice until they were of age to receive training at Zenith Academy, ascending into warriors of either the sun or the moon, and devoting their lives to the war against the armies of The Fleshmancer.
Solstice Warriors usually travel as a pair of complementary powers, to ensure all enemies can be fended off. Free to roam the world's many islands, they help its denizens and follow their instinct to assess any growing threats.
It is always a pleasure for the people of Mooncradle to see Solstice Warriors come and go as they periodically report to Zenith Academy's Headmaster, who compiles intelligence in order to plan the next eclipse's gathering.
Indeed, some very rare elite creations of The Fleshmancer, known as Dwellers, are impervious to all but a very potent power available to Solstice Warriors exclusively while the moon completely blocks out the sun. Tradition has it that all Solstice Warriors would gather at each eclipse, to ensure swift and decisive victory over the targeted Dweller.
Our story begins in Mooncradle, where Valere and Zale live a happy, albeit secluded childhood, getting into all kinds of trouble with their best friend Garl, a regular kid who simply happened to be born in Mooncradle directly.
As they would soon find out, the world was down to only three Solstice Warriors. For there to be any hope of removing the growing threat known as the Dweller of Woe, our two heroes would need to show potential quickly...
Join us on Discord for more details: https://discord.gg/sabotagestudio
Final Stretch Goal: Free DLC for backers.
about 6 years ago
– Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 01:28:30 AM
Well, here we are with just 9 days left to the campaign!
To be honest, we did not expect to make it that far, and certainly not that fast.
Our vision for stretch goals was always clear : we would not overcommit, we would not bloat our game, and we would not cause delays because of them. One thing we did want to do as soon as the game launched, however, was to start working on a fully fledged side-adventure DLC called "Throes of The Watchmaker" demanding multiple months of dev, which would expand even more on the world of Sea of Stars and provide additional insight on the narrative overarching all of our games.
To show how grateful we are to everyone who has backed the project, we are announcing that our final stretch goal is to make this DLC free to all backers who pledged for a copy of the game. As it will be better enjoyed without spoilers, that's all we will say about this clockwork conundrum for now.
Oh, and by the way, as we are making this announcement the stretch goal has already been reached, so congratulations to our backers on the free additional content!
We humbly thank you once again for your support. Showing the world your big idea always comes with its fair share of vulnerability and apprehension, but we couldn't feel more blessed with the reception you all gave us.
Additional pledges will help ward against any curve balls as we shoot for maximum quality in everything we touch, but there are no additional stretch goals to work towards as the vision is now officially whole.
Please know that your overwhelming support and response will be carrying us as we focus on building this dream project. We cannot wait for you to set sail across the world of Sea of Stars!
In the meantime, please stay safe <3
Feel free to come talk with the team and community on Discord: https://discord.gg/sabotagestudio
Chrono Trigger Composer Yasunori Mitsuda joins the party!
about 6 years ago
– Wed, Apr 08, 2020 at 02:03:52 AM
This is not a stretch goal, and certainly not a drill.
In a turn of events we have yet to let sink in, the master himself is joining Sea of Stars as a guest composer.
By contributing his legendary musical genius to the project, he will help convey the depth of this fantasy world's story while ensuring its nostalgic roots are paid proper homage. Being such an inspiration for all of us, Mitsuda represents exactly what Sea of Stars needed to feel truly whole.
Once again huge thanks to all our backers, your excitement for our project has been heard world-wide.
Stay tuned, for as soon as we gather our thoughts and ensure we are not dreaming, we will be announcing the final Stretch Goal, something we were meaning to work on for the game post-launch all along, but would love to include for free to our backers.
Much love <3
