DevDiary #006: Crafting, Room Upgrades & Combat

30/04/2022 DevDiary

What's new with Soul Helix AR? Dive in to explore the latest game features currently in development, take a peek at the screenshots, and discover exciting gameplay and player features that will elevate your gaming experience!

Our last status update has been a while ago! Over the past few months we've been busy working on the following new gameplay features:

Crafting System

This feature allows you to use the library, alchemy kitchen and workshop in your headquarters for crafting potions, scrolls and weapons.

This way, after gathering cool items from chests on your travels with the adventure map, you'll have the possibility to build items with them, which will be useful for your future spirit hunts.

Room upgrades

In order to make your headquarter even more fun to play with, we added the option to upgrade your rooms.

After you built one of them, you'll be able to craft other and more advanced recipes with them: you can then build better weapons in the workshop or brew more effective potions in the alchemy kitchen.

There will be a visual effect as well: In the beginning, the rooms with look a little scruffy and untidy, but with each upgrade you'll get a renovation with it as well as new objects.

Crafting a recipe in general takes some time during which you can continue playing the other features of Soul Helix AR.

RPG Combat System

The combat system for Soul Helix AR is inspired by the role-playing game genre. We work with an ability system with stats, buffs and debuffs as well as reaction-based attack and defense mechanics.

Generally, for every battle, your reaction speed is in demand: if you time attacks and blocks correctly, you'll get a stronger effect. With energy weapons you can stun ghosts before you catch them.

Additional traits will help you in your battle. We are trying to keep the leveling system simple and not too complicated though - with some options to choose from in order to make the whole system appealing to both casual and more advanced players.

Player Traits

In the beginning, you'll be a rookie Spirit Hunter in the world of Soul Helix AR, but you'll gain experience with every hunt. With every level-up you gain, you can improve one of your skills.

These can be combat and defense skills but also conjuring, artisan and explorer skills - depending on which one of our game features you like the most.

You enjoy exploring the map and finding objects to craft in the headquarter? - Skill up your explorer or artisan skills!
You like enchanting evil spirits and banishing them back to the spirit world? - Improve your conjuring skills!
You just enjoy fighting ghosts with the coolest weapon you can find? - Move upwards on that weaponry or defense trait!

These are the traits - costs are not finalized yet.

Also, in contrast to the other weapons, you can't craft energy weapons. To get better ones, you can level up the corresponding trait.

Additional features we've been working on

New Game Feature If you are haunted, you need to find clues in augmented reality first, before you materialize the ghost for the battle.
Localisation The whole UI (so far) is being made available in English in German. Later on for the worldwide release, of course, many more languages will follow.
New Soundtracks We composed, mixed and mastered some new tracks for the Hunt and Map features.
Loading Screen Some scary bats flying around will hopefully entertain you on your wait to start the game.
Additional animations Custom animations for the player weapons have been created.
Social media We are on two more social media platforms now - feel free to subscribe and follow!
- Youtube (DoubleSpark Entertainment)
- TikTok (@soulhelix)
Registrations are still possible!
We hope that our status update could give you a decent insight into the current development of our game. Thanks to all of you who have already signed up for the alpha! 🌻 The first newsletter will go out at the time of the announcement of the alpha launch.
We still have some capacities available - so you can still sign up and forward the registration link to your friends and acquaintances!
Please, remember to confirm your email address, because only then we may send you a newsletter. 📨 As soon as the date for the alpha launch is finalized, you will be informed!