Greetings! It's been a while, hasn't it? Since KAKU was released in early access, we have received a lot of feedback, including a lot of support and encouragement. Of course, there are also many criticisms and suggestions. After collecting questionnaires and feedback, our team went through intense discussions and finally determined the content of free updates during early access (you can see it at the bottom of the Steam store page).
Recently, we are going all out to develop new content, and everyone on our team has put in the greatest energy to promote it. However, this took far longer than we expected.
Happily, all content has made significant progress. It's time to show you some of the results.
Spoilers for free updates during Early Access:
[olist]
1: The image of Kaku
We hope Kaku is a brave, cute and a little naive child. Children's ignorance, fearlessness and curiosity about the unknown may be more suitable for exploration and adventure. Unfortunately, the current Kaku is not loved by most players, and his image makes it difficult for many players to feel connected. Based on the feedback we collected, Kaku's image was completely remade, except for retaining some features.
- Kaku still retains his iconic hairstyle, but has an extra braid. We tried multiple hairstyles, including but not limited to Mohawks, Saiyan, and various non-mainstream styles. (Fortunately we ended up choosing a more mainstream hairstyle lol)
- Kaku’s head-to-body ratio has been adjusted, and Kaku has grown up. Due to the adjustment of his head and body, Kaku can now make more handsome moves.
- Kaku now has his own totem. In order to emphasize Kaku's status as the "Chosen One" and in conjunction with the redesign of the [Ancient Seal] transformation ability and the [Blank Stele] system, we designed a unique totem pattern for him.
- Kaku’s facial features are more refined. We remade Kaku's facial features and greatly increased the number of bones, so he can now make more vivid expressions.
2: The image of Nomin
As the heroine in the game: Nomin, after Kaku’s image was remade, her age seems to be somewhat different from Kaku. In order to better match the look and feel of our 'heroine' Nomin and Kaku, Nomin's image has also been reworked. At this point, many players might wonder why we couldn't create a playable female character. At the beginning of the Kaku remake, we did carry out related designs simultaneously. However, due to various reasons, this plan was eventually shelved.
- New image display of Nomin. (To be honest, the new Nomin looks like the older version of Nomin's sister.)
- Display of new Kaku and Nomin.
3: The image of Geiser
As the character who has accompanied players for the longest time, the old man Geiser deserves a chance for a image update. The main reason is that some players mentioned that until the end of the game, Geiser seemed to have no shoes on and never looked at the player directly with his eyes exposed.
- >
4: The concept of the underground ruins world
In order to satisfy everyone's desire for repeated challenges to the ruins and to make upgrades more convenient, while also providing more space for newly added land exploration gameplay, the world of ruins in the void is now available. It is divided into four sections: Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth, allowing direct exploration of all ruins within the ruins world.
Now the star altar only exists in the ruins world. If you want to strengthen yourself or challenge the ruins, you only need to teleport to the world of ruins.
- The concept of four elements in the ruins world.
- The atmosphere of the ruins world.
- Entrance to ruins.
- The key to the ruins.
- Brand new star altar.
5: The gameplay iteration of ruins
We have added types of ruins, now there are battle ruins and puzzle ruins. The difficulty has also gradually increased. Now you can only challenge the two-star ruins by completing all the one-star ruins. Of course, rewards are still related to difficulty.
At the same time, we have added the status of mechanisms and interactions with pellets. Piggy’s abilities will also be displayed in a brand new way.
- Interactive Mechanisms for Pellets.
- New battle ruins.
6: Brand new abilities tree
Throughout our journey, our battles have always aimed for a diverse combination of ability styles and the exhilaration of Musou Games. However, the current version of the ability tree is still far from this goal. In the rework of the combat system, abilities such as Precision Guard that have poor effects and low usage rates will be deleted.
Without taking any time to mourn the death of them, because soaring toward the battlefield were various new abilities, enhanced branches, and advanced feel.
- Brand new UI of ability tree.
- Additional ability branch enhancements.
7: Ancient Seal
Kaku's transformation ability was a bit overkill, so we completely reworked it and combined it with Blank Stele. The UI and representation of the energy bar that records transformation energy have also been redone.
- Blessing ability activated for the first time.
- Moves interface UI corresponding to the Blank Stele.
8: Weapons and Equipment
The remake of Kaku's image has resulted in almost all old equipment being unusable or requiring adjustments. We have added some new facial equipment to Kaku, and also designed new main and off-hand weapons for each BOSS.
- The set includes new facial equipment.
- New main and off-hand weapons of bosses.
9: Slingshot system
The slingshot, often criticized for its limited effectiveness in combat, has undergone improvements through the adjustment of its abilities. We have removed abilities with low practicality.
The original special pellets are also separated from the slingshot abilities and have their own growth path. As the level up, the pellets will have more additional effects. Now the slingshot system is as effective as the melee system.
- New slingshot abilities and branches.
- Independent pellets system.
- New pellets crafting station.
10: Process optimization and scene remake
The tutorial chapter of the game undoubtedly serves as players' first impression upon opening the game, marking the starting point for everyone's adventure in the ancient world. In order to eliminate the old chapter shortcomings, the creation of a brand-new tutorial chapter had been placed on our agenda. We are continuously optimizing the scenes in the tutorial chapter and adjust the atmosphere.
- We have integrated the landmarks of the Four Elements Land into the tutorial chapter scenes. While striving to retain the distinctive features of these landmarks, we are also working to minimize the performance impact they may have.
- Tutorial chapter concept art. Concept art is an essential part of improving the quality of the prologue and making the adventure more epic.
11: Land exploration gameplay
In the current version, our world map is already quite large. However, we are still dissatisfied with the richness of the gameplay in exploring the land. Therefore, incorporating some novel ideas from players, many strange and wonderful things have been born.
In addition, we plan to make some new campsites for Ponpons, adding a more vibrant sense of life. It should be noted that the interactive effects of all new interactive objects are being optimized.
- Exploding flower. Exploding flower. Yes, this flower, glowing all over and resembling a dandelion, is indeed a bomb. Perhaps it could serve as a strategic weapon or be used to break heavy stone doors?
- Claw of Baruch. This kind of claws, seemingly alive, are transformed from dark energy, polluting all parts of the land. Only the pure elemental power can break them.
- Honeycomb. Destroying the comb will cause trouble for you and nearby monsters.
- Poisonous mushrooms. From a distance, they simply look like glowing light bulbs.
- Piggy lottery machine. In order to let adventurers make use of their collected junk, the Piggy-style lottery machine makes its debut.
- Grimace tree. Only god knows what secrets lie behind the grinning ghost face.
- Ponpon camp.
If you enjoy our game or have any other feedback and suggestions, just drop us a line on Steam. And we'll tweak the game based on what you tell us.
PS: Scoop from Ponpon - a special winter edition is in the works...
You can check our game updates channel in Discord to find the latest development content.
