I'll try to keep these (more) brief, I know it's tedious to read long winded update logs. You can see the change log below for all the latest. The biggest changes: aggravate elements now have animations attached and have been changed a bit, and when in dungeons the victory screen is a small snapshot that happens on the map (see pictures 1 and 2). With anything I do, I'm seeking to enhance the gameplay experience. 

I am in the middle of a mid-life career change, and so I don't anticipate being able to put as much effort into the game the next few months. I will make sure to chip away at it every day, but these weekly updates will turn into 2-4 week updates.  Small screen of part 2 attached, where we explore a little bit of Aarlin's childhood. 

Please don't hesitate to point out bugs. This game has a lot of features, and so I could use all the help I can get finding them. Have a great Monday!

CHANGE LOG 1/17/22

GENERAL

Rescue (Manual: Apothecary) cost reduced to 2 FP. Now can only be used on dead allies, and provides Awakening (death immunity) like Divine Stars do.

Recover (Manual: Apothecary) now is instant cast, 2 FP, and restores 30% MP.

Reason: to accommodate new Manuals introduced in part 2 and give Apothecary a niche as a support off-hand.

When an enemy is exposed to an element and you use the same element, you will not get a repeating "Expose X" popup. 

Aggravate Element adjusted: when using this mechanic, it will now consume the current exposure on the target and grant the user full MP.

Because you lose the expose element, I increased some of the aggravate status effects to compensate: 

Enfeeble/Chill: Now buffed to 50% reduction of stats.

Lethargy: -75% Max MP.

Shock: -100% evasion/-25% MDEF.

Burn: Damage increased.

Each different aggravate element now has its own quick animation!

Aggravate status effects can no longer be stacked: one at a time.

Reason: To give visual flair and clarity to the mechanic, and to clean up the popups/icons present on the screen.

Victory Screen adjusted to be on the map instead in dungeons only. All of the EXP/money/levels earned will be displayed quickly on the map. Story and boss battles will have the traditional victory screen. 

Reason: Less interruption to the flow of gameplay, allowing me to give quick, relevant data without being stuck in a victory screen. Because of the weight and effort the player puts into boss/story battles, I decided to keep the normal victory for these fights as a "reward."

Enemies in Tella Forest reduced to 5, Mountain Pass reduced to 6. EXP of all monsters increased by 20-25%.

Challenge monster introduced in Tella Forest (like the special one in the bottom caves in Mountain Pass). 

Reason: I felt the high number of encounters was somewhat excessive. I can now take that extra time and devote it to special story/challenge/boss battles. As a side note, after mountain pass it will no longer be required to kill all the monsters in a dungeon. You kill what you want, or none at all.

Difficulty Switch setting is now located in the options menu after the game has started. Option removed from Alter Crystals.