I've updated the MegaMan RPG Prototype with a few small changes that should add to the overall polish of the game, as well as a new ability and some long-overdue indicators for damage/recovery amounts on the canvas.
First and foremost, I've added numeric indicators above the robot's heads when they take damage or recovery to any of their stats, like most RPGs have on-screen (instead of just in text windows). I think that this addition is one of the most important (visually) that I've done in a while. I feel like it really makes the battles feel more finalized (even though they totally aren't). :P
Next, I've added a bit of a dark overlay to the canvas during abilities to fade out the background and non-active robots slightly. This helps to focus on the foreground-action better while making the abilities themselves “pop” a little more than they did before. I also had to add a bit of a pause between abilities so that the screen wouldn't be constantly dimmed, but given that the frames auto-scroll now it shouldn't be too bad.
Small tweaks include making the text in the console a little larger, as well as making the delay between frames a little longer (from 1000ms to 1500ms). This not only allows you to read the text in the console easier, it also gives the game more time to load assets. I plan to eventually add an option to auto-play or manually click-through each frame, but for now this should make the game easier to play.
Lastly, I've added a new ability to the mix for FlashMan – his signature Time Stopper ability (I've always wished it was called "Flash Stopper" instead rather than giving that ability name to FlashMan – they really goofed there in my opinion). The ability lowers the target's speed by 20% of their base, but has a lower accuracy than the typical “Speed Break” ability (80%). Additionally, if used on a robot that is typically weak to “Time” type abilities, they will also receive energy damage in the process, just like in the original games (kind of)!
That's all for today, hope you enjoy!