DevLog 08/16/25: Row Partners

Happy August '25!

I have officially moved!! (airhorns) and that means I have access to my developing rig. This month's focus has been heavily  on converting  the Battle System  to reflect a Sword Art Online  based "Switch" mechanic that I started working on in December '24. There's also some work done under the hood to bring recent mechanics up to speed, and integrate better functionality for others.

Let's  get into it

Rush Pages (Yellow) Updates

A few devlogs ago I began work on a new Yellow skill page type. Dubbed "Rush" skills,  using such a skill results in the Party members next turn coming sooner. The tradeoff being you can't use Rush skills back to back (to prevent players  speed spamming through battles).  The next turn after a Rush skill has been applied a new visual indicator shows that the skill cannot be used along with a message if that skill is still selected.

This is a similar set up to how Cooldowns prevent usage. Rush  skills offer more ways for players to control the pace  of battle, while still tasking them with weighing risk vs reward. 

Turn Order  Window Preview

With the integration of a  second skill page type  that changes battle pace, I wanted to make sure players had better insights into turn order.  When skills are hovered over or highlighted  in battle. The Count Time Battle in  the bottom left will update to accurately preview how Turn  Order  will change if the skill is used. Highlight a  Stall skill and you'll see that Party Members next turn pushed back, inverse for Rush skills. 

Auto Timing Calculations for Skills

On the backend, I have updated how the speed of Rush and Stall skills is calculated. Rather than relying on the traditional Invocation speed

Rush and Stall skills speed will be determined by the MP Cost of the skill. 

Why? because skills don't actually use MP as a resource anymore. This update provides a more streamlined way for players to understand the  turn effects a skill will have in battle. Without relying on  heavy calculations. The higher the number, the larger the impact. 

Now all the numbers have meaning again! Woot!

Row Partner System

The Party takes up a maximum 2x2 formation in battle.

This impacts skill range and support skill mechanics. Now, position in battle also creates a third mechanic: Row Partners. The top row  and bottom row will now act as pairs, with each row sharing a turn between the  2 members.  By default, at the beginning of the turn, the Assault position will be able to choose a skill:

By selecting the option character icon on the bottom right, players can  check and use skills from the Row Partner in the Support position

Following  a selection a skill from either Row Partner will have that party member take action and end the Row's turn. Additionally  the option on the bottom left will allow the Assault and Support to swap positions, but doing so will end the turn without taking any action. Certain skills down the line will force a row swap at the end of the skill. Finding a way to realize a Sword Art Online style  pairing system was challenging but extremely exciting. I am super satisfied with how it came out, and can't wait to gather more feedback on it once the demo drops. 

Row Partner Skill Mastery

Mastery  through skill  use is the cornerstone of the Grimoire Train and Track Skill System (GTS). As such I wanted a way to not make the new Row Partner system a burden on players that were hoping to have skills train for all members of the party. I landed on a great, lore driven way to make sure both members  of the Row can benefit from 1's  training. 

Studying

If a skill is executed, the user gains experience in that skill until they eventually master it. It only makes sense then, that if the user's Row Partner is tracking the skill that was just used, they will also gain experience towards Mastery.  In the  visuals above, you can see that both Penelope and Adelaide have the Shot skill "Volley" equipped as a temporary skill page. If  either of  them uses  that skill, both will gain 1 AP towards that skill being mastered. This encourages skill synergy within the row while still allowing for normal customization of the party. 

 I wanted to keep this DevLog focused on the combat overhaul as  that's been the brunt of the work these last 2 weeks.  But I will note, the new battle mechanics helped me find a bunch of mini bugs that may not have otherwise surfaced. I can't  wait to further build on this system with things like Dual Techs as the game evolves. If you or your kids are heading back to school this month or next I wish you the best of luck, the easiest of schedules, and the comfort  of a monk in air conditioning. Kick this years ass and take some names. Until next time.

See you online

- Puppet