Caz

March 7, 2021

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~

~ March Madness (because there's no theme) ~

So... this content update that has no theme or correlation, how exciting! I have been hard at work on Desolation's main story, which continues to go smoothly. However, this unfortunately means that I have less to show off than the usual update. Desolation's story is the heart of the game, and its twists and turns are best experienced for the first time by you, the players.

Although... that doesn't mean I don't have things to show you!

~ A new location ~

The team has been throwing some tiles together to a new location that you will explore at some point in Episode 6, and I just wanted to showcase some of the tiles Ruby and Crim have worked on... I wonder what kind of area this might be?

Bear in mind that this isn't actually an in-game map, but more of a testing area where Posty was trying out some of Ruby and Crim's tiles.

You might notice that the statue is a bit out of place in this area... and you'd be right. Don't worry, I've shifted it.

These were a really nice touch in making Cellia East look just the slightest bit sharper.

I also thought I'd throw in a wee screenshot from one of the nightclub's back areas as well, just for good measure.

Once again, there's a ton of new areas to explore in Cellia East and beyond, whether you like the city, or the great outdoors. We have chosen not to share every little location with you, as I'm super excited to see what you guys think when you experience them firsthand...

~ Character Updates ~

Ruby has also done a ton of updating to the sprites of characters that we already know and love. There are a couple of new faces in Episode 6, but we will refrain from introducing them until later... for now, here are some updated familiar faces:

As you can see, Connor's face has had a complete redesign (again), and Lilith's outfit had a complete overhaul, as Ruby values authenticity quite a bit. It's safe to say that these turned out pretty well.

In terms of content for this month... the rest is obscured in spoiler territory, I'm afraid. There'll be some more things to show off in the near future, but for now, I'll just have to leave it there.

To finish, here is some unreleased concept art of a particular Mega evolution that you have already seen, as designed by Ruby. She's super fantastic when it comes to this kind of art, and I'm very excited for you all to see what new forms she has come up with...

Hint: There's definitely more than one ;)

Until next time!

Caz

February 25, 2021

There are no current plans to add drip John Cena into Episode 6. However, I will take this post into consideration and have extensive discussions with my team for the potential of a drip John Cena spinoff game. More details to come in the future.

February 7, 2021

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~

~ Clubs, Corporations, and Corruption ~

It's been a long time since I posted a substantial update on this development blog, so I thought it was time to get everyone here up to speed, and make sure you hadn't completely forgotten about me. Firstly, wow - it's 2021, and I haven't even made a post yet. Although this is late, I really hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season, and that 2021 shapes out to be better than 2020. While 2020 wasn't a great year for most, it was a big year for Desolation - we launched Episode 5, which featured huge upgrades graphically and mechanically, as well as the continuation of the story you know and love. I also got to publicly celebrate bringing Posty, Ruby, and Crim into the team and the future of this project. In 2021, we really hope we can share with you how we've continued to grow this game, and we're really excited for you to try it. Now... I may as well get started... with some percentages, I guess.

Pokemon Desolation Episode 6 Development Progress

Old Content

#################### | Map Updates (45%)

#################### | Script Updates (30%)

#################### | Misc (25%)

--------------------------------------------------

#################### | Total (33%)

New Content:

#################### | Story (40%)

#################### | Mapping (55%)

#################### | Scripting (40%)

#################### | Sidequests (40%)

--------------------------------------------------

#################### | Total (44%)

I never really updated these bars, so I thought it might be good to get some grey out of the picture. Development is going about as smoothly as I could hope, all things considered, and we've made some great progress recently. Our personal release window still hasn't changed (I mean, it's ready when it's ready hehe ;]), which is all I can really hope for. I won't blabber on about that stuff, because I'm sure you guys just want to see some screenshots, art, and features... so let's move on, shall we?

Aurora WIP by Ruby

I'll kick things off with a quick look at one of the most important pillars of Cellia East... its sprawling nightlife.

~ Clubs ~

The holiday seasons has passed, but there's no shame in getting your groove on! The renowned nightlife of Cellia East comes in all shapes and forms, and if you want to party, there's no better place to do so than at Bar 101, Cellia East's exclusive nightclub. Don't let that deter you, though... there's other places you can party in Cellia...

The nightclub is a great place to show off some moves, or even see some other characters pull some stunts, but it's also more than that. The nightclub acts as a hub where you can interact with some of the other characters of Desolation in a more informal setting. After all, the characters we all love need to loosen up eventually. Be it at the bar, in the VIP areas, or on the dancefloor... there's always someone to hang out with. You might fight yourself at the club quite frequently in the coming episode...

~ Corporations and Corruption ~

Cellia East, and the wider Cellia, is mostly looked after by the Cellia Council, located in Cellia East. This is an assortment of legal, structural, and research teams that look to improve the lives of those who live in Cellia.

However, it's increasingly difficult to look after these citizens in the wake of the economic crisis left by the Foxes, particularly on the rebuilding Cellia North. The council itself has fallen on particularly tough times, and its ability to fund initiatives within the city has been cut short. This particularly harms the Research and Development Team... who may have to resort to other means to get the money they need for their research...

Which is of course, a situation you might find yourself caught up in. Do remember... you don't always have to do the right thing, at least not in Cellia East.

~ Looking back ~

In developing this future content, there's nothing wrong with looking back at what you've done, and figuring out exactly where to improve things. For Desolation, there's some obvious points. For now, I wanted to share with you an update on the cruise ship that was meant to take you to Cellia in the first place. It is no secret that the graphical elements of this entire sequence were pretty outdated, which is why we've put a lot of effort into remaking this entire area from scratch, so players can feel the work our artists have put into the game from the get-go, instead of waiting for newer episode content. Here's a sneak peek:

I've got to admit, even as a WIP it's a massive improvement to what things looked like before. Maybe you could even go for a swim. There's a lot of interior work going on as well, although I'm under specific instruction from Posty (who is pioneering the remake of the boat maps) to leave more of that for later. Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea. We're aiming for a massive upgrade of this area overall, to back up upgrades to other earlier areas, like the Keneph Beach. We're really looking forward to you guys playing through these areas!

------------------------

To wrap up - this is just a little peek at what's to come. I've been working on a ton of spoiler-ridden story content lately, which has made updates require a little more... savvy. As I develop these new areas and ideas, I really want to expand them to a point where they really fit into the world of Cellia East. It's a lengthy process, but I'm just so incredibly excited about Cellia East that I want it to be perfect. There's a lot of different beats that are being worked on simultaneously. It's no secret at this point that Episode 6 is the largest undertaking we've had, and it's an enormous amount of work. However, it isn't insurmountable, and I'm excited about where things are heading. This year is going to be Desolation's biggest, and we can't wait for everyone to see what's next!

Cheers

Caz

Note: The majority of this content is from Patreon - if you'd really like to support us and what we do, you can do so there <3

December 20, 2020

On 12/13/2020 at 4:26 PM, Progfan_r said:

What are the inspirations for the main NPCs? For instance, I am quite sure Shiv is based on Izaya from Durarara and that Connor is based on Fern from Reborn.

I didn't really base Shiv off anyone - which is pretty obvious from his earlier models oops. His re-design later on did yoink that jacket thoooo

While Connor's original design from an art perspective was essentially budget Fern, his actual character isn't based off Fern. The character, being one of the first I made, is based off what I wanted the mainstream Pokemon games to have as a rival - someone who comes off as rude, competitive, and oftentimes downright mean, but also actually has a heart.

December 13, 2020

I made Jarred in Episode 1 (back in 2015) when I was working on Desolation alone. Did I anticipate it? Of course. His rise was inevitable.

December 12, 2020

This is the single greatest thing I have ever seen. I just... I can't.

I am blown away. This is a game-changer. Shakespeare couldn't have done it himself.

You are my new favourite person.

EDIT: THE NAMES... THE PORTRAITS... YOU HAD TO REWRITE LITERALLY EVERY LINE FOR THIS. HOW DID YOU DO IT. ARE YOU OK.

December 12, 2020

There's no real theme. It's a pretty sporadic process where I come up with a series of names for an area and then pick the one that a) fits the area best and b) fits well in conjunction with other town names. There's no real in-depth process.

December 4, 2020

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~

~ A trip to the beach... ~

Just a short update today. While I continue to work on the sprawling, spoiler-ridden beast that is Cellia East, I offer you a brief respite to... the beach?

I would say that it's the perfect time of year to hit the beach (it's summer where I am) but I suppose that's not super applicable to everyone, especially with lockdowns, so I'll just get on with it...

There's more than one reason we're suddenly interested in beaches. With Episode 5, we aimed to polish the game bit by bit - to improve small elements of every nook and cranny. In Episode 6 - we're remaking entire chunks of the game. This overhaul starts with... well, the start.

I'm sure most people think that the introduction to this game is pretty dated, and you'd be right - so we're starting things out by completely remaking the introduction - both writing-wise and graphically. Here's a sneak peek.

Yup - a much more modern layout, with more colourful, flashy tiles - it's a WIP, but it's certainly getting there. Obviously, this is where I give a huge shoutout to our recent addition, crimsoncrim, who has been taking an enormous role in creating fresh, vibrant tiles for the game, and we're super grateful to have her on board. Bear in mind that this is just one map - we've got a lot more to offer (starting with a certain cruise ship), so we'll keep you posted.

That being said, we're not completely stuck in the past. The tiles that Crim has been working on also pioneer future areas of significance in Episode 6. Here's a little sample of some new tiles that we've been playing with for a new area:

Crim's been on fire lately, for sure. We hope she's got sunscreen, with all the time she's spent on the beach.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll be sure to send y'all more stuff when it's available. Until then, take care.

Caz

December 1, 2020

1 hour ago, Progfan_r said:

Why call it the Dreamscape? The name's kind of a give-away.

Spoiler

Sure, guess I'll rename it to reality-scape.

ok but fr I visualised this area long before I created the premise in which it existed, and it was always called the Dreamscape. This is mostly because it surrounds what was initially coined the 'sleepy village', where almost everyone was stuck within a dream.

November 30, 2020

Coincidental. I never watched Naruto that far in (it's a really, really long show). I learnt of the relevant arc in Naruto a good deal of time after writing Episode 2 (where the dialogue you're referring to comes from). It's not exactly an idea that's deeply original, and in my case, it only served to facilitate discussions that were bought about by academic sceptics and much later by René Descartes, those discussions forming the thematic basis of the story. I wanted to bring in the question of living in a dream early on, but in a more indirect way.

November 24, 2020

1) I have major plot points drawn up until the end of the game. The rest I create episode-episode, which gives me a huge amount of freedom without going to far off track.

2) I actually did find it really difficult to fill in the blanks with E5's story. So much of the game was super unfamiliar to me, and it took loads of time to work things out. It's probably quite evident in E5 that my own perception of the characters had changed significantly.

October 3, 2020

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~

~How much neon do we need? How about... an entire city!~

Oh, hey. It's certainly been a while - sorry about that.

Anyway, yup, we darn did it. After some careful deliberation, we decided to go completely bonkers and make a district entirely neon... In concept, I knew getting the feeling and atmosphere for Cellia East right would be very difficult, but after an awful amount of time, and several changes to its theme, I'm pretty satisfied with the result.

Without further ado, here's what I've come up with ~

Yeah, we've got purple lights. Why? Because normal lights don't do justice for the never-ending party in Cellia East. Boy, am I excited to bring this place to life.

Ah yes, the one partygoer in Cellia East. Okay, truth be told - it doesn't look exactly riveting at the moment. I've got to get round to fully populating Cellia East and giving NPC's a meaningful story in this small neon microcosm. I really want to create this perfect little part of the game where every nook and cranny feels like a joy to explore, and for each part to feel like it has a story to tell.

Despite Cellia East being party-central, I thought it'd be nice to add some greenery to one of the city districts for once. It's a nice change of pace.

Anyway, there's still much to be done with East. I'm really happy with how progress is coming along, and I'm excited for all of you to play through what I have in store in the future. Posty's work on mapping (with our existing tile sets), as well as Ruby's work on characters and new, complex tiles really lets me focus on systematically building an experience that I'm truly proud of. I'm finding myself spending much more time on details, and perfecting each little part that I work on. It's really fun, and I haven't had this much of a blast developing stuff in a while.

That's all from me. We've got some cool new things cooking outside of Cellia East... and in due course, we'll reveal all. All I can say is that the creativity from the team is really starting to shine through!

Thanks again for the support!

Caz

September 21, 2020

1 hour ago, Star Delight said:

I don't know if this was already asked but, is there going to be a Fandom Wiki for Desolation?

If you guys don't plan on making one, can the fans make one?

(i didn't know where else to ask this so...)

We have no plans ourselves of creating a fan wiki, so fans are welcome to do so

August 17, 2020

~ Snippet from Patreon

... it's about the friends we made along the way!

Hi guys! Just a quick update today. I've finished up with the final bits of writing for Episode 6, and I've very happy with how it's turned it. There's still some side quest stories that I want to iron out, but following that and we'll be starting to chop through things at a faster pace.

I wanted to dedicate this post to showing off some of the work that Posty and Ruby have been doing, and illustrating how much their role has expanded since they jumped on this rickety wagon.

Firstly, Ruby is now playing a much larger role in the design elements of the environment, with Cellia East being our first look at Ruby's work in turning a city map into a fun, engaging, and unique experience.

Here is a small spoiler-free showcase of some of the pieces she has been working on.

Ruby's created some over cool things that I'd love to show off, but we're keeping that stuff hidden for now!

I want to give Posty a shoutout here as well! When he first joined on he was solely involved in balancing teams, but his role has expanded quite a bit since then. He's been doing quite a bit of mapping, and his recent maps, in particular, have been awesome! Here's a snippet of the kind of stuff he's been up to in the Dreamscape, which we're greatly expanding upon in Episode 6.

I'm really looking forward to all of you checking out what we have in store for the Dreamscape! I've got quite a bit planned for this area in Episode 6. Taking the feedback from Episode 5 into account, I really do feel like this will be a staple of the game in the future.

Anyway, this is it for now. Cheers for the ongoing support guys! I've been really busy with medical school lately, but things are coming along quite nicely. I'm still alive, I guess.

'Till next time, homies.

Caz

August 16, 2020

After 1000 years, and many battles fought over judging - I come to you all with a winner of this esteemed and highly competitive competition!

First of all, thank you all for participating and putting your work into making these. It was awesome to watch these come out, and we all had fun going through them. Once again, thank you all so much for giving this a shot! <33

There were a handful of honourable mentions, which were absolutely incredible. In no particular order:

- Clamperl-Jarred, by Cervys

- Jarrette, by Khrona

- 2B Jarred, by Hycrox

- Nihilego-Jarred, by Cervys

- Cresselia-Jarred, by Azzie

To be fair, it was an enormous challenge for us to separate most of these submissions from one another, and when we completed our first voting we all voted for different things. As a result, the submissions that we had in common in our top 2 were taken to a highly specialised judging panel and a winner was narrowly decided by one vote.

Without further ado~

~ Runner-up - Darkrai-Jarred, by Lorac!

Perhaps the face of villainy isn't what it seems...?

~ Winner - Jarred at 3% power, by Khrona!

trainer420peak.png.9b4bb8b3b1461cca151ec9a2c229d66e.png

... if only I could be so grossly incandescent...

Once again, thank you to everyone that participated. This competition was super fun for all of us, and everyone had a great laugh. We'd love to use a couple of these in-game, so we'll contact those of you who entered at some point to get your permission.

Cheers! May Jarred guide the way!

August 14, 2020

4 hours ago, TheGamerCailo said:

Hey! I love your game, in fact, it's my favorite fangame! I love the different Pokemon from every region and how I can pick a starter from every gen. I love the tilesets so much that I want to ask if I use your tilesets for my game?

Thank you! As for tilesets - this is fine. Note that by using my tilesets, you also have to give credit to Ame and Jan, as I frequently use resources from their tilesets.

August 4, 2020

Thank you for the incredible submissions thus far, I am sure that Jarred is, at the very least, satisfied by these contributions. Competition will close on Saturday! Cheers for the participation!

July 30, 2020

THE FIRST SHINY COMPETITION?!

Hi. Yes, this is happening and no, you can't stop it. Jarred is coming for us all. We can only wait and hope that he chooses to spare us.

Rumour has it that only the creator of the best custom shiny for Jarred will survive the coming Jarrepocalypse - so fight your best fight, and you might live to see another day!

This competition is to see who can make the greatest custom shiny sprite for Jarred's trainer sprite (aptly named trainer420 in the graphics folder, just don't ask ok). You can do anything within reason, but keep it appropriate - y'all know what I mean.

The reward for victory is a continued existence, eternal fame, and your shiny being featured in the game in some way or form that I will not currently disclose for reasons(?!?!). Please, post your submission as a reply to this thread! I will leave this thread unlocked for seven days.

They called me a madman.

July 24, 2020

Hi guys! I just wanted to say thanks again to all those that have been answering questions and helping one another out. I'm really busy most of the time, so it's awesome that things have mostly chugged along just fine in my absence ~~(and Posty's moderation).~~

July 24, 2020

34 minutes ago, radiodallas said:

hi, Ive had some trouble with a save file. the game bugged out and when I tried to turn the game back on, the whole script error thing happened. the last save that I found that worked was before a few major battles that I already won, so I was wondering what I could do to fix my current save file if possible

Hi. Please send me a message (with your save attached) including what happened when your game "bugged out". I'll fix it for you

July 23, 2020

6 hours ago, Kyrian112 said:

I need help please! When I get to Redcliffe Town near the beginning of the game I fought the guy with the audino a few times and after that my pokemon stopped gaining exp. It just said "the pokemon fainted" and ended the battle saying I won but without giving me exp...

Check your trainer card. The level cap is 20 before defeating the first Gym Leader.

July 22, 2020

I'd recommend reverting to a previous save then - all of which can be found in saved games, similarly to Reborn.

July 22, 2020

Not for a while yet. Are you completely unable to win with your current team? Do you not have access to a PC? Even after the patch, losing will only send you back - it’s not like there’s a story related reason why you should intentionally lose.

July 20, 2020

This is a glitch that has been addressed for the next upcoming update. For now, make sure you don't save if you lose to Scarlett.

July 19, 2020

Sena moves when BOTH of the following criteria are met:

Spoiler

1) You have defeated Rosetta

2) You have completed Bronze Island

Keep questions like these in Discussions, thanks.

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