[ASCOT]ProgressReport 2022/03[Public]

Hello, this is Xai from Team KRAMA!

ASCOT fans all over the world, thank you for waiting!

Development of ASCOT: Demon's Waltz, which had been suspended since 2019, has finally resumed.

In this article, I would like to report on the progress of this month regarding ASCOT in a fairly long sentence.

The sequel to SoD will be reported in another article in the near future!

What is ASCOT in the first place?

In 2017, Team KRAMA embarked on the development of the second work after the release of Seed of the Dead.

While various projects were brought up, we decided to take on as many challenges as we could.

We embarked on the development of an adult (NSFW) x open world (OpenWorld) x action (Action) x RPG project.

It began as Project NOAR, an acronym for each, and was later renamed ASCOT:Demon'sWaltz.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/nGeAC7f5irc 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-cqaJzANBXI 

However, when the development started, the content was so grand and reckless that as the development proceeded, it suffered from the triple pain of lack of technology, labor, and funds.At this rate, I felt the danger of the team collapsing, and although it was a tough decision, development was temporarily suspended in March 2020, and it was decided to shift to the development of a sequel to SoD.

About two years later, ASCOT remained completely untouched, but finally resumed development in March.

What has changed in the two years

There was some concern that simply resuming would be a repeat of the previous one, but TeamKRAMA has grown in many ways since the last time.

Technological improvement, evolution from UE4 to UE5

Developing an open-world, yet realistic game was harder than expected.The processing load problem, the uncompromising graphics, the system complexity, the huge game volume...

It was an extremely high hurdle for us, who were developing without know-how.

However, the knowledge and engines gained from the development of SoD:SH were also evolving.

Above all, the new mechanism of Unreal Engine 5 announced in 2021 was just right for the development of ASCOT.

Although it is still not officially released yet, I think that various technical problems can be solved by introducing these latest mechanisms.(Although another problem will occur)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/JhvsJ30Kl4c 

Resolving personnel shortage

At that time, we had few members, most of whom were working concurrently, but I and several other members were able to work full-time, and as the number of members increased, the speed and quality of development increased.

However, Team KRAMA is still looking for members! If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact us!!

Thanks to the successful completion of SoD_SH and the support of many people, we were able to solve various problems.

I would like to thank everyone again.

Reflection on ASCOT

Well, ASCOT restarted like this, but when I opened the project, I realized that there were various problems.

Each mechanism is not configured to withstand mass production

As long as it's an RPG, the volume of the game is very important.

Support the volume various things such as quests, items, skills  are not in a form that is easy to mass-produce, and I thought that it would take a lot of time just to increase the volume as it is.

Lack of interesting in combat

When I played it again, I felt that the fun of the battle part was still not enough.

At the beginning of the project, we were thinking of aiming for a game like Witcher 3, but seven years have passed since the release of Witcher 3, and many masterpieces have appeared in the meantime.I think users are looking for a comparable game.

Also, I feel that the fact that there is no erotic scene in the battle scene even though it is eroge is an element that gives a mediocre impression.

I will explain this later, but first of all, I feel that the fun of the battle part is urgent.

Tavern system is not interesting

You can enjoy prostitution play! Therefore, although it is a bar system that was adopted as a unique specification of Team KRAMA, I felt that it was not interesting as a game as it was.

I haven't found a clear answer to this yet, but I think the key to the fun of this game is to create this fun, eroticism, and Ascot-ness.

Completion of unfinished Ascot model

Although it is nearing completion, there are some rough points in the details, and I think it is necessary to proceed with corrections.

In addition, we will be able to produce higher quality works with the latest technology, and we would like to take on the challenge.

Background quality is low

The quality of the asset itself is fine, but I feel that the lighting and environment settings are not well represented.

First of all, I thought I needed to solve these problems, so I am currently working on the following goals.

Creating a trial version with the theme of the fun of the battle part

Aiming to be released at Comiket in August 2022, I am planning to produce a trial version with the theme of the fun of the battle part.

Since the concrete policy has just been completed, it is quite delicate whether it can be realized, but I would like to do my best so that you can enjoy the new ASCOT as soon as possible.

Let's see what we did this month! The progress report will be reported in the article after the Silver Plan.