As the Shinogi Chess Club launch week continues, so do the fixes and updates! Thanks to more people trying out the game and recording footage I've been able to identify a few important weak points which I wanted to quickly address while players are still in the early chapters.

Update Details

Patch Download Size

• Windows - 23.8 MB
• Mac - 16.3 MB
• Linux - 17.0 MB

Changelog

• Improved scene timings in Chapters 3 & 4
• Added new match debugging tools
• AI: Minor performance optimizations
• AI: Less likely to make poor Spy moves
• AI: Adjusted Spawn move and mistake weights
• Ambient world sounds no longer play during loading screen
• Improved animations for character: Daisuke
• Added blinking animation to character: Daisuke
• Added tower highlight UI in Shinogi Chess

To start with the presentation updates, I can talk a bit about ambient sounds. Since Burden of Proof actually did not feature any ambient world noise, this is a somewhat new problem I've had to solve for Shinogi Chess Club. My earlier solution was simply lower the ambience when a script or cutscene causes the scene to fade out, but that ended up splitting my volume logic across multiple places and left me unable to easily adjust it for other scenarios. This new version now relies on a more centralized code block that detects the current game state and acts accordingly, with overrides in place to still allow external control. With this new change, loading screens now affect the volume of ambient noises which helps to improve the overall polish. I found that the character Daisuke was lacking a bit in unique animation sets, so I included a new pose and added the blinking layer to his eyes like most other characters use. This should help make him feel more alive and animated in the scene, but there are still a few more characters that may need better treatment in the future too. I also had the idea to make the Tower mechanics more clear in Shinogi Chess by highlighting which squares you need to utilize to get a Capture. So I added in a little icon at low opacity which should do the trick, but further tweaking may need to be done in the future.
Finally, I was a bit unsatisfied with the decision making of AI still and wanted to correct a few issues. This part gets really complicated so I won't say too much, but the easiest thing to explain would be the performance improvements. AI moves may not actually be faster due to the added features but the memory allocation of the algorithm has been reduced, leading to more efficient move making. The likelihood of AI spawning a Pawn was a little too high, so it was reduced for most matches. Sadly this can still result in some bad moves due to this being a constant, but a larger overhaul on this was out of scope for this update. The bigger change comes with handling of Hidden Pieces. Previously, the AI wouldn't account for subtypes at all, and this is still mostly the case to make balancing easier and lessen the performance hit. But with this update, it will now recognize situations where it may needlessly throw its Spy away by trying to capture something other than a Pawn or King. In previous versions, this was a pretty awful move that a human would never make, even for beginners. Hopefully the adjustment eliminates this from occurring as often, but there are always crazy board states that happen which can throw things off. In addition, this is a new customizable weight setting for each individual opponent, so there is still a small chance for early enemies to make this mistake - call it pity if you'd like. Later on, I plan to talk more about the technology behind the AI and how that impacts guides & strategies within the game. This update would be a breaking change for anyone relying on guides or walkthroughs, but I haven't seen any so far. There are still quite a few shortcomings in the AI that I couldn't overcome this time around, but I've got many ideas on how to improve the algorithm in the future. Apologies if that was a long and boring writeup!

Community Showcase

Today I'd like to highlight this awesome playthrough of the first chapter by Sixkilla Gaming! [previewyoutube=PP1jXvtruSo;full][/previewyoutube] That's all for today! Thanks again to everyone that tried out the game and I'm so appreciative of all the continued support for this project. Don't hesitate to reach out here on the discussion page or on Twitter @RobProductions if you have any questions, and I hope you enjoy the update! -Matt

[ 2022-06-06 16:32:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Shinogi Chess Club is a hybrid-genre experience that combines Visual Novel storytelling with free-roaming 3D exploration and a playable strategy game! Uncover the secrets of Yoshino High School, compete against various AI opponents in the Spring Championships, and join the Shinogi Chess Club!



In the far future, the world has been plunged into an economic depression. One prefecture in Japan has managed to stay afloat by investing in a new board game variant called Shinogi Chess. Companies, governments, and institutions have all shifted their focus towards getting their best representatives to play for public amusement.


Yoshino High School is one such institution. Their Shinogi Chess Club is on the verge of being able to compete in the Spring Championships, an annual competition bringing fame and fortune to the city's best players.

In the midst of this huge event, an upcoming competitor, Himiko Masaki, attempts to improve her skill in the game in order to chase down leads and stop a dangerous organization that's threatening the school. But when she acquires a mysterious supernatural ability, her sense of self is put to the test. With the help of the Shinogi Chess Club members, Himiko must navigate these challenges and discover just how far she is willing to go for the truth!



Acting as a successor to the acclaimed Burden of Proof, Shinogi Chess Club advances RobProductions' iconic visual novel hybrid style. Free roam the 3D environment throughout the story as you explore Yoshino High School in third person!

• Discover vital clues as Himiko investigates a dangerous organization
  
• Explore the Shinogi Chess Club Room and other key locations around the school
  
• Compete with the best of the best in the Spring Championship tournament

In this world, the entertainment craze of the future is a brand new variant of traditional chess. One key difference is the addition of new objectives and new piece types, which add a whole new layer of strategy for each turn. But the main feature of Shinogi Chess is piece stacking. Place pieces on top of each other to create a stack, which allows you to move both pieces at the same time!


Face off against various opponents who are introduced through the story segments. Learn their strategy by studying their personalities in order to effectively counter their moves. Discover new features of the game by experimenting with different stack types, plan your approach with move highlighting & a full reference book, and employ mind games to psych out other players with Hidden Pieces!

• Full standalone story experience set in the world of Burden of Proof
  
• Meet the members of the Shinogi Chess Club & solve a series of mysteries at the school
  
• Battle a variety of opponents in fully playable Shinogi Chess segments
  
• Test your skills & play custom battles in the flexible Practice Mode
  
• Explore Yoshino High School using the 3rd person controls
  
• Challenge your friends to Shinogi Chess with local multiplayer via Practice Mode
  
• Adjust the AI difficulty to your liking or use the Story Mode setting to skip the challenges entirely
  
• Revamped visual novel interface with adjustable text size & autoplay
  
• 4k screen support & compatible with any framerate
  
• Native versions for Mac OSX, Windows, and Linux
  
• Support for common input hardware, including the Xbox & DualShock controllers
  
• Complete subtitle support and other common accessibility features
  
• Full original soundtrack & album release