Its been a busy couple of months here at SWDTech!! Weve got a lot to share with you, so lets jump right in!

Vita Talk
We had a little controversy with the Vita news a couple of months ago where we thought Sony was going to shut down it's online store for Vita. Apparently some very vocal Vita fans spoke up with passion to this news which forced Sony to keep its digital marketplace online (meaning we all can still buy the games on the marketplace). However, this move leaves developers like us in the dust because Sony won't be allowing new digitally released games to populate it's online store for Vita. (
Source 1: Official PS blog -
Source 2 Playstationlifestyle.net's article). We may be able to homebrew it digitally, but we are still looking into figuring this option out. Obviously this news also means that there won't be a physical release of Pixel Noir on the Vita. That said, we've got a laundry list of porting to do, so we're going to have to consider our approach here. Hopefully, Sony rethinks this decision and allows game developers to add new titles in the future.
With that we're off to the development updates! We're continuing to progress through our list of
open items from last update.
::continues scanning news from Sony::
First Pass Of Stat-Balancing Completed!
Stat-balancing isn't the most exciting element in the development of an RPG, but it's absolutely essential to delivering a balanced gameplay experience. As of this update, all seven chapters now feature balanced allies, enemies, and gear. But we are going to do another pass or two to tweak difficulty as necessary but that will take far less time than this initial pass.

Along with balancing, we've also been adding semi-scripted random battles throughout the game. Watch your step in Pinnacle City, you never know when someone will try to mug you!
Run away!
Case Manager Now Integrated With City's Map
All main plot lines and cases (side quests) have been loaded into the case manager! This means that you will now have clues for each case as well as highlighted map tiles indicating key locations for almost any selected case.
As a detective, it's up to you to figure out where your next clue lies within that highlighted tile...
Teleport & Doorway Indicators
Just for a small quality of life improvement, we added arrows that point to doors and teleports in the game world by activating the detective's investigation mode.
FF7 called... They want their teleport arrows back!
Arena Battles + Shovel Knight!
That's right folks, we are adding a battle arena into the game hosted by our very own cameo appearance of Shovel Knight! He runs a virtual arena in the Tronics shop Downtown where you can battle the game's various enemies for prizes!
Look into my eyes.... *poof* You're in battle land!
New Game +
As you might recall, New Game + was a stretch goal. This feature will allow a player, upon completing the game, to start a new game with their experience, money, items and skills, but this time the player can make different choices, which could lead to different outcomes.
How many cigarettes can the you get the Detective to smoke in your *SECOND* playthrough?
Bug Crushing / Polish Mode
From the beginning of the year to this point we've been play testing rigorously to eliminate any game/emersion breaking bugs as well as adding finishing touches throughout the game. For example, door sounds were added to every environment in the game. Check it out!
[previewyoutube=ty_SJyip1GY;full][/previewyoutube]
We've also added some cool flash and sprite coloring effects to our cinematics for more of a dramatic effect!
A bloody, dramatic *Color Flash*!
Background color filter test sample.
Off screen explosions!
Audio Sneak Peek
Finally, here's a sample of the Uptown over world theme! Uptown is a nice part of town where Pinnacle City's more affluent citizens live. Here you can find the Apparel Mall, the Tronics Factory, and the Pinnacle City Gazette! Check it out:
https://soundcloud.com/pixeltonemusic/uptown-overworld-sample
Thats it for this months update!

Our next update will be out on
Sep 9th. As always, follow our official [url="
https://swdtechgames.com/roadmap"]Roadmap /
Twitter bot. Also, don't forget to check in on
Leo's Pixel Noir development streams on Twitch Monday and Thursday nights to see the game's progression in real time!
//Team SWDTech
[ 2021-06-07 15:41:14 CET ] [ Original post ]