Sea of Stars gets a new trailer, fresh details on combat shared

Not that long ago, we found out that Sea of Star wasn’t going to make it out this year, and will instead see release sometime later in 2023. While that wait will no doubt be a painful one, at least we have some new content to enjoy. Let’s start things off with the brand new trailer above.

Along with that, a new dev blog has been shared that breaks down various areas of combat. You can get all the finer details below.

• seamless transitions from navigation to combat
• no random encounters
• no grinding
• turn-based without any time bars
• each of the six playable characters come with a small kit of four spells/skills
• these have differing damage types and patterns that can be combined with others
• MP has a very low cap but regenerates when using normal attacks
• enemies that mount spells or special skills will display a bar with locks
• each will also have an icon of a certain damage type
• breaking locks will weaken an enemy’s upcoming move
• breaking all of the locks will cancel attacks all together
• each of the six playable characters can dish out damage efficiently in one or two types
• skill/spell kits offer pattern variations (like AoE or multi-hit)
• pressing the action button in sync with the animations increases damage output
• pressing the action button in sync with the animations also reduces incoming damage
• all combat actions build energy that eventually turn into combo points
• these are used to perform dual attacks combining patterns/damage of both characters
• combo points are the only cost (no MP) and they are lost when the battle end
• normal attacks generate “live mana”, which can be absorbed by any playable character
• boosting can be stacked up to three times
• this will add a portion of the character’s magic attack to their next action
• this can also be used when a unique magic damage type is needed, but MP is depleted
• battle party has a max of three characters on screen
• you’ll be able to switch for any character from the back lane at will and at no cost
• you can also switch for any character without using a turn

Finally, the dev team also shared a few more details about Sea of Stars that don’t tie into combat. Those elements are as follows:

Unshackled Traversal: Swim, climb, vault, jump off or hoist up ledges as you traverse seamlessly through the world with a navigation system based on platformer expertise that breaks free from the classic bound-to-the-grid tileset movement.

Full-on dynamic lighting: Our custom-made render pipeline allows the creation of a breathtaking world coming to life by pushing the limits of 2D pixel-art games.

Story-rich adventure: Dozens of original characters and story arcs will take you on a captivating journey. Sometimes epic, sometimes silly, and other times emotional, Sea of Stars does its RPG duty of exploring classic themes of adventure and friendship, while also being chock-full of the unexpected twists and events you’d expect from a Sabotage production.

A world you can touch: There are many ways to hang out in the world of Sea of Stars if you feel the need for a change of pace in your adventures. Sailing, cooking, fishing, stopping by a tavern to listen to a song or play the infamous tabletop game known as “Wheels”…