Chibis Global: Early Development Update #1
The Great Philosopher Chibi wishes you well and continues to ponder the meaning of life. Lately he has inspired his fellow Chibis to ask, “What came first -the World, or the Chibi?” It truly is a profound question — as noone can truly give a straight answer!
Regardless, The Great Philosopher Chibi greets you warmly and welcomes your return. “We are enthusiastic to have your help in liberating the Chibis from their habitat!”
Chibis Global is shaping up beautifully, and today we will cover some of what a player can expect to encounter when playing Chibis Global. We will also discuss matters regarding the strategic aspects of the game, subscription services and much, much more. First and foremost, Chibis is now being developed as a combination of 2D, 2.5D, and 3D aspects! it also holds the potential for virtual Chibis activity in the near future as well. Our game will primarily play as a focused tile strategy rpg game that encompasses a very large game board. Initially it will be pve only, but pvp aspects will also be implemented systematically over time!
The World Map
The World Map will consist of several key areas that blossom as a half oval shape. The starting area wil be ChibiVille, and its surrounding areas will serve as both the tutorial zone and basic member area for activities. Initially, all players will have access to ChibiVille and the area termed “Zone 1”. As players explore ChibiVille, they will eventually be able to exit the village and enter into the nearby zone 1 territory.
Zone 1 Territory is available to all players regardless of subscription status. It will never be pvp enabled, and thus serve as a safe zone. Regardless, the occassional ai opponent may wander into these areas and attack any available Chibi Player. You may utilize this area to safely gather yields of resources to build your team and equipment stashes. The yields and opponents here will be of reduced danger and volume, as it is a consistently patrolled area and close to ChibiVille. Players exploring further away will find greater yields, and adventures to boot!
Zone 2 Territory will only be available to Premium Players (Subscribed) and those who have previously subscribed but are currently inactive. (Special promotions may allow non-subscribers to access this area as well for a short time). Zone 2 territory will be a rather large area to explore and it stands between Chibiville and the external Fiefdoms which exists solely in Zone 3. Players exploring Zone 2 territory will find greater yields, as well as greater opponents, and quest objectives to engage with — this is the focus area for the map and most of the overall game.
Zone 3 Territory will be limited to Current Premium Players only. This is the premium Fiefdom area mentioned in our previous article. Each of the five Fiefdoms will have great yields and greater opponents. Each Fiefdom can only be accessed by a player once per month, for the duration of that month (So if you choose Fiefdom 3 for March, you will not be able to access any other Fiefdom until April).
*Fiefdoms will have extensive story elements, raid bosses, as well as gear and resource yields unique to that Fiefdom.
Global Movement
While exploring the world map, players will find that each global tile will have a movement timer when moving ONTO that tile. It will require that much time to move OFF that tile to a new tile. The basic tile will have a 1 hour movement timer, while others will have from 2 to 8 hours per movement depending on the terrain. Keep in mind this is for GLOBAL TILES only, for within each global tile exists a mini world of adventure and smaller tiles with explorable features. These miniature zones will have small movement timers (1, 2, 3 minutes each etc), so you can fill your hours with fun and adventure.
Each tiles miniature zone will be the equivalent of “zooming” in to that tile. Right now we are considering having the tiles procedurally generated. We could technically generate the entire macro and micro map, but with procedural generation, there could be an element of randomness making exploration that much more fun and rewarding.
On average each mini world zone will have approximately 50–60 tiles to explore, and cost 1, 2, or 3 minutes to travel between each tile. Tiles can produce yields, expose buried treasure, or even host mini towns, field hospitals, and neutral or even enemy encounters. Before delving further into miniature worlds, let’s return to ChibiVille and discuss how the game shall begin.
ChibiVille
Chibiville will operate just like the rest of the global map. One major tile will represent ChibiVille - which will then “zoom in” to the miniature zone that is ChibiVille. The town will have a variety of tiles representing each of its key areas. Think blacksmith, jeweler, pawn shop, hospital, and neighborhoods where you can interact with npc Chibis to help get clues or advance the story.
Chibiville will be separated into sectors, some for all, some for premium players, or past premium. All important zones will be made available to all players, while utility driven or advanced sectors will be relegated to those who have subscribed. The key area to be on the lookout for will be your Chibi HQ. While progressing through the tutorial you will unlock certain areas for use, which will eventually provide you with your Headquarters.
Chibi HQ
Chibi HQ will be your primary interaction area between your user interface and the actual game of Chibis Global. At HQ you will be able to assign active teams of chibis, train them, choose skills, classes, and gear specialties. Active Teams are super important — they will determine the makeup of your interactable Chibis. The HQ roster will increase over time as you progress through the story, but will start out with 5 active Chibis at any given time.
Active Chibis are selected from your pool of “owned” Chibis. A player could for example own 233 chibis, but only be able to use 5 of those at a given time. Chibi HQ will have cooldown times based on its level and invested resources. Eventually the Chibi HQ will be able to expand up to 100 active chibis and 8 special slots, for a total of 108. It will be important to have additional slots above and beyond the initial 5.
Here is why:
While exploring the world, say your team of 5 Chibis has encountered a ghoulish mercenary party of opponents. Unfortunately your team was not strong enough and failed their encounter. You will then be presented with the option to reset your team (meaning you lose all earned yields, treasures and experience since your last ChibiVille or campout). However say you have a HQ size of 8 or more. You will be able to send out a unit of 3–5 depending on how many you have on standby to go “Rescue” that unit. You will be provided with a countdown timer depending on the distance and location of the disabled unit. if you are able to successfully rescue that unit, you will then have the ability to keep all your progress and rewards earned on that journey.
This of course adds a level of risk and reward, but also should motivate players to manage their teams correctly and consider risks when approaching enemy units or unexplored areas. Sometimes this will also be unavoidable if your team has been ambushed in a dangerous area and things do not work out in your favor. Thus expanding and filling the HQ is a necessary function to have a greater Chibis Global experience.
Crafting and Refinement
Chibis Global will have a crafting and refinement system. As you explore the world and progress in quests — you will receive various resources and items. With the proper recipes or experimentation, your Chibi team will be able to craft various items, armors, and gears. For Chibis that utilize special abilities such as magic, components will be key as they will be a delimiting factor for those units (an example would be the ‘Time Stop’ spell without materials, a player would be able to spam time stop making the game dull, thus the extremely rare components can be acquired allowing a couple of special uses at the appropriately planned times, or in the case of extreme danger).
Crafting and Refinement will also allow Chibis to craft upgrades for current gear, and discover new versions of gear types. That short bow researched just unlocked crafting of a long bow, allowing your archer units to hit enemies further away, for example. Other items such as a Strength Potion could increase your melee dps damage output for 5, 10, or even 15 seconds. Alchemy will be a key crafting area for the min max style player — yet for tougher raid bosses, alchemy will be a must if you plan on being successful.
Reputation and Factions
Since we will be adding a variety of types of interactions in the procedurally generated areas, it has been deemed necessary to implement a reputation system and a faction system. These systems will be in place to reward those players who actively interact with and benefit the world of Chibis. Those who intentionally do harm to various places or things or chibi people will soon learn that they will be barred from activities, shops and field hospitals.
Factions will be a system which savvy Chibi players can utilize to engage in communal affairs with non-Chibiville residents. Whether it be nomadic Chibi tribes, tribes of orcs or trolls, with Factional Reputation — players may be able to find access to unique quests, rewards, gear and even exotic Chibis! Make sure you consider any action in-game that may negatively affect a factional reputation (i.e. Slaughtering a group of goblins will definitely reduce your goblin rep)~!
Arena
Within the game, a special area for traditional Chibi vs. Chibi action will be implemented. Various locations for subscribers, and varying level caps will be implemented as well. The first core Arena zone will be available to all and exist within Chibiville:
At this Arena, players will get to practice against pve enemies to get a feel for how combat operates before venturing forth. Special Arena events will be found throughout each day at the arena, both in pve and a pvp style respectively. Understanding how combat works and building your team effectively will be a KEY CONCEPT in Chibis Global. Being unable to overcome opposition will prevent you from progressing further in the story and on the map itself, thus building your teams’ strength and composition is key. Mastering the art of Chibi Fighting and improving your skills, classes and gear specializations will be a priority for all players.
Arena Multiplayer
Chibis Global will eventually implement a multiplayer matching system. This will allow you to match up with friends, or other players to engage in Chibi on Chibi action. Tournaments and prize brackets will be implemented if/when this feature is released!
Tower Defense and Assault Modes 2D/3D
Additionally, as mentioned in our initial announcement, players will have access after a certain level of progression to tower defense and assault modes. Players building their HQ and Arena Access wil encounter various forms of tower defense and assault activities.
Quest Log, Achievements and Loyalty Rewards
Chibis Global will provide players a rpg-esque menu system full of various information. Players will be able to enjoy a trackable Quest log, with listed objectives and required items when necessary. Clues for quests will be required to be found to update the log — it will not be a tell all, so make sure you read what the npcs say. All players will have access to a personal and global achievement system. This means each global event can have a “world first” achiever, and everyone will have that etched permanently into their global log!
Loyalty rewards will come in a variety of formats including daily and consecutive login rewards. Additionally premium players and past-premium players will enjoy additional premium only rewards in addition to the regular rewards. Rewards will range from basic resources, coins, as well as even fragments of chibis, gear, and other special scrolls used for a variety of purposes - so don’t miss out! Missing a day or two of logins can reset your entire cumulative progress - so even if you do not have time to play, make sure youu login just for that daily tick!
Subscription Services
Any given player account will have 1 of 3 subscription service status types:
- Basic
- Previously Premium
- Current Premium
Basic service will be what anyone has upon logging into the game. Basic service will only provides access to the tutorials and entry level areas. (Level caps and more will be applied here). The game can be enjoyed and experienced, but progression will be limited and certain features unaccessible.
Previously Premium will be for those who have been a subscriber to premium play, but have allowed their subscription to lapse. They will have access to a larger area of the game, as well as to features basic players have yet to experience. Previously premium “may” expire resetting a player to basic after a set (undetermined) period of time.
Currently Premium players will have access to the entire game and all of its progression and featured functions. Additionally premium players will have access to unique monthly sales of special premium only chibis, gear and more.
So let’s discuss Premium options with some additional detail. Subscription models are generally very effective in online and mobile games. It also served as a key factor for MyCryptoHeroes, one of the most successful cryptogames. We will be going with this model for a variety of reasons, mainly to help with offsetting server costs. If we were to put a $10 price tag the equivalent of (.04 eth approximately) one time per month to access all game features and additional value is quite reasonable. Regardless, non-subscribers can still operate the game and all of its initial features for free.
With a Premium subscription, your account will receive many benefits. First and foremost, data to and from the server will be prioritized ensuring accurate and up to date information. Next it will allow access to all quests, gears and Chibis offered in the game as well as the entire berth of the accessible areas of the map including Fiefdoms. Fiefdoms will be the primary area of activity, so spending as much time there building, farming, beating back the baddies and coordinating with your fellow fiefdom players will be key to progressing the Chibi story.
Additionally, Premium players will have access to premium subscriber sections of the global storefront. Each month a unique Chibi will be available for all Premium players. Additionally, advanced versions of that same Chibi with alternate art and upgraded abilities will be available on a rolling scale. Only premium players will have access to purchase that Chibi, its features and purchase options throughout that month. This will change each month. Additionally, thanks to your funding through subscribing, we will provide discounts to packs, resource caskets and gacha elements as a thank you for your continued support — thus it pays itself back easily and even a few times over.
Premium players will also have access to enhanced Chibiville features, limited to players current or previously (for a time) subscribed. These areas such as advanced Arena Competitions/Tournaments, Advanced Forge functions, Advanced sellers and buyers ingame, and advanced crafting access will all be provided for subscribers and previous only. Basic players will have very limited access to ChibiVille features.
All of these areas will be key to success in Chibis Global, and if any expectation to bring down Mega Bosses exists, premium access will be necessary to further the story and the overall Chibi storyline.
3D Consideration
After careful consideration, we have decided to incorporate the ability to implement 3D features. This is of course pending upon the success of the marketing and pre-sale campaigns — as 3D development is generally costly in comparison to 2D sprite commissions. You can see above that we have already encapsulated a system which can provide each player with a 3D arena turn based combat experience. The 3D Chibi Demo highlights what is currently possible for a 3D unit actor for an enhanced gaming experience.
Those same 3D Chibis can be interchanged into an active battle environment, allowing for a Battle Royale environment. This is a common goal that we would hope to achieve, of course pending our ability to cover the expenses of development and art costs. (Everyone deserves to be paid for their time right?). If we can pull this off, Chibis Global will provide a unique, possibly never before explored experience for chibi playstyle, and an increase in the amount of fun (Just don’t mention this to the Great Philosopher Chibi please)!
Skills, Classes and Gear Specializations
Next up — discussion on specialization. Chibis Global will not be dominated by rarity, but rather you’re ability to establish a solid chibi stat break. Each Chibi will have menu options to customize their skills which are governed by their class of choice. Gear specialization will be separate, but also deterministic. (Specializing in axe on a mage chibi will not get you far, at all- though it may look epic!)
Classes
Each Chibi will have a series of base classes allowing you to determine what style of combat that specific chibi will partake. Once that base class is determined, advanced classes can be unlocked as your Chibis advance through the skill trees. In order to unlock advanced classes, all skills for the base class will need to be complete, and the player will have to be of a premium player status, or previously subscribed (up to a certain time cutoff period).
Say for example, you pick warrior as your base chibi class. After maxing out his skill base, several advanced classes will be made available to that player. Warrior may then have the option to be come either a Knight, Barbarian, Archer, or some other related class. (We haven’t finalized the class breakdowns yet). From here, a player can then go through the process of unlocking their evolved and devolved classes, unique to each chibi and generated usually at random.
Once a Chibi has reached 2nd Class maximum, with both evolved and devolved forms unlocked and skills maxed, they may then Mint their card. A player will need to be currently subscribed to the game to engage in the minting process. Once a Chibi has been minted, it can then engage in unlocking its master class. The master classes have yet to be determined, but an example could be; a Barbarian may be entitled to become a Viking.
Note: Non-subscribers (basics) will only be able to use up to a certain level for their chibis and only the base class.
Skills
Skills will be the players’ bread and butter. Whether you are playing the game, or speculating through buys and sells — skills is what will separate the big dogs from the average players. The way it works is pretty straight forward, as you unlock a class, you gain access to passive and active skill sets. Players will then gather skill points through various means such as levelling up their chibi (but not limited to that) in order to max their skill trees.
Skills have a variety of unique uses. Passives will be an area to keep an extra eye on, as that is where your stat builds will come into play. Certain specialized classes may also include a utility skill such as foraging or poaching which can serve extra useful while adventuring in the field. Specialized units like miners or gemologists wil also have primarily utility filled skill trees. These special units can perform a variety of tasks, but will generally require an armed escort to get to areas of high interest.
Besides the usefulness of skills, the real marketability of skills will be in the existence and acquisition of SCROLLS. Scrolls will be obtained in many unique fashions, and will provide the player and community with incredible customizations. Scrolls will primarily be used to upgrade a currently owned skill. For example, you acquire an assassin skill scroll for multi-stab. The skill as acquired for assassin allows the assassin to atatck the enemy twice. The rare version of the scroll will repalce the double attack version with a triple attack version. The legendary version of that same skill will replace the double with a quadruple. This is also where rarity will come into play with Chibis Global.
Various paths will provide access to scroll acquisition. They will have cyclical sales through the premium store throughout the year, be part of the pre-sale packs and early launch packs respectively (Founder and Excelsior), part of gacha games and loot boxes found ingame. Additionally, Scrolls may be crafted to give temporary boosts to certain skills for various time frames.
Gear Specialization
Separate from the Skills and Classes builds — gear specialization will be a unique area in which you can build your Chibis. In previous titles, Chibis would simply just equip whatever gear piece you had available. With specializations, classes, etc. - gear choices will be more important for your overall success. Players will also need to take into consideration gear for their Devolved and Evolved Chibi versions before embarking.
Take into consideration shall we — A Mage Chibi who can devolve into an archer or evolve into a minotaur. The Mage will generally have rods or staves specialized, but that will do little good for a minotaur or archer. As such, a wise player would add a tiny bow and a large battleaxe to that specific Chibis inventory.
Gear Specialization will be utilized to unlock access to greater versions of their gear piece(s) of choice. In the above example, a Mage Chibi may initially have access to basic staves. However, they would have to progress through the specialization tree to be able to effectively use the Rod of Anubis for example. Additionally, mastering a specific specialization may unlock unique abilities or the ability to equip MegaMax gear (if you are so lucky!)!!!
Before we go, I’d love to share a small spoiler! When engaging in Fiefdom adventures, there will come a time to face off with Raid bosses. Prior to being able to siege the Raid Bosses’ castle, you wil need to team up and defeat the Wall Guardians! These are no simple opponents, as it will take a concerted group effort to fell one of these creations.
With no further adu, here is a spoiler of one of the Wall Guardians:
I’d love to delve further into all that Chibis Global wil have to offer — but the Great Philosopher Chibi is hinting to me that this article is getting too long and that people’s attention span may decrease if I were to share any further. Thus I leave you with these wonderful insights into what Chibis Global will thrust the Chibi community into in these coming weeks!
Till next time, cheers — and remember all of this is as always, subject to change at a moments notice!
