In the previous dev logs, we introduced various expansions to the Witch's House to enrich the experience as a witch. Now, we'd like to also allow you to customize this space to show off your personal tastes.

In order to do that, we're working on adding the ability to decorate the interior of the Witch's House with furniture and accessories. We have plans to introduce items of all shapes and sizes, covering a wide variety of themes, and even open up the walls to be decorated.

We just know that you will enjoy this new addition to the game!
It's your time to shine! Design the Witch's House and fill it with your unique personality!


Trial run of customization system
(The image is only a portrayal; actual gameplay may differ.)




Now various landscapes are available in the Little Witch's Woods, and the ecosystem of the creatures is naturally based on the surrounding landscape. However, we realized the fact that Ellie can only move across land and walls is a major missed opportunity to exploit the variety in landscape.

That's why we have added swimming to Ellie's arsenal of skills in order to allow for more interesting and meaningful interaction with the environment. Now Ellie will be able to travel in water and also move faster over a certain distance with the forward dash function.

Of course, with the swimming function, you can expect wonderful, new creatures to be added to the water in the future.


Ellie swimming in a waterfall area
(The image is only a portrayal; actual gameplay may differ.)





Remember that broken bridge beyond the village? You couldn't go across to the other side since the bridge was broken.

We're happy to announce that the bridge has been repaired and the village and villagers on the other side will be open for exploration and development depending on your progress in the game.

Keep your eye out for the new map and many fascinating characters to interact with!


Full view of the area across the bridge




The Little Witch in the Woods has several bugs that prevent players from enjoying the game to the fullest.
After examining and analyzing the relevant issues concerning optimization, we have concluded that postponing action will only make the process harder down the road, so we decided to prioritize this.

Results of Optimization

Below are the test run stats on a low-end PC before and after optimization.

• CPU: Intel Core i5 750
  
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 710
  
• Memory: DDR3 8G
  

Left: before optimization; right: after optimization

There was no significant numerical difference in terms of hardware performance.
But there was significant change in terms of frame rate.
D3D11 values (frame rate)

• First: Current frame rate
  
• Second: Minimum frame rate
  
• Third: Average frame rate
  
• Fourth: Maximum frame rate
  

When comparing the frame rate before and after optimization, we can see that the average has essentially doubled. (We have placed the upper limit at 60fps, so it is impossible to play at a higher frame rate.)

In addition, there was a significant difference in the amount of time required to load the game for the very first time.
(Measured from the moment the loading screen appears to the moment it disappears.)

• Before optimization: 33.8 seconds
  
• After optimization: 17.1 seconds
  

After optimization, the loading time was nearly cut by half.


Upon updating to the newest version of the game, your gaming experience should be improved.



That's all for dev log #9.
Thank you!

All development is in progress and may change at any given time.