[OFFICIAL Q&A] Ask the Rejuvenation dev team!

[Zumi]

So... Lately we've been receiving a lot of questions in regards to the game -- more specifically about the story. We would like to clear a couple of these doubts or questions up, so this thread will remain open for a week to ask about anything in regards to Rejuvenation! This could be about the storyline, but also about the background or behind-the-scenes stuff in regards to the creation or writing of the story. Or, you could just ask the dev team how they've been experiencing development so far! The thread is meant less for the technical aspect of the development -- but if you're curious, you can still ask questions about it.

 

Answers will mostly be provided by @Jan and me, but it's possible that other dev members like Azery (change ur name binch!!! i cAN'T @ U), @Winter or @Alex chime in from time to time as well if they're able to answer the questions better than others can! Hopefully we'll be able to clear up any doubts or questions you might still have. We'd like you to stay courteous however -- any crude questions (i.e. "can you kill off this character bc they suck") will be ignored and removed. Aaaand of course we won't be able to give clear answers about most unreleased content, though that should speak for itself. 

 

Before you post in this thread, we'd like to answer three of the most prominent questions that have been asked lately. We'd like you to read these thoroughly before posting! If these questions are repeated in the thread, they will be deleted as well.

 

 

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When are we getting the mega ring?!

 

You're finally going to get one in V13!

 

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Is the player going to be able to date anyone in the game? What are the relationship points going to be used for?

No. There have never been plans for romance routes, or a set romance at all. The MC is not going to end up dating someone whatsoever -- And the relationship points you gain from hanging out with characters are not used for romantic intentions, but rather will affect how future events might play out later in the game. Right now there's no direct notable consequences, but they will affect future events, so they are still important.

 

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Is Melia falling in love with the player?

No. Melia has no romantic feelings towards the player. Instead, Melia is in love with Venam and vice versa -- They simply haven't outright confessed to each other yet. There's been multiple hints towards this and proper buildup as well, but Venam and Melia definitely are attracted to each other in the romantic sense -- not in just the platonic sense.

 

 

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If you've got all that, go ham! We'll be happy to answer your questions! The thread will be open for a week, after that it'll close. A new thread might be made after V13, but that's still up in the air so we'll see around the time that's out. Still gonna take a while unfort 

 

Have fun!

 

[kulesiak]

So, its mega ring, or mega-z ring like in reborn? Or we are not getting z-ring yet?

[dragonza11]

1) have we seen the 4 people of the light and dark profecies? or are there some we havent met yet?

2) more like a theory than a question that i can verify: is Xerneas vital to the story or only arceus?

[Don't Contact Me, I Left]

If I MAY ask, will the Mega Ring in Rejuv be obtainable from a SQ or story?

[Zumi]

1 minute ago, kulesiak said:

So, its mega ring, or mega-z ring like in reborn? Or we are not getting z-ring yet?

 

Just now, lolokxd said:

If I MAY ask, will the Mega Ring in Rejuv be obtainable from a SQ or story?

 

Mega ring will act both as the z-ring and the mega ring, and you'll receive it from the story, not a sidequest.

 

Just now, dragonza11 said:

1) have we seen the 4 people of the light and dark profecies? or are there some we havent met yet?

2) more like a theory than a question that i can verify: is Xerneas vital to the story or only arceus?

 

1) Yes! And no :^)

2) Can't say!

[0ris]

Are the properties granted by the Crests going to be changed further, or set with each version from now on?

 

For example, I saw how good the Fearow Crest was in V11, and I bred a 31/31/31/x/31/31 Fearow (or something similar) for the purposes of using it. In V12, Fearow Crest got what I would consider a considerable nerf: it's only active after the opponent has taken damage, and that takes Fearow's ability to be a sweeper down. If powerful Crests are going to be nerfed, I'd like there to be some sort of cutoff where the Crests released X versions ago won't be altered anymore, but now that I'm typing it out I feel like that's just me being a greedy Intense-mode player who's more power-hungry than Griselda herself.

 

On the other hand, the Dedenne Crest is an example of an item that's just plain awful. The only thing that Dedenne's got going for it in terms of stats is its speed, and merging its Speed and Attack gives it a mediocre Attack and a mediocre Speed stat. It's the one Crest I've seen that looks like it would hurt the Pokemon in almost every usage role. I'd rather it have any beneficial item were I going to use it.

[LisiaImai]

Thank you for rejuvenation!! It's what gotten me back to Pokemon and I'm really glad to have stumbled onto it. Btw my question is that how does the dev team manage their personal life while developing this game? Is it a full time gig or just a side hobby? Ik it's kinda personal, but do u guys ever feel burned out? I do competitive cheer and vball and my mental health has been down the drain. Anyways. I hope the dev team aren't burned out after v12 n tysm again for this awesome game

[kulesiak]

Any plans for more "where love lies" like parts?

[Zumi]

4 minutes ago, LisiaImai said:

Thank you for rejuvenation!! It's what gotten me back to Pokemon and I'm really glad to have stumbled onto it. Btw my question is that how does the dev team manage their personal life while developing this game? Is it a full time gig or just a side hobby? Ik it's kinda personal, but do u guys ever feel burned out? I do competitive cheer and vball and my mental health has been down the drain. Anyways. I hope the dev team aren't burned out after v12 n tysm again for this awesome game

It's a hobby for pretty much all of us! Of course, Jan still puts in most of the time out of all of us (to the point i feel like he does rejuv more than other stuff smh) but most of us do it next to other work we have. Personally I do work when there's a need for it, usually after work I actually need to do at that time i.e. commissions or other stuff like that. It takes more priority the closer to a release we are and sometimes it takes a little bit of time to get started (tho for v12 i got started and then didn't stop for 3 weeks), though I can't speak for the others how they treat the project -- so maybe others will be able to give you insight on how they deal with it!

[Azeria]

3 minutes ago, 0ris said:

Are the properties granted by the Crests going to be changed further, or set with each version from now on?

 

For example, I saw how good the Fearow Crest was in V11, and I bred a 31/31/31/x/31/31 Fearow (or something similar) for the purposes of using it. In V12, Fearow Crest got what I would consider a considerable nerf: it's only active after the opponent has taken damage, and that takes Fearow's ability to be a sweeper down. If powerful Crests are going to be nerfed, I'd like there to be some sort of cutoff where the Crests released X versions ago won't be altered anymore, but now that I'm typing it out I feel like that's just me being a greedy Intense-mode player who's more power-hungry than Griselda herself.

 

On the other hand, the Dedenne Crest is an example of an item that's just plain awful. The only thing that Dedenne's got going for it in terms of stats is its speed, and merging its Speed and Attack gives it a mediocre Attack and a mediocre Speed stat. It's the one Crest I've seen that looks like it would hurt the Pokemon in almost every usage role. I'd rather it have any beneficial item were I going to use it.

Fearow Crest was too powerful as a whole. There were 0 requirements for you to get the equivalent of a STRONGER Huge Power on a Pokemon with base 100 attack already. It was quite a bit beyond the rest of crests and thus needed something for it to be brought in line. Hence the change to it being an "Execute" type of thing. With Spikes or Rocks support, it will still get those KO ranges, or it can be a good revenge killer on weakened Pokemon. You just have to actually work for and around it instead of slapping it on, clicking any non resisted move and one shotting everything.

 

Dedenne's Crest is fine, more an issue with the description being kinda off. Dedenne's attack scales off it's speed stat, so it effectively hase base 101 attack and speed at the same time.

[ShadowStar]

Seeing as V12 just released, what's your favorite thing to do to unwind after a release?  

[Zumi]

Just now, ShadowStar said:

Seeing as V12 just released, what's your favorite thing to do to unwind after a release?  

looking at ppl's reactions to the Big Whammys(TM) of the episodes.

 

[J-Awesome_One]

So since you have admitted that Venam and Melia are in love, I'm curious about this. When exactly did Jan plan that? Was it gonna be like that from the start of the game since V1 came out or did that pop into his mind as he continued making the game?

[Jan]

7 minutes ago, kulesiak said:

Any plans for more "where love lies" like parts?

WWL did much better than I thought it would, so I'm happy to say that I do have plans for other side games. Not many though as I'd like to focus most of my time on the main game. 

[reaper.]

okay so first of all, thank you for this wonderful game. i really love what you people have done and how much invested i am in this. i can only imagine if you had the budget of an actual studio and these were your primary jobs what could've been the result. and then more of a question its like a request if an eternal flower floette could be put in the game with its signature much. i really wanted to use that pokemon but havent been able to so far in any game at all and i was hoping i could use it in rejuv. ik its a silly request but if any way it could be possible maybe you devs could think about it please? and again thank you for rejuv. i absolutely love it.

[Autumn Zephyr]

I think I already know what sort of answer I'm gonna get for this one, but I'll ask anyway: Seeing as the episode subtly revealed that the Garufa were not only a society of skilled mages, but also quite technologically advanced (I wonder how many other people bothered reading the doors in the ark), how likely is it that the latter will have a role in the mechanics in upcoming versions?

 

On a slightly different note, how early were the Crests planned to be a thing before the implementation in V11?

[Jan]

13 minutes ago, Majin J-Awesome_One said:

So since you have admitted that Venam and Melia are in love, I'm curious about this. When exactly did Jan plan that? Was it gonna be like that from the start of the game since V1 came out or did that pop into his mind as he continued making the game?

I can't say from the beginning because that wouldn't be true. Up to around Angie, I was just going with the flow because I thought I was going to quit soon. V6 was the version I decided to actually take the project seriously and put together something. So I'd say around then. 

 

10 minutes ago, reaper. said:

okay so first of all, thank you for this wonderful game. i really love what you people have done and how much invested i am in this. i can only imagine if you had the budget of an actual studio and these were your primary jobs what could've been the result. and then more of a question its like a request if an eternal flower floette could be put in the game with its signature much. i really wanted to use that pokemon but havent been able to so far in any game at all and i was hoping i could use it in rejuv. ik its a silly request but if any way it could be possible maybe you devs could think about it please? and again thank you for rejuv. i absolutely love it.

I'm glad you enjoyed the game! Unfortunately I don't have plans for Eternal Flower Floette, but it's not completely off the table, I suppose. It's just sort of weird to release something that hasn't even been released officially. Not that I've followed the rules of official games anyway. 

9 minutes ago, Autumn Zephyr said:

I think I already know what sort of answer I'm gonna get for this one, but I'll ask anyway: Seeing as the episode subtly revealed that the Garufa were not only a society of skilled mages, but also quite technologically advanced (I wonder how many other people bothered reading the doors in the ark), how likely is it that the latter will have a role in the mechanics in upcoming versions?

 

On a slightly different note, how early were the Crests planned to be a thing before the implementation in V11?

Guaranteed to have a major role. Truths will start to come out very soon!

 

As for Crests, they're an idea I came up with at the end of v10. It started because I forced myself to play with Delcatty on a personal playthrough of Emerald. It was so bad that I wished there was something in the game similar to Pikachu's Light Ball to make it viable. Then I decided to look up if there were anything similar to the Light Ball and came across the Mystery Dungeon series. Apparently they have Pokemon specific items that act as passive buffs? I thought that was really cool and decided to bring it to Rejuv. I had no idea how people would receive this mechanic because it'd be bordering on the fine line of fake megas (Even though technically fakemon do exist). 

It's why some of the early crests were so basic. Just stat increases. We wanted to test the waters with it first before we did anything too drastic. 

 

Surprisingly, people love them. Which is great because I love Crests too. Not as much as Griselda, though. That's just unhealthy. 

 

Edit: Forgot to mention, but ironically, the Pokemon that inspired Crests didn't get one because nothing we could do for it would save it, rip.

[Winter Angel]

Ooh! I love Q&A! First off, thank you to everyone who put their time into making Rejuve possible as I know spriteing(?) and making a game isn't easy so likely there were quite a bit of bugs/issues that the team came across while making the game. How long does debugging take? Does it happen with the Alpha and Beta testing and/or usually before that?  Also a question leaning towards Zumi, with all the gorgeous artwork you make for the game, how difficult/easy is it to make it into sprites/animation? I very much wanted to scream in excitement when I saw the V12 video drop on Jan's channel as it was so fluid (and Flora looks practically terrifying af). Thanks!

[hoshi]

Do you have official ages for the main characters? Also, can you tell how many endings/routes are there?

[LeoYT]

What would Goomink the Hero of Slime ride with into battle?

[0ris]

Thanks for the answer to my previous question! Yeah, I suppose the Fearow Crest was a bit unbalanced, and that my favorite angry bird can still have its time with the right support.

 

Another question: Is there any chance that fanmade Megas will appear in Rejuvenation? In my understanding, the Rift Pokemon in gameplay terms enemy-only Megas that use a different item. If (for the example with possibly the least amount of extra work) you were to collaborate/get permission from the creators of Pokemon Insurgence, you could potentially put in Megas sprited, abilitied, and statted for that game: Insurgence Mega List: https://wiki.p-insurgence.com/Mega_Evolution#Unofficial

[Zumi]

6 minutes ago, Winter Angel said:

Ooh! I love Q&A! First off, thank you to everyone who put their time into making Rejuve possible as I know spriteing(?) and making a game isn't easy so likely there were quite a bit of bugs/issues that the team came across while making the game. How long does debugging take? Does it happen with the Alpha and Beta testing and/or usually before that?  Also a question leaning towards Zumi, with all the gorgeous artwork you make for the game, how difficult/easy is it to make it into sprites/animation? I very much wanted to scream in excitement when I saw the V12 video drop on Jan's channel as it was so fluid (and Flora looks practically terrifying af). Thanks!

To answer the question leaning towards me (heh)

 

I studied animation for a good amount of time at school! It doesn't take too much time to animate them as a result, as most of the stuff I've learned at school in regards to movement/timing is stuff I can apply to both regular animation and sprite animation. The principles you have to follow in animation are applicable regardless of medium, after all! As for spriting, it is a skill I've built up over the years as I've been working on Rejuv since pretty much the beginning of the journey. It's something that I've learned over time. Combine that with that I also do regular art outside of Rejuv, so it's kinda just the combination of a couple different skills I've honed! It's a lot of practice, practice and even more practice, but it's something I enjoy doing, which is why I put so much effort into these things. You learn more when you have fun, after all!

 

[krim]

Any chance of certain crests being made available earlier?

 

Some of them seem really fun, but having to wait 70 levels for certain mons to be usable is a bit....oof. Im specifically thinking of stuff like Ledian that are available early, and can't contribute very much or fill a niche even at it's highest evolution (especially as the game progresses and gets harder).

 

My next intense run was going to be a bug mono with Ledian + crest as my starter once the PBS files are released, so that's what got me thinking. It'd be nice if I didn't have to cheat to do stupid fun stuff like that lol

(I don't actually mean giving them *that* early, but you know what the intention is).

[ChrisC]

Since, it was stated that Melia and Venam are in love with each other and that we didn't see them (yet) confess their love, will we see a scene(s) where they confess their love for each other in the future? I'm asking since, I always shipped them anyway and I just want those two girls to be happy!

[Zumi]

6 minutes ago, hoshi said:

Do you have official ages for the main characters? Also, can you tell how many endings/routes are there?

Actually had to answer this question earlier elsewhere! But to post it here as well, there's no set age for the protagonists as we'd like for players to fill in these gaps themselves -- however, they're designed with the idea of them being all around roughly 18 years old.

 

As for the amount of endings/routes I don't think we can give out details about that, sorry! unless jan decides otherwise