I've been keeping up to date with the project mainly via the Facebook page and I realised that it would build hype if there was a timeline for all upcoming major updates and the order they will be implemented.

You don't need to add an expected date for these all but it just keeps up the anticipation by having the major targets being public.

For example next up 5 new jutsu will come in, then after that the Chuunin Exam arena, then an update to combat/movement dynamics, then after that a clothing shop, etc.

First let me just say I'm glad I stumbled across SLO - this game has started from a fantastic foundation by focusing on movement and combat dynamics first before RPG elements, so the core gameplay will remain interesting and varied.

Now back to the suggestions!

Eliminating Jump Spam Combat Issue
I've seen people complain about jump spammers during combat.

The solution has been to increase the chakra cost of jumping. Which is unrealistic, and it'll also prevent the tree hopping mechanic (but more on that later).

The true solution: Auto-Assist (like what's used in First-Person Shooters to help you aim at enemies).

Doesn't have to be strong magnetism, but there should be a little nudge to follow enemy movement because in real-life our eyes can easily are able to follow such fast moving objects.

Auto-assist will prevent jump spamming being an issue in combat, which will allow us to reduce the chakra cost of jumping.

Then we can get started with the fun stuff: Tree Hopping.

Tree Hopping
Classic movement system in the Narutoverse which allows you to avoid animals and other ninja at ground level, as well as adding an extra dimension to travel/combat/spying/assassinations/traps/ambushes etc.

Every tree will have 3 height levels of branches:

• Level 1: One small branch at pointing South (10 feet high or however the normal jump is)
• Level 2: Another small branch pointing West (another 10 feet higher)
• (Note: both these small branches are 2-4 wide to act as small platforms to get to the top)
• Level 3: (another 10 feet higher) Two branches, one pointing North and another East. They're both 3-8 foot wide branch to act as a suitable platform

Every tree are these Hashirama trees (at least near Hidden Hill) and each tree is equidistant from each other so you can get a good fast movement speed through the trees.

Here's a bird eye view to demonstrate the Level 3 tree movement layer:


Awesome right? Not only will this allow an additional method of travel, it will also save your designers lots of time - rather than trying to make every tree unique, we instead opt for cloned trees (at least around Hidden Hill) to allow this new aspect of the environment.

You could even have the heights of every level of branch slightly adjusted to prevent shinobi from seeing anyone hundreds of feet ahead of them (e.g. Tree 1 has Level 3 at 27 feet, Tree 2 has Level 3 at 33 feet, etc).

What do you guys think?

I'd love to hear if you like it, or there's any critiques because an effective tree hopping system would be amazing