Scarred Steel News

[p]Hey guys,[/p][p]So, this week was all about realizing the map needed to be way bigger and dealing with the chaos that came with that decision.[/p][p][/p][p]In this devlog, you’ll see:[/p][p]Figuring out how to let the player actually move around a map three times larger, especially the messy right-click movement system that took far longer than expected.[/p][p]Expanding the entire travel system, adding reactive nodes like enemies, merchants, mystery events, and hazards, and rebuilding the map so movement feels more controlled and immersive.[/p][p]Me wasting an absurd amount of time on something that “should’ve been simple” while realizing I didn’t have a clear plan going in.[/p][p][/p][p]🎥 Watch the full Devlog #20 here:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]If you’d like to support the game, don’t forget to add Scarred Steel to your wishlist & support me on YouTube:[/p][p]👉 Steam Wishlist Link[/p][p]👉 My Game Dev YouTube[/p][p]Thanks again for checking this out.[/p][p]I’m looking forward to sharing progress with you each week as I work toward the full game release![/p][p]– Ethan[/p]

[p]Hey guys,[/p][p]So this week has been all about massive updates to the Kingdom Map, adding new districts, designing unique buildings, and figuring out how to make each area feel meaningful and alive.[/p][p]In this devlog, you’ll see:[/p][p]• The struggle: trying to create seven district images in a consistent art style while still making each one feel unique and tied to its Council member
• The progress: building out every district, defining their unique buildings (arena, training grounds, healing ward, etc.), planning random encounters, and setting up the future free-roam map system
• Funny moment: realising how long it takes to get AI to draw “the same art style but… different” seven times in a row 😅[/p][p][/p][p]🎥 Watch the full Devlog #19 here:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]If you’d like to support the game, don’t forget to add Scarred Steel to your wishlist & support me on YouTube:[/p][p]👉 Steam Wishlist Link[/p][p]👉 My Game Dev YouTube[/p][p]Thanks again for checking this out.[/p][p]I’m looking forward to sharing progress with you each week as I work toward the full game release![/p][p]– Ethan[/p]

[p]Hey guys,[/p][p]So, this week I finally got the Kingdom Map to actually come alive and start functioning, after having no clue where to begin.[/p][p]In this devlog, you’ll see:[/p]

• [p]The struggle of getting territories, movement, and hover effects working without breaking everything[/p]
• [p]How I built the Kingdom Map system, added territory selection, glowing hover effects, and made the player piece move between regions[/p]
• [p]A funny moment where the map somehow looked semi-decent despite me winging half of it[/p]

[p]🎥 Watch the full Devlog #18 here:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]If you’d like to support the game, don’t forget to add Scarred Steel to your wishlist & support me on YouTube:[/p][p]👉 Steam Wishlist Link[/p][p]👉 My Game Dev YouTube[/p][p]Thanks again for checking this out.[/p][p]I’m looking forward to sharing progress with you each week as I work toward the full game release![/p][p]– Ethan[/p]

[p]Hey guys,[/p][p]So, making a story-rich game with AI turned out to be trickier than I thought, especially when every decision you add multiplies the amount of cutscenes, dialogue, and images you have to make.[/p][p]In this devlog, you’ll see:[/p]

• [p]The struggle of balancing story branching with production time, making sure decisions actually matter without creating endless content loops.[/p]
• [p]How I’ve been building out the Council of Seven storyline, each council member now has their own multi-sequence arc, with choices that can shift the narrative.[/p]
• [p]And a few funny moments of me realizing just how long it takes to generate hundreds of AI cutscene images that actually look consistent.[/p]

[p]🎥 Watch the full Devlog #17 here:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]If you’d like to support the game, don’t forget to add Scarred Steel to your wishlist & support me on YouTube:[/p][p]👉 Steam Wishlist Link[/p][p]👉 My Game Dev YouTube[/p][p]Thanks again for checking this out.
I’m looking forward to sharing progress with you each week as I work toward the full game release![/p][p]– Ethan[/p]

[p]Hey guys,[/p][p]So, I’ve just got back from my holiday, and this week, I’m diving straight back into building out the story for Scarred Steel.[/p][p]In this devlog, you’ll see:[/p]

• [p]How I’m structuring all seven Council Member storylines, each with their own cutscenes, dialogue, and visuals[/p]
• [p]The approach I’m using to build them efficiently, while keeping player choice and replayability[/p]
• [p]My updated timeline and goals for getting the full game out before the end of the year[/p]

[p]I’m currently finishing the Council of War storyline and already completed the Council of Faith. Each council member will have their own unique sequence, with unique story.[/p][p]I’m spending around 2–3 days per storyline, combining ChatGPT-generated dialogue with cinematic AI images for each encounter. [/p][p][/p][p]Once all seven stories are built, I’ll switch back into coding to connect everything, test transitions, and make sure the branching paths work properly.[/p][p]My target is still a December full release, whether that’s mid or late December, we’ll see. The demo took about 300 hours. [/p][p]I’m at roughly 360 now, and I’m guessing the full game might land somewhere between 500–600 hours total.[/p][p][/p][p]The main goals remain the same:[/p][p]Make it hard, replayable, and filled with meaningful decisions, even though it’s a permadeath game.[/p][p][/p][p]🎥 Watch the full Devlog #16 here:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]If you’d like to support the game, don’t forget to:[/p][p]
👉 Steam Wishlist Link[/p][p]👉 My Game Dev YouTube[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks again for following along.
I’m looking forward to sharing progress with you each week as I push toward the full release of Scarred Steel.[/p][p]– Ethan[/p]