Devlog: 1.0 and onward
Hi there!
So as you might have noticed (granted you're not too busy playing Elden Ring, and I'm not gonna lie, it did cannibalize a week of my time too), there was no update in a while. I explained it in previous posts, but it's worth repeating one last time: my goal is to complete 1.0 now. While I'm not entirely sure how long it's gonna take me exactly, I doubt it's going to be more than a couple months.
The main branch might get one more small update before 1.0, maybe not. In any case, it's pretty much it until the game is officially out. I will be switching to the official price soon ($/€ 14.99). As promised, you'll get a warning beforehand.
The Nightly Branch will continue to receive irregular (and mostly undocumented) updates. If you want to be kept up to date, this is the way to go. However, be warned: those updates might not be as stable as the official branch and save-game compatibility is not guaranteed.
Anyway let's get to what I'm working on.
[h2]1.0 Devlog[/h2]
I've finished writing the design document for the story mode itself. It's not the whole thing in exact details yet, but it covers most of the background lore, in-game story elements, all the factions, the different acts the player will go through, alongside a summary of the various missions to be completed.
From that document, I wrote a list of minor features I still need to get done so the story can take place. Given that I'm not completely incompetent at my job (i know, i know), most of what I needed is already ready, but there's still a few things to get done before I can fully get started.
My overall goal is to keep everything as data-driven as possible, to a point that a modder could theoretically create a similarly complex story on their own. It's making things a lot more complicated for me than if I was just saying "fuck it" and did it purely by code, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run.
Right now, I'm working on world map traders (working like local traders, replacing those menu driven ones), the ability to move from a world map to another (and the ability to optionally force the player to follow a series of "levels" using this system), the ability for a world map to come with specific factions & events which can override a scenario's settings. I'm also adapting the interactive travel event/quest system to work in more situations. And finally i'm adding a lot of flags left & right (allow/disallow radio contact with specific faction, events handlers when a faction is killed and tons of customizations that will benefit modders on top of helping me with that story mode).
Point is most of what I'm working on right now is to deliver an intricate story with several chapters that will also serve as an interactive free-form tutorial (in the first chapter at least). Think like the "Rise of the Mutant" scenario, but dialed to 11, over several maps. And if you haven't played that scenario, you probably should :D
Don't get me wrong, I'm still working on UI elements, tweaking the AI and improving the overall game balance, but those concerns are secondary at this point (beside the fact that they are in a decent place overall now).
Currently my main enemy is time: writing the quests, the transitions between the different acts of the game, and doing that tutorial section aren't technically that complex, but it's VERY time consuming. It's tedious to write and to debug alike. This is sorta why the game is lagging behind the release schedule, those last 10% are more time intensive to write proportionally than the previous 90%.
But hey, I'll tackle this like I did with everything else, one step at a time. :)
[h2]Long Term Future[/h2]
Given that I'm not going to spoil the story-mode proper and that I really want to stress out that 1.0 is not the end but a new beginning, I'd like to discuss what will likely happen in this new brave post 1.0 world. Of course, the following is subject to changes and will heavily depend on sales. As much as I'd like to pretend otherwise, I still do this for a living.
[h3]Maintenance Support[/h3]
No matter what, as I always do, I will continue to offer (obviously free) bug fixing and balance patches for as long as I physically can. While I know that bugs can't be entirely eradicated due to the incredibly complex nature of a game like ATC, I've always made it my main goal to keep bugs to a minimum.
Now, assuming things go mostly according to plan:
[h3]Development As Usual[/h3]
After a few months of obligatory maintenance patches, new player support/feedback patches and me getting a well deserved vacation very far away from anything dev related, development will resume as usual.
I'll define a new set of features for 1.1, followed by another for 1.2 and so on until this is no longer viable for me to do so financially (and knowing me, probably for longer than I should have). That being said, while my TODO list for early access was set in stones very early on, this likely won't be the case here. As much as writing stuff as "i feel like" would have been a terrible pre-1.0 policy (and pro-tip: this is why most EA games die), I miss being able to work on the things I want when I want to.
There are a lot of areas I would like to experiment with: The whole prisoner system could be improved tremendously, some of the canceled features like the randomly generated illnesses are also worth another look. Many features you guys have been suggesting will likely be reviewed and possibly implemented too. Radiations, mutations and so many other areas could be explored too.
[h3]DLC Policy[/h3]
I know, some people are allergic to the mere concept of DLC. I get it, when a multi-millions dollar game is trying to sell you horse armors for 10 bucks, it's insulting no matter how optional it is. Point is, I'm not making a million dollar game (sadly :p), the goal is to keep the game going, not to squeeze money for just the sake of it. Also, I promise that if i ever release a dog armor DLC, it'll be free :D
That being said, I will release downloadable content for the game when we're in stable post 1.0 state. Due to how data driven & modular the game is, it would be a shame not to. Adding new scenarios, story lines or item packs is incredibly easy on a technical level.
The goal of such DLC will be to fund new features for everyone to enjoy, while DLC supporters would get scenarios tailored to explore those features to their maximum potential.
I'll likely start with story heavy scenarios (again, the Rise of the Mutants update was a good example of what could have been released as a cheap DLC: a whole new faction, some unique mechanisms, items, techs and a story rich interactive mission diving in the game's lore), and possibly expand into more focused content depending on feedback.
[h3]Standalone Content[/h3]
Ok, now we're talking really long-term, but it's worth talking about. ATC's engine can technically work with any topic/era/story as long as it's a base builder. Re-using the same code to make a fantasy pre-historical game with tamed dinosaurs is as much an option as making a modern farming simulator.
Making cheaper stand-alone games based on ATC could be interesting and could help into financing the main game's update cycle for much longer than DLC could.
[h2]That's all, folks[/h2]
That's all for now. I will keep you posted with 1.0 development updates in the coming weeks, likely in shorter devlogs. It's going to get increasingly difficult to write about the game without getting into spoiler territory. It's not like I'm writing some kind of masterpiece story line, but still, that's dev 101 to keep that stuff under wraps :).
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the game.
Cheers!
So as you might have noticed (granted you're not too busy playing Elden Ring, and I'm not gonna lie, it did cannibalize a week of my time too), there was no update in a while. I explained it in previous posts, but it's worth repeating one last time: my goal is to complete 1.0 now. While I'm not entirely sure how long it's gonna take me exactly, I doubt it's going to be more than a couple months.
The main branch might get one more small update before 1.0, maybe not. In any case, it's pretty much it until the game is officially out. I will be switching to the official price soon ($/€ 14.99). As promised, you'll get a warning beforehand.
The Nightly Branch will continue to receive irregular (and mostly undocumented) updates. If you want to be kept up to date, this is the way to go. However, be warned: those updates might not be as stable as the official branch and save-game compatibility is not guaranteed.
Anyway let's get to what I'm working on.
[h2]1.0 Devlog[/h2]
I've finished writing the design document for the story mode itself. It's not the whole thing in exact details yet, but it covers most of the background lore, in-game story elements, all the factions, the different acts the player will go through, alongside a summary of the various missions to be completed.
From that document, I wrote a list of minor features I still need to get done so the story can take place. Given that I'm not completely incompetent at my job (i know, i know), most of what I needed is already ready, but there's still a few things to get done before I can fully get started.
My overall goal is to keep everything as data-driven as possible, to a point that a modder could theoretically create a similarly complex story on their own. It's making things a lot more complicated for me than if I was just saying "fuck it" and did it purely by code, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run.
Right now, I'm working on world map traders (working like local traders, replacing those menu driven ones), the ability to move from a world map to another (and the ability to optionally force the player to follow a series of "levels" using this system), the ability for a world map to come with specific factions & events which can override a scenario's settings. I'm also adapting the interactive travel event/quest system to work in more situations. And finally i'm adding a lot of flags left & right (allow/disallow radio contact with specific faction, events handlers when a faction is killed and tons of customizations that will benefit modders on top of helping me with that story mode).
Point is most of what I'm working on right now is to deliver an intricate story with several chapters that will also serve as an interactive free-form tutorial (in the first chapter at least). Think like the "Rise of the Mutant" scenario, but dialed to 11, over several maps. And if you haven't played that scenario, you probably should :D
Don't get me wrong, I'm still working on UI elements, tweaking the AI and improving the overall game balance, but those concerns are secondary at this point (beside the fact that they are in a decent place overall now).
Currently my main enemy is time: writing the quests, the transitions between the different acts of the game, and doing that tutorial section aren't technically that complex, but it's VERY time consuming. It's tedious to write and to debug alike. This is sorta why the game is lagging behind the release schedule, those last 10% are more time intensive to write proportionally than the previous 90%.
But hey, I'll tackle this like I did with everything else, one step at a time. :)
[h2]Long Term Future[/h2]
Given that I'm not going to spoil the story-mode proper and that I really want to stress out that 1.0 is not the end but a new beginning, I'd like to discuss what will likely happen in this new brave post 1.0 world. Of course, the following is subject to changes and will heavily depend on sales. As much as I'd like to pretend otherwise, I still do this for a living.
[h3]Maintenance Support[/h3]
No matter what, as I always do, I will continue to offer (obviously free) bug fixing and balance patches for as long as I physically can. While I know that bugs can't be entirely eradicated due to the incredibly complex nature of a game like ATC, I've always made it my main goal to keep bugs to a minimum.
Now, assuming things go mostly according to plan:
[h3]Development As Usual[/h3]
After a few months of obligatory maintenance patches, new player support/feedback patches and me getting a well deserved vacation very far away from anything dev related, development will resume as usual.
I'll define a new set of features for 1.1, followed by another for 1.2 and so on until this is no longer viable for me to do so financially (and knowing me, probably for longer than I should have). That being said, while my TODO list for early access was set in stones very early on, this likely won't be the case here. As much as writing stuff as "i feel like" would have been a terrible pre-1.0 policy (and pro-tip: this is why most EA games die), I miss being able to work on the things I want when I want to.
There are a lot of areas I would like to experiment with: The whole prisoner system could be improved tremendously, some of the canceled features like the randomly generated illnesses are also worth another look. Many features you guys have been suggesting will likely be reviewed and possibly implemented too. Radiations, mutations and so many other areas could be explored too.
[h3]DLC Policy[/h3]
I know, some people are allergic to the mere concept of DLC. I get it, when a multi-millions dollar game is trying to sell you horse armors for 10 bucks, it's insulting no matter how optional it is. Point is, I'm not making a million dollar game (sadly :p), the goal is to keep the game going, not to squeeze money for just the sake of it. Also, I promise that if i ever release a dog armor DLC, it'll be free :D
That being said, I will release downloadable content for the game when we're in stable post 1.0 state. Due to how data driven & modular the game is, it would be a shame not to. Adding new scenarios, story lines or item packs is incredibly easy on a technical level.
The goal of such DLC will be to fund new features for everyone to enjoy, while DLC supporters would get scenarios tailored to explore those features to their maximum potential.
I'll likely start with story heavy scenarios (again, the Rise of the Mutants update was a good example of what could have been released as a cheap DLC: a whole new faction, some unique mechanisms, items, techs and a story rich interactive mission diving in the game's lore), and possibly expand into more focused content depending on feedback.
[h3]Standalone Content[/h3]
Ok, now we're talking really long-term, but it's worth talking about. ATC's engine can technically work with any topic/era/story as long as it's a base builder. Re-using the same code to make a fantasy pre-historical game with tamed dinosaurs is as much an option as making a modern farming simulator.
Making cheaper stand-alone games based on ATC could be interesting and could help into financing the main game's update cycle for much longer than DLC could.
[h2]That's all, folks[/h2]
That's all for now. I will keep you posted with 1.0 development updates in the coming weeks, likely in shorter devlogs. It's going to get increasingly difficult to write about the game without getting into spoiler territory. It's not like I'm writing some kind of masterpiece story line, but still, that's dev 101 to keep that stuff under wraps :).
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the game.
Cheers!