That Which Sleeps - Development Progress

Development Progress

Map, Map, Map - the map has remained the priority since our last update. After nailing down the technical specs we began a back and forth with our artists to generate the kind of cartographic aesthetic that the game demands - after some miscommunications we decided that having an integrated Map Editor tool was definitely a necessity to ensure that the map stayed on track and came out looking the way we wanted it to. While working with the artists we also made a lot of progress on the necessary overhauls for the eventual integration of the stretch goals, allowing us to begin the laborious process of updating the many data types that got modified.

The Good - A Map Editor soon to be released which has a robust set of features for sharing your creations with fellow map makers. We continue to increase the flexibility of the engine when it comes to dynamic terrain generation and the additional functionality promises new fiendish ways to bring about your return. We've integrated several of the stretch goal features that are related to dynamic generation and are three weeks ahead of schedule with our coding timeline. Event Assets and GUI Assets are starting to come in on schedule.

The Bad - Map Assets are four weeks behind schedule, resulting in a significant delay to the Map Editor. The decision to tie the scenario viewer to the new map engine lead to a resulting delay as well, meaning we still don't have beta usersreviewing assets though we are at critical decision points. Unit Assets have yet to start coming in which are the highest priority after the map.

All in all things are looking good - the quality of what we're receiving is very high and though the delays to the map have been stressful the results have been increasingly rewarding. The map is taking a large percentage of our time but it is where you spend 95% of your time in the game, making sure we capture the feel and functionality properly is worth the extra effort. The March Beta timeline is on track.