Heroes of Issachar
Developer Update; August 1, 2016 - HOI available this week until August 5
Heroes of Issachar
Read the instructions closely - you can get immediate access offsite, and a Steam key, but the Steam key won't unlock until the official launch.
Before I get into it, one instruction that is in this build but a little hidden - Press "U" in the Argent Coast to teleport back to the Citadel.
OK, so what's in this update -
First, I added the very beginning of the game. It's a rough sketch of it, but it paints a bit of the narrative, introduces you to some major NPC's, and mostly gives you information about just what is going on in this fantasy world.
Second, I added a new province to explore. The premise is pretty basic, which I'll leave for you to discover, but it's a fun little romp around a province with a few bad guys and a dungeon.
Third, there's a new addon for the crossbow, the frost cannon. It's not totally new, I've had it in a few versions, but this one is juiced up. It'll fire multiple shots of ice that will track enemies themselves. So basically you can fire it without really aiming and the shots will do the work.
Fourth, I added two new enemies. One is a big nasty dude I haven't named yet. You'll know it when you see him, he's got a spiked ball and chain. The other enemy are flying skulls. They'll kamikaze you, so better shoot them out of the sky.
Fifth, Save and Load Games. Test the heck out of this for me, because I'm sure there will be bugs that crop up.
There are still plenty of things that need work. Most of all, animations. NPC's won't look at you, won't talk during convos, etc. I'll get to that, but since that's purely aesthetic, it's on the back burner. The other big issue is pathfinding. Sometimes the bad guys will just get flustered and not move, sometimes they'll run to places they shouldn't be. I've got a fix in the works, but it didn't make it into this build. So for now, enjoy shooting extremely stupid bad guys :)
Also, load times for scene changes are a little long for my liking. I'm working on that, but for now, if a screen looks frozen, it might not be, especially when teleporting, or opening the world map.
Up next - more bad guys, more good guys, and more add ons for the crossbow. I really want to get the tug of war more interesting, along with dungeons and other places to explore. So for the next 30 days my focus will be on bad guys, and the corresponding add ons that counter their strengths. In the meantime, please let me know what you think - either from a gameplay standpoint or if anything is crashing for you.
Thanks!
-Michael
Updated Build
Let's Help Archmage Rises on Steam Greenlight!
Archmage Rises on Steam Greenlight
As for me - back to the dungeon where an imaginary barbarian holds his axe, compelling me to code lest I draw his ire...
Developer Update; July 12, 2016
Duckie Dash on Steam
As for HOI, things continue to go well. A larger level designed for exploration and (eventually) sandbox-y building of a town/city has taken shape, a small quest is in place there along with some NPC's to talk to. I also threw in there a small dungeon to raid.
Right now I'm working on the pre-action part of the game - the setup for the game as a whole. Introduction to a few major characters, explanation as to just what the heck is going on, and instructions on the nuances of combat. I'm doing my best to make it as concise as possible, but it's necessarily a little wordy since it is the setup for the entire game, both for gameplay and the narrative.
July 31 is still my target for the next major update, and I'll be running another Pre-Early Access sale through my website for a limited number of copies.
If you have questions, ideas, or just want to chat - hit me up here or on the message boards!
Michael
Developer Update; June 23, 2016 - EA Release Date, Roadmap
http://store.steampowered.com/app/491110
Now I'm back from my sabbatical, refreshed for HOI, and I've already made tons of progress on the next province. Where the first one (Tranask Island) is very structured, the next one (Argent Coast) is a bit more open. The basic goal is to locate a unique hero knight and recruit him for the cause, but there will be a number of different points of interest to explore. My ultimate goal is that once the player has secured the province, they will have a small settlement to grow as they see fit. It will, in a sense, be a bit sandbox-y, although the settlement (and hopefully one day city) will be able to supply resources and troops for the larger war effort. It's ambitious but doable, and I'm excited to see what you all think about it.
So, getting the Argent Coast through its first iteration is my current goal. That means there are some caves to explore, some people to interact with, some bad guys to kill and the main purpose of recruiting the knight is working. It also means some of the aesthetics are set, but it doesn't mean every last rock and tree looks great, or that there aren't ways to break it. The goal for that to be finished is July 31.
The other major feature I need to get set is what happens between the intro video and the first action of the game. Some players' feedback was that it wasn't totally clear what to do. So I'll be working on that once the Argent Coast is finished.
If you missed the limited sale last month, keep a look out around July 31, because I'll probably do another one then.
And, I have locked in an Early Access release date: November 3, 2016.
Thanks for continuing to follow my progress, I'm really optimistic about where we are headed!
Michael