We have reached what we feel is the end of an era in the Lightstep Universe – the last issue of the comic book Lightstep (Dark Horse Comics) comes out today!
It all started out as a Kickstarter project in 2017. We gained some traction because the art of Miloš Slavković is Just. So. Good. and also because of the hilarious promo video that we had so much fun making. Please note that this is ancient and that like 95% of the information is redundant - still funny, tho.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sof7U8R3kKM
Then we started working on our game heavily. It went through many iterations, it was scrapped and rebooted several times. When we received Creative Europe – Media programme support, the reality of releasing this game became all the more... real!
We are now in the last leg of Lightstep Chronicles development. The Release Candidate build is within grasp, meaning that we'll be releasing rather soon. We are finished with all gameplay adjustments – all we have left to do is playtests and subsequent bug fixes. Here goes our checklist!
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past week:
- eliminated bugs that the QA team found
- added Steam achievements
- had a comprehensive in-house beta testing of the final build
- updated the remaining in-game text with edited text
- added more sound effects and music
Next week, we will work on
- MORE intense playtesting of the beta build!
- preparing the final build for said playtesting
- polishing additional sound effects and music
- the gameplay is now locked. We're only polishing animation and graphics
'Til next Wednesday,
Take care!
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - March 27, 2019
Hello Steam,
We've been featured on Game Jolt yesterday, and seeing our community grow so rapidly has been exhilarating. This means that we'll posting there more regularly for a while, but we'll set aside some eye candy for our Steam friends, too. :)
Check out this Amarok image pack (features a communications helmet, a med bay pod, and a spheric AI bot):
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past week:
- activated optional text within zoom zones
- added more cutscenes in the control room
- updated the Star Map with edited text
- updated animations of Cain Phoenix in the chair
- optimized scene loading
- did some end scene graphics polishing
We also had some QA friends come over and do their magic on the complete build, and they were so incredibly thorough. We now have a lot of technical feedback to go through and fix, which will take a while. Well, we were counting on this.
Next week, we will work on
- Eliminating the bugs found by the QA team
- Adding Steam achievements to the game
- Comprehensive in-house beta testing of the final build
- Updating the remaining in-game text with edited text
- Additional sound effects and music
'Til next Wednesday,
Take care!
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - March 20, 2019
Hello Steam,
It's been a week since we released a free demo for our game. Did you know that you can download a free demo of Lightstep Chronicles? You can do that through Itch.io and Game Jolt. If you like the demo, Wishlisting us here on Steam will help us get the word out before a lot more people. We are eternally grateful to all of you who did that. <3
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past week:
- updated the Save Game system
- worked on the audio and music, started implementing a new sound controller
- added more post-process optimization and lighting
- polished end scene graphics
- added more in-game effects (particles and animations)
We didn't fully implement the new sound controller, it'll be a task for this week, too. We did manage to add more debugging options, so that we can test the game more thoroughly.
Next week, we will work on
- activating optional text within zoom zones
- additional cutscenes in the control room
- updating the Star Map with edited text
- updating animations of Cain Phoenix in the chair
- optimizing scene loading
- polishing end scene graphics
'Til next Wednesday,
Take care!
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - March 13, 2019
Our game's most unique feature is also its biggest weakness:
What kind of game is Lightstep Chronicles?
We always announce it as a text-based adventure, and then the graphics throw people off. Everytime. It is a new breed of text-based adventure, but there have been similar games in the past. Mike Bithell's Subsurface Circular is a text-based adventure that feels like a movie, and it was a big inspiration to us during development. The cool thing is that when players enter either Subsurface Circular or Lightstep Chronicles, they don't know what to expect. It is mysterious! It's exciting! It's really difficult to market!
We spent the past week making ourselves known across the internet – we now have an Itch page and a Game Jolt page. You can download the first chapter for free on either one of these sites.
What kind of game is Lightstep Chronicles?
It's best that you discover on your own. :)
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past week:
- been cleaning the playable build of the full game
- edited the log file, sorted logs and log file indicators
- set up optional AI dialogue
- enabled free movement across the ship via Ship Map
- animated additional AI emotions and set up their triggers across scenes
- worked on endings and their implementation some more
We also optimized textures and 3D models.
Next week, we will work on
- updating the Save Game system
- working on the audio and music, implementing a new sound controller
- additional post-process optimization and lighting
- polishing end scene graphics
- additional in-game effects (particles and animations)
'Til next Wednesday,
Take care!
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - March 6, 2019
Hello Steam,
The past week has been interesting because our Discord community gave us a lot of feedback on the first chapter. To be honest, we should have done this earlier. We strive to keep our egos in check when we design the game, but it is the players who are truly objective, and they helped us see some flaws with the UX that we missed. Then again, Lightstep Chronicles is the first game of this caliber that we're making, and it took us a lot of time to optimize even the first chapter. Had it had any bugs or glitches when we sent it out, we'd be hearing about those instead of design issues, and the latter is more valuable feedback.
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past week:
- added Star Map animations
- polished the final scene graphics, attaching the outro, and working on animations
- optimized final scenes
- worked on the music and sound effects
- additional UI polish
- completed a playable build of the entire game
Next week, we will work on
- cleaning the game. We have a playable build of the full game, but it's hella bugged
- editing the log file, sorting logs and log file indicators
- setting up optional AI dialogues
- enabling free movement across the ship via Ship Map
- animating aditional AI emotions and setting up their triggers across scenes
- more work on endings and their implementation
'Til next Wednesday,
Take care!
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - February 27, 2019
Hello Steam,
We are stoked to be doing an Update today, because today is also the day we received our first gameplay stream! We are thankful to Youtuber THE LAST GAME for playing our first game and sharing his experience with the world. We can't wait to see more of your thoughts on the Lightstep Chronicles demo (↓public demo announcements down below↓)! We'd also like to thank our Discord community of beta testers for helping us clear up all the bugs that we couldn't find on our own, ultimately leading to a far more playable version of a final Lightstep Chronicles game.
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past week:
- worked on the Space City scene, character animations and framing
- worked on the Medic Bay scene, programming additional gameplay and completing zoom zones with text
- worked on Nature scene, Space City, and Medic Bay music and sound effects
- edited game endings
- completed all remaining text and sending it to our editor
- tested out the demo with the Discord community
- tried out Steam's Curator Connect and Woovit
We also added some more gameplay to the map and the Medic Bay.
Next week, we will work on
- adding Star Map animations
- polishing the final scene graphics, attaching the outro, and working on animations
- optimizing final scenes
- working on the music and sound effects
- additional UI polish
- last but not least – wait for it - completing a playable build of the entire game
- setting up and announcing a public demo
'Til next Wednesday,
Take care!
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - February 20, 2019
Hello Steam,
We've been teasing the release of a demo for the past month, and it happened this week. Keys for the first chapter of Lightstep Chronicles were sent out to a few curators and those members of our community who asked for them, and we are excitedly waiting for their feedback. This will be the first time someone who's not a member of the dev team or our close friends and family play the game, which is a bit of a milestone. Fingers crossed, the first community playtest will result in some very insightful comments by the next time you hear from us. Hopefully, we'll feel confident enough for a more public demo showcase.
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past week:
- additional programming for the Simulation Chamber scene gameplay
- nature simulation animations
- framing and programming the dialogue
- adding more zoom zones and interactions to the Control Room scene
We didn’t work on a bigger better 4k trailer because it's more important to finish a new build of the game right now.
Next week, we will work on
- the Space City scene, character animations and framing
- the Medic Bay scene, programming additional gameplay, and completing zoom zones with text
- nature scene, Space City, and Medic Bay music and sound effects
- game endings
- completing all remaining text and sending it to our editor
Lightstep #4
The fourth issue of the Lightstep comic book came out today, and there's only one issue left to go. There is a big chance that the game will take off just as the comic book ends, which is pretty poetic and we didn't even count on it originally. It makes us happy.
Oh, and we love how the Dark Horse Comics team describes this issue, it really accentuates the Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey moments in the Lightstep Universe - what even is time?
"Relativity encounters immortality, and friends who have become old enemies are reunited in a quest for a secret that may save the galaxy."
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - February 13, 2019
Hello Steam,
Last week, a member of our team spotted the Lightstep comic book in person, in a comic book shop. Wild. We aren’t based in the States, this is a big deal for us. It also got us thinking how we, too, have a product to release, pretty soon. Q2, everybody! And until Q2, here‘s what we‘ve been up to:
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past week:
- uploading the demo build to Steam and testing it out internally
- making a list of Lightstep Chronicles Discord community members who will get the demo key before anyone else (holla @ us if you still want one)
- inserting the complete, final, proofread dialogue into the second chapter
- replacing dev notes with actual in-game text in the Ship Log
- graphics and animation ｐｏｌｉｓｈｉｎｇ
We didn’t import any audio into the second chapter (whoops), but we worked on the Simulation Chamber gameplay (saved!).
Next week, we will work on
- additional programming for the Simulation Chamber scene gameplay
- nature simulation animations
- framing and programming the dialogue
- adding more zoom zones and interactions to the Control Room scene
- creating a bigger, better 4k trailer
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - February 6, 2019
Hello Steam,
We've had a huge week behind us, lots of ideas, lots of polish. The first chapter of Lightstep Chronicles is pretty much complete. We will be giving away some keys on our Discord server very soon, so be sure to get in on that!
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past two weeks:
- inserting the complete, final, proofread dialogue into the first chapter
- inserting final audio and SFX into the first chapter
- polishing camera movements into the first chapter
- polishing the UI and intro animations
- fixing some Control Bridge glitches and editing its lighting
- testing out the first chapter demo build in-house
Next week, we will work on:
- uploading the demo build to Steam and testing it out internally (we've never launched on Steam before, so double-checking is crucial)
- inserting the complete, final, proofread dialogue into the second chapter
- inserting final audio and SFX into the second chapter
- replacing dev notes with actual in-game text in the Ship Log
- graphics and animation ｐｏｌｉｓｈｉｎｇ
'Til next Wednesday,
Take care!
This week at Lightstep Chronicles - January 30, 2019
Hello everyone,
We'd like to begin this update with a special shoutout to those of you who have joined our Discord server! The invitation stands, we use it to talk about the game and answer all your questions, but we also chat about AI, cyborgs, and sci fi in general. Later on, we will use Discord to organize giveaways and playtests.
Devlog
As promised, this is what we did in the past two weeks:
- the Medic Bay scene
- scene lighting and post-processing
- programming the Save Game system
- additional dialogue choices
- detailing some game endings
- text editing
We filled the Star Map with planets, but did not finish writing their descriptions. The same goes for Ship Log entries – the system works, but its current function is to stash dev notes for our own use. We will probably work this out in the next few weeks.
Next week, we will work on:
- inserting the complete, final, proofread dialogue into the first chapter
- inserting final audio and SFX into the first chapter
- polishing camera movements in the first chapter
- polishing the UI and intro animations
- fixing some glitches in the Control Bridge and editing the lighting there
- preparing a demo build
One of our top priorities is to start reaching out to Steam curators, streamers and other taste-makers of the digital kind. Therefore, we need a complete first chapter with no blockers available asap. If you are interested in reviewing this first build, send us a message and we'll arrange something!
