Hey guys,
So it has been just over 2 weeks since Dead Monarchy launched into early access and so I thought it would be nice to talk about what the near future holds. First though, I'd like to thank the community again for their overwhelming support. I knew sales were not going to be off the charts so I kept my expectations in check but what I never really anticipated was the amazing support and patience from the community.
One of the biggest motivations I have is the community, the feedback and support I get from you guys really helps fuel my passion and in turn improves the overall game. Also, thank you to everyone who has left a review, whether it is positive or negative, it all amounts to feedback that I process. If you guys haven't left a review yet, when you find the time it would be great if you could write one up!
So let's talk about my current plans. Currently I am working with a freelance modeler to get custom weapon models into the game and a freelance animator to get custom animations in. While these things may not be the biggest priorities, the reality is that freelancers come and go so I need to work to their schedule.
At the same time, I am still developing the actual game and I am really trying hard to upload weekly builds. I think by next week, both the freelancers will be on track so I can then direct more time back to actual development.
What I really want to push for is the perks system. If you read the Upcoming Features thread, you would have noticed that I said 3-6 months. That is me being super realistic but I would like to push a bit harder and try to get it in earlier.
I think the plan will be to break up the perks system into smaller updates, gradually introducing the perks in waves. The first few builds may "unbalance" the game giving too much power to the player but in time it will be tweaked based on feedback. I feel that the sooner I get it into your hands the faster the actual development will be. Rather than me testing the same perks for several months on my own, I'd rather quickly identify all the flaws and make improvements on them.
I really am not making any promises, but if all goes well, I could be done with the initial perks system in 3 months. At that point, I would like to let it "stew" for a bit and start work on the world map. As crazy as it sounds, there is a chance that the initial world map could make it in by the end of this year. That is, if I release a rough version, enough to give the community an idea of how it would work. The world map build would probably be released into a beta branch though.
Then come next year, I will be alternating between both the perks system and the world map. Small elements from the other points I listed in the Upcoming Features thread would probably start to bleed over too.
This is all based on whether or not things go to plan, if not then it would fall back to the timeframes I specified previously. So with all that said, I am hoping we can continue to work together! ːsteamhappyː