Friends!
I can confirm now that 13 is a lucky number for the game, as it seems that I got fired and approached by a business partner on the same day - yes, things seem to be ramping up to another all-in crunch! :)
Among most recent areas of progress I can list the new Level Editor - which will be made public and ready for modding soon after EA:
... And some new combat-UI: (WIP)
... vs an old one here for comparison:
Now, as I said in the last ominous update, the plan is to go into Early Access this winter. So let's make a baseline reality check:
The EA version will be Act I (out of 5) of the campaign and have the following:
- 4-5 locations to make dungeon-runs into (each one will be randomized, but have a core quest)
- 20 playable Eidolon heroes (and of course custom-hero creation, but with a trick)
- A singular Boss-Dungeon
- 2 brutal Bosses - Soul Harvester and Storm Lord
- 8-15 hours of gameplay
- Beside the campaign, a Custom Dungeon mode with lots of templates and settings
The idea is, it's already an experience representative of the franchise, so I can let people buy it and not lose sleep over it ːsteamhappyː
Next - can we make it in time? Let's see:
Progress estimate for Eidolons
(relative to *EA* release, not full!)
- Gameplay mechanics: 80%
- Artwork: 50%
- Graphics systems: 60%
- Hero content: 60%
- Enemy/Level content: 30%
- Dialogue: 10%
- Audio: 40%
Long ways to go, but I feel confident that we can have a solid playable version and start iterating towards the ultimate goal! I also feel we’re close enough to release so I can make some concrete promises now. Let's get into it:
1. Eidolons will be a No-BS RPG
- Time is precious, and patience is scarce! To bring a great RPG experience in the modern way, one has to make sacrifices. Thus, E:NF will have no fetch quests, no junk loot, no forced dialogue, no grind or save/load chores and... no orkz! ːsteamsadː
2. Though hard, the game will be fair
- Unlike what our testers may think, I do not take pleasure in making the player suffer. Especially if it means resorting to grind! You will not be forced to play overcautiously, on the contrary - risk-taking and dogged perseverance are rewarded. The mantra is - dying is also moving forward!
3. Dark Fantasy genre, not vibe.
- Eidolons is “that dark” in its theme and presentation not to stand out or outdo some other dark game. The setting has evolved over nearly a decade and I have tried to never let the concept of ‘style’ of ‘fitting the trend’ drive the decisions I made.
The death-centric focus of the story is not a glorification, but an exploration that I hope will be interesting to engage in. Expect to delve deep into realms psychological, spiritual and emotional.
4. Replayable - in the way you want to replay
- The campaign is shaping up to be very modular, so each Act will be accessible as a new game's starting point once you’ve unlocked it.
I never understood games that did not do this, and as a result, had their bad-ass end-game packed into 1% of playtime (or people just resorting to YouTube to find out how else this could have ended...).
So if you want to replay a certain part of E:NF, you will be able to do so, with some options for past-choice and hero-asset customization.
On top that, we will have Custom Dungeon mode where you can create your perfect run and get to play
5. E:NF will not force its setting on you, if you’re in for the gameplay
- Though heavy on the story, it will not force it onto you. There will always be a ‘slaughterhouse-shortcut’ that you can take if you just enjoy killing more than plunges into lore and soul-digging the game's characters and protagonist.
6. E:NF will make the most of being Indie
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All in all, we're not smoothing out the hard edges. No political correctness, no sjw NPCs and no sj in general - it's medieval times, and it's not the point...
Yes, this means we’re not likely to find a publisher (or are we?..), but you can’t have it all. And yes, the game is shaping up to be M or even AO rating. No explicit content of course, but no playing dumb either.
7) It will surprise you!
- That’s more of a personal ambition, I just like surprising people, but I hope that others will benefit from it as well (and maybe suffer just a little). Mostly it's about RPG-tropes turned upside down - questing, trading, crafting, hero-progression, party-adventure and more. If you think you know how those things work, think again! ːsteammockingː
That's all for now, thanks for reading!
...
Actually, no - while I am working on a comprehensive in-depth post about Eidolons key features, I invite you to ask away if you want anything cleared up - it’s much easier to answer concrete questions!
It's the difference between a one-eyed dwarf trying to hit a zombie with a bolt, or taking an ax to 'em! ːsteamfacepalmː
