Thank You for Participating
The closed beta is now officially over. I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who took the time to test Avant-Garde: Napoleonic Battles and share their comments, feedback, and any bugs they found, with me.
The main goal of the closed beta was to gather your feedback to ensure I create the best possible game for all of us. In doing so, you’ve been a huge help, and I’m truly grateful.
A big thank you also to all the influencers who featured my game in their videos or livestreams, without you it would be impossible to get the word out about my game to the rest of the world. Thank you!
Join the Old Guard
Since I’ll be deactivating all the keys distributed during the closed beta shortly, it’s time for me to ask you:
Do you want to be part of the Old Guard?
In addition to keeping your key active so you can continue testing the game’s progress with each update, your name (and/or username) will be listed in the game’s credits.
For more information on the benefits of the Old Guard, head over to my Discord server!
Lessons Learned and Conclusions
Many of you have shared your feedback with me, whether by email, on Discord, or via private message. I can tell you that I’m already rolling up my sleeves to implement the changes you’ve mentioned. Of course, I won’t be able to implement all of them, since I have a specific vision for the game and its design that I don’t want to stray from, but, honestly, the game will be better for it!
Broadly speaking, here are some important, though by no means exhaustive, changes that will be made:
Camera movements
Unit tooltips
Clarity of information (UI, stats, tooltips, etc.)
The ability to adjust settings (volume, display, resolution, etc.)
Making the game available in other languages
Providing a foolproof and more comprehensive tutorial
Improved unit visuals & behaviors
And much more…
The goal has never been clearer than it is now: to have the game as polished and complete as possible for the demo, which will be available on Steam in a few months.
Updated Roadmap
Speaking of which, let's talk about the roadmap. I made a few changes to it as soon as I saw your comments.
Here is the updated version:
In fact, the only change is the delay in the release of the game’s Steam demo. It was originally supposed to be released in October 2026. As you can see, the timeline is too tight to properly incorporate your feedback and ensure a high-quality demo.
On top of that, some major changes are taking place in my personal life this fall. For one thing, I’m going to become a dad! So I will need to give my newborn son time to learn how to code so he can help me! All the more reason to take the time to do things right!
Early Access and the game’s 1.0 release are therefore also being postponed by a few months, to Q3 2027 for the former and Q1 2028 for the latter.
Thank you for your understanding regarding these somewhat necessary changes!
Next Steps
As mentioned earlier, I’m already working on improvements. These include camera movements that will let you rotate around a fixed point, zoom along the line of sight, or move the camera with the mouse. Of course, I’ll go into more detail in an upcoming devlog.
The top priority is to complete the Battle of Rivoli, both mechanically and historically. The units will therefore be revised to ensure they accurately reflect historical facts. Major events, such as the arrival of reinforcements, will also be implemented.
Finally, visual clarity and the UI will also be a priority, as will the translation system, which will allow all of you to play in your own language, provided it’s included in the release!
Thank you again for your support and feedback!
Take care!
Thomas Crozet