Update time - I'm rapidly moving towards something presentable to everyone. The initial level is built out, and it looks awesome. Many thanks to Darryl Spratt who put a ton of work into it. The first Dark Champion (aka the first boss) is also working properly. I've got some juice to throw into him (animations and effects) but the function is done. He's nasty, challenging, and fun.
I also expanded the enemy base, which turned into a pretty sweet castle which holds the power needed to secure the province. Some screenshots are available here:
http://www.bluemanaentertainment.com/screenshots/
Next up is revamping the UI. Both the function (it's clunky) and the look (it sucks) are on the drawing board. Beyond that, I've got a little work to do getting the economy working, and the last major piece is integrating friendly NPC's.
I'm still not willing to commit to a launch date yet, but I'm very close to letting the closed testing begin, which will be a big step.
Michael