Hardland is 99% complete! That last major feature Timo talked about in the previous announcement, the story, is done and with it, we are preparing the game for launch. A pre-launch demo is now available, and it gives you a preview into 18 months of all the work that has taken place behind the scenes, but in particular: sound effects, writing, and music.
We did a lot of writing in 18 months. 750 pages. It's a novel's worth. But the writing in Hardland is not just words to fill empty space: it's become the most defining part of the game. Most of it is conversational and easy to breeze through. The more you pay attention to it and stop to think it through, the more the world shows a different side of itself. Literally.
Some of you have believed in this game from when it was little more than a sketch, and some when there was more but no real guarantee of the game ever reaching the finish line. Hardland was a bunch of ideas, swimming in a soup, slowly stewing. That's when outside support is needed the most. It's because of this leap of faith that I want to acknowledge the supporters. The pre-launch demo is exclusively for you guys -- we are closing Hardland off from new players until launch. Others will just have to wait. The launch date will be revealed soon!
I'm also looking for the final rounds of feedback. Reports about serious issues, game crashes, are downloadable from Steam's built-in reporting service, but if there is anything else wrong with this version that you think should be made better, this is the chance. I will be going through the threads regularly again from here up until launch.
Known issues:
- Loading at the beginning locks up the game until done.
- Potential graphics issues on AMD GPUs. This has not been tested in a while, and it's possible that we'll have to do a round of patching to resolve any issues here.
Six years of creating Hardland culminated in a truly surreal writing process that on many nights went on until first light. I hope it all translates over well; it resulted in the best game I've personally ever made, and one I have no hesitation letting speak for itself.
P.S. Check out the new store page.
Kimmo