(reposted from our Discord server)
Hello there,
It's time for our weekly update! Sierra Ops' progress for Episode 3 has been going smoothly, and here are the things I can share so far:
The most important bit - We now have development roadmaps for both Episode 3 and the overall game!
We understand that the schedules are too optimistic, considering our record with deadlines. We're just taking it as a challenge at this point to see if we can actually make things work with our new workflow.
For the record, Episode 1 did make things a lot convenient for Episode 2 development! However the breaks and side quests were still pretty new systems added to the game, same goes for all Exoframe gameplay elements. We also had to familiarize ourselves with how Steam DLCs work (we promise ourselves to NEVER make episodic DLC games again 🙃). If you have any questions or concerns with any of the roadmap items, feel free to mention it in the comments.
As for the rest of July's schedule:
1. Visual Novel cutscenes - If there are no more game breaking bugs for Episode 2, directing work for Episode 3 will begin today! ːsteamhappyː
Youko is taking a break due to vaccine side effects, but rest assured she'll be able to catch up and continue before directing work even reaches the most recent edited scripts.
2. Overworld and battles - We'll start creating Chapter 3 free roam side quests on Monday and will be adding new Ares units. Expect intense arms race happening in the game: For instance, Vipers will be upgraded from Episode 3 onward so it'll have defenses vs Lapis and VLS 👀
3. Art - Our background artist, GTD-Carthage, has started making the new Exoframe models to be used for the rest of the game. Our character artist, Tooaya, has also been doing new sprites and CGs for Episode 3. We got a few ambitious ideas for this episode, and we really hope it pays off! 😅
That's all for this week's update, see y'all next week again and have a great day!