Hello hello hello, to our dearest Ant Colony!
Later today, once Grandfather Tora awakens from his slumber, we are releasing what will be the final update to TELLURICENE's demo build. (...Final until we find bugs but shhhh...)
In the previous demo, players were able to experience the game all the way through Day 4 / Night 1. We've had a few internal debates on what the purpose of a demo is, whether the old demo properly reflected the pacing and structure we ultimately want first-time players to experience, and after looking at other demos for commercial games... we've decided to do a little snipping.
With this update, the demo has been refocused into a much shorter slice of the game and now concludes at Day 2. The intention of the change is to create a snappier first impression of the game while still allowing players to get a taste of the story and experience the core gameplay loop, and mechanics like the testing, character customization, etc. Hopefully, this new version will leave players wanting more, while still feeling complete.
This adjustment is part of our preparation for full release on the 30th, as well as promotional events like Steam Next Fest (which starts later today, so if you're looking for new games to play, be sure to check the fest out!) where shorter, more focused demos tend to provide a better experience for players discovering a buncha new games all at once.
If you have already downloaded or played the previous, longer demo, there is no need to revisit this new demo (unless you want to experience being blonde in TELLURICENE 👀
!) No content within the first two days has been modified outside of a few minor script edits, accessibility updates to UI, tweaks to the character creator, and uhhhh... probably a few other little things I forgot to note specifics on... but we did want to be transparent and explain why we are making this change.
And to our early players, we also want to extend a super huge thank you for checking out an odd little game about odd little plants! Your early feedback and reactions not only kept us motivated to finish, but was also extremely valuable in helping us shape the rest of TELLURICENE's experience into something that we hope feels impactful and intentional. Seriously: there is nothing more important than early feedback!! It helps us shape key aspects of the game while it's still flexible enough to change. We're able to catch pacing issues, identify moments that resonate the most with players, understand how you interpret choices, interact with the mechanics, all in ways we can't really predict during our internal testing.
With all that said... we will most likely be MIA until the 30th, so until then...
May the great nation endure.
-notafish
(Thank youuuuu!)