Hello Everyone!
It's been a good amount of time since I've sat down to write one of these. I'm sure people who have been somewhat keeping an eye on the development is wondering what's been going on with Fenrir Studios, and Dark Storm. There's alot to tell you!
If you've read past Letters, you'll have noticed a trending theme of struggling to find people who are willing to work for royalty, and at the same time having the skills and knowledge required to bring you guys the best game we can possibly bring, and which we've promised. This and other set backs, such as our only programmer getting quite sick for a month has occassionally brought much of our game to a halt in terms of production now and again.
Despite all of that however, we are seeing a release date around the corner. While things are subject to change, we anticipate a release, or close too a release by Q3 of this year. We also are pushing to have a Demo out and playable before that happens.
The best news however is that a vast majority of our game is done. Most of the work is going into the AI and re building them to best fit into the gameplay we need. This is of course easier said than done, and are actively seeking programmers, and animators to help bring the components, and AI alive to a high quality which we wish to have throughout our game.
We will also be releasing a Steam store page specifically for Dark Storm Ascension, so you can better decipher the difference between VR MIssions, and Dark Storm. We understand it has been pretty confusing for people, and will remedy this very soon.
Fenrir Studios has always been open about being as transparent, and truthful as possible, it's only fair that those who are interested, and have supported us through VR Missions knows the entirety of what's going on behind the scenes, and for this, we also bring our grievances, and set backs to light.
Because of the ongoing struggles to gain, and keep people with a royalty contract, while gaining very little funding as a whole, we had to sit down and make a decision while eating some pretty hard reality pills. The first reality is simply we are attempting to make a pretty high quality game. Most developers attempting this have either been doing this for years under a publisher, or have a very large team doing it with enough funding to cover. We have neither. What we do have is a very dedicated and passionate development team, that despite the countless set backs, and almost no funding have been fighting on to bring Dark Storm to you. Because of these hard truths, we made a decision.
We broke Dark Storm Ascension into 4 Episodes. These 4 Episodes are 4 of the "main" parts of the story. The story as a whole wasn't changed. By doing this we felt it was a win/win for both you the players, and us, with the players getting the most benefit out of this switch.
In earlier Letters I explained that certain parts of our game had to be removed, some mechanics such as the weapon customization had to be removed as well due to our limited ability, and time. This switch will alleviate that by quite a bit, allowing us to give you more than if we decided to release it all together as one full game. As we release episode 1 for example, the funding will greatly help us begin to pay the team, which in turns allows us to keep members, and bring you a higher quality game throughout.
Secondly, it allows us to put back those area's we had to remove due to time constraints. While Episode 1 is released we now have the funding, and time again to put those area's back in, and make them as flush, and exciting as we always wanted. Which wouldn't have been possible otherwise.
Thirdly, with real time responses from the players in Episode 1, and feedback. This gives us a much better idea of both what you the player likes, and dislikes. Which helps us balance the game from episode to episode, and rebalance past episodes as well with that feedback. Allowing us again to bring you the best quality possible.
Additionally, this change helps the players both be able to see our updates, and engage us in suggestions, and discussions on the forums more actively instead of everything being behind a curtain.
And lastly, with this change, it will allow us to put focus back on the VR Missions, and extend it to what we were hoping it was going to be all along, with many additions, updates, and maybe even a multiplayer/ Co-op experience.
Going into this year, we see many big steps being taken, and many which you the player will be able to experience with us. Apart from what already explained, we will be releasing the Steam Store page for Dark Storm Ascension, and our website to help you guys better find what you're looking for when it comes to Dark Storm.
Once again we thank you for your support, and patience with us through this long road. The light at the end of the tunnel is drawing near, and we simply ask that you hold on for a little longer as we do our best to bring you the best game we can possibly bring.
- Sincerely,
Isaac Cudd
Associate Producer