Wow, 2017 is over already! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year! :)
I've been a little quiet on the development front recently because December was a bit of a crazy month for me (I'm sure most of you can relate!).
I thought now would a good time for me to give you all an update on where Final Days is at and where it's going.
When I first launched Final Days on Early Access, I anticipated that I'd be releasing it around this time. Obviously that hasn't happened yet. But when I released was always going to be based on the feedback from the community. So I have been listening and considering everything, and there are still a few things that I want to get done.
So in regards to that, here are the current "must haves" which I'm working on getting done before release:
- Flesh out "Escape" mode further Escape mode is still a work in progress and is a bit basic at the moment. I've got a few ideas in mind to make it more interesting. And I've actually already been working on some improvements for the next update (I plan to release an experimental build soon actually).
- Bots and a matchmaking system Quite a few people have asked me to add bots to the game. And I have also received some complaints about it being hard to find a multiplayer game. So I'll be trying to address both in one go. I'm hoping the bots should help fill out games when there aren't enough players about. And the matchmaking system should make it easier to host/join games. I'm not sure how well it will actually work, but I will definitely give it a go and find out!
- Support for custom maps At a minimum, I at least want to allow people to play maps that they've made themselves.
- Customisable controls This one speaks for itself and is quite important in my opinion.
There's obviously so much more that I want to get done. But unfortunately, there's only me developing Final Days and time is a factor.
In saying that, here are some of the things from the top of my list which I'd like to get done (in no particular order). No promises that I can get any of these done, but I will definitely try to!
- Improve ammo sharing mechanic (it's still a bit clunky to use)
- Healing mechanics (e.g. ability to heal other players)
- More items such as mines, flares, firecrackers (for distracting enemies), molotovs
- Look into maybe adding some kind of sprint mechanic, and rework how the shove mechanic works
- Customisable characters (e.g. choose colours, player head)
- Additional campaigns, maps, and modes
- Some kind of basic ability to build/repair barricades and structures
- More enemy types (particularly ones with projectile attacks)
- More ammo types
So how much longer will Final Days be in Early Access? That's a tough question to answer. I still want to try and deliver the best experience I can at launch. And community feedback still plays a big part in that. But at this point, I'd anticipate about another 3-6 months of development.
Anyway, I've probably talked enough! I hope this has been valuable to you. As always, please let me know if you have any comments. Your feedback is always appreciated! :)
Cheers,
Mike