FreeHolder Steam Alpha 2 Hotfix 2
8.29.2016
Announcements
FreeHolder: Development Update
Hello, FreeHolder community! It's been a while since I've posted updates of any sort, and you're probably all wondering where I've been. Well, other than working away on the upcoming Alpha 3 features, which are approaching playability, I've been trying to get a handle on where FreeHolder can go in the next several months and what we could be capable of given the current level of interest on Steam generally. As an early access game, we spent essentially all of our starting capital to get what was Alpha 1 launched on Steam with all the art, music, dev, and code that we could possibly cram in on the tiny budget we had for FreeHolder. The idea is that we will raise the rest of the money to finish the game as we go, but of course, what constitutes "finished" as such is at least partially based on how much money we can actually raise en route to 1.0.
To be honest, even though we had both modest monetary goals and a modest budget to actually finish the game, art and all, our initial sales have fallen short of our limited expectations. It's clear from the feedback so far that we have a great game here, and a great community for that game. But for some reason, we had not fully grokked the amount of competition on Steam from the other thousand games released this year. FreeHolder's humble appearance and complex design do not favor the clicks of the distracted. Alas.
Because of this, we are coming up on the very edge of the time where either me or my brother will be able to work full-time on this game. We've already had to sacrifice some hours this month to the very real demands of living. And there will probably have to be more in the future, if we don't pick up some momentum soon. I want to be honest with our community, so that you all are not surprised if the pace of development slows somewhat because FreeHolder is, sadly, not sufficiently profitable at the moment.
The plus side of all of this though is with outside income, we can invest in the game art without relying on Steam sales. There are many future art assets that we already need but do not, I repeat, do not have the budget for at the moment. I will create substitutes for the time being, but this will not be a permanent state of affairs.
Both I and my brother solemnly promise to do whatever is necessary to make FreeHolder the best it can be, and it looks like there may be more self-funded days ahead. We'll be pushing the Alpha 3 release back slightly, but mid-September is still the intended deadline for a playable and fun mid-game section. Thanks again to everyone for supporting FreeHolder! Your financial support and belief in this game brings tears to my eyes. Our undying gratitude to you all!
-Chris Crooks, Co-Founder, RogueWare
Bugfixes
-Battle music should no longer loop endlessly
-Fixed two causes of item cloning on equip screen
-Buying animals at found pastures no longer glitches
-Mercenaries now give patrol bonus
-Fixed several related combat glitches in town assault battles
Graphical Improvements
-Fixed text overflow for pasture map events
-Character deaths should now display properly
Changes
-Firewood now defaults to auto-supply