Hi everyone! It's been a couple weeks, so it's time to update you all on where we're at with the Progression Update!
Last time we talked, I'd decided that the way I'd implemented our "New Release" mechanics didn't feel true to the game, and I'd made the hard decision to delay releasing the Progression Update until I could figure out how to make that system feel good.
It took me quite a while to figure out exactly why it felt wrong and how to fix it, but I'm now extremely happy with where we've landed, and there's an updated Preview build for anyone interested!
So, some questions and answers:
"So when is the release date for this update?"
I'm still not certain! But I feel like we're really close; I have a couple more tweaks and improvements to make based upon player feedback and I'm sure there will be some bug reports over the coming days which I'll need to fix, but all the big systems are now in place and we're definitely in the final stretch of tweaking and polishing it all!
"How can I try it out?"
All the latest design changes are now live on our public 'test' branch; if you have an interest, please do swap over and give it a go -- I'd love to hear more people's feedback!
To switch to or back from the test build, right-click on the game in your steam library, choose "Properties", and switch to the "Betas" page; there you'll be able to choose which build to download and run! 'test' is the new progression preview build, 'default' is the older usual build). As always, these test builds are forward- and backward-compatible with the current "default" build, so feel free to bring your old saves into the new build; there's no need to start a new save unless you want to start fresh with all the new features!
"Can you write some words about the new design?"
I'd love to, thanks so much for asking! :D
What I eventually realized was that it had been silly for the game to restrict players from releasing game updates if they hadn't (for example) placed enough new scenery pieces or walls; that was me getting lost in an elaborate RPG/XP/"Kill the rats in the basement until you go up a level" metaphor and forgetting what real game development is actually about!
Issuing new game updates shouldn't be about whether you've done a tiny repetitive task enough times; it should be about making meaningful changes, and potentially a very small number of them! So the big change in this new preview build is that we no longer care at all about exactly how many scenery items you've placed. Instead, we just care about the big stuff; releasing new regions, setting up new dungeons, adding new player character types, etc.
This is all tracked via "excitement" levels for the different types of major changes which can be included in an update (you can see these in the new "Configure Release" window), and these excitement levels change over time and in reaction to your previous releases, so you may want to check these from time to time to keep your updates exciting!
Also, as an extra little bonus you can now give your updates names (the same way that I do for most MT2 updates!), and you can craft the full text of an announcement post about your update, which becomes part of a whole new release 'celebration' sequence.
Summary
Big, big thanks to everyone for their patience as I've been finding my way through the weeds on this; I'm so much happier with where we've wound up compared against where we were two weeks ago, and I think that you all will be as well!
There's still some bug fixing to be done and some minor cleanup, but I feel like we're now really close to rolling out a really strong Progression Update to everyone!
Talk again soon,
-T