Hello everyone!
Today we bring you news on upcoming updates to Foundation as well as some further information on what we have been up to over the last few weeks.
Next Major Update: UI Rehaul
Firstly let’s talk about the next major update which is one we know you are all waiting for. As you have likely seen and read we are currently working on a complete UI rehaul. This has not been a small undertaking, requiring major work on the game engine as well as a complete rehaul and full design of the UI, including a new HUD as well as new panels and windows for quests, events, building panel, main menu, splash screen, icons and much, much more. You name it, it has needed designing.
Furthermore, the UI update will include improvements to the user experience (UX) in the form of greater player feedback, better tooltips and improved accessibility in the second phase of design and implementation. We will then go on to a further phase which will include a more detailed and improved help menu, better tutorialization, further refinement and improvements and much more. We have listened to feedback from the community which has also helped to guide some of the improvements you will get to see when the update drops.
Needless to say, this major update is taking some time to design and program and there is still a lot more work needed to program and implement all the changes of the initial phase. We will bring you more news on the progress early next year.
A Little Christmas Surprise: Key Mapping Update
Whilst some of the team have been working on the new UI we have also been working on a small update that we plan to release in time for Christmas. This update will bring a much-requested feature from the community, namely... key mapping!
That’s right folks, soon you will be able to set up the game controls to suit your own playstyle and requirements. You will find a new tab in the settings panel that will allow you to remap the most common controls within the game.
This is the first step in a complete accessibility plan and design that we will implement in full before the final release of the game.
The key mapping update will also come with new functions such as zooming via keyboard commands, using Page_Up and Page_Down. These new functions will, of course, be included in the key mapping options to allow for your own personal preferences.
Final Game Design
As well as the above update plans we have been working full time on completing the final game design. Although there has been a vision set out from the start, a large reason for releasing into Early Access was to allow the game to evolve and improve with feedback from the community.
As such, we are planning to release an updated roadmap early next year detailing the remaining updates and features to the final release.
Final words…
2020 has been an unusual year for us all and due to the global pandemic, our production velocity has been hampered to some extent. Rest assured though, we are working full time, with all our hearts, to launch the fulfilment of our vision for Foundation.
We would like to say a big thank you to every single one of you for all your feedback, bug reports and support throughout the year.
We are looking forward to a new year, a new UI and a lot of new features for the game in 2021. We hope you all have a fantastic winter break!
- The whole Polymorph Games team