PeaceIsland

On lights, scheduling, and premiums (again.)

Added 2020-09-29 22:33:21 +0000 UTC

So hey, guys!

I REALLY have to say that the most significant leap forward over the past two weeks has been the creation of the night lighting system on Peace Island.

Up until we got these guys working, nights on the island were rather drab, confusing affairs- it was really hard to figure out where you were at times, due to the lack of any landmarks. Now, just about every property on the island features lighting to aid your midnight prowling.

Now, I can hear some of ya'll saying: "What? That's ALL you have this update - a LIGHT SWITCH?"

Well, ya see: this ain't any ordinary light switch... This is a fully-functional event system that is linked to the game's internal clock- meaning that we can use this same system to create long-overdue game world events such as ocean tides, clock chimes - heck - I believe we could probably use it to alter the flight patterns of seagulls & crows, during certain times...

It also makes the game world look far more "alive/cozy" during the darker hours.

Now- two updates ago, I said that I would be speaking with ya'll about our decisions regarding project benchmarks and release dates.

You see, early in our project's development, I set only one benchmark: complete the Beta Demo.

Now, I'll be the first one to confess that this was not the most wise approach - because my initial estimate of an October 2020 release were not accompanied by a more granular plan of how to get there. As a result, I spent a time operating under the credo that "It all has to get done."

This put me in a situation where I was facing a task that - by necessity of approach - had to be addressed on a dozen fronts daily. While I was somewhat satisfied with the progress we were making, it was a rather inefficient method - and it was showing, every time I have had to push our release date back.

Over the past three weeks, we have started to assemble a more long-term plan in which we can fully concentrate on the "Big Issues" preventing a Beta Release.

While we cannot make a concrete estimate of when the Peace Island Beta Demo will be released, we have settled on late November - two months from this update - as the date by which the lion's share of the game mechanics can be integrated.

At that time, we will be releasing a 0.96 Alpha - This will include the entire first mission of the game, improved textures, dozens of game world improvements, and FAR better performance.

AS ALWAYS:

If you have pledged enough to receive a premium, such as the full game or postcards, you do not have to continue your support indefinitely to receive them. All we ask is that if you DO lower or end your sponsorship of the Peace Island project, you do not delete your Patreon Account- that's how we'll stay in touch!