0.8 Alpha Crunchtime!!!

Work on interiors has had to take a backseat, because we're spending all of our time these days tying up all the loose ends that are in the way of the Alpha release, next week.

All that remains are a few tweaks on the character controller, about 200 colliders, and perhaps, if we have time, a rough draft of the new graveyard...

It's really a roller-coaster ride.  At 2:00, I figure everything is handled, and we're ahead of schedule.  At 2:30, I get news that some detail was overlooked, which is followed by a half-hour of frenzy.  

At 3:15, the confidence returns, only to be smashed again...

But hey- that's gamedev - what ya gonna do?

Generally, I can tell you that we are on-target for the scheduled release.  The folks we're working with these days are just TOP-NOTCH.  Things that would have taken me months to do, back when this was a solodev project - these guys can solve in mere hours, if not minutes...

Above:  Gull spawners off the coast...

Oh- one last thing:  We've started to make solid progress on getting the radio station programming together.  It will not be featured in the upcoming Alpha- but it will be, in the next release.

Eventually, we hope to have at least 45 minutes of original content for the broadcast.  For the Beta, we're trying to put together a 10 minute preview that will include music, news, weather, a couple of interviews, and advertisements for Peace Island businesses.

We sent the announcer script off to the VO artist the other day, and the weather segment has been assigned as well.  We have one music track confirmed, with another on the way.

We also asked Andri, a guy in Norway who does excellent (and funny) "tutorials" on extreme music genres to compose a radio jingle for Garrsions, the grocery store in the game.  

If you want to give the preliminary advertisement a listen, click here- BUT BE WARNED:

Up until now, most of the music we have commissioned or included in Peace Island has been gentle and atmospheric.  

This one is definitely not- it's a grindcore track that's been included for story and comedic reasons.  If you're not familiar with the genre, grindcore is not really intended to be "enjoyed" or even "good" in any manner whatsoever.

All the same, it's pretty funny, I think!

See you in a week, when we release the 0.8 alpha!  

Thanks SO much for your continued support!