I felt this title was quite reminiscent of the media clickbait we’re seeing right now. Also, quite fitting as a status update for our multi-year journey that is Wasteland 2. Anyways, enough about the title and on to some exciting info on my personal favorite game right now, Wasteland 2.
Before we get into the fun stuff, a quick note on the release date. It’s pretty likely that we will slip into the first or second week in September due to fulfillment of the physical goods and discs. We will give an exact date as soon as we know it.
Hollywood Loading Screen
New Code Update Live For All Backers
In Kickstarter update 51, we announced that we were opening up the Early Access version on Steam for all backers. Some of you jumped in and started playing, others said they want to wait until it’s complete before experiencing it. Whichever camp you’re in, the code update has been pushed to Steam and is patiently waiting for you. This will be our last code update before the game is finalized. Quite a bittersweet moment for us…
We are still improving the game on the way to our release date. So with the update after this one, you’ll get all of the fixes and polish that is ongoing, which will have a day 1 update for physical disc backers. If you’re receiving your copy in a digital format, the first download will be for the day 1 update and final game.
What’s New in this Build?
When we pulled the changelist from our source control (since the last update), it was 551 uncurated PAGES of bug fixes, polish and iterated features. This list has been reduced down and
can be read in its entirety (but why would you want to do that?!?) here. Some of the main things you’ll notice in this build:
- Huge balance pass across all elements of the game
- Enemy AI/Enemy Stats/Damage/Weapons/Dropsets/Skill Use
- Added a mini-map
- Lots of new optimizations to memory and load times
- Tons of new UI improvements (visual and functional)
- New audio added across the board (weapons/enemies/ambient/player events)
- Large visual effects pass in all levels
- Oh-so-much general clean-up/polish and iteration
Preview Press Tour
Our Leader in Exile, Brian Fargo is in Germany right now with our token European Superstar, Thomas (pronounced Bakers) Beekers. They have had many meetings in London and are now in Hamburg getting ready for the next round of presentations. So far, it sounds like things have been going great. Keep an eye out for some great press in the very near future!
Ranger Keenan Out
This will probably be the last update you’ll read from me before the game is released. I’m sure we will continue them as we put out post release patches but this marks a somewhat heavy-hearted moment for me. It’s been one hell of a journey.
My life and outlook on the future of games has been irreversibly changed from the generosity and passion of each of you who made this happen. I will always remember spending 12 hours per day with our President Matt Findley, answering private messages while the Kickstarter was live. This instantly made it all real and created a bond with the (eventual) players that I had never experienced before in game development. When you’re seeing message after message saying “I’m not sure how I can pay rent next month, but I needed to get an NPC in this game!”, it adds a level of intensity to the process that I can’t imagine finding anywhere else. We owed it to you to have as much passion during the production as many of you did on our vision.
This has been a labor of love from the entire team and I’m incredibly proud with what they have achieved. So much of their personalities are found around each corner in the game. We hope you enjoy the attention to detail in the world we all have created.
The next time you see a Kickstarter update, it could read “Brian Fargo proudly presents Wasteland 2….”
Chris Keenan
Project Lead – Wasteland 2