It's that holiday season, which of course means new Arcadian Atlas goodies! And while some of us are snowed in, some are still living in blazing hot temperatures, and some are on the beach drinking pool drinks (not us... but we can dream right!?), one thing we all have in common is our love of some sweet Arcadian Atlas details!
Item Shop Shaping Up
Here. We. GOOOOOOOOO.
Spending That Money
We all know the real reason people fight is so they can get money and buy shiny new weapons! So when it comes to Arcadian Atlas' shopping, we wanted to focus on the user experience above all else.
Outfitter Screen
It should be easy to see new items at a glance, and to equip specific troops directly from the item shop, which is why we've tried to provide as much at-a-glance information as possible in a pleasing way.
Buy. Everything.
And Becca's been having a blast designing some of the new map tiles that will become both the tavern and item shop. Plus, rumor has it you might get into a scrap or two indoors, so try to keep those swords away from the whiskey!
New Interior Tiles WIP
New Faces, New Maps
Arcadia is all about the people who inhabit it, and what are people without wonderful locations to interact in? So we've been designing and putting our cast into some gorgeous and mysterious places, like Waite Ruins with it's extreme verticality and fall colors - perfect for November:
New Map: Waite Ruins
Oh, and did we mention we've named this lil' dude?
Poncho Getting Mad
Poncho is letting his curiosity get the better of him, and when he crosses paths with Fennic, trouble is guaranteed to brew:
[Link to the video :
https://ksr-video.imgix.net/assets/019/128/513/4ea80f8aa281bed88a745c3e91e5dfbb_h264_high.mp4]
And of course the Queen herself plays a central role in Arcadia's conflict. Desmond and Vashti fight by her side. But when so much power is at stake, who's fighting for the kingdom and who's fighting for themselves?
[Link to the video :
https://ksr-video.imgix.net/assets/019/128/553/d11a0c3295dc2f78b3774f457ad895cf_h264_high.mp4]
Backer Delivery Date Update
What a whirlwind year and half it's been for us at Twin Otter! We brought on our coding genius, Patrick Brand; migrated from RPG Maker and began building our dream game in Unity; created new mapping, cutscene, and scenario editors with features not even possible in our previous engine; and then as scenes started to come to life, Moritz began the score and sound effect work to bring the world to life.
When we first set out on the Kickstarter back in April of 2015, we couldn't have imagined the possibilities opened to us by our switch to Unity. We had a vision of what this game would become, and soon realized RPG Maker was a limiting factor to fully realizing that vision. As with any development process, it's a constant balancing act to predict what the future holds, made more difficult when you have such a small team. And while we couldn't be more thrilled with the switch to Unity and the exponential jump in quality we're getting from Arcadian Atlas, we also see that our original delivery date was based off different factors. While the original February 2018 delivery date was based off a limited project scope and engine, our goal all along was to push for more. To push for something better.
Knowing that, we're sorry to say Arcadian Atlas won't be ready by February. That's difficult to say, and difficult to hear, but in the end we want to deliver the experience you all deserve. We've poured so much into creating the world, crafting an experience that is top-notch, and you've poured so much anticipation and support into the project from the Kickstarter to this very day. We couldn't be more thankful for you guys - you've made this project what it is! And we want to honor our commitment to giving you the absolute best game we can.
World Map Evolution
So when will it be here? The million dollar question, we know. While we could throw out a date, we also realize that the multitudes of improvements Unity, Patrick and Moritz have brought to the project means the finish line is ultimately when the game is everything we dreamt it would be. Rather than give a date that could change down the line, we'd rather show you the game as it develops, keeping an eye on the next phase - our beta release - and then the full release after that.
And while Arcadian Atlas is still moving full-steam ahead, you can count on continued updates on the world, characters, systems, and classes as we draw closer to that beta phase.
Some of the things you can look forward to in the next phase of development:
New Animation Work
- Backer-specific content: Backer NPCs, items, troop naming, and quests as they come to life.
- Game content galore: as we finalize the systems feeding into the battle system, you'll begin to see even more maps, characters, intrigue, and spells flying around the world of Arcadia
- Behind the scenes: get a look at the tools we use to create the game world, and we're even constructing a lot of these systems with an eye to one day test and make them available to people outside our small team
We're so thrilled to have more time to spend with you. The suggestions, comments, and critiques we've gotten from the community have altered everything from the tools we're using to things as small as the font size in text boxes, and that's the beauty of funding through Kickstarter - you, the community, builds alongside us.
Speaking of which, the finalizing of our item shop and the soon-to-arrive tavern means we've got another Backer Reward coming up!
"Become an NPC" Backers, Start Your Engines
All you super backers at the Become an NPC level can look forward to an email in the next two weeks to help get the ball rolling on creating your very own NPC in the World of Arcadia!
Everything from facial scarring, clothing, to hair style are on the roster - so keep your eyes peeled for those emails and Backer Messages in your Kickstarter Backer Profiles!
Jamming Onward
In the next couple of months we'll be focused on a slew of new features, like integrated sound effects in cutscenes and fights, dynamic music transitions, finalizing our gorgeous shop and tavern interiors, new characters, animations, and enough content to shake a big stick at!
So see you soon, space cowboys - and here are some tunes to jam out to until then!
Grooving on the World Map:
[Link to the music :
https://d15chbti7ht62o.cloudfront.n...849778c99a74396d2f3ac3a8770416a7_mp3.mp3?2017]
Intertwining Fates:
[Link to the music :
https://d15chbti7ht62o.cloudfront.n...5e3fc2b50901ae06ac795e8ccb02a9b4_mp3.mp3?2017]
