Alpha v2 Dev Cycle Plan
Judge Heath here, with a little bit about what the future holds for Cloud Meadow.
So here we want to describe our plans going forward for development of the game in the upcoming months and year. Alpha v2 is where things should really start kicking off, and like Alpha v1, it's broken up into 4 stages. These are currently in reorganization based on priorities and where we though we would be before now. Firstly, I'm prefacing this with the fact that we will be switching the tiers for 2nd programmer and 2nd animator, as we feel our pace in programming is far behind where we want it to be, far more so, at least, than Animation is.
The first stage of Alpha v2 development (Alpha v2.01) is going to be about getting the level up system, the dungeons, and the story modes all up and running. We want to get the interactions between characters running, the main plot on the move, and all that good stuff. It'll involve allowing character advancement, as well as capturing monsters, bootstrapping the economy, and other nice things like that.
Next up (Alpha v2.02) is the farming upgrade system. This'll finalize all the stuff in terms of how the farms function, the day/night cycle, the seasons, the building of structures and similar. Once this is done, all the necessary mechanical features will be in the game as far as we're concerned, and the rest is about building on existing systems.
Alpha v2.03 should be the shortest segment, as it involves introducing the cooking system and the foundation of any future crafting systems we want to implement.
Alpha v2.04 is when things heat up, with random events outside of dungeons, seasonal, timed, events, and things such as that. This will round out the last of the story stuff we want to implement.
We're also reevaluating our time line, and trying to decide if we should cut features entirely, greatly reducing the content of the game, or if we should put up a vote to our patrons for extending our timeline beyond the original 2 years (at most, 2.5 years) we stated we wished to do. It's not something we're taking lightly in asking about, and even the decision, one way or another, is going to be left up until we've hit our current halfway mark, thus upcoming August.
As always, we thank you for your support and patronage, and hope this gives you some idea of what we intend to be doing with the game when we hit Alpha v2.
Comments (18)
If it would work out, you could semi-remove the features you're thinking of dropping until you get everything else finished and then add them in at the end. That way, if you do have to go past your time limit then you can do so knowing that the game is otherwise complete, and if complication arise you can still release the slimmer game on time (or at least closer than if you had to work through those complications before reaching your final goal).
I think extending the timeline is the best option.
Exciting stuff all around! My vote would always be on the side of "add more stuff in a longer development cycle rather than cut it entirely," personally.
Awesome!
An extension would be best. As long as you have a reasonable projected end date I don't see any reason not to extend it.
WE SHALL USE THE DWARF FOTRESS TIMELINE THEN! FIFTY YEARS! *insert maniacal laughter and mustache twirling here* ~JH
2.5 years it's fine for a game don't rush it
I was hooked on your project since it started at the very beginning, however, because of having a roommate and not being able to really have much privacy, I happened to not have tested the game since like October (Still supported you guys though! Not about to stop :D ) And yesterday I checked the recent version. I have to say, I'm really positively surprised on how much you guys have managed to put out in such a short time! There is like, what, one programmer, the main artist, and one animator in your team? (And of course JH!) I think the project is going in a very good direction, and I just hope you will be able to get more patrons to support you, so your team can expand. Anyways, my point is: I think you guys should extend the project to 2,5 or even 3 years, rather than cutting content. Because cutting content will, yet again, make people compare you to Breeding Season, and besides I don't think anyone will really mind if after 2 years you will still be creating more stuff and adding it to the game :)
We'll definitely keep this in consideration. Also wounded I have been forgotten *dramatic pose*. I kid of course, I'm pretty low key. :P
I know I gave you guys at team nimbus a lot of hell ,when i first joined , because the way the game moved and there wasn't much to it etc , and party cause i was still upset over the whole breeding season mess , But you have come a long way in a short time , Take your time get the bugs worked out once the economy is in place and the game becomes more playable , do what you need to to turn out a Quality product you can all be proud of . you are doing great work , i look forward to seeing how it advances . PS sorry if i was a jerk before :P
You are forgiven :P Having harsh criticism can sometimes help. Can't always hear the good, now can we?
I think extending the project is better than reducing it in scope any further than you likely already have.
I totally agree ,once the basic functions are in place to make it a playable game , there is no reason to rush the outcome .
so by may -june we should have an idea of how the economy is going to work buy selling etc ?
Yes
the look of it , i guess you can see when its flowered out , other than that ...eh
I actually have a question. Is there any other way to tell if a plant is ripe or not beyond the key at the bottom right for actions?
It'll be fruiting. Each plant goes through various stages. The fruiting stage happens right before the dead stage.