Plans, commitments and estimates

Friends!

I can confirm now that 13 is a lucky number for the game, as it seems that I got fired and approached by a business partner on the same day - yes, things seem to be ramping up to another all-in crunch!:)

Among most recent areas of progress I can list the new Level Editor - which will be made public and ready for modding soon after EA:

... And some new combat-UI: (WIP)

... vs an old one here for comparison:

Now, as I said in the last ominous update, the plan is to go into Early Access this winter. So let's make a baseline reality check:

The EA version will be Act I (out of 5) of the campaign and have the following:

• 4-5 locations to make dungeon-runs into (each one will be randomized, but have a core quest)

• 20 playable Eidolon heroes (and of course custom-hero creation, but with a trick)

• A singular Boss-Dungeon

• 2 brutal Bosses - Soul Harvester and Storm Lord

• 8-15 hours of gameplay

• Beside the campaign, a Custom Dungeon mode with lots of templates and settings

The idea is, it's already an experience representative of the franchise, so I can let people buy it and not lose sleep over it ːsteamhappyː

Next - can we make it in time? Let's see:

Progress estimate for Eidolons

(relative to *EA* release, not full!)

• Gameplay mechanics: 80%

• Artwork: 50%

• Graphics systems: 60%

• Hero content: 60%

• Enemy/Level content: 30%

• Dialogue: 10%

• Audio: 40%

Long ways to go, but I feel confident that we can have a solid playable version and start iterating towards the ultimate goal! I also feel we’re close enough to release so I can make some concrete promises now. Let's get into it:

1. Eidolons will be a No-BS RPG

• Time is precious, and patience is scarce! To bring a great RPG experience in the modern way, one has to make sacrifices. Thus, E:NF will have no fetch quests, no junk loot, no forced dialogue, no grind or save/load chores and... no orkz! ːsteamsadː

1. Though hard, the game will be fair

• Unlike what our testers may think, I do not take pleasure in making the player suffer. Especially if it means resorting to grind! You will not be forced to play overcautiously, on the contrary - risk-taking and dogged perseverance are rewarded. The mantra is - dying is also moving forward!

3. Dark Fantasy genre, not vibe.

• Eidolons is “that dark” in its theme and presentation not to stand out or outdo some other dark game. The setting has evolved over nearly a decade and I have tried to never let the concept of ‘style’ of ‘fitting the trend’ drive the decisions I made.

  The death-centric focus of the story is not a glorification, but an exploration that I hope will be interesting to engage in. Expect to delve deep into realms psychological, spiritual and emotional.

1. Replayable - in the way you want to replay

• The campaign is shaping up to be very modular, so each Act will be accessible as a new game's starting point once you’ve unlocked it. I never understood games that did not do this, and as a result, had their bad-ass end-game packed into 1% of playtime (or people just resorting to YouTube to find out how else this could have ended...). So if you want to replay a certain part of E:NF, you will be able to do so, with some options for past-choice and hero-asset customization.

  On top that, we will have Custom Dungeon mode where you can create your perfect run and get to play a twisted version of it!

1. E:NF will not force its setting on you, if you’re in for the gameplay

• Though heavy on the story, it will not force it onto you. There will always be a ‘slaughterhouse-shortcut’ that you can take if you just enjoy killing more than plunges into lore and soul-digging the game's characters and protagonist.

1. E:NF will make the most of being Indie

• All in all, we're not smoothing out the hard edges. No political correctness, no sjw NPCs and no sj in general - it's medieval times, and it's not the point... Yes, this means we’re not likely to find a publisher (or are we?..), but you can’t have it all. And yes, the game is shaping up to be M or even AO rating. No explicit content of course, but no playing dumb either.

1. It will surprise you!

• That’s more of a personal ambition, I just like surprising people, but I hope that others will benefit from it as well (and maybe suffer just a little). Mostly it's about RPG-tropes turned upside down - questing, trading, crafting, hero-progression, party-adventure and more. If you think you know how those things work, think again! ːsteammockingː

That's all for now, thanks for reading! ...

Actually, no - while I am working on a comprehensive in-depth post about Eidolons key features, I invite you to ask away if you want anything cleared up - it’s much easier to answer concrete questions! It's the difference between a one-eyed dwarf trying to hit a zombie with a bolt, or taking an ax to 'em! ːsteamfacepalmː