What's Next (Build 2)

Hi!

I decided that now is a good time to talk about upcoming content and what’s next for Road to Vostok.

I have already discussed these topics in various places, but there hasn't been a single curated place for this information, so this post is going to be exactly that.

Next Steps

It has been a little over two weeks since the Early Access launch. So far, I have implemented one patch focusing on stability, but there are still multiple issues that need to be addressed before I can start working on the next major builds on the roadmap.

In a perfect scenario, I will release one more patch within a 2-3 weeks. This patch will include "missing content" that I didn’t manage to finish for the launch build, multiple bug fixes and specific stability improvements, since the last patch took "two steps forward, one step back" for certain hardware setups.

Once this second patch is live and if there are no major issues, I will be also taking that much needed development break. When it comes to this personal break, the goal is that I will return at the end of May. At that point, I can start making major moves with the project once Steam processes the April sales payments.

However before my break, I will initiate several development tasks that will be outsourced to contractors. This means that I will make sure the project keeps steaming forward even while I am away from my computer in early-to-mid May. These contractor tasks are linked to the game roadmap (available in the main menu / website) and a massive amount of work will be done in the upcoming months to make sure the roadmap stays on track.

Speaking of that roadmap, let’s dive into that next.

Roadmap & Resources

Road to Vostok has currently sold over 250,000 copies on Steam. In practice, this means the Early Access launch has secured the financial resources for the entire development roadmap.

With these resources, I can keep the project fully independent without external funding and implement a lot of content that previously was at "I'm not sure I can afford this" status.

How these financial resources are going to be spent? I'm approaching this with three "resource buckets":

• Game Content (~85%)

• Brand Building (~10%)

• R&D / Investing (~5%)

Upcoming game content is obviously the most important category and the one most people are probably interested in. These percentages also represent the rough distribution of funds for each bucket. Even though I don’t consider myself a financial expert by any means, I believe I still have a healthy understanding of how to allocate these resources so that I don't "bite off more than I can chew".

Next, let’s focus on the first major target for these resources called Build 2.

Build 2: Nomads

Estimated Release: Q3 / 2026

Key Topic: AI / Factions

Build 2 is all about the AI and making the world feel like it doesn’t care about you. The goal is to create a feeling that you are just a random trespasser in a scenario that is beyond your control. Currently the game feels like you are the main character who just gathers loot and shoots AI, this will drastically change in Build 2.

The main addition will be a faction called Nomads. This is a friendly faction by default that roams the game world independently.

What this means in practice:

• When you start a new game, you might see a group of Nomads sitting near your cabin campfire.

• These Nomads might be frying sausages, talking