Next week's Beta. (Patreon)
Content
In next week's update, we will be sharing the last "Closed" Beta of Peace Island for PC - Mac build soon to follow.
Since the previous beta, we have been able to address over 76 issues & omissions. Some were no-brainers that made me SERIOUSLY embarassed for having missed them:
- Some foliage tended to disappear when seen against the skybox.
- There was no "Splash" sound if a cat fell into the ocean.
- The sovereign micronation of "Yunaland" had not been added.
- The interior architecture of the Mayor's house did not match the exterior.
- A stream and an entire lake missing
- USGS Markers had not been placed.
Other issues were far more wide-ranging - such as the lack of rain we mentioned in our previous update. All told, the list of items required for a successful public Beta has grown to 110 items, but there are only about 23 items remaining to be addressed, with 12 currently in-progress.
One of the biggest "Wins" we've been able to accomplish, is bringing the Island's market tri count down from 15 Million tris, to 1.6 million overall. This means that we can finally bring this "fun mine" back.
This Beta will be a HUGE step beyond the "Minimum Viable Product" version that we released three weeks ago. Aside from the above fixes, we will have included SO MUCH:
- 3 more NPC species & associated missions.
- UI/mission improvements.
- 10 total interiors.
- More readable books.
- A podcast and 2 audio books.
- TONS of fixes to the controller, environment, and systems.
After this final closed beta release, technical issues will take a back seat as we focus on adding STORY CONTENT and CONTRIBUTOR IN-GAME NAME MENTIONS.
In reference to story content: While currently there are hints of the greater story (such as the EWS message on televisions) all dialogue & missions are "placeholders" that were put in place to ensure that the systems work, as intended.
In reference to in-game name mentions: Those who have contributed $100 total or above to the project get their names mentioned in the game - and as we have mentioned before, we're not content to just put contributors' names on a list on a dimly-lit wall.
We gave our contributors over 100 ways in which their names could be weaved into the story of Peace Island - be they former Mayors, the brand name of a product, the name of another island in Prentiss Bay, a grafitti tag, or a name on a piece of incorrectly-delivered junk mail.
As of October 18th, both of the above become our #1 concern. The Peace Island executable will begin transforming from a collection of systems working in-tandem, into a STORY.
And it's a story - we hope - unlike any you have ever experienced - Thank you - EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU - for helping us tell it.
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!