Pit Raiders Devlog: Breaking New Glass (AND OTHER NEWS) (Patreon)

Key Points for the TLDR Folks:
-Still planning a release for around Dec 22nd.
-Potion system is getting rehauled to be more fun and streamlined.
-Other projects are leeching a bit of time.

General Updates

Pit Raiders production is generally going well. I've got a lot of motivation and chiseling away at the product. I've taken a small step back to focus on organizational tools and version control, which has been very successful to keep the scope creep back.

In terms of game scope, we're now in a position to start looking into a strict roadmap, likely at the start of the year. There will be a few less commission slots this month to make time for a release before the holidays.

I'm currently collaborating on a secret project with another artist, and I'm working on a small idle game on the side to practice. There's currently not enough financial security in Zyarts (my business) to focus entirely on game development, so it's a hope that smaller projects will drum up interest and satisfy those of you that want releases with more promiscuous content.

Potions
Potions just didn't feel right. We want them to feel more useful and involve some more narrative elements as well as being more fun to use, so we've decided to focus on a more streamlined approach. We think this change will be helpful, since we can sneak all sorts of fun little things into the potion crafting system.

The goal is to make potions feel more like specialized tools for unique situations. They should be precious, but not arduous or stressful to use properly. Early on I'd like them to basically be a get-out-of-a-bad-situation freebie card, but as the game goes on their usefulness should shift toward accommodating for a blind spot in a build.


Party Members

The other area of the game that has had a lot of work is the Party system. They just need some individuation and balancing, as well as some art assets. And plenty of bug testing. Attached to this is more rigorous systems for equipment and status effects. We'll see how it feels when it's all played out.

Thanks for the support, folks. I am not sure how many of you actually care about my game projects at this time, but it's something I personally really like doing. I hope as I keep getting better at programming, design, and art you'll follow me for the ride.
-Zyyphelze