Dev Blog Witchmarsh Daily Update #93

Discussion in 'Developer Updates' started by Flapdoddle, Nov 23, 2018.

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  1. Flapdoddle

    Flapdoddle Witchmarsh Developer

    Greetings investigators,

    More work on the animation code, as promised. To make it more interesting I exported a few GIFs.

    Today's (and yesterday's) progress:

    [​IMG]
    The Technician may now use the semi-automatic pistol.

    [​IMG]
    The PI may now use the sawn-off shotgun and revolver.

    [​IMG]
    The Moose may now use TNT (against our better judgement).

    Everything else:
    - Fixed an issue which was causing the Moose's legs to vanish.
    - Fixed an error where thrown knives weren't working for the Techy.
    - More level design!
    - (Joe) Work on the pre-game interface screens. Adding animations and assets.
     
      Last edited: Nov 24, 2018
    • BuddyJarrett

      BuddyJarrett Tentacle Wrangler

      Finally created an account to let you guys know how excited I am for this game. I appreciate the updates coming in, as this has been my most anticipated indie game for the past few years. I think you guys have something very special here. Keep up the good work and soldier on!
       
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      • Flapdoddle

        Flapdoddle Witchmarsh Developer

        Thanks so much! And welcome to the forums. :)
         
        • Tsuruda

          Tsuruda Title Not Found

          Always happy to see some of those. Especially if it implies weapon variety for our investigators :)


          Except this. This is an abomination (that I'd love to play with).


          And all of this seems very promising. Keep up the good work :)
           
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          • Flapdoddle

            Flapdoddle Witchmarsh Developer

            Fun trivia nugget: we played with the idea of a 'butterfingers' trait for the moose, which greatly increases the chance of critical failures when throwing things (like TNT .......), but decided against it!
             
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            • Flapdoddle

              Flapdoddle Witchmarsh Developer

              No dev blog today as we're all sick (flu season).

              I did have time to give the Bard the sawn-off shotgun, and test it against some beasties. Forgive the deluge of beach cave screenshots, but we're keeping the other new environments secret for the time being. Edit: Also forgot to turn the debugging off!

              (Pictured: Jumpin' Judge and Rick take on a giant crustacean.)
               

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                Last edited: Nov 28, 2018
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              • Captain Rage

                Captain Rage Phantasmal Quasar

                One question to the devs: would it help the development process if the backers started performing occult rituals? If yes, we got you covered. Just holler.


                PS.
                There is no such thing as too many pixel beach screenshots. Take back your apology or the high tides will take ya.

                PPS.
                Happy Wednesday!
                 
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                • Ratman3773

                  Ratman3773 Tentacle Wrangler

                  I'm excited for this game, but could you guys be a bit more clear about the release date? At this point, you're three years late for the Beta. Your official timeline on your website claims "2015: 340+ players test Witchmarsh and provide us with valuable feedback on the game's combat and controls." Frankly, I'm not entirely convinced that this even happened. "We currently have no official ETA for the game, but we're still hoping to deliver some news about the backer-only beta sometime before summer's end. As soon as we have a clear and definite release date in mind, you'll be the first to know. Sorry for the wait. We hope it'll be worth it." This was posted by the official Inglenook account on Kickstarter "over a year ago"(Which places it somewhere in 2017/2016), which contradicts that statement about a playtest. I have also never heard anyone else mention it, nor can I find anyone referencing it online, whether it be backers or Inglenook themselves apart from that one quote, so forgive me if I seem suspicious. After many missed deadlines and promises, I can't help but feel betrayed by Inglenook at this point, which is where my suspicions originate. You guys also have a habit of going silent for extended periods of time. For example, as I write this comment on December 11, this is the most recent update available about your progress, posted on November 23. I truly am very excited for this game, but I can't help but feel immense frustration with the devs. I'm very interested in these dev updates, but after all these years of waiting they simply aren't enough. I would think that after all these years in development that this game would be at least ready for a playable Alpha, so I am led to believe that either the dev team is incredibly incompetent or something else is going on behind closed doors. Despite all of this, I am still wanting to play this game, I am just fed up with reading this minor updates with no regards for a release date or even a Beta. I am not posting this comment to be malicious in any way, the last thing I want to do is make anyone feel bad, but I feel like this just had to be said. I frankly find this behavior to be unfair to the hundreds of people who backed this game, including me, as they are the ones supporting this project entirely.
                  Regards,
                  Ratman
                   
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                  • Flapdoddle

                    Flapdoddle Witchmarsh Developer

                    Hi Ratman,

                    Thanks for the message, I'll try to address all of your points. First off, we're sorry the game's taking so long to produce, and for the lack of clarity on our part. The reasons for this we've already covered in Kickstarter comments and updates, but really it boils down to one key thing: we grossly underestimated the scale of the project.

                    In regards to setting a release date: so far all of our predictions have proved overly optimistic. We've decided to just keep working, only setting a date when we're 100% sure we can deliver. I can assure you that every previous ETA, including the original Kickstarter release estimate of Q4 2015, were made in good faith.

                    The test referred to on the site is the combat and movement test that took place in 2015. It was sent out to backers who pledged above the £50 mark (from all sources), and it's still available to download via BackerKit. Though, the game has changed a lot since then, so we don't recommend it.

                    The one referred to on the BackerKit page, is the one we're still working on now. It's frustrating for everyone, and we understand, because we're frustrated too. We're losing sleep over this (Edit: At least I have been!), but we just keep pushing and trying to get it done.

                    There's also been a push to keep the community in the loop with this dev blog, and a Kickstarter update is long, long overdue. Just keep in mind that there's only 2-3 of us, and we're already stretched thin. We've made some good progress this year, though, and we're getting closer to dropping some big news, but past experience has taught us to be cautious. :)

                    One final note: you hit the nail on the head when you said that the backers are our key supporters. Without their support there would be no Witchmarsh.
                     
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                    • Yellow Herb

                      Yellow Herb Seal Broken

                      I just wanted to say, even though i know not everyone shares this view point, i am perfectly happy to wait,
                      I would be much happier to wait another three years for a quality game ill remember for years, rather than have you guys force yourselves into rushing out a flawed game that is forgotten about weeks later. (like many triple A developers do now)

                      Though it is on no scale at all similar i do work on narrative and module set pieces for D&D campaigns and i know first hand how easy it is to feel like something is just one week away from being finished only for it to end up taking me four months to get done right, so i can to a degree understand where you were coming from with your previous ETAs.

                      Again i just wanted to let you know that there are lots of us very happy to wait for you to make a wonderful game for us, we're just a lot more quiet than those few getting upset over missed ETAs.

                      We love you guys, keep it up! <3
                       
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                      • BuddyJarrett

                        BuddyJarrett Tentacle Wrangler

                        "I would be much happier to wait another three years"

                        Whoah-ho hold up there Yellow Herb, I think you're being a bit overly patient about this. Clearly you meant to say 2 years.
                         
                          Last edited: Dec 17, 2018
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                        • lordshowsure

                          lordshowsure Master Chief

                          Wish all the team very merry holidays and a happy new year.
                          Keep up the good work, I lurk all the time, it's the first time I write you guys, I love the work, I'm so impatient and cannot wait for this to come out.
                          Take your time
                          Make it perfect.
                          Good continuation, regards,
                          Thomas

                          shhh shhh let it be three years... four even *maddened look*
                          we can wait......

                          I'm kidding. I just want something that'll make me feel like Arcanum did.
                           
                            Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2019
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                          • BuddyJarrett

                            BuddyJarrett Tentacle Wrangler


                            Four Years?!

                            [​IMG]

                            [​IMG]
                             
                              Last edited: Dec 29, 2018
                            • Kensike

                              Kensike Void-Bound Voyager

                              Happy new years everyone (another frequent lurker here). I check out Lou and Flapdoodle's stuff almost weekly to see their updates. Still as interested in this game as I was the day it was backed. If you are still looking for a community manager, moderator, or Public Relations guy, I'm available.
                              Cheers.
                               
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                              • Flapdoddle

                                Flapdoddle Witchmarsh Developer

                                Thanks for the kind words, everyone! I'll pass them on to the other team members, who are currently on Christmas vacation.

                                Making a game isn't easy, but it helps to have support. :) I'm working on a pretty big Kickstarter update, which should hopefully open up a discussion about where we've fallen short, where we'll go from here, etc. Until then, happy new year!
                                 
                                  Last edited: Dec 31, 2018
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                                • Captain Rage

                                  Captain Rage Phantasmal Quasar

                                  Happy, happy new year! Wishing you all all the best!
                                   
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