DEVELOPMENT UPDATE 07.22.24 [previewyoutube=__VAs5wq0sY;full][/previewyoutube] Hello, my name is Collin Hansard, sole developer for the game 'CYCO' We have decided to do weekly updates every Monday for the time being, we chose this day of the week because people seem to dread Mondays, the hope is that these updates could be something to add to the day and it less bad in some way. First I'd like to start this update by disclosing some of the projects history and future goals. One of the biggest challenges we face is getting updates out in a short period of time, we built this new engine to be extremely small, efficient and scalable, meaning we can make huge changes and additions on the fly with minimal interference from previous work. The target is to get these content updates out every three months, I think we can reach that goal if we abide by our pre-planning. While it's not guaranteed we release on target, it is critical that we make these release windows as we have alot we want to show. Going back to Shadowboxing, I have many ideas for minor additions that would have great impact to guiding new players into becoming familiar the games mechanics such as additional cinematics and AI behaviors that display what the player is supposed to do to pass the tests of the level. However I must disclose, one of the core philosophies behind Shadowboxing is to show not tell, we completely refrain from and language written or spoken, so we are somewhat limited on how I can approach this as I refuse to break this principle, I'll try to get these changes out soon as well as some minor additions and some fixes for bugs I've noticed in the current build. As for 'The Rock', we are mostly focusing on asset creation and content density for this content cycle, while there will still be some additional mechanics and systems we will be including, we are trying to leverage on what is already currently established, and in fact, we will likely be focusing on making the code-base even leaner and cleaner, as it is a bit too 'dirty' for my liking, despite it being relatively clean and concise. As of today we have the first area and world space (sky/lighting/distant geometry/color direction) completed, the intro cinematic are completed, as well all 10 of the new character types completed (minus animations). Some features that will debut in 'The Rock' are actually already in the current game build that are simply not accessible. While many assets and mechanics for the update are completed, the truly hard part is to make sure these elements have impact, and that is what threatens us making our release target, sometimes concepts fall apart in practice, and great ideas appear in the final hour. For 'The Rock' we are implementing a new style of development, instead of working on the map all at the same time, we are isolating each part of the map and getting them to 100% before moving onto the next area, so far it seems to be working out well, and we will try to leverage this new way of doing things to great effect. We are taking a couple risks for this content cycle, but risk is nothing new to us, we take action and bear the consequences and never apologize for things we intend: We will always be true to what the game needs to be, at cost. One last note on The Rock, while the last content cycle did not have any language what-so-ever, The Rock will feature dialog, however we are going to evolve the motif and treat the dialog as a way to teach the player the language the game is being played in as if they where a baby with no prior knowledge on how to speak, it is a major goal is to have players to understand what is happening with the overall plot and major themes even if they have the game on mute, and vise-versa with no video and audio only. It would be cool if we could have CYCO be a tool to learning new languages by playing them with different localization, so far the game will be in English only, but we intend to expand the localization as the opportunities arise. I've read y'all's comments and greatly appreciate your interest and enthusiasm, the best is yet to come. We have something major to disclose for next weeks update so keep an eye out. -Collin Hansard