Hey guys, Long time no see. We've been quiet the past month and there have been some concerns on the forums that the project is no longer on track and even a couple of questions that we may have given up on it. Well, I just wanted to quickly clarify that Frontier is far from over and the reason that we've been quiet is simply that there's sadly not a ton of news to share just yet. A ton of progress has been made but the vast majority of it is backend, meaning that even though countless hours have gone into the next update so far, most of it is code so you can't actually see what's changed in the game. And that would be pretty boring to share! I don't believe we ever actually told you about the team size, and in light of recent events now would be a good time to clear things up. BlazeMcNight has left the team, and it's important to note that he was our PR manager (which is also why the forums have been a lot less lively). As a result, because he wasn't a developer, the actual work rate has not decreased and the effective team size is the same. It simply didn't work out between us and we have gone our separate ways. Now we are left with only myself, Dazalius and Karsten. Frontier was built by the three of us since the beginning, with the exception of a couple of freelancers who were with us for a short while when we started the project (though their work has since been replaced by our own). The amount of work we have is no small task even for a well-staffed studio, which is the main reason things have been slow lately. So, what exactly has been done since last time? Well, while they're certainly nothing fancy, I went ahead and grabbed a couple of screenshots of the work-in-progress systems so you can see at least some of the progress. First up, this is the default male outfit. It still needs texturing but I created the models for ingame tests in the meantime. The female outfit will be pretty similar and you won't be able to change clothes until a couple more updates into the future, when we add in multiple clothing items. Better than running away from bears with no clothes on though, right?
I'm currently working through the 1st/3rd person system, which is being extremely awkward. Because of current project constraints, I am the only person who is able to work on the player update so in short I'm doing a job for several developers on my own, which is why it's taking so long. Right now I'm working upwards of 14 hours a day to get it done ASAP but there's still a long way to go. Please just know that we haven't abandoned the project in any way- in all honestly, it's an enormous task and these things take time but it will be worth it in the end.
I'm still considering various options for making it work better but on the whole the base is pretty solid. Once I've finished this, I'll integrate Daz and Karsten's work into the main project and 0.3.0 will finally be ready. The bad news is that right now, I really can't say how long it's going to take me because I keep running into issues and having to adapt to them, but fingers crossed it will be as painless as possible. Again, we haven't been active on the forums much lately but I'll do my best to answer your questions. We all want to personally thank everyone who has stuck with us through development. It sure is a shaky bridge but we will continue to do everything we can to get this out to you guys in good time. Thanks again!

[ 2016-07-02 11:00:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Wild West...

The turning point of all Western civilisation, the dawn of an era- for the first time in decades people could leave their hard lives all over the world with the hopes of becoming rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Do you want to make money out of the gold rush? Or do you have other plans in mind? No matter! Whatever you want to do, you will be able to do in Frontier! Currently in Early Access, we have huge plans for development and a dedicated team who is ready to bring you a steady stream of updates so you're always finding new features to discover. With everything from tobacco farming and cigarette rolling to crime fighting and destroying evidence in the works, we are working towards creating the most diverse simulation of the frontier movement ever imagined for gamers to experience!

But what's it all about?

Frontier is whatever you want it to be. The current version already brings you a robust building system, resource gathering, stunning graphics with PBR textures, a huge map (which is tiny in comparison to the final world we're constructing), 6 types of animal to hunt, alcohol to keep you entertained on your travels, wild hallucinogenic plants to harvest and consume, a butchery system so you can skin dead animals, plus a beautiful and dynamic weather simulation.

But this is only the beginning.

Frontier is in it's infancy. Over the next few months, the game will grow to include countless new features, including intelligent NPCs to populate your cities, a detailed economic simulation, and an enormous and lore-rich environment, just to name a tiny amount of what we have planned.

Our designs revolve around player freedom. We want to put the world in your hands, giving you complete control over how you live your life in the Wild West. Create settlements and manage your people, become a cattle baron and make your fortune, compete in drinking contests in one of your own saloons, trade goods, fight outlaws, rob banks and engage in the hundreds of activities we have planned!

Upcoming Features

You're probably wondering exactly what we have in store for you. Well look no further, here is a brief summary of some of our more unique future updates. THis list is not comprehensive, and is subject to change (with the guidance of the Steam community, although we fully intend to include everything on this list);

• NPCs- A wide range of intelligent characters to settle your towns, spend money in your shops and interact with you throughout the world
• An authentic arsenal stocked with period-correct weaponry, carrying everything from Winchesters to Gatling guns
• Many more blocks for our building system, allowing you to create expensive, upscale mansions and cozy campsites
• Enormous, lore-rich map system for you to explore, with different areas bringing their own environments and wildlife
• Diverse activities system, bringing you everything from drinking contests and shooting challenges to bar brawls and bounty hunting
• Indepth "Vice" System- New drugs to harvest and create, illegal activities to take part in for quick cash, and even poker tournaments

Community Involvement

Community involvement is going to be key to the development of Frontier. We want to know exactly what you like and don't like, and exactly what you want to see brought to the game in future updates. The team will be talking to players to hear their opinions and suggestions, and we openly welcome you to come and talk to us on the discussions forums or in our official Steam group.

The Team

Here at Lacuna we are dedicated to our work. We've been through a lot to make it onto Steam, with countless hours of work going into the very first version of Frontier. We are all super excited about the future of the game, and can't wait to get to work bringing our plans to life with the help of the community! We're the fine folks you'll meet around Steam, and we're always more than happy to have a chat with you about Frontier. Don't forget to come and say hi on the discussions forums!

• Joshua McAnaney, CEO- Josh started Frontier in late 2014 as a game concept which blended huge open-world titles like Skyrim into a completely player-driven dynamic. He has coordinated the team ever since, while coding many systems and working on different aspects of development, but none of it would have been possible without the amazing developers we have at Lacuna!
• Cody Jorgensen, Lead Programmer- Cody joined Lacuna way back in early 2015 as a 3D modeller, designing all of our building system objects. Building on his long time interest in coding, he learned our development API within a matter of weeks and has since personally designed the most complex systems in the game from scratch.
• Karsten Sperling, Lead Artist- Karsten is one of the most talented artists we've ever met and is behind the beautiful PBR textures you can find throughout Frontier, and our stunning first map. With huge plans for the future gameworld, Karsten is the guy who will be creating the terrain you'll be playing on.
• Steve Harbin, PR Manager- Steve is the man with the words! He handles all of our press releases, media communication, and all the important legal documents the rest of us are too scared to handle. He's been with us since the very beginning, starting out as a programmer, before moving into a management role to ensure that everything runs smoothly!
• Gabriel Lavoyer, Lead Design Artist- Gabriel is the newest member of the team and is the creative brains behind all of our amazing artwork! We are looking forward to seeing his future work!