Hello everyone! I've been meaning to write this dev diary for quite some time and finally I feel like there is enough news to write a blog post :) To give a quick summary at the beginning, the development of the game is going really great, but unfortunately I had to delay the demo for Steam Next Fest to February 2024. I've underestimated the amount of work needed to finish the core loop and the only reason for the delay is that I didn't have enough time to develop all the supporting features needed for the demo like the tutorial, audio, ui changes etc. On the good side, I did manage to finish the core loop which feels really fun so far (you'll be the judge of that of course)
So let's get into some details :) I've spent most time trying to rework the research tree. It's a big part of 2 problems Tavern Master had: 1) Every playthrough feels the same because research tree is the same 2) There is no bigger goal in the game except going day by day earning as much money as possible In order to improve that, I've replaced the research tree with a map of the kingdom where you're located. Since you're managing a blacksmith shop, you can influence events happening in the kingdom by providing weapons, tools, armor or something else. You can also help you kingdom expand either by force or diplomacy and in return receive certain benefits, bonuses, or materials. For example, a nearby mine could ask you for new pickaxes, and in return allow you to excavate ores there which unlocks copper ore for you. You will be progressing through the game by helping your kingdom basically :)

I've also streamlined the staff popup where you'll be able to drag&drop staff into certain roles. Each staff type will have different responsibilities, and you're job is to make sure the workshop is balanced. For example, a blacksmith can either craft items for racks, craft items for the kingdom map requests or work on designing new items. If you have too many blacksmiths designing, you'll be spending too much money on their salaries while racks will be empty and you won't be able to help your kingdom enough. On the other hand, if you're focusing just on production, but not on unlocking new items, you won't be able to fulfill certain requests.
There are some other not as important things finished: - I've reworked the whole AI system and with hundred of hours testing, I haven't had a single employee get stuck. I'll work hard on maintaining that quality until the game is released :) - Whole UI is getting reworked, you can already see parts of it in the screenshots - There will be at least 3 times more character animations than in Tavern Master - There are 8 different racks now which allows more customization Next steps are to polish and balance first 2-3 hours of the game and finish all necessary things for the demo that I mentioned. I'm taking a 2 month break from the development of Blacksmith Master so I can work on a really ambitious Tavern Master update which will release before the 2 year anniversary of the game (November 16th). That will also help me to be more critical and objective about the game when I get back to it, because I'll have 2 months to have my thoughts about the game settle :) Don't forget to join the Blacksmith Master Discord and please write feedback and thoughts in the comment! I'll respond to all of them. Sorry for delaying the demo, but I'd rather have something that I'm proud of in February than rush it for October and have lower quality feedback on the gameplay :)