Reki here as always. It's been a little while since the last progress report. I wanted to write another just so it doesn't look like I'm slacking off or have abandoned the game, so here goes. First, a reminder of why there are only written updates at this point instead of actual patches. With most of the content completed, release isn't too far off. During this time, I'm working at 200% to cram in every last bit of polish, last minute content, etc. to get the game done in time for the unannounced date I'd like to release on. I'll also need to work on a release trailer, as well as seeing if I can port the game to other operating systems. Lots to do, hence the decision to not update the game more till final release. Can't afford to worry about whether I've left in gamebreaking bugs in smaller patches at this stage, we'll do it all at once.

Content

The Monster Heart system is completed. There are over 50 hearts in the game, one for each ecosystem spawned enemy. With one trigger and one passive effect each, that's over a hundred unique effects to build your character with. Giving a sense of value and potential to the creatures of bsurf was a big goal, and I hope this system has achieved that. NPCs still have work to do. I'd like to go through and edit all of them. I've never written much dialogue, especially not with an unusual conversation system like bsurf has, so it definitely needs some touching up. If there's time, I'd like to add one or two more as well. I've added some more booby traps into the game. I actually created quite a few and tried placing them around, but I found that adding too many doesn't enhance the experience. It's cool to have a few danger zones full of them, but otherwise they just become a chore, and annoying. There's already plenty of gameplay created by the creatures of each area. When I'm done with everything else, I'll add as many random events as I can. I have a fat list of ones I wanna do, hopefully I can get to at least some of them.

Sound Effects

Sound effects are the biggest workload at the moment. All boss and creature sounds have been finished. Currently working on heart ability sounds. Once those are done, it'll be smooth sailing with only a few miscellaneous other things needing sound.

The End

The ending has been fully functional for a while, but I've recently decided to make the buildup more impactful. I moved the creatures from the final area into the rest of the world to make space for some more fitting challenges, which I'll be developing after sounds are done. After that comes NPCs, and after NPCs, hopefully, a little spare time to add more random events. Then I edit together the best trailer I've ever made, see if I can port to Mac and Linux (no promises), and release the game as finished. This will probably be the final bit of communication until I have a release date. Please look forward to final release. Once it's all done, I fully intend to write an agonizingly long post reflecting on the development of Blessed Surface, and looking towards the future. But until then, I'll keep working until bsurf is something I can be proud of.