So much has happened since the last update, both personally and in Iras development.

I created a post awhile back detailing the passing of my Grandfather (Patrick Morningstar) who is one of the inspirations for Ira, and the Morningstar family (in game). Im sad to say that my Grandmother has now passed as well. She lived 96 years and was sharp as a tack to the very end. Ethelyn and Patrick were married almost 80 years. They experienced so much together and saw the world slowly change before their eyes. The homestead is based on the home they lived in throughout their entire married life together. Patrick built the house from the ground up starting with just the basement, and building it up level by level over the years. He would always share stories about how it was built. One story I will always remember is how the main cross beam of the house was put into place. When it came time to build the first floor Patrick did all he could to be thrifty as they had a small budget to work with. The day Patrick needed the main beam set for the house he went down to the local pub, and offered free beer to anyone that would help him host the steel crossbeam into place. In about 5 minutes time Patrick had the whole bar following him back to the homestead. In no time they had the beam hoisted above their heads and dropped into place. They spent the rest of the evening drinking and celebrating the laying of the beam. The beam which would support their home for the rest of their lives. Its stories like this that exemplify the best of human nature and our drive to prosper (regardless of odds) that inspire much of my work and development today. I miss them both, and will do my best to honor their legacy. The picture on the projector below is of Patrick and Ethelyn on their front porch.

Development news

Scene conversions/updated levels are coming along well. The Homestead has come such a long way. Remember this old living room scene?

Well it now looks like this!

Still needs some fine tuning but it's just about 100% complete and ready for the final game. The house has been expanded and is now fully explorable. Youll find lots of interesting story elements and world building throughout the house. Maybe even a few of Patricks stories here and there. You might even notice some call backs to the original prologue / demo released back in the day.

Overall visual quality

At this point Ive decided that (besides some fine tuning) Iras visuals are complete. Ive come to the conclusion that any more large tweaks would just give diminishing returns at this point. In my heart I feel like there is always more that could be done, but, after the MegaGrant updates its time to let things settle as they are. Overall Im happy with what I've created, and Im content to have reached the end to this area of production.

Web page

If you noticed Iras web page being down thats because the web page had been hacked, and I lost years of web work including the backup copy on the server! This was extremely disappointing but the silver lining is Im currently rebuilding the web page with final Ira content where theres a lot more fleshed out info about the final game, dev blogs, and press kit, and trailer!

Music/sounds

Ive brought on another composer / sound designer / audio implementer to do the finishing work on Ira. Tim not only does composition work, but he also does sound implementation in Unreal which will take a heavy load off my shoulders. Between Davide's and Tim's work, Ira will get finished with high quality audio implementation / composition. You can find more of Tim and his work here.

Time table for completion

Play testing of the revamped game has begun and will continue to expand leading up to the end of the year with the goal of being completed before 2020 is out. I had some set backs with Covid this year but I feel like everything is back on track, and not too much time was lost! I also had a Coivd antibodies test done, and I in fact did have Covid 19. Apparently, I still carrier the antibodies. It's a strange time we are living though people! Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well. Stay safe out their folks! -Zachary

[ 2020-08-04 18:23:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

A child reaches for the stars, burdened by circumstance. Folks chained by debt, indentured to the powers at large. Mankind thrust to the stars following after a signal spanning the void of space and time itself. Take a seat and settle into the universe of Ira where the space age coincides with the 1930's depression era.