Development Update - An Apology (Sort Of)

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Development Update - An Apology (Sort Of)

Unread post by Gobberwart » Mon May 25, 2009 6:57 pm

Hi All,

Lately, I'm sure everyone's become aware that the development of Paradox appears to have stalled somewhat, and I wanted to communicate with you all the reasons behind the apparent delay and reassure all players that... well, it won't be continuing much longer.

As you are probably aware, the people involved in development of the game (aka "The Devs") are not paid employees of a games development company. We're just half a dozen people who share similar interests and have a desire to create a playable, fun, free game. We still share that desire and we are still working towards that goal, however we all also have personal lives (with their attendant trials and challenges) and most of us have full-time jobs that limit the amount of time we have available to work on the game. Additionally, we're located in different parts of the world (ElljaeT and I are in Australia, Grokly, art_bohemia and DrWolf are in Central USA and soaK is in Europe) so the time we have where we're all available and awake together is... well, let me just say it's a challenge we're trying to overcome.

You may have noticed that there have been a number of updates recently related to things that aren't content-related, and wondering why I'm working on those instead of content. There are a couple of reasons for that. One, I'm a code-monkey, not a content writer. Which isn't to say that I don't dabble in content-writing, but it's not my forte. Two, I have a to-do list consisting of 115 code-related things that need to be completed before we release version 0.4. Any attempt I make to write content ends up with me worrying about the size of my to-do list, which, given reason one, doesn't make me productive. Therefore, my goal right now is to work through that list and get version 0.4 rolled out, and then to help the content guys and girls as much as I possibly can. On the plus side, I've just knocked off another four things from that list, and am down to just 20 outstanding tasks. Many of these are minor, and some might just get bumped back to version 0.5 so I can move on.

So, what about the content then? That's not a short answer, however it's basically like this. In order for the game storyline to continue to the point where the current final quest becomes about the seventh/eighth quest of the 30+ we have in mind, there are some MAJOR issues to be dealt with. Certain quests that MUST appear very early on in the piece can't be done without several major mechanics being implemented (think classes, skills and familiars). Having said that, though, I've been letting that get in the way of rolling out new zones, items and awards which... well, it's not smart and I take full responsibility for that.

The fact is, there are 7 or 8 zones, along with items, recipes, awards and other cool stuff that we currently have at least some work completed on, and the goal of the content team right now is to get these implemented for you as quickly as possible, without stressing too much about connecting them all together via quests and storyline. Adding the storyline aspects should then be able to continue MUCH more easily and quickly as the zones the story uses will already be in place and the items/encounters we need can easily be added or edited when needed.

In addition, over the past couple of weeks, a couple of players (whose names I won't mention yet) have put forward some work that is extremely promising, and should very much help us get this work done.

Anyway, the short of it is that we ARE actively working on stuff that will make the game a LOT better/bigger and we WILL try and get it done as soon as possible. When you finally do see some action, content-wise, you're likely to see a LOT of it in a hurry, and I promise you won't be disappointed. Or at least, I promise to listen to you if you are.

In the meantime, all I can ask is that you continue to support Paradox in any way you can, whether it be through simply playing the game, chatting, getting involved in the community, helping with the wiki, posting your referral links around the interwebs, whatever. If you want to take a more active part in the game's development (content, code, html, graphics, whatever) then please feel free to contact me or any other member of the dev team to talk about it.

That's it for now. Let me finish by saying that you are all amazing people in your own way, and regardless of any of the above, it is a privilege and an honour to have met you all.

Regards,
Gobb
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Re: Development Update - An Apology (Sort Of)

Unread post by Gobberwart » Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:06 pm

Time for an update!

Since I posted this, the dev team has made a massive push to get stuff happening. I'm well aware that the work that's been going on isn't yet visible, but believe me when I say there's been a lot going on. Here's a brief summary:

1. I've managed to get my to-do list down to 9 code/mechanics tasks, none of which are particularly important. They are going to be pushed back to a later release and I'm now officially declaring version 0.4 of the game completed. Woo.

2. Over the past few days, I've been working on a number of new mechanics that will be required to support the next batch of content. I'm not going to spoil anything but suffice it to say there've been several changes under the hood that will let us create some fun new mechanics.

3. There are now 5 zones actively being worked on simultaenously. One of those zones is textually complete and the artistic types have started working on the graphics. That single zone contains 10 new encounters and 21 new items along with some effects and awards. There are further two zones around the same size that are about 3/4 of the way to being textually complete, and a further two close to 1/2 way there. There are also a further few zones that will be worked on once these are done. Provided there are no major issues, the first zone should be rolling out before the end of the month, with the others rolling out every 2-3 weeks thereafter.

4. A few people have asked when the next LE item is coming out. To be honest, I've been holding off on those, because I feel a bit rude putting out donation items without putting out free stuff (for obvious reasons). That said, there will be a new LE item coming out within the next few days for those who want them.

So there you have it. That's where we're at and we're certainly not resting on our laurels (or our orchids, alders, holly or a variety of other dioecious plant-life).

Will keep you posted!

Cheers,
Gobb
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Re: Development Update - An Apology (Sort Of)

Unread post by Gobberwart » Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:57 am

Quick Update: The first of the new zones is being tested on the dev server and should be coming out in the next few days (assuming no major dramas with the testing). The second zone isn't far behind it.
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Re: Development Update - An Apology (Sort Of)

Unread post by Gobberwart » Mon Jul 27, 2009 3:13 pm

It's been 4 weeks since my last confe... update, so I thought it was time for another.

Where are we now? Well, as promised, two new zones (Long Wood & DQS Kitchens) have rolled out in the past month, along with a massive stack of new recipes, a new Limited Edition Item and... well, something else that nobody's found yet. I won't spoil the surprise.

Additionally, the entire game has undergone a pretty significant rewrite to check for/prevent various security problems. Yes, I know this is very very boring to most of you, but very very VERY necessary to protect all your lovely data. Mmmm, data.

There are a further 3 zones that are being actively worked on, and a few more still in the planning/design/pondering stage. We HOPE to be able to roll out a new zone every 2-3 weeks, but there are a number of non-Paradox-related factors that might affect this. We'll keep you informed.

Some of you may be saying stuff like "Well, these new zones and stuff are all well and good, but what's the point? I mean, are we supposed to just collect stuff and keep doing those silly 2-quest resets or what?"

It's a fair question, and I'll try to answer it, briefly if possible (although you all know by now how much I suck at being brief).

We do, in fact, have a vision for where the game is going. Some aspects are still shaky, but there's enough to make a "proper" game in there. We expect that, when we hit Beta, there will be no less than 15 storyline (required) quests, a handful of optional quests, and some kind of point to what is, currently, a tedious grind. We know, and we're working on it.

Over the past year or so, what we discovered is that we kept getting stuck by the sheer volume of stuff that needs to be done to make this happen. We'd get so far down the mechanics path, then realise we needed a bunch of zones for the mechanics to work, so we'd get sidetracked, then we'd remember the mechanics and get sidetracked again, and just end up going around in circles, with nothing of any significance ACTUALLY getting done. We generated a TON of words, but not much actual stuff. Sigh. It's been a huge learning experience throughout.

Anyway, to break this cycle, we made a decision to implement a number of zones that we knew would be required and/or useful moving forward, and we're currently getting this done. When we get to the point of implementing more quests, we will be able to use the existing zones as an environment in which these quests can take place. I'll leave it up to you to speculate as to exactly HOW these zones might be used :)

In addition to new zones and quests, there are a few significant mechanical aspects to gameplay that will be addressed before we hit Beta as follows:

1. Character Classes.

Yes, we DO in fact plan to have some kind of class system, though exactly HOW the class system will work is still being discussed. At length. By the pixies inside my head... and the devs. We're still debating whether we want to have a "traditional" class system, where the player's chosen class dictates what is available to the player, or a "pseudoclass" system, where the player's actions, choices and so on determine the player's effective "class". The former is much much simpler. The latter is hideously complex to do properly, but much more flexible. More on that elsewhere.

2. Skills.

As with any other RPG, players will be able to learn/buy/acquire skills, and the goal is to implement a large range of skills which will affect gameplay in myriad different ways. The skill system is closely tied to the class system, so we need to make a decision regarding that first.

3. Familiars.

People have been asking about this for a while, and the answer is that yes, we do plan on having some kind of familiar. We actually know where we're headed with the familiar system, but a girl needs to have some secrets. So do I for that matter.


The next obvious question is "So, when's Beta?" The short answer is... I don't know. As mentioned in numerous places, we don't have the luxury of being full-time game developers. We all have jobs and lives outside of Paradox, and all the various issues that go along with them. As a result, the amount of time we can actually spend on the game is limited and can vary wildly (and unpredictably) from one day to the next.

Personally, I'd LIKE to reach Beta within six months, and plan to do whatever I can reasonably do to achieve that. Please, don't take it as gospel because... well, as much as I'd LIKE that to happen, it's out of my power to control all the factors that could possibly prevent it. I can't work miracles and I'm afraid it's not worth making myself (or any of the rest of the team) sick over.


Yeah, so much for brief. Anyway, I hope all that information is useful to somebody. Feel free to speculate, post feedback and/or comment in the appropriate places.

Cheers,
Gobb
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