We're halfway through 2022 and beginning to pick up speed with our development roadmap for Skyclimbers.
The first priority after releasing the Alpha was stability, cross platform hardware support, and quality of life updates. These updates made-up releases 1.0.1 to 1.0.7 which were all considered minor patches. Version 1.0.8 is our first major content update.
1.0.8 will introduce our first new set of features based on the player cooking system.
This ranges from new spawned resources in the world algorithm for each biome, to a new set of player inputs when using a cooking station. In addition to adding new content, this update will introduce a fundamental overhaul to performance at the world generation level that should provide significant frame rate boosts across the board.
Lastly, we have implemented new quality of life enhancements such as a task list quest system, renewed UI popups, and improved resource depletion. After this release, we can focus more on adding new content such as Sentius, classes, and the remaining input mode for city management.
Looking forward into the second half of the year, we will return to the more frequent minor patch schedule along with monthly major updates.
Leading up to our major annual event Skycon and Steam Next Fest, the team will be working hard to add as much content as possible while also maintaining the performance and cross platform stability that has been achieved.
As a brief overview, Q3 will aim to extend biome generation to add robust cities, many new Sentius, AI villagers, and another iteration of our UI and player management systems.
Q4 will introduce character creation systems, along with more robust character progression and class systems.
The Drakonian Dynasty will remain the sole focus on the player side of 2022, so that we can fully realize the Dynasty architecture, biomes, Sentius, classes, and soundscapes that make each continent feel distinct. In the background, our concept and design department will continue to work on the Foryoku and Rokkuhito Dynasties so that we can quickly switch over to those content pipelines next year.
In addition to making sure the game is performant and full of content, we have many platforms to consider for porting such as Stadia, Switch, and next gen consoles.
Our first priority beyond the PC Steam ecosystem is the Steam Deck, followed by Google Stadia, Switch, and Xbox. You can expect to hear more detailed information about dedicated Alpha clients for those platforms later this year. PlayStation, Mobile, and Linux / Mac OS platforms will receive greater attention in 2023.
At a high level, our goal for 2022 is to complete the fundamentals of single player within the Drakonian Dynasty, and pilot our first Alpha programs on new platforms. This will lay an invaluable foundation for what is to come next year.
Looking beyond 2022 into 2023, our focus will shift as we translate all of the mechanics and features from Drakonia to Yukos and Rokkuton while also ramping up our marketing efforts leading to the Early Access release. In addition to adding new Dynasty content, we plan to begin the rollout of multiplayer features starting with basic p2p co-op and eventually dedicated servers / community hosted server support.
None of this would be possible without our crowdfunding supporters and Alpha testers, to which we say thank you for the continued feedback and support.
See you all in game, and have a great 2022!
