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We've made quite a bit of progress over the summer, so I thought it appropriate to give yet another of our legendary Status Updates. In my Last Report I talked about the drudgery of the mid-game work. The endless Scene building, the continued programming. And it's true, for the most part we're gotten to a point where the REALLY exciting decisions have been made. We're trying to get things done. But we decided to spice things up a bit, as we've had some extra energy for the summer. I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Misc Site StuffOne thing you might notice is that we’ve updated our FAQ. the New version has changed almost every section, filling out more detail on our motives, our choices, and who is doing what. Hopefully, by reading it, you can have a better idea of why we’re doing this crazy thing.
ProgrammingThe other great thing the new FAQ does is introduce SLAGE, our new, developed in-house, 2D Adventure Engine. As we’ve been progressing with SQ7, we’ve constantly been trying to push the boundaries, to do things that haven’t been done before in an adventure game. Time after Time, we ran into difficulties with AGAST. AGAST is a fine engine, but it simply could not support the features we need. As we mentioned in the last status update, we had already been coding to try to work around it’s limitations.The solution to this problem has been to create an entirely new, open source adventure platform, we’re calling SLAGE. SLAGE has several new advantages, compared with prior adventure engines, such as the ability to easily run on multiple platforms, immediate save and reload (even during arcade sequences!), XML definition of scene objects, and a great GUI editor. We’re really excited about the new work. To work on this new engine is a new team of amazing coders, who have been making great progress. We expect that by switching engines, even counting the time it takes to fully develop the SLAGE engine, we’ll still finish the project faster than we would have under AGAST. ArtWe’ve begun work with several new artists, who are delivering scenes both of interior shots, and exterior ships. I’m pleased to report that we’re developing artwork at a faster pace than we ever have before. That isn’t to say we don’t need more help, however. While we are making great speed, Artwork is still the Number One delay in the SQ7 project. It just seems like there is always more to do. On that note, we’ve put out a call for help [PDF version], asking new artists and interested parties to contact us.
MusicYou are going to love the SQ7 soundtrack. We’ve been doing a lot of work to add new tracks, new themes, and new renditions. Dee has been doing a great deal of work in making sure each major member of the cast has a consistent theme, while still giving each level it’s own specific feel. We’ve also partnered with a few touring bands, to include some heavier material. We trust that you’ll like the compilation when you hear it. We’ve had a very productive summer, and gotten a lot done. While the project continues to take time, money, and ambition, we’re confident we can deliver it to the fans with the quality they expect. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. It’s going to be a bright summer ;)
Colin Davis |
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