Hi everyone,

Just thought I’d give you a peek behind the curtain for what’s going on in development right now. As I’ve said previously, I’m planning a demo for sometime early next year. This will be a very early demo, which means that I do not intend for it to be save-compatible with the full game, and it will likely be relatively short anyways.

There will be a few things that need to be done before the demo releases, and it’s these basic elements that I’m working on now.

1. Migration of combat system into Unreal - One of the biggest and hardest parts of development is transferring my combat system into the new engine. It will be significantly different from its iteration from Memoirs, and I think it will be better in most ways and lean towards a more simulationist approach. I am using a template asset, but it needs to be expanded significantly.
   
2. Basic RPG systems and UI - This means things like inventory, skill trees, party management, faction overviews, etc. Just very basic menu stuff that still requires significant investment. I am aiming for something simple but effective (and hopefully not too much of an eyesore).
   
3. Perspective Toggle - I think I already have a good handle on how the toggle between 3rd and 1st person will work, there are just a few bugs that need to be ironed out. If you’re familiar with The Elder Scrolls games like Oblivion or Skyrim, it will be quite similar to that.
   
4. Optimization - Having a lean file size and a technically polished game is very important, and hard to get right even for AAA studios with many times my budget. It is something I’m nervous about, as the technical aspects are where I have the least experience in. But, I’m planning on getting some help in this area and following best practices.

Historically, I make games at a breakneck pace and this has worked out for me in many ways, but I also see the need to make sure things are done correctly. Shigeru Miyamoto’s often-quoted saying of "A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is bad forever" may no longer be strictly true in the age of Early Access and open betas, but it’s still a warning gamedevs should heed.

I also notice a lot of people sending in offers to help, especially with voice work. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I already have people in mind for a lot of the work that I’ve scheduled, and voiced dialogue especially will be done towards the tail end of development. I’ll make an announcement when we’ve reached that point.

Thanks again,
ManlyMouseDan

Hi everyone,

The kickstarter campaign is officially over, although we are still getting late pledges, which actually reached another stretch goal! I will be adding the PMC Stormbreakers to the game as a minor faction, and of course, Dejah Mars will be returning as well. Perhaps over time, we may even reach the Living Factions stretch goal too.

So, what’s next for the project? Currently I am waiting for Kickstarter to issue the funds (which takes about a month) and I will begin sending out rewards that are already available. This means keys of my previous games and a copy of the lore book PDF. You may notice that the date for issuing these rewards is November, but I think I’ll start a little earlier than that.

As for Vampire Syndicate itself, my immediate goal is completing and releasing a short demo for the game. I think this will probably happen sometime early next year, which will double as a technical test as well. My goal is to be able to launch in Early Access in one year from now. That is a very, very optimistic schedule, but it’s what I’m aiming for.

The Early Access process will be similar to how I handled it for my last game, Memoirs. It will launch with the introductory story content and basic mechanics, and each update will add more to the game like chapters of a book.

I’m very much looking forward to it and I hope you are too! As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m genuinely very surprised by the outpouring of support for this project. I can only imagine that means that this game is something people really want, and that further motivates me to make it.


Thanks again!


-ManlyMouseDan