[h3]Salutations Industrialists, [/h3] We are excited to share the progress we've made over the last month and update you on our Alpha Roadmap. Thank you for your patience this month, as we had to push some of our regular updates back due to Gamescom. After sharing the demo build of Gilded Destiny with everyone who came by our booth, we felt encouraged by the positive and constructive feedback we received. We also learned things about the logistics of attending a show, such as booth construction, staffing requirements, how much merch to bring to the show, and that driving in a packed car from London to Cologne is a long trip. [h3]Gamescom[/h3] Overall, we think Gamescom was a success. We estimate that probably a few hundred visitors came by to play the game. One of the popular things to do was to play as Prussia and conquer neighboring nations. Some players united East and West Prussia, some conquered Saxony, some conquered Poland, some invaded Hanover, and some united Germany and renamed it "Disneyland" and created a Mickey Mouse flag to match—using the in-game flag editor! We enjoyed seeing how players of different levels interacted with the Gilded Destiny demo—from first time GSG players to seasoned strategy gamers familiar with many other popular GSGs. And, of course, many players provided valuable feedback on how to proceed with development. This being said, we have realized that we need to rearrange our development priorities slightly before the Alpha releases. We are aiming for the Alpha to be ready in the coming months. Our priority for the Alpha is to have a build that allows Alpha testers to have a meaningful, fun, and complex gameplay experience, which is not overshadowed by UI, UX, and system mechanics issues that we intend to fix soon anyway. [h3]Pre-Alpha Testing [/h3] Finally, we are excited to announce that we will be offering 50 Kickstarter backers a chance to test Pre-Alpha version of Gilded Destiny, before the Alpha is released to all backers! We decided to do a small closed Pre-Alpha test to gather initial feedback so that experience of the Alpha is enjoyable and meaningful, and to streamline the process of administrating keys, feedback collection, and bug reporting on our end. Of course, as many of you know, both the pre-Alpha and Alpha builds of the game will likely have limited content and systems may not be fully implemented into the game. We will announce more details very soon in an update! [h3]Shipping Physical Merch [/h3] Finally, we will begin shipping physical merch to our Kickstarter backers soon. If you haven't already, be sure to fill out the backer survey! Without further ado, let's take a look at what we accomplished in August and what is planned for September and October. [h2]Completed in August [/h2] [b]Attending Gamescom [/b]Done! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43221501/94a018531c7ff385537a2def87f8516eb12cdd3e.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43221501/f1af82a9522b1554ce43a33f6d2393154577c75f.jpg[/img] [b]The Map Rework has been initially input into the game[/b] Optimization and improvements to logic and art assets will continue. The Art Team will continue to improve the how the map looks. [b]Continue refining and updating English/Chinese Localization[/b] Before Gamescom, we completed the localization for the Demo version of the game. Localization for the Pre-Alpha and Alpha builds will continue. [b]Input and test Policy effects [/b]This is partly completed, and we are continuing the process of using the Editor to test the Policy effects in game. [b]Input and test major Prussian Events [/b]This is partly completed. We are continuing to refine the Events system, so this is occurring in tandem with major Prussian Events. Just as a note here, we are using Prussian Events to test and build out the Events system, including identifying triggering conditions and effects that will be necessary. Once the system and the Editor are ready, events for other countries will be made much quicker! [b]Refine and update Technology trees [/b]This is partly completed. We are continuing to refine the Tech trees, and inputting them when ready. [b]Readjust Military and Diplomacy AI [/b]As the new Diplomacy UI nearly implemented, we realized that the AI will need to be reworked as well. So, readjusting AI has been delayed. [b]Update and add new icons to Trade and Military [/b]This has begun and is ongoing. [b]Complete and input the new Diplomacy UI [/b]Nearly complete! Keep an eye out for more in an upcoming Dev Diary! [b]New UI design for Construction, Finance, and Colonization [/b]Finance and Colonization are done. Construction will be done during September. The Technology UI and the Province panel designs have both been completed. [b]Continue adding provincial data for other countries and regions [/b]Done! We have added data relating to population size, culture, and religion to provinces in the Apennine Peninsula, the Iberian Peninsula, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Poland, Cracow, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Walachia, and Moldavia [h2]End of September [/h2] [b]Begin inputting Qualities for Cultures and Religions [/b] [b]Input and test some early-game Prussian Events and Decisions [/b]The Event system is currently being improved and refined, and by the end of the month we hope to have input at least a few significant Event chains for Prussia [b]Begin implementing technologies in-game and testing the research system [/b] [b]Refine the Global Economy at game start[/b] (this will be an ongoing project, but there are several significant improvements we hope to make this month) [list] [*] Add roads to connect provinces to the Economic Center [*] Ensure that Industries and Plantations are placed in historically and geographically appropriate places, and begin balancing production to avoid extreme instances of surfeit and dearth (e.g., army rations) [*] Ensure that provinces contain sufficient numbers of the necessary professions to staff these Industries and Plantations [/list] [b]Input historical data for major European countries at game start [/b]Includes starting military units, diplomatic relations, treasury, policies, etc. [b]Continue adding provincial data for other countries and regions [/b]We intend to add data relating to population size, culture, and religion to provinces in the Great Qing, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United States [b]Continue to update and refine the appearance of the new Map [/b] [b]Continue refining Terrain [/b]The Map Rework is planned to be finished during September, at which point the Content Design Team will be able to continue editing terrain (such as mountains, lakes, and rivers) [b]Input new UI designs[/b] for Provinces and Finance, and complete new UI designs for Construction and Countries [b]Significant updates to the programming[/b] for Diplomacy, Finance, and Construction [h2]End of October [/h2] [b]Finish designing and begin implementing Province Edicts Complete implementing Technologies in-game and refine the Research system Input and test some late-game Prussian Events and Decisions Input and test more Qualities for Cultures and Religions Input historical data for remaining European countries at game start Input UI designs for Construction and Countries, and complete new UI designs for Navy, the HUD, and Settings menu Continue to update and refine the appearance of the new Map Finish first draft of Terrain Refine Diplomacy, Finance, Construction, and Technology[/b] As our goals and expectations evolve, and as these milestones are reached, we will keep you updated! Also, as a reminder—we have assigned Discord roles to our backers who are already part of our server. If you are not a member of our server, please join via the link below to ensure that you claim your role! We'll be checking back weekly to assign roles to new followers. Of course, if you join and would like to get your role sooner, just say hello in the main channel and mention that you'd like your role. If you're not yet a member of our Discord server, please use this link to join! [url=https://discord.com/invite/m22Ek8jxJf]Join the Gilded Destiny Discord Server[/url] Thanks for your support and for reading! May your day be a gilded one!