[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. [h3]Pre-Alpha Testing [/h3] Finally, we are excited to announce that we have selected 50 Kickstarter backers to test Pre-Alpha version of Gilded Destiny, before the Alpha is released to all backers! Thank you to everyone who registered! We will begin onboarding those backers in preparation for the coming pre-Alpha test. 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. Finally, we have begun shipping physical merch to our Kickstarter backers. There are still a few who have not yet completed the backer survey. 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 September and what is planned for October and November. [h2]Completed in September [/h2] [b]Begin inputting Qualities for Cultures and Religions[/b] We are moving this to October [b]Input and test some early-game Prussian Events and Decisions[/b] Started and ongoing. 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] Done. We are currently refining the technologies implemented in the game. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43221501/fd0059149f088cdeeef70fe2e45496d20dd83904.jpg[/img] [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] [*] [b]Add roads to connect provinces to the Economic Center[/b] Planning has started and implementation will continue. We will be prioritizing adding roads to connect some provincial capitals and Financial Centers in Europe, China, and parts of North America. Currently, we have laid out the rules for how Western European countries should be connected at start of the game. [*] [b] 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[/b] (e.g., army rations) We are moving this to October [*] [b]Ensure that provinces contain sufficient numbers of the necessary professions to staff these Industries and Plantations[/b] We are moving this to October [/list] [b]Input historical data for major European countries at game start[/b] Started and ongoing. This will continue into October as we add more content. Includes starting military units, diplomatic relations, treasury, policies, etc. [b]Continue adding provincial data for other countries and regions[/b] Done! We have added initial 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] Started and ongoing. [b]Continue refining Terrain[/b] Waiting for the Map Rework to finish. The Map Rework is largely complete and should be finalized in October. At this point the Content Design Team will be able to continue editing terrain (such as mountains, lakes, and rivers) [b]Input new UI designs for Provinces and Finance, and complete new UI designs for Construction and Countries[/b] Started and ongoing. Some progress has been made with trade icons, but not all of them have been done yet. [b]Significant updates to the programming for Diplomacy, Finance, and Construction[/b] Ongoing [b]Updated and refined Policies and their effects[/b] [list] [*] Revisions to Policies and their modifiers based on updated designs in other systems [*] Fixing issues with Policy effect implementation [/list] [h2]End of October[/h2] - Refine and test existing in-game content in preparation for Alpha - Finish designing and implement Province Edicts - Complete implementing Technologies in-game and testing the Research system - Input and test major early- and mid-game Prussian Events and Decisions - Begin inputting Qualities for Cultures and Religions - Finish inputting historical data for major European countries at game start - Input UI designs for Construction, Countries, and Population - Continue to update and refine the appearance of the new Map - Continue refining terrain [list] [*] We expect to do this when the Map rework has been finalized. [/list]- Refine details of existing in-game UIs - Continue refining the Global Economy at game start [list] [*] 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]- Begin inputting leader portraits [h2]End of November[/h2] - Continue inputting and testing major Prussian Events and Decisions - Input and test more Qualities for Cultures and Religions - Continue refining the Global Economy at game start [list] [*] This will also start taking into account the various technological disparities between different nations [/list]- New UI designs for Navy, the HUD, and Settings menu - Inputting historical data for remaining European countries at game start - Finish first draft of terrain, including mountains, lakes, and rivers [h3]Thanks for your support and for reading![/h3] 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] May your day be a gilded one!