Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great holiday season! I finally got some time away from my desk to get a sort of mental reset that helped me reflect on the state of Those Who Rule, and what will be required to finish. The game is coming into the calendar year "feature complete". For those of you who don't know that term, it basically means all the major systems are flushed, things like dialogue UIs, inventory management, base management, combat, class systems... you get the idea. [h1]We're feature complete[/h1] So what is left at this point? [b]CONTENT[/b]! And a [b]lot [/b]of it. Those Who Rule is planned to be 21 chapters at completion, give or take a few depending on how the narrative develops. We have 4 complete right now. That leaves us with 17 more chapters of content! What does this mean for the release of the game? Each chapter needs a new map, writing, characters, abilities, items, balancing, etc. It took me two years to get to 4 chapters, but that was with developing all the systems/features that go into the gameplay as well. Now that all of that is done, the goal is to complete 2 chapters a month. With some quick math that would leave us with all chapters completed in roughly 9 months, so the end of September 2024. This leaves 3 more months for final polishing and balancing before the end of 2024. The timeline for that is hard to estimate, so I'm leaving a little ambiguity, but I think I'm finally ready to announce... [h1]The release date[/h1] Q4 of 2024! You've all been waiting so patiently, and giving constant support that I feel like it's time to commit to a time when the the game will be fully released. As many of you know, this game is my passion project that I fund with a full time job. Like anyone else I have limited time, so predicting progress can be tough, but I've nailed down a schedule that I'm confident will carry the game through completion. I'll nail down the exact date as we approach Q4, so stay tuned! [h1]Next steps[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41588824/618d0caf99dc4f2782570049015aacd0d29192de.png[/img] I still have some small tweaks to the forge, class promotions, and item refinements, so this month will be cleaning those up and creating a more optimized workflow for new chapters. Expect one chapter completed and some final bug fixes in January before we kick into the gear of two chapters per month. Along with that, I will be fleshing out the classes, so expect 1 class showcase a week on Twitter/X with two new abilities until we finish them all (14 advanced, 14 elite left to do). Thank you all for coming along this journey with me, and I hope I can do right by those of you who have already given the game your attention, whether that is just reading these posts or leaving feedback on the demo. I truly am thankful for each and every one of you. To the new year!