I have, at last, reached a position where proper alpha testing of stage one of the second module, Predestinated Days, can begin! This is a huge milestone for the development cycle, and one I feel great relief in reaching. This first stage (of three stages) for the second module is the largest in many aspects. As the module currently stands, it has the "lion share" of the number of overall areas that can be explored and the quests that can be done. It is comparable to an estimated 70% of the size of the first module. Read on for more information.
Alpha Testing
As this is only the first part of the module, as well as being the very first time that it is going to put to a proper gaming test, the testing is going to happen in-house only. This means at the hands of my wife, who probably knows my first module and what to expect in campaign play more than anyone else anyway. However, that is not where I want to end testing, as fresh eyes and unfamiliarity are also always a good thing to have to give feedback too. Therefore, once all three stages of this module have been alpha-tested, I hope to be able to find beta-testers who can brave the testing period for me when the time comes.
Hopefully, in the next blog, I will be able to give some feedback on how well (or not) the overall alpha testing is going. I will obviously try not to give away any spoilers, but, at the same time, give you some honest feedback on how my wife's experience of the testing is going, and if there were any major issues discovered during her experience. I can safely say now, she will not be able to test every path that is available, simply because there are too many potential ways for her to cover in the time. Furthermore, as this is only the first stage, any testing she does do, effectively ends and would require a restart by the time stage two becomes available for testing.
Cutscenes
One of the delays of the last month was taking time to cover a few cutscenes I wanted to put together for a section of the first stage. However, I believe the time spent on them has been worthwhile, as the outcome of the last one I tested was exciting for me to see the end result. I believe I have covered the majority of the cutscenes for this stage now, apart from maybe one or two minor party conversations.
One aspect I have been working on, and is part of the initial testing, are cutscenes around various party builds, and need to work subject to various party conditions and states. Accounting for the many options that the party can be in by the time the cutscene starts can require some thinking out to ensure logical flow works in every situation, especially for journal entries. As an example, I am dealing with variables that could have been set many gaming sessions earlier, and even then subject to backgrounds selected and race of PC played. I can often sit making notes and pathway diagrams to ensure I have all the logic correct. Again, I hope much of this will be part of the initial testing.
Puzzles
In the latest quest I was working on to have stage one ready, I found there was an ideal situation for a cutscene I had in mind, which, as mentioned above, played out well. However, due to the nature of this cutscene, I felt that as it was quite a dramatic moment, that it also required some build up before the player was rewarded with the scene. To this end, I designed a multi-stage puzzle with new GUIs, and items. The end result, I believe, will be a fun and rewarding exercise for all who play it. In this case, there is a possibility that a player could miss out on this section altogether if they make a different choice and end up on a different path. Hopefully, however, the adventurous spirit will win out and most, if not all, players will discover this section of the adventure and enjoy the fun of the puzzles and the end cutscene for it.
Campaign Update
As I continue working on the second module, I cannot help but discover occasional areas of code that require a minor alteration or fix due to new situations that coding module two brings. In the latest building, these issues have been relatively minor, and will be available for v1.2 of the campaign in the near future.
As most of these issues can be avoided by mindful play, or can simply be ignored for the time being, then I am holding back any newer patch until after I receive any further feedback from current play testers. In this case, I would rather only add a new patch after I believe the new code is stable. I am trying to reduce the number of patches with this newer system. Priority fixes, if required, will continue to be responded to with an immediate fix and updated as soon as possible.
At this time of writing, there are currently no further module build updates for the first module. The 30th March 2024 is still the latest module build. Neither, currently, do the TLK or UI need any newer files. If these are altered, the latest versions are always included in the latest campaign file download anyway.
Anyway, that's all the latest for now, and so I leave you with a couple of screenshots from the latest Stage One of Predestinated Days. If you have any questions, or would like to hear more about anything specific with the campaign, just add a comment and ask.
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| The heroes investigate a cavern... |
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| ...And discover a strange machine! |
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