Update, with some brief thoughts on travel

Hello all,

So I was hoping to have a new release out by now, but I decided to hold off a little until the new exploration system is implemented.  DM is currently hard at work putting it together, and as you can see, Hikari has been designing the tiles which the map will use. Once that is done, DM and I are also going  to spend a little time overhauling the castle management system to take into account changes brought about by the map (like points and resources that can be captured). I realize this is the least exciting time of development, and I thank you all for bearing with me. Once this is done, I'll be hiring DM to work on writing 25-30k words a month, so the game will soon start to fill up with content, and then hopefully, we'll never have to look back. 

Moving on to travel, I always wanted to have exploration in the game, but the text route made it difficult. Using a hex grid means the event system can still be used, but the player has a little more control over it. It also allows for a more open play style - do you want to spend time initially exploring Rosaria, or spend months heading north to explore the Forest of Ealoaen? When you head south to the Broken Mountains, should you face the dangers of the snowy mountain passes, or try your luck in the tunnels underneath to reach Uvarth? The fact exploration takes time also allows for the player to be given time sensitive decisions as well. For example, perhaps a town in the north is besieged, but to the south a plague is spreading, and  the player only has time to head in one direction.

In terms of ongoing development, the way this is going to work is modular. Those of you who are familiar with Middle Earth will no doubt remember how Eastern Eriador consists of a number of different regions (Bree-land, Lone-Lands, Angmar, Downs, Weather Hills, Trollshaws, etc.), and SoC will be built up in a similar way. Each kingdom will be broken down into regions, with a number of fixed tiles, and the rest generated at random. This allows regions to always have the correct terrain and locations, while not always having them in the same exact place. Development will focus on filling out one region at a time, so the game is constantly expanding. Doing it this way also allows additional kingdoms to be added much later if the game is still doing well, and that is something people want (the Six Kingdoms are only a part of one continent, after all).

Anyway, that is what is going on at the moment. Will have another post in near future with update on progress to keep you all informed, but the map should be done this week hopefully, and the castle stuff over the next two.