Progress report and important info about upcoming changes

Hi everyone!

Even if you don't usually read my progress reports, I strongly recommend that you read this one. It contains essential information about changes to the campaign going forward.

Let's get the first piece of information out of the way immediately: With the upcoming version, we're officially starting the endgame. What does that mean? Well, for now, it means that you'll be given the option of beginning the endgame scenario after a set amount of in-game days. Until the endgame is done, you won't be forced to start it. You can continue playing the game as before as long as you don't trigger the endgame option manually.

With the endgame also comes some changes to how I develop this game. One of the significant advantages of developing a sandbox game like LLtP is that I can work on a single scene, add it to the game, and it'll be finished. Each update consists of as many such scenes as I have the time and energy to include. Except for more significant pieces of content like the secrets, I rarely have to finish one scene immediately because I just finished another that relies on it. This might no longer be true in the endgame.

The endgame is going to be a relatively linear path with diverging branches. I want to make sure that I cover all the branches simultaneously. Mostly so that some players don't end up downloading an update only to find that there's absolutely nothing new for their particular save game. This means that scenes are going to start relying on each other in a way that hasn't been true so far. 

More importantly, it means that releasing an update every single month might no longer be possible. Some updates will, by necessity, require more content than I can produce in a single month. Since I would rather focus on quality than on quantity, I want to give these new scenes and paths the attention they deserve and require. 

As a result, going forward, you might not get an LLtP update at the same time each month. Some months might not have an update at all. I wish this wasn't necessary, but I don't think I'll be able to get around it. I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything.

The first big challenge I'm facing with the endgame, as a developer, is making all the pieces fit together. There are a lot of vital puzzle pieces here, and making them all fit in a way that both makes sense and is satisfying, is going to take some time. I'm using a utility called Scapple to create a mind map of sorts. With this, I write down each of the situations that I know will have to be handled and attach them together in a somewhat coherent way. If I have a question about something, I write it down in the mind map. If I find the answer, I draw a line from that question to the solution. Eventually, there won't be any loose ends in the map, and that's when I start actually developing content. 

This is the major challenge I'll have to deal with this month. I want to stick the landing with this game, so I'm doing my best to make sure I don't cut any corners. 

Strap yourselves in, ladies and gentlemen. All the unresolved questions and mysteries in this story will be resolved over the coming months. This is the end. 

Until New Game+, that is.