Closer to controller perfection, a sneak peek of new Music, and Geography.

We've almost arrived at a milestone I have long dreamed of: an end to "stuck cats!"  

Lance has been making great strides with the controller, over the past week.  Not only has he greatly reduced the "mid-jump kick," he's gotten the IK on the cats to the point where they can pretty much take on the rocky coasts of Maine, with only the occasional hitch.

We created a test terrain that would show off how smoothly this works - while there remains a bit of work to smooth out the jumps, I doubt  even a monster truck 4X4 could navigate this terrain as well as the cats do, now...

Our composer Richard has posted a few videos of some of the new sound work you can expect to hear in the next release (currently due in July.)  It's a varied mix of stuff - everything from the ocean waves, to NPC music, to new sound biomes - and it's all fantastic.  Check them out here and here! 

One of my GREATEST regrets about the last release was that we could not include a majority of Richard's work.  It's so good to know we're gonna fix that!

Over this past weekend, I was able to contribute to the work of assigning in-game mentions of patrons.  We've been able to get a few hundred placed on in-game items such as book covers, wedding registries, and such - hopefully, we can begin reaching out to contributors within the next few weeks to show them exactly where their chosen names appear.

In this particular case, I was able to begin naming the greater geography features of Prentiss Bay - specifically, the other islands.

As you can see, Peace Island is at the center of an archipelago that stretches approximately 13 miles (20.9km) across, and is far from the largest island in the chain.

The smallest island that has been claimed by a Patron is Cate Williams Island, at approximately 890 X 950 feet (271 X 290 meters.)  This makes it approximately the same size in area as Maine's "Cow Island."

There are still about 16 smaller islands that have yet to be named, such as the outcroppings between Tristan Ismay Island and Averill Island.  The smaller one is about the same size as Pumpkin Knob, and the larger approximately the same size as Overset Island.

Now- before you ask:  We regret to say that none of these other islands will be as detailed as Peace Island, nor will the cats be able to visit them.  However - each of them can potentially play a role in the story of the game.  Let's just say it has something to do with a certain ruminant species that can swim three times swifter than the fastest human.

I confess I've fallen behind in premium mailings- they will resume, tomorrow!

See ya'll next week!