Weekly report Sep 2/4, 2024

Hello everyone! Thank you as always for your support.
Let's take a look at this week's progress!

# GGPO

I continued investigating the DLL files, but unfortunately, I couldn't resolve the issue. I had a GGPO expert look into it, and they couldn't reproduce the error, so it seems the problem lies within my development environment.

After much deliberation, I’ve decided to stop the GGPO testing for now, as sticking with this error would only halt the project’s progress.

That leaves Photon Quantum as the remaining option, but the monthly fees are a concern. Technically, it’s free for up to 100 concurrent users. For reference, I looked into the player count of popular fighting games on Steam: Skullgirls has around 100-200 players, and Capcom Fighting Collection has about 50. Guilty Gear Strive and Dragon Ball FighterZ surpass 1,000 players, but that’s not a realistic comparison.

As an indie game, 100 concurrent users is probably sufficient. However, as a developer, I’m hesitant to rule out the possibility of a larger influx of players from the start. During the Quantum test, I heard there was a discount plan for indie projects, so I reached out to inquire officially. The reply I received was a brief two-line message: "Sorry, we don't offer that."

I was doubly disappointed after reading this email. Not only is there no indie plan, but the response was rather curt. It’s possible that this response was directed toward me personally since I had sent several persistent emails to Photon with questions before. Still, it’s understandable that a profit-driven service like Quantum wouldn’t cater to indie projects looking to use it for free.

In any case, my motivation to use Quantum has dwindled.

Although online matchmaking has hit a roadblock, I can't afford to stop moving forward. I had avoided this route because it would mean starting from scratch, but I’ll continue development for now using the current Monobehavior setup. The demo is nearly complete, and even without matchmaking, I believe it's sufficient as presentation material for crowdfunding.

Additionally, I’m moving forward with the plan to hire a partner to implement GGPO for a fee. Similar to the situation with Quantum, testing and implementing new systems takes considerable time, and it may appear that development has stalled from an external perspective. (In reality, I’m struggling under the surface, but that’s not visible.)

Currently, I’m in negotiations with two people, and we’ll discuss how they’ll contribute to the project.

## Comic Work

Programming is a battle with the unknown, but drawing is straightforward once you do it. I’ve made progress on this task as well and have completed the rough sketches. I plan to finish it next week.

## Next Week’s Plans

- Finish the comic

- Finalize demo specifications for release

That's all for this week. Thanks to everyone's support, we can continue development! Much appreciation.
Have a great weekend!