So, the Alpha will be released on Monday. We didn't so much "push back" the release date, as simply move it one day later, to a regularly-scheduled update day. It'd be a pain to have to do an alpha update, and another check-in, the very next day- why not just combine the two?
Now, as that day draws near, an imminent concern is causing me a great deal of stre...
2019-08-24 00:13:52 +0000 UTC View PostFIRST: LAURA SENDS HER THANKS!
The generous folks here on Patreon have pledged enough support to allow her to go on relief duty, so that she can spend two more days a week working on Peace Island!
This is excellent, as she's been co-developing the project since day one, but still worked full-time at her day job. She was reluctant to leave, without k...
2019-08-20 01:16:54 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the comments I've gotten here recently accurately pointed out that over the past few weeks, I've been mostly posting screenshots and information about the business side of things.
Indeed, the first update I did as a full-time damedev was mostly about the new sky shader we got (which sucked, BTW- we went right back to our old sky/water system - why mess with what worked?)
In ...
2019-08-16 00:48:57 +0000 UTC View PostSo, it unfortunately took us a couple of days to get the Peace Island source to run properly within the Unity Pro editor, but we finally made it...
The stumbling block was bringing in a new sky system that allowed for more realistic lighting and clouds.
Note how we now have multilayered clouds- this means we can make the sunsets even more spectacular, going forward.
2019-08-12 20:22:46 +0000 UTC
View Post
So - Patreon FINALLY cleared your pledges!
And boy, was it a busy day, here - but before I get into alla that...
Every time you migrate a Unity project from one system to another (especially if you've just upgraded to Unity Pro,) you have to spend a few hours removing tons and tons of compiler errors:
While clearing them out, you have to make sure that no member of ...
2019-08-09 02:28:27 +0000 UTC View PostSo- today we were expecting to do a lot: Order a new round of postcard premiums, meet with our social media manager, as well as a lawyer to draft a rock-solid NDA to ensure negotiations about the project are safe, bring in new meshes & animations, as well as a LOT of other stuff.
Ya see, a lot of our initial plans (including the next alpha release) were based upon Patreon's assurance that we would get your first month's support on the 5th of the month.
Unfortuna...
THANK YOU!
2019-08-04 05:14:48 +0000 UTC View PostThose who have premiums coming:
Over the next 72 hours, we will be contacting everyone who now has access to physical premiums, to get your deets & mailing info.
Thanks so much for your support- we hope you stay with us for a while!
Secondly: We have adjusted some of our goals.
After we secured our computers at a reduced price, we reduced our computing budget from 750 a month to 450, over the duration of the Patreon. T...
2019-08-02 02:38:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Over the past few weeks, a heck of a lot of sites did articles about Peace Island. I sincerely believe I have only seen about 10% of them.
Some of these sites have taken it upon themselves to invent information about the project, to fill column inches - such as describing it as "GTA with cats."
That having been said, it is especially gratifying when one of these sites actually bothers communicating with us, before writing such an article.
THE EXPANSION HAS BEGUN.
Today, we upgraded to Unity Pro, and they were gracious enough to grant us four seats for the price of one. This means that we can have four fully-connected folks working on the project, instead of just us two. This costs the project one dollar per day, per person - not a bad deal!
We have also gotten in touch with a local computer expert who, after lengthy consultation, DEFINITELY knew his stuff. He will...
2019-07-29 03:24:38 +0000 UTC View PostWe needed to clear up a few things about any possible relations with publishers/distributors.
Rule 1: We do not believe in "Games as a service." In fact, it's one of the worst ideas ever introduced to gaming. When you buy our game, you will OWN IT.
Rule 2: We will not work with any distributor or publisher who demands that we create DLC for Peace Island, or integrate any monetization schemes. When y...
2019-07-26 18:44:49 +0000 UTC View Post
As some of you might know, the growth of the Peace Island project prompted us to recently consider renting a small room at a co-working space around the corner from our apartment. Such would have been desirable, as the project is still being run out of my bedroom - which is a rather odd place to have meetings, and demo the project.
Unfortunately, they do not have any office spaces available for another seven months. They offered to rent us a desk for 300 a month - which, to ...
2019-07-25 01:16:49 +0000 UTC View Post
So, yesterday I finally found time to walk down to my day job, and give my boss notice that I would be leaving his employ. I confess that it is going to be VERY difficult to go into that kitchen for more 10-hour shifts, knowing that I could very well walk out the door at any moment, but I want to leave on good terms.
In many ways, the owner, Ed Anania, could be considered the first Patron of the Peace Island project. The job he gave me sustained the project for the fist eigh...
2019-07-23 16:32:59 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm a gamer, pushing 50.
While that fact speaks a lot about some of my life choices, it also grants me 35 years of perspective on the medium - and even though the hackneyed complaint of the elderly that "things just ain't as good as they used to be" has long been a trope, we must sometimes acknowledge that it's actually TRUE.
It is particularly so, in relation to the "Open World" genre of video games. I know this for a fact, because the very first video game I owned w...
2019-07-22 18:48:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Join us for our first meeting with all our patrons, and the world at large!
2019-07-21 23:34:00 +0000 UTC View Post
I wanted to use today's textual update to address a few questions that have become quite common, over the last week.
Q1: "How do I get the game? Is there a download link?"
A1: Understand: Peace Island is a game that is still in development. While there will probably be at least two more alphas, we are not scheduling a beta release, for at least three months. We anticipate being able to release the full game one year later. In the mean...
2019-07-21 19:11:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey all- a couple of things:
1: I apologize to everyone for the multiple daily posts here for the past few days. Things have been crazy, and I sincerely didn't mean to "spam" anyone out there. I/We will be doing one post a day from here on out, covering dev news and progress shots. These posts, of course, will be far more complete and substantial.
2: Almost two years ago, I started working on this game by myself in-between 10-11 hour shifts as...
But we're having persistent shadow issues- note the neutral lighting, and lack of definitive shadows.
It's a relatively quick fix, but unfortunately, it's late, and I pull a 10-hour shift at the day job tomorrow.
More in the AM
Thanks again for your support!
I asked my good friend Scotty Arsenault to design an advertisement for a bugspray/sandwich topping that appears in Peace Island.
He always delivers.
Check out more of his AWESOME work here:
https://www.behance.net/scottya
BTW: Believe it or not, both he and I worked on the pilot episode of "Dora The Explorer."
True st...
Everyone who contributed to the campaign will gain access to Alphas, and get advance access to the Beta - people who pledge at 5 dollars or above will gain early access to the full game.
Right now, we are in the middle of creating a new "stress test" alpha of the game world that has dramatically improved framerates and performance, over the last alpha.
Everyone who contributed will be messaged, when this alpha is ready- we hope to have it available within 2-3 weeks for both the ma...
2019-07-19 19:20:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Germany's premiere news magazine "Stern" published an online article about the project- wow!
2019-07-19 16:48:04 +0000 UTC View PostI am trying to figure out the best words to use, when I speak to my dayjob boss about how I'm going to be quitting, in two weeks, so that I can work on Peace Island, full time!
It's a wonderful feeling.
THANK YOU!
It means the world to us.
We spent all evening handling the influx of messages & pledges, and are bone tired.
We'll chat tomorrow.
Join me - I'll be glad to take your questions!
2019-07-16 18:26:39 +0000 UTC View PostAnd my attempt failed.
The audio somehow became stripped of all bass over the duration of the 6-minute video, meaning that it sounded fine at the beginning, but sounded like it was recorded with an aluminum can, by the end.
This means that making the video will require a complete re-record of the VO, and a re-edit of the video itself.
I know making a video for Patreon is important, but guys:
I am not a salesman. I am not a promoter. I am not a busines...
2019-07-16 01:03:38 +0000 UTC View PostWe appreciate the trust and support you have pledged to this project- stay tuned- we'll be posting a video tomorrow, especially for Patreon!
2019-07-15 05:51:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Frames Per second will get better, as development continues, but for the first time, we have exceeded the minimum target set for the Beta!
2019-07-04 03:37:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Framerates down by 33%, and baking geometry!
2019-06-25 03:29:03 +0000 UTC View Post
If you've not seen how large the game world of Peace Island is, check this out. It's a quick walkabout of about 20% of the island.
2019-06-19 04:47:48 +0000 UTC View Post