Progress update

For the past month I've been working on all the small dimensions the player will get to explore in M&M. Roughly speaking, we're talking about a bulk of four or five locations that make up the middle part of the module. Some can be completed in two minutes, others in half an hour, but they all revolve around a single 'concept' and feature almost no side-quests at all.

I'm almost done with them - I've still got the last one to finish, which will take me perhaps a week. The next item on the list is Winterscale and the second part of the main quest within the city walls, before moving on to the forest of the elves, and finally the Wasteland. Then I'll wrap up the module, which includes the final confrontation where all is revealed and the ending - whether or not it'll be a happy one depends on the choices you made while playing.

Initially I had planned for a summer release, but I've realized it's not longer realistic. If it does happen, it'll be late summer... early fall is more probable though. Even if the module is completed by the end of August, I'm gonna need at least a month to hunt down every single bugs and smooth out all the dialog. Yeah, especially the dialog.

On another note, look at the screenshot I captured while I was testing a cutscene:

That's what I like about this game. You think you've seen everything it has to offer, and you're proven wrong at every turn.

Achievements system

It's kind of a late addition to the module: I only had the idea yesterday. I was thinking about what I could do to increase the replayability of Madness&Magic, and that's what I came up with. Just like in NWN 2 or Dragon Age, you can unlock achievements which prove that you've done something special in the game.

So far it's just a cosmetic feature, and I think it's going to stay that way. Unlocking achievements doesn't grant you any bonus - just the bragging rights. Unlike in NWN 2, you don't get any xp either.

I've got six done at the moment, for a grand total of twelve or so at the end. They're going to be mostly humorous or silly things, like this one.

Achievement: Baby rat named after you.

Of course there'll be serious ones, too, and one or two will be extra hard to get.