Antharion - Development Updates

Thanks to sakichop I have the latest two updates for Antharion. The games developer only shows the updates for backers so give him a big thank you.

Project Update #35

Hey guys, it's been another very very busy month for us as usual. The thrust of what we're working on right now is getting everything ready for the Alpha (yes it's finally began to loom on the horizon!). This consists mainly of lots and lots of little tweaks and fixes, making sure that every last button has the right sound effect, every item's stats are just right, and everything is generally balanced, etc. Programming-wise we've got two major tasks still open: (1) verify that combat works correctly; and (2) verify that spells all work correctly in every conceivable circumstance. This last one is pretty tough considering the high complexity of our spell system and the fact that we've got 45+ unique spells (which often interact with one another) to debug. Engine development and and asset production have frozen (aside from 2x outstanding atmospheric music tracks) so our focus right now is on adding polish, refining the world, eliminating bugs and making it fun, of course ;)

Project Update #36

Hey everyone. This month we've been splitting our time between building out the world and testing and tweaking. The world has become pretty huge at this point. Here's a bird's eye view of the main continent (missing islands and underground areas). If you look very carefully you can even manage to see some towns and settlements...

         

You may notice that the desert and snowy areas take up a sizable portion of the world map. That's because we really wanted to give those two areas the feeling of being a vast barren wasteland/wilderness in contrast to the more densely packed and populated temperate regions.

One feature I don't think we've mentioned yet is smooth scrolling. While much of Antharion's old-school gameplay mechanics come from the snappy feedback of instant grid based movement, we recognize that for some players it can be a little harsh on the eyes so we've added an option for smooth scrolling. We've done our very best not to make it too smooth so that it retains the snappy/quick responsive feel of the original scheme.