Hello everyone!

Time for yet another update. February has been a short and slow month. Bug-fixing, sfx-engineering and website migration. Oh, did I mention that we'll soon be hosted at a (hopefully) better host? I think this is great news, and I would have loved to announce this update after the migration had taken place, but it's almost mid-March already so I couldn't wait anymore.

Moving a website is not that simple and we're still working on it, but it should be a matter of days.

I'm also considering an internationalization of the website and other small changes which, I believe, will improve the users' experience.

On the bug-fixing front, there are a couple of nasty bugs that are stealing a lot of my time, but I'm confident they will be fixed. Most of the other fixes have been done already and will be tested in the next phase.

On the sfx-engineering front, sadly I have to announce that for the third time a sfx-engineer has offered to help and changed its mind shortly after. I'm puzzled and a bit angry for this kind of behaviour (which is common, and not just for the sfx field).
Is it so difficult to understand that if you offer to help you have to be sure you will at least give a little contribution before receding?
Every time this happens I have to write emails and wrap up recruitment requests. Then I have to wait for replies. And all this time is stolen from other areas of the development, and, to put it bluntly, wasted.

So please, as I clearly wrote in the Guidelines for Contributors, think twice before you offer your help. If you're not 100% sure about this, don't do it: you will only slow down progress, otherwise.

I plan to begin the 2nd testing stage before the end of March, anyway, so in case you're interested in beta-testing, SIGN UP HERE before it's too late.

I apologize for the tone of this update, but I'm a bit stressed by lack of free time and frustrated by the fact I had to abandon some interesting activities and dedicate more time to profitable ones. In this situation, wasting time is something I can't afford.
Don't worry though, I have no intention of abandoning Forge. Even if it's not profitable, it's way more than just an "interesting activity" for me. It's more like a part of me.

Thanks to all of you for your patience and support.

Hello weavers!

Another month has passed, and it's been a fervent one, full of hard work and both good and bad surprises! Beta-testing has been a rewarding experience so far, with lots of positive feedbacks and a consistent share of bugs spotted too. Which is good, as bugs spotted in the beta-phase can be accurately removed so they don't taint the final release.

Voice-acting is now 99% complete. I'm leaving that 1% out just because the testing sometimes shows the need for a couple extra lines or some redos. Same goes for scripting, as bug fixing requires scripting more than anything else.

Still, I totally believe a 2nd beta phase is a wise and prudent choice, and thus I'm not going to reveal the official release date yet.

On a side note, since I believe sudden inspiration should always be exploited to its maximum, I'm proud to announce I used some of my free time to put down in words an outline of the last 2 Chapters of the game. 1st Ch. is fully complete, 2nd Ch.'s plot is ready and 3rd Ch. only needs minor adjustments. Now that even Ch. 4 and Ch. 5 have been planned the game is fully "outlined" and I like where it's heading to.

The last news is our beloved webmaster Selmiak is working on some improvements of our website, including a "news" reminder in home page, an enhanced Donation page (which makes it clear when, where and why the money gets spent) and some other minor fixes.

Enjoy the Sunday, and let's meet again in the Land of the Great Guilds next month!
-Gabriele "Abisso"

We're already in the middle of January, but I think it's still worth making a report on last months' progress.

Most of the time has been dedicated to a private testing of the upcoming Chapter One, with some fine-tuning and bug-fixing in order to begin the private beta-testing with a cleaner product. The rest of the time has been mostly occupied by some extras though: as you should know by now, the game features easter eggs and rewards and I'm confident at least some of them will be a pleasant surprise for those of you who will be so clever and attentive to discover them.

Even if this topic will be considered more thoroughly in the next month's report, the most important news is that beta-testing will begin in no more than a couple of days. We're already entered the beta-stage but we're still waiting for some of the candidates to fulfil some requirements.
In any case we already have a soccer team of betatesters (eleven courageous guys) at the moment and 17th of January is closing in.

Although the testing will be private, I'll keep you informed on the results and something tells me the next month's update post will include an official release date for the fully playable, long awaited, Forge Chapter One.

Till then, keep care,
-G

Aaaahr, fellow crewmates! Ehrm, I mean... fellow swans.

As many of you may have noticed as of now, I'm not the kind of guy who fully understands the meaning of the word "deadline".
I have this weird tendency to miss each one I set, yet you have to believe me when I say that those still help me being more productive than I'd be otherwise. You couldn't imagine how much I've worked in the last two weeks compared to the slow pace of the previous ones. Because guilt makes miracles when it comes to do what you're supposed to.

That said I perfectly understand that missing deadlines systematically is not something a trustworthy person should do often. The least I can do is apologize, the best I can do is continuing to keep this pace until the day of the release actually comes.
I know that I'm not very good in "marketing strategies", there is, keeping the interest high, feeding the fans constantly with news and treats, etc. Sorry guys, it's just not my nature. Maybe I should employ someone for that. We'll see.

And now, to the core of the matter: Forge, even in his demo incarnation, is a truly complex game, with lots of scripted cutscenes, dialogues and such. Extra required stuff and little bugs sprout out constantly, thus increasing the time needed to fix them. It would be pointless to betatest something which is still in an earlier stage. It's almost there, but still not completely.

Speaking of code, there has been a lot of progress, as 17 rooms out of 20 are completely ready (except what the betatesters surely will find during their tests). The remaining 3 are in an advanced stage.
Voice acting is almost complete as well, as only one of the actors still has to send some of his files. And he's justified, since he had about 40% of the entire speech in the game to record. About 800 lines of speech, lol. He's Rusty, of course.

While coding, as I've told you, I often find that a required sprite or animation is amiss (usually small things). I've taken care of those by myself as well, as outsourcing pixel-jobs often requires more time than it saves. Don't be scared though, I'm decent enough to take care of easy pixel tasks.
It's obvious that having an official artist would be the best thing and it will be mandatory nonetheless to bring Forge from the demo status to the full game one.

Well, well, well. I believe this is enough news for now.

Take care,
-Abisso Deadlinebender

I've already missed the July Update and so, even if there is not much to say and time is not on my side, I thought I should make a post all the same.

To make a long story short: last three weeks have been very hard for my family. My sister has a very serious health problem, one that could have brought deadly consequences. Fortunately it didn't and she's better now, but full recovery will take at least months. I won't go into details and I'm not even used to sharing this sort of things, as I prefer to keep everything inside me, or inside my home's walls. But you fans deserved an explanation for the lack of progress and info, especially after the betatesting topic I opened some time ago.

Still, there HAS been a bit of progress, as voice-actors did their job during August. There's not much missing on that side, at least.

What else can I say? Be patient, the demo will be ready sooner or later.

At least I'm glad to see other people enrolled for the betatesting, so I'll risk setting up a date when the betatesting will begin:
1st of October. I really I hope I will manage to honour this deadline.

Thanks for all the support and patience shown. Sincerely,
-Gabriele "Abisso"