Hello again!

This check-in is significantly earlier in the month that the past ones, and I also plan for it to be a lot shorter. I don't have much to report, as per usual, except that 0.7 is very close to being finished. A good week of work would let me wrap up the new features, test them and ensure they work, and fix any obvious bugs.

The problem is, college finals don't usually leave someone with a week of time to make video games. Projects and essays are swamping me at the moment, and that's to be expected. The winter break between semesters WOULD be an ideal time, but I'm actually pretty busy then too. I should still have 0.7 out before the end of the year, but don't be surprised if I have to push it back to January.

I probably mentioned this in a previous check-in, but after 0.7, I'll need to put mARS on hold for a while. Life always finds a way to get IN the way, you know? I won't have time to make this game in between school, work, and whatever else I have to deal with. 0.7 will have the full gameplay completed; other than balance changes and bonus game modes, nothing new will be added. I can rest easy putting the game on hold knowing that it's technically done.

There are still lots of things to be refined, though. 0.8 is to be a graphical and technical improvement update. Optimizing code and adding features like controller support were, and still are, priorities; also, there's a lot of sprite art that's not quite as good as I want it to be, or that otherwise needs updating (for example, all vendors currently share the gun vendor's sprites). Other graphical changes like particle effects, lighting, screen shake, and animated cutscenes are planned as well. 0.9  and 1.0 are just going to be mostly bug fixes and balance changes, though as I said before, I plan to add some bonus game modes. It's a pretty short game, so adding basic modifiers like "all enemies are mutated" is a good way to add replayability without adding a ton of brand-new content. It might feel like padding, but hey, it's all completely optional.

Well, I'll catch you later. If I had to guess, I'll have another devlog about my progress around the 19th. See ya!