Towards A Development Roadmap


The following list lays out MISSING CONTENT, MISSING FEATURES, AND KNOWN ISSUES in this early build. It is *not comprehensive*, but is hopefully the first layer of the foundation necessary to build a DEVELOPMENT ROAD MAP to a version that is CONTENT COMPLETE, after which I can hammer out the rest of the bugs (since I won't be creating new bugs as I create new content) and start polishing for a final commercial release (which I will be distributing more broadly than just here on itch.io).

  • The game is meant to have at least 4 endings, two of which will have two distinct versions for a total of 6. Right now, only the "Resting Comfortably" ending (a 'bad ending' that can be "achieved" a little less than halfway through the game) and both versions of the "No Promises" ending actually exist in the game. The worst ending is not actually in the game yet, nor is either version of the "All Saints" ending. Generally, when I'm not in a rush the game takes me about 3 hours and 45 minutes to get to the No Promises ending. I have no idea what the play time is for a single play through for someone who did not design the game and who doesn't already know where every single thing is but I would guess that it's something like 1.5x to 3x as long. So hopefully a respectable play time somewhere in the vicinity of six hours, with the various alternate endings adding replay value.
    • Both versions of the "All Saints" ending will involve at least one additional puzzle, several additional cutscenes leading up to the ending, and an additional boss fight, none of which exist in this version of the game.
      • Thus exploring the lighthouse, the lighthouse alchemy puzzle, and "The Good Doktor" boss fight in the Panopticon are all content which need to be added, in addition to the final cutscenes for the All Saints ending.
    • Once all of the basic 4/6 endings are implemented, I want to create a secret "golden ending" that is very hard to get, but this is not something I'm absolutely committed to. 
    • Likewise, in conjunction with creating the secret "golden ending", I would like to implement a New Game+ mode available after beating the game once. 
  • I want to support controllers at least with the Windows build. The present build doesn't have proper controller support. By default, RPG Maker MV supports controllers but it doesn't seem able to map any keys from the entire keyboard onto controller buttons, and the version of the Chrono Engine I'm using has 3-5 more inputs than the basic default RPG Maker engine, and MV doesn't seem able to accommodate mapping those specific keyboard keys onto controller inputs. I think I can fix this but I will definitely need plugin help and support from people more technically expert with MV and Chrono Engine than I. 
  • I would like to work on deploying and selling a version of this game that works on Mac OS X in addition to Windows... 
    • ...with Linux and Android/iOS ports down the road if possible. 
    • Basically, I want to get this game on as many platforms and as many markets as possible, although some disturbing stuff I've read today make my hopes for a web browser version really not high.  
  • The in-game credits are EXTENSIVE, but they're not COMPREHENSIVE. In the fullness of time I'd like to track down the creator of every single sound effect and incidental graphical element and second of stock footage that appears on the screen or plays through your speakers and give proper credit, no matter how massive that makes the in-game credits. 
    • I also want to create a text document version of the credits, as a matter of fact, I need to writeup official readme documentation IN GENERAL.
    • There are also a very few mostly unused placeholder graphics that still need to be replaced with official ones. 
  • Various bugs and known issues I intend to fix exist in this early build:
    • In general, projectiles tend to pass through everything but characters, meaning that things like walls don't actually provide cover the way they should. I have no idea if I'll ever be able to fix this, but it doesn't impact the gameplay as you might think from the description.
      • The Panic Attack feature is still wonky, and the hyperventilation sound effects and screen blurring "dizzy" effect sometimes persist into places they shouldn't, most notably the Game Over scene/Game Over screen (as panic often leads to death, although that itself is not a bug, it's working as intended).
      • When Chainer enemies launch their chain projectile, the player is unable to fire any of their weapons or use any of their devices while the projectile is on screen. This obviously makes Chainers harder and more frustrating to fight than they should be.
      • "Pools of colored light" sometimes appear where enemies that are also light sources will spawn later in the game, or where they were before they were killed.
      • In this particular build, there's a bug where at checkpoint B4 if you interact with the Secure Cargo Transit & Storage System terminal after restoring the power, you will be given the code you're not supposed to learn until much later in the game. Inputting the code will let you acquire the key item "ghost tape #9" way early, but the way things are set up, this shouldn't allow you to actually sequence break.
      • Just noticed a bug in the Interlude where Chambers is simultaneously in the kitchen of the cabin and the main living room after you return from Go-Go-Gas with the duffle bag. This is likely a simple switch issue and easily fixed.
  • "Feature Creep By Radiohead". There are various features I still dream of/hope to implement once the game is content complete, although these are far from guaranteed. All of these were deliberately put on the back burner to avoid feature creep while I worked towards content completion  
    • Proper reloading with clip sizes, sounds, and animations is a kind of holy grail for me. Short of someone who's an expert with RPG Maker MV and Chrono Engine specifically showing me step-by-step how to accomplish this though, I'd rate this as very unlikely to happen. I have no idea how to go about implementing it on my own.
    • Molotovs that you can place/throw which explode into flames after a short while, damaging all enemies in the area and also you if  you're not careful.  The nature of Chrono Engine is that these would likely function more like the bombs from the old 2D zelda games than a typical throwable molotov cocktail, but I've been unable to get them working at all.
      • Crafting said molotovs from booze (already in the game, implemented and functional) and rags (need to be added)  would be very cool to implement if I can get the molotovs working at all.

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