Hey everyone!
Three years ago I released into Early Access. Looking back, holy moly the game has evolved so much! I am not a game developer by trade and this was my first endeavor. I was only armed with a very specific vision and feeling that I was trying to experience but couldn't quite find in other games. Fortunately I was not alone: after a year or two of development, other studios announced games that were closer to what I was craving, such as Last Epoch, Path of Exile 2, and more. I was highly encouraged, knowing that there were many other gamers craving an updated take on the beloved top-down ARPG genre.
In my case, my core pillars are:
1) A completely modular and powerful build-your-own skill/class system
2) Strategic, mechanical, rotational, combo-based combat and gameplay.
3) ROLE-based playstyles (as opposed to CLASS-based playstyles) E.g. instead of deciding you want to play a "Wizard" and then experiencing the playstyle that I designed, you'd decide you want to play a "ranged high damage" character and then use all the systems of the game to achieve that.
Originally I planned to be in Early Access for 1 to 2 years, but we've now hit 3 and though the game is feeling close, there are still some hurdles. The first major delay was the unforeseen requests from the community, such as Gamepad/Controller support, WASD movement, and other QoL features that were important to you guys. Secondly and somewhat related, due to the release of the aforementioned other titles, the genre is evolving extremely quickly and so too have gamers' (and my own) feature requests, thresholds, etc, so I've had to go back and update or reimagine my systems and designs.
Finally, since the start of this year, progress has been very slow due to personal reasons. I'll spare you the details but I'm sure you can imagine the sorts of common upheavals that can cause solo projects such as this to slow. The good news is that my passion and energy burn ever as bright, I just have not had many spare moments due to the turmoil. As I settle into my new stride I'll resume full-time development and continue to provide updates. The obvious unfortunate news is that is that 1.0 Launch is delayed to late this year. The good news is that this personal turmoil is temporary, and coming out the other side I have reinvigorated spirit, and reinvigorated funds (lol). I've also dreamt up some potentially really cool new systems and designs that I'm eager to try out! As always a huge thanks to the community who continue to provide great feedback and to all supporters of the project!