Hi again,
Work on the game has been progressing well, with Chapter 1 now officially signed and sealed.
Two scenes in Chapter 1 have been completely re-rendered to bring them up to the same quality as the rest of the game. I’ve shared a sneak peek of these updated scenes on Patreon for anyone interested.
I'm currently working on an additional scene being added to Chapter 2 in the form of a flashback to the moment Jess disappears. Oh also...
Minigames and free roam are now officially removed.
I know this was always a “take it or leave it” feature for most players, and in the most recent update the original ApocalypseToday even added the option to choose between a visual novel or minigame style at the start. After a lot of consideration, I’ve decided to scrap the minigames and free-roam elements entirely.
Why? Simply put, I’ve done it before—and it takes ages to create systems that end up being a very small part of the overall experience. I would much rather spend a month crafting a handful of immersive, high-quality scenes than weeks on a few minutes of gameplay that only a small percentage of players actually want.
On top of that, I don’t enjoy that side of development, and forcing yourself through a part of the process you dislike is one of the fastest ways to burn out as a developer.
I’ve also been in ongoing dialogue with Steam regarding how we bring the game back to life — and ultimately transition it to a free release.
They’ve now officially confirmed that the game can be brought out of retirement, which isn’t standard practice on their platform and was a major hurdle I wasn’t sure we’d be able to overcome. The good news is that this also means anyone who previously purchased the game will continue to own it once it relaunches — no one loses access.
Releasing the game as a free product, however, is a bit more complicated. Steam has a very strict and detailed set of rules around pricing, and when and how changes can be made. For a large studio with a multi-million-dollar budget, navigating this is relatively straightforward. For an indie developer operating on a “hole-in-my-pocket” budget, it’s a bit of a minefield.
That said, I’ve now received clarification that making the game free is possible — just not immediately. At the moment, it looks like there may need to be a 3–6 month window after release before the product can transition from a paid release to a free one. This isn’t set in stone yet, so please don’t hold me to exact timelines — but I promise that the moment I can make a risk-free decision to switch the game to free, I will.
As a workaround for anyone who’s willing, I can offer the following:
Anyone who becomes (or remains) a Patron on Patreon between now and the official release date announcement will be eligible for a free Steam key.
This applies to any PAID tier, for any length of time. Once you’ve become a Patron, simply send me a direct message on Patreon and I’ll add you to a waiting list for product keys.
Additional support or higher tiers are, of course, hugely appreciated — but absolutely not required. Every Patron during this window will qualify for a free key.
Once the game launches, I’ll distribute the Steam keys directly to everyone on the list.
Important: To stay fully compliant with Steam’s pricing policies, this offer will end immediately upon EITHER announcement of the official release date OR the release date, whichever happens first.
I'm hopeful that this approach feels fair for everybody.
Thanks again and see you all soon.