It's been a long time since there was an update. And for good reason!
With the game nearing completion, much work went into creating the in-game video tutorials, playtesting, and cleaning up more text files.
With the additional amount of playtesting over the last few months, I am more confident that the game is at the stage where I can release it as a final product.
So we have entered the release candidate phase of development. Or "going Silver," as some call it. This phrase means that the game is "code complete" and nearly ready for release. I won't be touching any part of the program except to fix bugs or gameplay issues. My entire focus now is playtesting and finalizing English edits, documentation, and a map or two.
That's not much different than the state of the game for the last several versions. The big difference with Release Candidates is that it is a candidate for release. Any one of these updates could be the version we use as "Full Release" or "Gold," as some call it.
"Full Release" will mark the end of guaranteed development of the game. The keyword there is "guaranteed." I plan on providing support and bug fixes for the game for the foreseeable future. But with life, one never knows what can happen. Being a good steward of my software, I'll probably Open Source the game if I am no longer able to provide continued support. I also hope to continue feature development for the game well after release in what I call the "Feature Bounty System." Some of you may have already read about that some on our forums when requests pop up. I'll release more details on that after Full Release.
The current plans are to have at least 3 Release Candidates, but it may go higher depending on if any unacceptable bugs appear in the software. Roughly around RC2, I will begin PR efforts and set a release date for the game. In the meantime, I am continuing my third round of English edits, which will extend to news articles this time. I'll be adding more data to the magazine, news, and DYK articles. And of course, more playtesting.
The changelog is too long to attach to the announcement. You can find a copy of it here.