As promised, here is the official Book II development update:

The game is coming along very well. We had an early alpha test in September which resulted in over 100 fixes/suggestions. The month of October has been spent preparing the game to be submitted to the 2010 Independent Game Festival (entry deadline is November 1). That means we didn't get a lot of late game content done, but we did apply a whole bunch of "bling" to the make the game look and sound its best!

In terms of engine development, everything is essentially in place and working. Just a couple of minor tasks still exist in the "ToDo" list for programming. Sound and music has come a long way as part of the October bling makeover. As for game content, we are still behind where we are scheduled to be (we are about three months behind where we thought we'd be with content now) but we are making great advances daily. With programming and polish mostly out of the way, we are moving full-steam ahead with content.

The big question is: will Book II make it out before the end of 2009? Honestly it is looking a bit doubtful, but we are not forecasting any kind of significant delay. Our next big internal test is scheduled for early December, and we hope that leads into the semi-public beta test a few weeks after that. If all goes well, a January release is certainly possible! Besides, after the chaos of the holidays, that would be a perfect time to sit down with a good old-fashion RPG and burn away the rest of the winter months!

More info to come!

Great news. Take as much time as you need and good luck on the rest of development.

Thanks for the update! It's getting close... I can almost feel it. Truth be told a December or January release would be optimal for me considering how much school I have to do right now.

Anyway keep up the awesome!

I won't hold a grudge if you aren't don't this year. Give it time and make sure you're pleased with it. Book I was great. Hopefully there's no need to rush Book II.

January would actually be perfect for me, as I have pretty much the whole month off!

Even better - if the Beta is after mid-December, I might be able to do it. (I wasn't planning on signing up for the Beta during the regular school year because my teaching load is heavy enough that I wouldn't be able to pull my weight - but if it's end of the year, I may be able to help out!).


Yeppers! And thanks for the update, BW!!

Thanks for the update. I am sure Book II will come first in the 2010 festival.

End of December will be a great date to enlist for the beta as work is always calm around the new year

Take care

Yes, thank you for the update and please do take your time to get it the way you want it. I look forward to seeing what the new year holds for Book II.

A January release would be fine. Then I can send it to my brother for his birthday on February first!!
Yes, that means I will buy a least TWO copies of Book II

I'm glad to hear that things are coming along.

I'm not holding a grudge either. I'd much rather have a polished and bug-free product, than a 2009 release.

Thank you for the update. I'd just come on to send you email about it.

I guess I can wait till Dec. It will be something to look forward to during the long, gray winter days ahead.




SIGH!

Thanks for the update! I'm eagerly looking forward to it, but as others have said, I would rather have a good solid game than a hastily finished one. The ending for Book 1 felt hastily done. I'd rather wait a little and have more content and a more satisfying ending in Book 2!

Anticipation! The cruelty of it all! But this little update will help ease the withdrawal symptoms! But for a full cure I need Book II. But if more time will help the quality I can wait! Oh, the humanity!

Wow we are really getting close now :O Great work there!

Oh, I just realized I am semi-public; I have my online status show but no direct email contact!

Does that count toward being part of the beta test?

We'll post an online application for beta testers. For Book 1 we got over 200 applicants and chose about 15 to participate.