It’s been 6 months, here’s where development stands:

I’ve figured out most of what Godot 4 can and can’t do, and built a few ugly placeholder levels. Currently I’m doing artwork for a graveyard and another dark gloomy level to set the general mood of the game, and learning PBR texture creation techniques in the process. After that I’ll probably record a soundtrack to enhance the atmosphere (dirty tricks of the trade!) then I’ll upload Demo #3.

Next I need to refine the game mechanics, implement stats/skills, get the AI working decently, finish the plot/dialogue system, and create a few quest scenarios. That should be the last major round of coding; I’m trying to keep the code fairly minimal for this game.

Getting back to artwork, I need better hair, eyes, skin, clothing, and animations. I’ve been studying various techniques; sometime soon I’ll put them into practice and create/update my character models as best I can, knowing I’ll have to redo them again later. At this point I’m just trying to establish the atmosphere, art style, and core gameplay to impress potential players and collaborators.

Those are realistic goals for the remainder of 2023. I’d also like to put out another Synthnostate 1 demo.

Getting into 2024, I can revisit a few things I’ve postponed until Godot adds support, notably the modding system. And I expect to spend more and more of my time on artwork and scenario writing, and also expanded game mechanics and visual effects.