Hello PokéForce,
Please read on for important information regarding our pre-planned January Demo.
Demo Postponement:
As we're all aware, our next demo was slated to be for January 31st, to February 3rd. However, it is with heavy hearts that we are announcing that we feel it's in everybody's best interests for us to delay the Demo until the end of February. We are making this decision in order to give the development team ample time to finish off the mechanics that we want to feature in our roadmap.
Internal Discussions:
We've had a few internal discussions on what a delay would look like, why we're doing it, and what it means moving forward for PokéForce in order to ensure that we can be more stable in our planned release dates, expectations and time management for the team, and I'd like to share some of these discussions with you today, so that we can be transparent on what to expect moving forward!
Why the Delay?
Hindsight being what it is, we simply ran out of time. We've been experiencing a lot of unexpected roadblocks such as illness, or burn out from poor time management (this one's me!). We have a deep passion for our game and want to ensure that, when we invite you to play, we showcase the absolute best that we can offer! We internally discussed whether to proceed with the January Demo based on our current progress. We wanted to avoid presenting an unfinished product for what we had planned. Ultimately, we concluded that aligning our Demos with the features outlined in our planned roadmap is more beneficial. This approach ensures that our presentations are in sync with our intended development path, allowing us to stay true to our internal roadmap. While we have new features ready to go, or to be utilized already, we really want our Battle Engine to shine during the next public access to the game, and this still requires a bit of work to ensure that it's the best it can be. As many of you will understand, the battle system for Pokemon is a very complex matter with a lot of nuanced bits and pieces that only get used in specific move cases and then never touched upon again, and we've also got our own additions to the battle system we have to account for due to the unique structure of our intended game play loop.
Development Cycles, Time Management:
Another thing we've been focused on in our internal meetings is ensuring that we are giving the development team ample opportunity to enjoy their lives, and not need to grind out the process, which results in rushed game play mechanics, or code that can hinder the overall experience. When we started doing Demos, we originally had them on a per-month basis, and while that was working great as we built the games core fundamentals, and new features were a daily occurrence, it's become clear to the team and I that we're better suited to start going through a 2-3 month cycle for the public Demos. What this truly just means is that Demos will be announced when we're positive on a date that we can reach, or when we've got everything we need to finished, and just want to add polish and flair. As for time management, the team is extremely eager to work on this game every single day, and while it's fun and engaging to do so, it's important for us to take breaks and enjoy life a little. We're all here because it's a hobby for us, but we also need to have time to enjoy doing things we love as well. For me, that's hanging out with you guys!
”End of February, What Does This Mean?”
While we're not too eager to announce a specific date right now, rest assured that we did our due diligence on planning out what's left to do, and how we can polish what we do have. Expect another announcement in the coming week(s) for a specific date, and one that we're sure we'll be able to stick to this time.
Beta Programme:
While we know it's disappointing that we can't all see each other in-game next week, I want to remind everyone that we do have a Beta Programme that will be utilized over the next month to help us get along to the next Demo, which can help get you trying the game out a bit faster. I've been keeping an eye on all applications, and I'll be ready to bring more people onboard to the programme soon, so keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation!
If you haven't already applied, you can do so here.
I know how eager everyone has been for another exciting chapter in PokéForce, and I was dreading to write this announcement today, so I just want to thank everyone for your patience and commitment to being a part of our community. I hope that the points I laid out helps you understand our internal processes a bit better, and that we didn't delay because of lack of interest in developing the game. I look forward to seeing you all in-game soon. <3
Thank you,
The PokéForce Staff Team
Alycia, Cpt. Lavender, Genesis, Drunk, Triston, Allurosa, Beemo, Dizzi, Emma, Eva, Fizz, Jenonen, Kat, Kildaru, Kupo, Lean, Lin, Lucy, Maid Lulia, Mikayu, MuZi, Pixel, Prof Ekie, Rare, Rebecca, Tater, Vizaryll
Please read on for important information regarding our pre-planned January Demo.
Demo Postponement:
As we're all aware, our next demo was slated to be for January 31st, to February 3rd. However, it is with heavy hearts that we are announcing that we feel it's in everybody's best interests for us to delay the Demo until the end of February. We are making this decision in order to give the development team ample time to finish off the mechanics that we want to feature in our roadmap.
Internal Discussions:
We've had a few internal discussions on what a delay would look like, why we're doing it, and what it means moving forward for PokéForce in order to ensure that we can be more stable in our planned release dates, expectations and time management for the team, and I'd like to share some of these discussions with you today, so that we can be transparent on what to expect moving forward!
Why the Delay?
Hindsight being what it is, we simply ran out of time. We've been experiencing a lot of unexpected roadblocks such as illness, or burn out from poor time management (this one's me!). We have a deep passion for our game and want to ensure that, when we invite you to play, we showcase the absolute best that we can offer! We internally discussed whether to proceed with the January Demo based on our current progress. We wanted to avoid presenting an unfinished product for what we had planned. Ultimately, we concluded that aligning our Demos with the features outlined in our planned roadmap is more beneficial. This approach ensures that our presentations are in sync with our intended development path, allowing us to stay true to our internal roadmap. While we have new features ready to go, or to be utilized already, we really want our Battle Engine to shine during the next public access to the game, and this still requires a bit of work to ensure that it's the best it can be. As many of you will understand, the battle system for Pokemon is a very complex matter with a lot of nuanced bits and pieces that only get used in specific move cases and then never touched upon again, and we've also got our own additions to the battle system we have to account for due to the unique structure of our intended game play loop.
Development Cycles, Time Management:
Another thing we've been focused on in our internal meetings is ensuring that we are giving the development team ample opportunity to enjoy their lives, and not need to grind out the process, which results in rushed game play mechanics, or code that can hinder the overall experience. When we started doing Demos, we originally had them on a per-month basis, and while that was working great as we built the games core fundamentals, and new features were a daily occurrence, it's become clear to the team and I that we're better suited to start going through a 2-3 month cycle for the public Demos. What this truly just means is that Demos will be announced when we're positive on a date that we can reach, or when we've got everything we need to finished, and just want to add polish and flair. As for time management, the team is extremely eager to work on this game every single day, and while it's fun and engaging to do so, it's important for us to take breaks and enjoy life a little. We're all here because it's a hobby for us, but we also need to have time to enjoy doing things we love as well. For me, that's hanging out with you guys!
”End of February, What Does This Mean?”
While we're not too eager to announce a specific date right now, rest assured that we did our due diligence on planning out what's left to do, and how we can polish what we do have. Expect another announcement in the coming week(s) for a specific date, and one that we're sure we'll be able to stick to this time.
Beta Programme:
While we know it's disappointing that we can't all see each other in-game next week, I want to remind everyone that we do have a Beta Programme that will be utilized over the next month to help us get along to the next Demo, which can help get you trying the game out a bit faster. I've been keeping an eye on all applications, and I'll be ready to bring more people onboard to the programme soon, so keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation!
If you haven't already applied, you can do so here.
A Message of Gratitude:I know how eager everyone has been for another exciting chapter in PokéForce, and I was dreading to write this announcement today, so I just want to thank everyone for your patience and commitment to being a part of our community. I hope that the points I laid out helps you understand our internal processes a bit better, and that we didn't delay because of lack of interest in developing the game. I look forward to seeing you all in-game soon. <3
Thank you,
The PokéForce Staff Team
Alycia, Cpt. Lavender, Genesis, Drunk, Triston, Allurosa, Beemo, Dizzi, Emma, Eva, Fizz, Jenonen, Kat, Kildaru, Kupo, Lean, Lin, Lucy, Maid Lulia, Mikayu, MuZi, Pixel, Prof Ekie, Rare, Rebecca, Tater, Vizaryll
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