Dear fans of post-apocalyptica! Before you is the first entry in the developer diary for the game Last Frontier, dedicated to a report on the work done in January 2014.
Toss some firewood into the potbelly stove, make sure there’s still hot tea in the thermos, and be sure to tune your radio to the common channel. Let’s go!
DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS
To describe what we were busy with during the first months of winter, two words come to mind — laying the foundation. Precisely defining the boundaries of the game’s setting, creating a detailed backstory for the world, thinking through the connections and ultimate goals of the surroundings… No matter how fantastical an alternate reality may be, the bulk of its assumptions must have logical and believable justifications. Of course, there’s no avoiding some implausible elements (we wouldn’t want to create an utterly bland work), but these will be only minor exceptions to the rule.
At the moment we are concentrated on the starting area of the world map. The design document for all the settlements of the “noob zone” has been formed, and work is actively underway on the personal quests of the starting location (currently the storyline of all the mandatory quests has been written out and the script of the secondary tasks is 70% complete, with regular and cooperative quests next in line).
Development of the user interface is in an active phase. On the one hand, as fans of classic computer RPGs, we would like to preserve the “hardcore” spirit of the old school. But let’s be honest — what worked beautifully in single-player and turn-based combat mode, alas, is sometimes completely unsuitable for an MMO, where everything happens in real time. I think that by the start of the closed beta, we’ll demonstrate UI options that satisfy us, in order to learn the community’s opinion and, if necessary, make changes.
We’d also like to emphasize one point. The question of which platforms the game supports is popular on various forums. We plan to release Last Frontier on PC (Windows, Linux), MAC (OSX), and tablets (iOS, Android).
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS
Over the past month, absolutely all of the informational materials on the game’s website have been brought into line with the current edits to the setting. As the scriptwriter, I’d like to note one important change. According to the original concept, players found themselves in the year 2030, 10 years after the nuclear war. However, having judged a decade to be too short a span for the emergence of stable mutations and post-war communities, we decided to shift the time frame slightly. The updated start date of the game is the year 2052. Players will find themselves in a cold world where, 30 years ago, the ambitions of the rulers of two superpowers destroyed almost all life on the planet.
We recommend that everyone interested check out the collection of facts about the climatic conditions of the game’s region, read an excerpt from the instructional brochure “Life in the Vault,” and take a look at the KS-3 Suit — the standard gear of the security units of the Karma Industries vaults. In addition, a new section has appeared on the site, Dates and Events, where the chronology of the game’s world will be gathered. The section opens with a landmark date — the start of the nuclear war.
THE ICE THAT JOINED THE CONTINENTS
Lastly, we present to your attention new artwork showcasing working variants of post-apocalyptic means of transport, including the upgraded KM-5A automobile.
That’s all for now. We’ll be glad to see your questions, ideas, and suggestions on the game’s forum, as well as throughout the official group of Last Frontier on VKontakte. Thank you for being with us. And may the hungry heralds give you a wide berth.
4 February 2014