Progress Report 3: Still Breathing

How long has it been? Eight months?

Well, a lot changes in eight months.

So here’s the rundown:

• I got the “wordpress” out of the domain name.
• Project Aguinaldo is now called “Tyrannis.”
  • It isn’t in board game format any longer; only digital. Turns out the game would’ve costed more to ship than to make.
  • There’s also a new coat of paint. Out with the old, weathered map and in with the Wargames aesthetic.
  • AI development has been finished, with testing underway.
  • The user interface is now more user-friendly, with on-screen instructions, a working tutorial, and a sidebar that shows allied troop deployments.
  • A saving and loading system has been implemented, with five slots available for PvP skirmishes.

Oh, and we’ve entered the closed alpha phase. A fresh set of eyes (or eight) might be able to root out some of the additional bugs lying around in the code.

Right now, it’s time to test some of the additional features that’ll be added as stretch goals:

First is the map editor. Sure, Tyrannis’ basic edition has over 150 states in 21 distinct regions to fight over, butyou might get it in your head to want a game in Japan, China, Africa, and beyond. Well, you’ll have to wait some time, assuming we don’t go out of business in a few years. But if you’re feeling impatient, the map editor gives you almost double that number of states to fight over with your friends. Want to fight your friends for the Great Imperial Crown in Russia? How about fulfilling TE Lawrence’s ambitions for the Middle East? Maybe you want to fight it out in Tamriel, Remnant, Middle Earth, or Westeros? With the map editor, your gameplay is limitless.

Next  is the Custom Piece editor. Want to have Prussians, Russians, and Habsburgs duking it out in the New World? Want the UK and France to fight a rematch of the Seven Years War, three centuries in the making? How about one of the many conspiracies turning out to be true and taking over the country? Or maybe you want some custom factions for your custom maps?

Now, I’m sure you’ll have some questions, so here’s a quick FAQ of what I think you’ll ask:

• How do we get these tools?
  • If Tyrannis reaches its first two stretch goals, the map editor and the custom piece editors will be added to the game, respectively.
• How much will this cost?
  • The stretch goals will be announced at a later date.
• Why?
  • Please be more specific.
• Why don’t you have the stretch goals listed?
  • Thanks for being more specific. Tyrannis is currently in early Alpha right now, and we’re currently planning crowdfunding efforts.
• Will there be any other stretch goals?
  • That’s still in the works while other talent (artists, musicians, and testers) is recruited.
• Come on, there have to be other possible stretch goals.
  • That’s not a question.
• What if that thing I said?
  • Better. Right now, the third and fourth stretch goals will likely be two separate campaigns, with 25 missions for each campaign.
• Aren’t these first two stretch goals a bit ridiculous?
  • Meh, it depends on what you decide to do with these tools.
• Isn’t this a violation of canon?
  • Probably.
• This isn’t historically accurate.
  • That’s not a question. We’re answering questions.
• Isn’t this historically inaccurate?
  • Meh, probably. This game takes place in an alternate timeline, so the games are historically accurate (or whatever) in its timeline. The custom pieces and map editor are more in your hands.
• Yeah, I have a question that isn’t one of the above.
  • Meh, that’s close enough to a question. Anyways, you can send questions through the “Contact” tab.