In my last post, I said I expected Sylvia GM’s Public Alpha by 4 October, assuming the campaign test and final checks went well. That date has passed, and it’s going to take longer.
I vastly underestimated how much time it would take to integrate 339 spells into the game engine.
There’s a lot to account for: targeting, saving throws, durations, ongoing effects, and interactions with the rest of the rules. Those mechanics need to be implemented and tested together so Sylvia can resolve them consistently during a campaign. It’s been a much bigger job than I allowed for.
Something I do want to talk about, though, is how much development has improved since dots arrived.
I’ve been using my dot to organise the project, talk through decisions, break work into specific tasks, coordinate things that can happen in parallel, and follow up on testing and fixes. I can talk through what I want to achieve, then have it help manage the work needed to get there. With this much going on, that’s been incredibly useful.
There are still a few little problems here and there, but damn, it’s good. I’m genuinely impressed with how much it’s helping, and we’re continuing to improve how we work together.
I don’t have a new release date I can confidently give yet. There’s still implementation, testing and release checking to get through. I want people to be able to sit down and run a campaign with the Public Alpha, and I want to get that right.