Sanctuary Worlds Update #1: The Shape of Things to Come

Two weeks ago I announced a break in general BTA updates and a focus on the new Sanctuary Worlds project. Since that time, we've had another patch to fix some issues in main BTA but I've not been idle on the Sanctuary Worlds either. Today is a bit of an update as to where I am at and what the plan is going forward as well as a kind of rough roadmap for what needs to be done.

To date, I've essentially completed the weapon and ammunition list for the Sanctuary as well as the basic gear pieces (structures, armors, engines, heat sinks, basic EW gear). I do plan to do finer balance work as we approach release after I play with the gear extensively. Right now, it's all good "on paper" but I've not actively played with any of it yet so I haven't done the finer balancing. Part of this will involve you patrons as I put out demos of the tech and mechs. Once I get demos out and get some data going, I'll look closer at balance. For now though, the structural components are set and the weapons are good enough for me to make use of in making mechs.

Speaking of, I've also started on making mechs (of which they will have many), starting with the Locust II. I plan to get the Wasp II and Stinger II done this weekend if possible. My general goal is to do 1 chassis a day, if possible, which will get the chassis done in like 2 months (I said this was going to be a longer-term project and I meant it). Part of the challenge with making mechs isn't the time investment to make the files, I can crank out the files in like half an hour. The issue is designing them all from scratch since none of these are canon or exist anywhere else and use gear that's all new. That design process is slow and I don't have a great pipeline for it just yet, still working on setting up a pipeline for design. Once I have a clean pipeline set up for how to do the design work, I think I can speed up the process a bit. 

While I make mechs, I plan to start thinking about the event chain that will introduce the Sanctuary Worlds powers to the broader setting. I also need to start thinking about making their space and planets which is going to take awhile since making planets is a real pain in the ass frankly (I'll explain this further in a future update). I also need to come up with a design for their shops, though I think that'll be a pretty quick process. Finally I'll need to do some emblem work and make the factiondefs and such to make the factions really exist, but that's also fairly light and easy and I can do it one day when I'm bored of staring at mechdefs (which I guarantee will happen).

The large roadblock to the Sanctuary Worlds existing really is the mechs just due to them being the biggest chunk of work. It should be manageable but we'll have to see where I'm at a month from now. Regardless, that's all for today's update. This should give a decent picture of where things are and how I plan to proceed from here. Keep an eye out for another update in a few weeks (which should largely be "I made these mechs! Hurrah!" if all goes according to plan).

Thanks for reading and sticking with me on the road to adventure! See you soon, folks!

BD