Monomyth Update - Current Progress and Beta Date
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According to this Kickstarter update for Rat Tower Software's dungeon-crawling RPG Monomyth, the game will be launching into closed beta on June 17, 2022, with the full release currently scheduled for autumn 2022. On top of that, we get to check out some throwable and otherwise interactable objects we'll be able to encounter while playing the game.
Here are the text parts, but visit the link above for some sample animations:
Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!
Another month has passed and that means it is time for another quick project update!
First and foremost, I would like to announce that the closed beta of Monomyth will start on the 17th of June. This will also affect the final release date, but before we go into this, let me give you a little overview of the progress that's been made during the last few weeks.
Current Progress
During April most of my efforts went into the finalization of the refactoring as well as level design. By now I have reworked almost all portions of the original codebase and ported the majority of old features to the updated standard. This gave me the opportunity to add some new features, most of which were part of the "Expanded Immersive Simulation" stretch goal. So, even though that goal has not been quite met in the campaign, fishing, blacksmithing, as well as a visible player model, will still be part of the final game.
Talking of which, carrying and throwing objects has been updated to match the visible player model and these features are now a lot more like a similar mechanic in Dark Messiah, one of Monomyth's secondary inspirations.
Certain parts of the environment can be broken by throwable objects as well. Having reworked the AI perception system, NPCs correctly react to the resulting noise.
NPCs also take damage whenever they are hit by a thrown object. The bigger the object, the higher the damage. With enough strength, your character can even throw barrels.
These improvements also tie into environmental interactions. By throwing objects onto pressure plates you can trigger their connected mechanisms. At least, if you, unlike me, can actually hit them. Please observe these incredible trick shots ("First try!")[...]
Besides throwable objects, I also worked over the cooking system and added further recipes. You can now change the form of dough with a rolling pin (which can also be used as a makeshift club) and bake some tasty pies.
In terms of level design, I spent a lot of time working on Lysandria, the game's main settlement. The lower parts of the inner fortress are filled with opportunities and shady characters.
Speaking of characters, I also added a couple of modular character accessories. These will of course also be available for the character creation reward.
Beta Date
As mentioned above, Monomyth's first closed beta phase will start on Friday, the 17th of June. Those of you who backed the game on the "Seventh Oath Cleric" level or higher will receive a beta invitation via mail. I will probably go into more detail on the testing mode during the next update, but we will likely use Steam's integrated beta testing feature.
Of course, June is already the last month of Q2, which unfortunately means that we will have to delay the final release a bit. The refactoring, while making numerous new features possible, also had its cost. Schedule-wise it was a gamble and I am sorry that it took so long in the end, but I still believe that it was well worth it. Besides a solid new architecture, the refactor meant a complete inventory overhaul, modular characters, a proper foundation for AI infighting, custom item properties, and many, many other things. I am confident that a streamlined codebase like the one I am working with now, will also simplify future debugging, which will be essential for the beta. During the first beta phase, we will mostly focus on core feature testing as well as some early game content.
The targeted time frame for the release is currently autumn 2022. The final release date will of course also strongly depend on the beta tester's feedback.
For the next few weeks, I will intensify my efforts with regard to content creation and feature polishing. Hopefully, this will make testing as smooth as possible. As always I will keep you updated on the project's progress. Until then!
Best wishes,
Michael
