Welcome, drifters! With Alpha Demo #3 uploaded, I decided to return my focus back to tools development. Let’s kick off this blog post with a quick retrospective.

Alpha Demo #3 Retrospective

Drifter Dynasty Alpha Demo #3 Gameplay: The Drifter’s first turn against Ezekio and his bandit crew. Eric Ramos.

Overall, I’m proud of the game’s state the third demo snapshotted. As usual, there was some content temporarily cut, but there were also a slew of great additions and improvements.

Melee combat in Drifter Dynasty. In development. Eric Ramos.

For instance, the melee combo system made its grand debut! The presentation became leaner and more streamlined into the overall presentation of melee combat. Alongside this introduction was the return of the Grandline Saloon cutscene, showcasing the updated font and dialogue.

First cutscene of Drifter Dynasty Alpha Demo #3. Eric Ramos.

With every new milestone, I cumulatively gain deeper insight into not only Drifter Dynasty but also software development in general. This insight tempers my goal-setting, allowing me more realistically plan future releases. Below is a list of features that did not make the cut for Alpha Demo #3 but are very much so still in development!

• Dedicated settings menu where players can configure various aspects of the game
• More interactive tutorials giving the players further control of how they learn the mechanics
• Gamepad support
• Sound effects (SFX)

New Tool in Development!

https://twitter.com/eric_sonofafish/status/1438311491938267140

With my latest tweet, I demonstrate a few capabilities of the new SFX Testing Suite in development.

• The animation list can be accessed via auto-complete suggestions.
• The animation can be looped on demand.
• The animation can jump to any time the user seeks on the scrubber.

You might be thinking: “Where are the SFX and how do they fit into this tool?” Well, the answer to both of those questions will visually arrive soon in a tweet, but for now, I can clue you in on the plan.

Just as there is a scrubber for the animation, there will be one for the SFX that the user imports into the tool. They will be able to position the clip in relation to the timing of the animation, resulting in an isolated real-time test! For example, the walk animation shown in the tweet above is 0.6 seconds, but the user will be able to insert two 0.1-second SFX clips to line up with each foot making contact with the ground.

Drifter Dynasty development marches along as we head into autumn. Even though the weather is cooling down, my soul remains hot and fired up! Look forward to more exciting news, both in the main game and surrounding tools. Until then, stay well and drift on!