Welcome, drifters! Quite a bit of time has passed since the last update, so I have plenty of great news to share. Let’s jump right in!

Looking back at the most recent posts, the October 2021 Update and November 2021 Update posts collectively covered three tools:

• SFX Testing Suite
• Animator
• Tilemap Editor

Towards the close of 2021, I decided to compile all of these tools into a single software. At that point, I realized that I had accumulated a fair foundation for an all-in-one editor for Drifter Dynasty. In January 2022, I cemented the decision to temporarily halt production on the main project in order to formally pivot to the Drifter Editor, a straightforward solution for developers interested in creating strategy role-playing games (SRPG)s and/or tactical role-playing games (TRPG)s. Drifter Dynasty’s opening chapter will be lovingly recreated and expanded using this new editor once the first feature-complete version is finished.

After eight months of dedicated work, I am thrilled to begin sharing the current state of the Drifter Editor and the vision moving forward with you. Perhaps the easiest place to start in discussing such a massive undertaking is its structure. From its inception, I envisioned the Drifter Editor as a transparent pipeline with focused stages of development. Below is a preview of those stages, which are smaller editors themselves.

Profile Editor

Create characters, items, and skills all on one screen.

Animation Editor

Create animations from an imported spritesheet and dub sound effects (SFX) over frames.

Tilemap Editor

Create tilemap images from tiles and groups of tiles, both derived from imported spritesheets.

Event Editor

Create events and scenarios using character data, from the profile editor and animation editor, and environments, from the tilemap editor. This stage is currently in pre-production, but I will share a preview image as soon as the interface is completed!

Future Posts

Despite the event editor being at the forefront of my mind, I am progressively returning to the other editors in an effort to continuously propagate the insight I acquire with each new stage of the Drifter Editor. As I transition to a feature freeze for each of them, I will follow up with a post elaborating on what an end user can expect to experience.

I’m no longer strictly publishing these devblog posts on a monthly basis. Instead, I will opt to write an update once a feature or major milestone has been reached. With a rigorous routine, these priorities seemed reversed, i.e. I was rushing to create something to showcase. Moving forward, features will organically develop until they’re ready for their respective reveal. Until the next one, stay well and drift on!