Releasing version 0.4u

[ElAcechador]

So the developpement pace of FoE this past year has been rather underwhelming, and with the way things are now, it's hard to say if things will ever get back on track. Even if Alder did go back to regular updates, some of the other writers have already moved on and getting the project rolling again would be quite an undertaking for anyone involved.

With that said, the current release (0.4t) dates all the way back from late-March 2016, and while not much has happenned since then, the changelog still lists a number of improvements that have been stuck in limbo since then. Two of these changes are QoL changes to the alchemy system by me (with a third one on the way, finally got that off of my todo list), a couple of bugfixes here and there and an extra scene. All in all, nothing to write home about, but it would definitely be a shame if none of that ever got released.

So I'm just here to see if there are people here who would like to see an update, if only to get the stuff that's ready to be released out there. Maybe this'll turn out to be FoE's last breath or maybe it'll come back in due time, but there are things that have been taking dust on GitHub for almost a year now, so...

Do you think Alder should release v0.4u?

 

[King of Kings]

I can't speak for everyone, only myself. But I get this feeling even if this would be Eden's last hurrah then we'd all want to be a part of it. This is like one of Alder many children (alongside our favourite salamander) and even though they are moving on to new pastures we'd love to have one last party with them before they leave.

Or this could be the thing that gets our resident analmancer back on the sybian and back into full FoE production.

Either way I'm sure we'd love to have a new update, even if it is going to be small bugfixes.

 

[Alder]

You do know that Helia is Savin's baby, right?

My hope was to get a bit more content in before doing said release, but yeah, I can understand the sentiment.

 

[ElAcechador]

You do know that Helia is Savin's baby, right?

My hope was to get a bit more content in before doing said release, but yeah, I can understand the sentiment.

How much content is planned at the moment? From what I've seen, the game hasn't seen much love in recent months, and 11 months between incremental releases is a long time for projects like this one.

Besides, I'm tempted to pull a dad joke and propose the release be called "Ace Alchemist" .

 

[Alder]

The Observer has a huge chunk of stuff that's been ready for editing/coding for months. Needs my attention though.

 

[King of Kings]

You do know that Helia is Savin's baby, right?

Sorry about that, sometimes I mistake one genius for another.

 

[Gplikespie]

I am pretty sure I speak for a number of people when I say we miss you, alder.

 

[Akhter13]

This would be the equivalent of clearing house and making good on unfinished projects prior to settling the estate*

The act itself will be cathartic, going through the old backlog should allow you to establish if this is something that you truly need to do and will return to as life permits[1] or if this is a phase in your life that has passed and that you are now content to pack away


If you look back across the threads over the last year you will clearly see the community’s overwhelming position on this, but we are not here to badger or harry. You must do what feels right


*something a person of my age is all too familiar with

[1] Like Nimin

 

[ElAcechador]

This would be the equivalent of clearing house and making good on unfinished projects prior to settling the estate

The act itself will be cathartic, going through the old backlog should allow you to establish if this is something that you truly need to do and will return to as life permits or if this is a phase in your life that has passed and that you are now content to pack away

The way I see it, the stuff in store is mostly just a bunch of incremental improvements that have been collecting dust on the master branch for an unreasonnable amount of time. It might not be as packed with stuff as some of the earlier version releases, but holding it back because we're waiting for more content that might never materialize seems like a waste.

See it like this

1. Alder releases version 0.4u as it is now
   1. This makes him realise how much he missed working on FoE and he goes back to regular updates
      1. Version 0.4v comes out in the following weeks, all is well
   2. Alder decides he doesn't want to work on FoE anymore and quits for good
      1. The players at least get to experience the finished content and nothing of value is lost
   3. Alder still leaves the door open for extra stuff but doesn't actually pick the game back up
      1. The players at least get to experience the finished content, and version 0.4v may or may not come out some day with more stuff
2. Alder holds the release back until he gets enough stuff in to make the release worthwhile (status quo)
   1. Alder doesn't pick the game back up and no new content actually makes it into release 0.4u
      1. The stuff on git stays on git and most of the playerbase will never get to see it
   2. Alder eventually starts working on FoE again
      1. Release 0.4u comes out in the following weeks

I know I may be oversimplifying things and that I don't know any of the stuff that's been happenning behind the scenes, but I think we've maintained the status quo long enough that releasing FoE 0.4u now or later won't make much of a difference.

 

[Patrick R. Key]

1. Alder releases version 0.4u as it is now
   1. This makes him realise how much he missed working on FoE and he goes back to regular updates
      1. Version 0.4v comes out in the following weeks, all is well

As someone who's liked FoE for a real long time now, I'm going to keep my hopes up that this will happen. I don't know what's been going on behind the scenes either, I just hope everyone involved in FoE is alright and nothing serious has happened. Regardless, whatever decision gets made, I respect and understand it.

 

[Crimsom]

Me like FoE a whole bunch. Not complex space science thing. Very magic, much fantasy, want more.

 

[Alder]

Something in branch 1 of that decision tree will happen shortly. I need access to the new servers first tho, so it might be a day or two.

 

[ElAcechador]

Something in branch 1 of that decision tree will happen shortly. I need access to the new servers first tho, so it might be a day or two.

Whelp, we made it guys! Version 0.4u is inbound.

Thanks, Alder, you rock! I really hope we're talking about branch 1.1 here, but if you were to decide otherwise, I'd completely understand.

(I'm just sad it didn't end up being called "Ace Alchemist" in the end, but eeh, you can't have everything.)

 

[Alder]

Update is pushed to blog: https://www.fenoxo.com/foe-0-4u/

 

[Farlun]

IT LIVEEEEEEEEEEES!

I can only hope more updates will follow. Loved FoE so much...

 

[Tristan Black]

Indeed. I miss this project, even if I could never manage to motivate myself to add my own skills to the writing pool...

 

[ElAcechador]

Update is pushed to blog: https://www.fenoxo.com/foe-0-4u/

This post is unfortunately not a signal that I’m taking up the project again full time.

Quick question : Does that count as a release on Patreon? I know you stopped taking donations for this on a monthly basis when you went on hiatus, but money is always a good motivation aid.

 

[Alder]

I made an unmonetized release on Patreon.

 

[Ormael]

Yeah seems recently so many diff people making patron account so their can have more...umm reasons to work more on something that isn't main rl work for them (well I know one transaltor that from hobby of translatingchinese to english novels made it in the end (after year or so) a main work he intend to keep doing) ^^

Also huray for new release (late but I been near dead for most of last weeks :/ ).

 

[Doodlecat]

Sign me up for.
I really, really like FoE, and would be a pity to see it abandoned.

I'd like to help, but I know the main bulk is coding, and I know nothing about it (I get away with looking what's done, and replicating or adapting using what's already there, but not doing new stuff)

I can help with artwork though, if you want to pimp the looks.
Portraits in FoE are much more manageable since they're small, and mostly focused on faces, so I could probably do a pic of every friggin PC easily. Can be a whole new batch for every character, or I can "imitate" Alder's style (the pics are yours, right?), since 90% of my work has been covering someone else's butt when deadlines are close: basically I'm a "ghost artist", drawing with someone else's style, or adapting to specifical styles.

But only if you're really interested.
I've been looking for motivation to install my recently aquired graphical equipment, and something small like this could be a good start and practice. I don't have any important job to do (most likely for quite some time), but commiting to something this takes time and work, and I don't want to be involved if the project is going to be abandoned and waste my time I could use for something else.
Lemme know if interested.

PD1: Keep FoE alive!

PD2: I'm talking about free work here uh. That's what I mean with contribution!