Next update & others news

Hello hello, everyone !
It's been a while since the last devlog and some of you did noticed me of it and the lack of updates about the project, for those outside of the official discord. So let's clear that up, shall we ? :)

Next update

Next update will be Patch 4.
I initially planned to make more patches before that, but as development continued, changes were too big to call it a 3.x as it adds and changes quite a few of known systems.
Here are some of the main changes you can expect to see :
• The mirror
• New ingredients
• Identifying the Curse

There is currently no release date but will announce it as soon as I know everything is there and working !

You can find more detailled info on current implemented changes on the official discord of the game.

A secret build ?

Some of you may have noticed there is a new file in the download tab.
This is the ShifterCon2024 build.

Indeed, Alchemy of Beast was present at ShifterCon 2024, first convention around the theme of transforamtion and shapeshifters (we're in the theme there :)). And with that, a secret build, announced in the convention only was released.
This build is basically a preview of Patch 4, as it adds its bugfixes and some of its features, while giving just a it of a hint of others ones.
If you are curious, don't hesitate to take a look to this build !

Why is it taking so long then ?

To keep simple, it's my job. This year was quite busy with all the events which happened in 2024. And as my job is within a newspaper office, you can guess the workload really depends of what happens in the world.
I originally planned the prototype to take one year of dev... make that two !
I wasn't even able to finish the coming update for TFjam2024, and that's a shame.
Hopefully, 2025 looks calmer !

The second reason is more technical.
As we add more and more mechanics and systems, I clearly continue to fight the game engine which... clearly is a loss of time and why most of the quick updates were fixes.. even if quick is not even true sometimes !
I really hope it will comes out smoothly but if there is more glitches in the upcoming build, please be patient !

And just an information

If you are on internet a lot, you would have noticed what happened on the Twitter side.
This why I unfortunately had to protect my account there and switch to Bluesky.
So please, if you're interested in news around the game and just my creations in the wider space, do follow me there !
The handle is the same of course :)
@LackeDragon 's BlueSky

Finally...

I thank you for your continued support.
I really love discussing with you all on the discord and loved seeing your interest at Shiftercon 2024 !
Happy Holidays to all of you and see you in 2025 !

As always, be sure to check the Discord to follow the news and talk about your own ideas !

AoB Discord server