Development Update: Nov 2023

[Mossmouth]

Hey, everyone!

Wanted to pop in for an update on the status of the game(s):

Release in 2023? No, unfortunately we won't be releasing this year. I think for that to make sense the game would have had to have been pretty much "done" in July or August, to give us time to thoroughly test everything without making major changes, to do marketing, etc. I've been on projects where we've announced release dates and then made a mad dash to try to finish the game on time while doing everything else required - I can say with a lot of certainty that that wouldn't be a great idea for UFO 50 given its quirks.

Release in 2024? Yes, seems very likely, as we're getting strong signals that we're finally approaching "done". Hopefully we can be out in the first half of the year, but I can't say for sure until we're ready to announce a specific date.

Development Status: Right now a bulk of the development is going into 1. finishing up the audio for the last 8 or so games (Eirik has been releasing some tracks on Soundcloud here[soundcloud.com]) and 2. working on the "library" aspect of the collection, which ties everything together. Part of the library is the section you've seen where you simply choose what game you want to play, but without spoiling too much, it's more involved than that. And doing the deeper work on the library is a good sign that we are actually closing in on the end. There is still some polishing left to be done on the 50 games themselves, but it's definitely the smaller part of the work left to do now.

Why it's taken so long? We did underestimate the scope of making 50 games, but part of the team also released Spelunky 2 in the middle of it. Thankfully, Spelunky 2's release also gave us extra runway to bring UFO 50 to its full potential. The way it is now, we feel like it's more than "just" (?!) 50 games in one executable - personally, I think it's a pretty amazing level of scope and detail for something so cohesive and tightly-knit (the team is still just 6 people total).

I'll continue to provide updates on our release progress until you can decide for yourselves!

Thanks,
Derek

[Wok]

[Tim]

So hyped. Can't wait to see what your team comes up with.

[Sandwich Jones]

woop woop. you guys rule

[Sheena]

Looking forward to it whenever time time arrives!

[BossGalaga]

Originally posted by Mossmouth:

Release in 2023? No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCii4Q_-bLA

[Slashie]

It's been a long time since we met on SF's Day of the Devs and talked about this game. Still looking forward to it, take your time to make it what it should be! :)

[M3zik]

I’m so excited for this game, and I hope the eventual release goes well!

[dirtywhirlwind]

I need a PsychoOdyssey-style documentary about this project!

[Snax]

UFO 50 is still at the top of my personal wishlist! Thanks to the team for continuing their hard work on it! Thank you for the update!

[glovetheglove]

Originally posted by dirtywhirlwind:

I need a PsychoOdyssey-style documentary about this project!

I'd be more than happy to help! I've been here since the announcement date, chronicling the development process as best as I can :)

[Groggy]

Originally posted by Mossmouth:

Hey, everyone!

Wanted to pop in for an update on the status of the game(s):

Release in 2023? No, unfortunately we won't be releasing this year. I think for that to make sense the game would have had to have been pretty much "done" in July or August, to give us time to thoroughly test everything without making major changes, to do marketing, etc. I've been on projects where we've announced release dates and then made a mad dash to try to finish the game on time while doing everything else required - I can say with a lot of certainty that that wouldn't be a great idea for UFO 50 given its quirks.

Release in 2024? Yes, seems very likely, as we're getting strong signals that we're finally approaching "done". Hopefully we can be out in the first half of the year, but I can't say for sure until we're ready to announce a specific date.

Development Status: Right now a bulk of the development is going into 1. finishing up the audio for the last 8 or so games (Eirik has been releasing some tracks on Soundcloud here[soundcloud.com]) and 2. working on the "library" aspect of the collection, which ties everything together. Part of the library is the section you've seen where you simply choose what game you want to play, but without spoiling too much, it's more involved than that. And doing the deeper work on the library is a good sign that we are actually closing in on the end. There is still some polishing left to be done on the 50 games themselves, but it's definitely the smaller part of the work left to do now.

Why it's taken so long? We did underestimate the scope of making 50 games, but part of the team also released Spelunky 2 in the middle of it. Thankfully, Spelunky 2's release also gave us extra runway to bring UFO 50 to its full potential. The way it is now, we feel like it's more than "just" (?!) 50 games in one executable - personally, I think it's a pretty amazing level of scope and detail for something so cohesive and tightly-knit (the team is still just 6 people total).

I'll continue to provide updates on our release progress until you can decide for yourselves!

Thanks,
Derek

Will we be getting any new trailers this year?

Spelunky 2 is my fav game so really looking forward to it

[SamCaron]

Excited to check out this sweet little collection

[WeltallZero]

Gimme gimme gimmeeeee!

Originally posted by Mossmouth:

but without spoiling too much, it's more involved than that

Oh man... if this means fictional game magazines with reviews and tips like the Arino no Chosenjou / Game Center CX games, I will squeal like a damn schoolgirl. :D

[Mossmouth]

Originally posted by Groggy Boggy:

Will we be getting any new trailers this year?

Spelunky 2 is my fav game so really looking forward to it

Awesome! I really hope you enjoy UFO 50 - a lot of the same sensibilities went into this project.

Probably no trailers this year either, since that takes time away from development. It's very common to do marketing while you finish the game, but I think things go much more smoothly when you don't... especially if you're a small team without a dedicated marketing group.

[nikiforospetros]

Thank you, that's amazing news