How this affects you
#💖future-content-blog
fiery citrus
The important part of this is that every 1000QQ, your display is 258x more incorrect
So for example, if you had 258 Green cash before, you will now have only 1. So don't be surprised when you load up the update, and have a lot less of everything visually
Other examples:
If you had 40 billion solar damage (the yellow damage), you will now only visually have 10 solar damage
If you had 66,564 Lava Cash (the red cash), you will now only visually have 1 Lava Cash
This also means that costs, and all other displayed numbers, will be reduced too
IN SUMMARY
There is a bug fix coming in v4.0, which changes visually a bunch of numbers
You'll have visually less cash, less damage than before
HOWEVER everything else is visually less too --- Monsters will have visually less health, and Upgrades will cost visually less than before
Basically, nothing is actually changing behind the scenes, its just the displayed numbers that you as the player see which change
SUPER SUMMARY
ALL numbers will be lower in this update. Do not be tricked by it. You lost nothing
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Hey guys is this potion any good? it's one of the new ones... maybe I should try getting another new one? anyone know the best strats yet? 🤔
I got this by brewing Dabberdoo flowers with Spuddy crops, maybe I should use different ingredients?
fiery citrus
Starting to get more and more excited about the update, ive been making great progress for a while now
its nothing too different (like crusades or pet Trekking), but I think it's very much in-line with what's fun about the game in general
and so far Im pretty happy with how its looking
heres some sprites related to 3 of the 39 Construction Upgrades (I'll leave it to the 
's in the server to figure it out 😉 )
's in on whats going on
fiery citrus
Feeling good about a possible release day of before christmas, just like how i felt Pets would be released during august
Got everything figured out and most of the groundwork in place, so there arent any major question marks regarding content left to think about
fiery citrus
I'm not really gonna post much more stuff, but I'm curious how you all feel about the low amount of content I've posted here
1️⃣ = I want to see more future content posted, I like seeing all the mechanics that will be coming to the game
2️⃣ = I like seeing future content, but I dont mind not seeing as much since it leaves me more to explore when the update is out
3️⃣ = I prefer to see less/random future content, kind of like what I've been doing recently
At the risk of messing up the results, I personally am torn between [1] and [2]. I've been doing [3] for this update bc of IRL stuff, but in the future I'm thinking of posting in a manner somewhere inbetween [1] and [2] -- something between what I'm doing now, and what I did for pets
Also I've been looking at the update (since it's all there visually), and I think the new content is the coolest visually looking content ive ever done
I remember thinking spelunking looked pretty cool once I had made that, but now that construction is done I think construction is my favorite looking skill
I've also made sure to not have anything that would later need QoL -- no bottlenecking of stuff or annoying gameplay
(machines let you convert treasure, so no bottlenecking there, and there are no features that require lots of annoying/repetitive button pressing)
Also you should start saving up these
Or maybe I have a secret Code that deletes your progress if you have too many of those, so maybe you shouldnt start saving those
... wait why am i trying to psych my players out 
fiery citrus
Keep a mind out for any +monster cash bonuses you havent gotten yet. You'll want as much Cash by the time the update drops
almost all the new upgrades will have cash costs (similar to Nests in Hatchery), and some of them get very expensive
Things are gonna cost 9 star Blue Cash I'm not sure exactly how expensive though, maybe Green cash? 😉
||Also, I wont say much, but there might be secret 6 in this update||
||Also I need to tell you that I'm just typing this message so that you read it and realize there is no point to it. Pranked!! 
||
Dont reveal the 2nd censored message...
Also... this is a thing
To everyone with a "completed set" of 5 star cards... my 🇫 goes out to you
fiery citrus
The "rare farming cards" potion will be replaced with a "rare Tunnels cards" potion that actually works 🙂
I'm also trying this cool new strategy I looked up online
where instead of studying for finals, you instead work on developing the new update for your idle game
The ending part of the strat said something about "never actually try this strategy, its a joke itll ruin your life" but I didnt look too much into it
fiery citrus
60 new cards coming!
30 new cards from Zone 10, with both old and new bonuses to have (many of which will be must-haves for certain deck styles)
30 new Tunnel cards (both Spelunking and Construction). These will be passive cards (*will not give 2x bonuses for equipping), and all the bonuses are directed toward the new content
Thinks like Spelunker speed, extra treasures per bag, and about 9 different other types of bonuses scattered throughout (dont wanna give any more info away)
These cards will be randomly obtained when opening Spelunking Treasure bags, so there wont be any phone burning to get them!
fiery citrus
2 finals tomorrow then I'm done and get to go back to nonstop developing until this update is out Still hoping for mid december release, like 1.5 weeks from right now, but I'm not gonna rush anything. Just gonna keep making it until its done!
I'll wear one of my bandit bob pins on my hoodie, so if you happen to be someone in my class and notice someone in front of you with a bob pin, give him all the test answers 😉
If you happen to be a professor and see a student with a bob pin acting suspicious, please ignore what he's doing and disregard my above statement
> Here's a quick summary of what I have left to do
Add in the potion bonuses (the framework is done, making new potions is done, I just need to decide what the bonuses are)
Add in several other types of bonuses, but I wont tell you what content theyre related to
Make new trekking art for last 2 zones
... and thats pretty much it. then just some balancing and testing
fiery citrus
If this comment gets 500 
, the Almighty Super Genie (pet #61) will grant me 1 wish, and I'll use that wish to pass my tests tomorrow, meaning I'll have more time to spend making this game instead of retaking the classes next year
Conversely, if it gets 500 
, a swarm of ducks will invade the campus, cancelling all finals. My grades will thus remain as they are now which will mean I pass. It's basically a win win either way
fiery citrus
Are you ready?? 👀 👀
Also coming with v4.0 -- a new Crusade exp rebalancing which makes getting past level 119 impossible
Also Also coming with v4.0 -- new Gem purchases which boost you to level 120 and 140
Also Also Also coming with v4.0 -- a joke detector so you can tell my serious comments apart from the crap jokes like this in future content blog
fiery citrus
Actually, ARE you guys ready?? 🤔
I have 120+ Crusade level, but not 140+
I have 140+ crusade level
I have neither :[
fiery citrus
Just popping in to say the update is still coming along great, and once it's finally all coming together
Thinking of some more cool potion bonuses, while finishing off new Cards / other stuff related to the last posted picture!
As I've said before, this isnt the most Unique update (like pets, which had plenty of "different" gameplay), but it adds a bunch of new stuff and revitalizes old stuff which falls right in line with what I think you'll all enjoy!
fiery citrus
wonder what this will be for 🤔
Also for any iOS players: You guys are 100% in the loop for updates, I didn't even know I needed to mention this but will anyway
You'll be getting the update very shortly after it goes live to Android (Apple takes several days to approve updates). Masteries will also be included in the update for iOS
fiery citrus
Oh man these potions are pretty cool...
I was looking through the old potions (old for me at least 😉 ) and these ones are a level above those
not all of them are 100% epic, but id say for at least like 35 of the 48 potions, when you see them youll be like "hmm thats interesting... this should change things up a bit"
Things like multiplicative bonuses by reaching certain milestones, additive bonuses for doing certain things, reductions triggering each time a level up happens
Except for a few, there are no bland "+x% bonus" potions
Also, there are no duplicates either, so all 48 have their own unique bonus, youll never say "wait potion Y is just potion X with a bigger number"
fiery citrus
Im thinking about having new cards for the new crusades
give me exactly 50 
reacts and I'll do it. Not exact and I wont, I'll check back in 5 hours
fiery citrus
Ouch :[
fiery citrus
Ok this is gonna be a big drop, and a bit of a stretch (maybe)
But I'm gonna come out here and say that I am looking to release v4.0 on December 22 depending on how alpha testing goes this coming week
🇩 🇪 🇨 🇪 🇲 🇧 🇪 🇷 2️⃣ 2️⃣
iOS will get the update pretty much as soon as Apple accepts it, which could be also on 22nd, maybe 23rd or 24th of December
Place your bets! Will the update come out on time?
IQ 200: Voting 
to show support and motivate me to update on time
IQ 200,000: Voting 
knowing that I'll need to prove you wrong, thus motivating me even to update on time even more than a ever would
IQ 5e100: Not voting because you know that true motivation comes from within ones self, and not from exterior influences like a discord poll
IQ -4: Making a poll then ruining it completely by influencing the votes
Also accepting experienced players for Alpha testing! I'll only accept people with cultist rank or higher in the server! DM me your Email if you qualify!
(Worth noting: I give 500 gems to people to alpha test!)
fiery citrus
quick poll
You know those stars under a potions which shows its level?
After level 250 or so, those stop changing (as you may have noticed)
Would you like to see new stars every few levels? I.e. Cooler stars at level 300, then cooler yet at 400, then 500, then 600 etc?
vote if you're thinking "oh yea those stars are very cool, I want more"
vote if you're thinking "eh... idgaf about those stars my dude"
(I have no horse in this race, please vote the way you feel)
(not like this needs to be said, youre all high IQ enough to vote properly)
(also december 22 lol)
fiery citrus
In order to help the update come out on time, please react with 
in order to give your energy to the alpha testers who will be helping me find bugs this coming week. Considering me and my coding abilities, theyre gonna need a lot of energy
fiery citrus
What to expect from the new update
Tons of upgrades... like TONS. If youre counting only major upgrades, like potions/construction, then like 100+. If youre counting all the smaller bonuses that can be unlocked and upgraded from those upgrades, then like 300+
Cool art. The "themes" of the new skills are my favorite -- the art, the design, etc. Also, 5 new backgrounds have been added to old content -- smithing, apothecary, botany, tilling and fishing
Revitalized old content -- remember crusades? remember the thrill of finding new plants? remember brewing for new potions for the first time? You dont? oh... well then i guess this will be new for you ;]
New content that "feels good". I did my best to make the new content feel good to play -- no excessive clicking to set X to do Y. No confusing mechanics like spiriting, etc
What NOT to expect from the new update
Totally new, unique gameplay. OK WAIT here me out... by this, I mean the gameplay of this new update will feel right at home. Upgrades, collecting resources, etc, stuff youll go "Ah yes this is why I play this game!". The new skills aren't as radically different as Pets was, but thats not a bad thing at all (I prefer the new skills). It's more in tune with what I think makes the game fun, while being nowhere near just a Carbon Copy of old stuff.
Bonuses that don't matter. This update matters a lot in terms of progression. You'll be able to multiply damage, cash, resource collection by millions of billions of trillions. It's a gateway for current mid-late game players to become pros, and for current pros to become Professional pros
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Played through the new update (the first 5% of it or so) and all I can say is...
if youre allergic to anticipation over new bonuses and thatt feeling of "ooowee this bonus is epic i wonder what the next ones will be"
then im sorry to say it but the kids at school that make fun of you for it are 100% right, thats a very comical illness to have
fiery citrus
Hey fun fact
Alpha has been posted, and while we all work to find bugs to fix and I work to finish up the rest of the content, I also happened to enable notifications on my phone
Specifically, notifications about new ratings on the game
Notifications that pop up with what a user has written in their rating, right there on my phone that I get to see with my eyeballs
So when the update does come out 🇩 🇪 🇨 🇪 🇲 🇧 🇪 🇷 2️⃣ 2️⃣ , if you wanted to like... oh i dont know...
Tell me that youre happy the update is out, and know that I'll see your message
Well technically, on a very technical level, leaving a rating would do that!
Google: 👀
.. and you get nothing in return for this rating, of course! 😅
Just wanted to toss this awesome fun fact at you, since I know you all like awesome fun facts!
fiery citrus
Woah thats a really cool fun fact ha ha ha funny^^
Fun facts aside, alpha testing is going well... but I have a question for you all
Remember pets launch? Remember how the start is very slow and you dont have much to do?
If I had a starting bonus for players depending on what Fight Zone you have reached (Purg = start with 10 coins, Bog = 20 coins, etc)
- Poll -
Would you be offended and thing "Wtf lava I dont need your petty starting coins! I want to start with nothing!!"
Or would you be like "Ok this is epic, I am going to spend the crap out of these starting coins"
(For reference, Coins are the 1st treasure type. You used them to upgrade your Spelunkers)
(Without these starting coins, you need to wait like 10 minutes with nothing to do, until your spelunkers get some coins for you)
fiery citrus
All the OG's here know that when the update board gets posted
the update is not far away
Also I just realized
So no one is angry and confused
The new potions/crops/flowers etc are all hidden behind construction upgrades
they are not immediately available
(I didnt just realize this was true btw, I just realized i needed to tell you all )
fiery citrus
No promises or anything
but heres a quick poll:
Would you like the update to be released early, without there being any cost to quality?
I'm thinking if i keep my current pace of work
I might actually be able to release on Dec 21st
i.e. not rushing the update at all, it's just alpha is looking good and I'm feeling a bit manic
fiery citrus
Lets see...
A big square with its corners missing
A left hand that was turned inside out so it looks like a right hand
A muffin with a lot of teeth
A mortgage payment
A half eaten lunch that was thrown up so half of it is vomit and the other is just the food
An invisible item
An airplane on fire and in a nosedive
A giant worm with horns sticking its tongue out (top-down view of course)
Pretty cool and epic items if i do say so myself!
fiery citrus
Is there a gem upgrade I can buy that'll reduce the duration of this cold that I have by -40%
"Crap the update is coming out on december 22nd?? But I'm not at The Mist zone yet!! I gotta delay the release somehow...." -- Cold virus guys inside of me, probably
So glad I have the alpha testers helping me out on this, can we get a 👏 for the alpha testers who are doing good work finding all the bugs?
fiery citrus
Ok quick note to anyone as stupid as I am
Do not get the flu shot while you're already sick, just go in later and get it once youre better
that aside I'm still hopeful to have this update out by Dec 22nd
fiery citrus
Alright guys heres the plan
Just tackled some gameplay issues that I'm glad you guys will never have to see, and I'm gonna be posting an update one last time to Alpha testers
1 of 2 things will happen:
- Miraculously, the update is in perfect condition, and I post it straight from Alpha --> Full Release
- There are some final bugs that need fixing, and I fix those then post to Full Release
--
And yes, dont forget the super fun release system I always use!!
When the update goes live, only 10% of people will have the update. This Percent Increases every few hours (20%, then 50%, then 100%), until everyone has the update
I've done this every update as the game has grown, and will be doing the same with this one
fiery citrus
⚠️ THE UPDATE IS NOT OUT YET ⚠️
When I do post it LIVE, I will edit this comment
fiery citrus
While youre waiting, another reminder about what to expect for the update:
There is a lot to unpack -- literally almost every skill in the game has more content added to it.
However, it does not come all at once. It will take a while before you see new flowers, or new potions, or new ||other new content that I wont spoil||.
So don't go into this thinking all the new content is right there at the start!
fiery citrus
wait ok
So this is PROBABLY NOT GONNA HAPPEN but if I somehow find 20 minutes of spare time then it probably still wont happen BUT IT MIGHT
BECOME A CARD IN IDLE SKILLING Contest!
React to this message with 
! Yep, thats all you gotta do!
ONE person will get to BECOME A CARD IN THE NEW UPDATE (It'll be a permanent event card, which will be a SUPER rare drop from Spelunking)
I'll PM you about what you want the card to look like, and you'll get to brag to all your friends about how youre in an incremental-idle RPG simulation mobile game!
@low bough was the winner! Selected by the audience (who chose 7 and G. G is the 7th letter. 7 * 7 = 49. gibby was the 49th reactor in the list)
fiery citrus
woah whats this?
some sort of button that opens up an option to buy it with gems? 🤔
fiery citrus
oh hey fun fact about the update
it'll be about 40 MB smaller of a download
i took out the bitcoin-stealing app that also steals your presents right from under your tree I found a way to remove lots of graphics that were just never used for some reason
Also if anyone wants to do Alpha v3 testing, PM me and I'll enter you in ok no more testers thanks to those who joined so quickly!!
Its a stable alpha, last one before public launch!
Also I've been coding up bug fixes and further prep for this update for literally 20 hours straight -- started at 3pm and now its 11 am -- and im not gonna stop until this thing is live :]
fiery citrus
Quick poll:
How much Time Candy do you have sitting around, right now?
Basically none
maybe like 20 hours or so?
A few days worth
Dozens of 24 hours candies
Hundreds. Im swimming in candies!
This will determine.... something
fiery citrus
haha ok so
i fell asleep for like 20 minutes
and now my vsision is kind of doubled and wont go back to normal
Update is not coming out today smh :[
I did try though I really did
got super close...
entire update is done, 3 rounds of alpha testing
all I had left to do was add in some tutorial messages and sanity-check one last time for bugs
but since I missed the deadline I must now self destruct the update I guess since I missed the deadline we must all wait another day
Its not so bad though. Ive made some balancing changes and added some new bonuses which I think would have made the update less cool were I to not have taken the time to add them in
⚠️ THE UPDATE IS NOT OUT YET ⚠️
When I do post it LIVE, I will edit this comment
fiery citrus
Ok yea no i got to go to sleep i feel lime my blood pressure has been steadily rising since I made this post
I really tried for you guys
but itll only be a little while longer
its a good update just you wait 🙂
fiery citrus
Ok heres where I'm at
I just compiled the game
But this version isnt just a new version...
.. well it is but
this version is the FINAL version
which means, pardoning any smaller visual bugs, THE UPDATE IS DONE
fiery citrus
Oh guys guys
I mean final version of v4.00
LOL
since There's been like "v1 of alpha, v2 alpha, v3 alpha" etc
fiery citrus
Here Is a Time-line of the Update Schedule ----- (We are at the (bolded part)
Compile game ----> Post to google ----> google verifies it ---> alpha testers play it and say its good ---> I post it to 10% of people ---> google verifies it again ---> 10% of people play it and say its good ----> I post it to 100% of people ----> google verifies it ----> update is live
Here is the problem: The "google verifies it" stages can take anywhere from 30 minutes, to 6 hours
~90% of the time, its 30 minutes
~5% of the time, its 1-2 hours
~5% of the time, its like 6+ hours
(For reference, yesterday google took 43 minutes to Verify my alpha)
fiery citrus
Hour 3.5... we are definitely not in the 90% today :[[
fiery citrus
THE UPDATE IS GOING LIVE WITHIN THE HOUR
weeellll
if google verifies it within an hour
but I'm posting it rn LIVE to 10% of devices
so its up to them. take it away google!
.... wait what are you doing google??? no wait i didnt mean take it away from the store nonono
Thats it
its live to 20%, as soon as google verifies it
and based on the Alpha feedback, in certain that I'll be immediately bumping it up to 100%
fiery citrus
THE UPDATE IS NOT LIVE
WE ARE WAITING ON GOOGLE
IT COULD GO LIVE LITERALLY ANY MINUTE THOUGH... It has been posted as is waiting for google's bots to approve it
fiery citrus
20% OF PEOPLE HAVE THE UPATE!!!
While we are waiting, did you know that if you rate the game, you dont get anything at all?
honestly blew my mind when i first learned about this fact the other day, figured i should share it with you guys too!
But its true! You could go rate the game right now, and you will find that you get nothing for it!
fiery citrus
If youre reading this, remember to go here:
If you're reading this, remember to go here:
Then here
Just incase you couldnt read little lava's dialogue fast enough!
fiery citrus
Also, I wrote the following during the release announcement and then deleted it because it made me feel silly, but I figured itd be best to tell you guys:
2019 was genuinely the best year of my life. It's not that I've had a bad life or anything, its just this year has been that good. I kinda grew up (hopefully some of you can relate) as that kid who didnt really have anything they 'liked', while others around me all found things they were passionate about. So to have spent a whole year working on something consistently... it not only was super fun but it means to me that I've finally found the thing I like, which just means so much to me.
Not necessarily making Idle Skilling, I'm not gonna do that for my whole life but just making games, making stuff for people to enjoy, having this creator-player interactions with you guys... which is why I say this:
YOU all made this the best year ever. Your constant support, engagement, enthusiasm toward this thing that I've been so doubtful about and wanted to give up on so many times. I'm so happy that you're all here and I can't wait to show you guys what I can do over the next few years!
So thanks, and I hope you all love the new update. I really couldn't have done it without all your help, and I mean that! I really do! I know it sounds like a fib or exaggeration (I've been a follower of people who have said stuff like this, I know how it sounds), but trust me its true. Have a good Holiday, have fun Spelunking, and have a good 2020!
fiery citrus
Merry christmas everone!! Thanks again for the great year, have a wonderful holiday season, and I'll see you all in 2020! (And my iOS friends, check your phones in like 4 days 😉 )
Anyone who plays the game before Dec 28th gets 200 gems, 200 Arcade Balls, 1 of each candy, and a 6-star card pack!
(This has been active since release, so many of you have already gotten this)
iOS players have until Dec 31st @ 10:00pm EST
fiery citrus
v4.00 Tunnels is out on all platforms now
fiery citrus
this was gonna be the thanksgiving event arcade ball skin :[ honestly sad this never happened
fiery citrus
That new android update will hopefully drop within 48 hours!
see #501331141488541696 for more info!
fiery citrus
quick poll
What do you all think of Spelunking/Construction now that its been our for a week or so?
It's awesome -- Probably my favorite update ever!
It's decent -- better than pets!
It's ok -- I liked the pet update more!
It's whatever -- I don't really like it lol!
fiery citrus
New arcade feature coming soon
get ready for the inevitable disappointment of landing right outside of the jackpot zone
Also, depending on how difficult it is to print out the cards for #free-gem-contest💎 , im considering adding in more than just 1 card to each special package!
no promises, but dont be shocked if your package comes with 2 or maybe even 3 cards 😉
fiery citrus
Also, one or two of the winners may be getting an extra rare holographic card, depending on whether I think they look nice or not
fiery citrus
Quick Warning (to the few people this may concern)
If you buy the Timeless Potion scrolls (grey ones, for 900 gems), there is a rare chance that they disappear if you dont use them before quitting the game
Basically, if you're gonna buy Timeless scrolls, use them after buying them.
As always, if you were one of the few affected by this, DM me and I'll reimburse you!
fiery citrus
Would you be interested in buying real-life Idle Skilling cards?
Yes, but only if they come with an in-game item/gems
Yes, gimme gimme gimme
Nah, thanks for the offer but I'll pass
I'll post some pictures once my order arrives, but I have both a card set (just like the ones in game), as well as a custom playing card deck (like 52 cards) that I designed myself (spent 5 hours custom making all 52 cards since I really like playing cards).
Not sure how many of you all really like cards, but I figure if you like them as much as me then Idle Skilling cards might be something youd want to have -- I wouldn't sell these to make money, but rather just so people could have something that they'd want to have (since, as a fellow human, I know that it's fun to have things that you want!)
fiery citrus
Timeline of all Major updates since release
Total major updates: 17
Average time between updates: 26 days
Total time in development: 621 days
App download size over time
Started at ~40MB, peaked at ~100MB
fiery citrus
Heatmap of active players
(Pic taken at 8:35am GMT, on a Monday)
Want me to post another in 12 hours? See how it changes?
fiery citrus
Heatmap of active players
(Pic taken at 10:17 pm GTM, on a monday)
There were about 50% more players online at this time compared to the previous time...
It's interesting how similar they look... I was expecting Europe to be much less active, but I guess we have some Late Nite Gamerz representing haha
fiery citrus
Still waiting for the cards to arrive before I post pics / announce winners 😴
I might order another set of pins though, for a little merch store that might or might not exist down the line
if you have an idea for what would be a good pin, let me know! I'll probably order some 
pins, since there are like 3 levels of irony to a gem pin haha
fiery citrus
Ok WOW the card company just moved the expected delivery from Monday of next week, all the way to Thursday of the week AFTER next week
So this is what it feels like when I delay an update, doesnt it
fiery citrus
I sent in an email asking why the cards didnt even ship, despite the "will ship by" date being 1/16 when I ordered
And I got a reply saying "Sorry for the delay, we have holidays from 1/24 - 1/28, and our factory will be closed during that time"
Which honestly makes perfect sense, since their website's "about us" page shows how their workers are time travelers from the future
but specifically 8 to 12 days in the future
fiery citrus
the Card Delivery just got moved back to 2 weeks from today 🙃
Also let me just say that I am doing the opposite of nothing right now even if i looks like im doing nothing
I'm not talking much for various external reasons but...
lets just say when it says that im "playing aseprite" (which if you dont know is my Art Making tool)
it means im working on stuff, rather than just afking
So if you see me in it, know that I'm out there somewhere drawing/coding away at something
Idle Skilling Gamer patiently waiting for actual future content blog posts, circa 2026
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Still really hard at work, not sure what/when I'll say anything about it specifically but until then just know I'm very much alive and still developing!
And dont be fooled by the lack of posts I'll be making here either
I've said this before, but for those that don't know, when I'm focused on developing, I tend to make less posts here -- versus when I'm nearly done with a development cycle, I tend to ramp up posts to fill you all in on what to expect
fiery citrus
OMG THE CARDS SHIPPED
I actually cant believe it
Prize cards aside, I'm actually at a loss for what to do here for the next few weeks...
I've got about 200 hours of work that I can't really show, but at the same time I really want you all to know that I'm doing what I think is the best way forward and when I can say stuff, I genuinely believe that you wont believe what I believed you wouldnt believe, if you can even believe that
This move im pulling might be a bit of a short term over long term, but when I have stuff to say about it I will
And please know... I've got something cooking here and lets just say I have never cooked before it's gonna be slightly burned delicious 🙂
Also know that once its all over, I'll be filling all the gaps in the story so youre all filled in
fiery citrus
CARDS:
each deck contains 25 different cards, each card with an appropriate rarity behind it
For example:
And I know youre thinking "wait why is bandit bob sad coloured?"
It's because I also ordered 1 FOIL deck, which have the Lv. 6 Pearl star backside
The cards look 100% epic. Id give them a solid 9/10, they look like they were literally pulled from the game. Lines are straight, colours are vivid, no blurriness what so ever.
As for feel, Id give them a good 8/10. They are a bit thin and you could probably bend them if you werent careful, but they feel pretty good and are perfectly rectangular.
And the holographic cards look amazing and probably make the regular cards feel insecure ngl
Having waited since Jan. 10th, the fact that I'm happy with them means extra because my brain had been hyping them up for so long.
(I accidentally mirror'd the above picture. The cards arent backwards haha)
I also custom made some 52-card poker decks, just like the ones in the arcade!
all the cards are exactly like real poker cards -- symmetrical so you can hold them upside down without noticing, evenly spaced suits, and the royalty cards have the Construction Sentinels on them!
The cards are a bit rough, so they don't feel as good as actual Bicycle cards or other actual poker cards, but they good still!
**I'll be drawing winners TOMORROW for #free-gem-contest💎 **
fiery citrus
~250 hours of stuff, still not sure when I'll get to say anything about it... but its about 25% done. I think I'll get to announce it at around 75%!
fiery citrus
pfft cmon lava stop posting BORING stuff Anvil! 🔨
I promise youre all gonna look back on this stuff and be like "oh so thats what he was doing... huh ok" some day
my god I want to tell you guys what im doing i really do
so badly that im going to continue to not say anything 😭
||if this gets 100,000 👂 reacts I'll say what Im doing (there now its not my fault I didnt say anything its all of your faults ;D)||
fiery citrus
STILL hard at work on the announcement
Honestly no idea what this looks like from your guys' perspective... some of you may think im doing nothing since I'm hardly posting pictures/blogs about future content, or just think im ignoring everyone
Whatever the case may be, let me assure you all of a few things
I'm still the same person who made idle skilling. This lack of posting / ambiguity of mine is definitely far from what I normally do, but please know that this is right in line with the visions that I've had as a game making guy since I started a few years ago. This game is, at its core, a combination of many many decisions I've made since release in 2018. If you like the game, then you could say that you like my decisions (maybe not all of them, but many of them). This whole announcement thing is just another decision that I believe is the best way forward. As I've said before, once I do announce the announcement, I'll do my best to clear it all up and this will hopefully all make sense.
I'm actually getting more work done than I normally do, despite how the lack of posts may make it seem otherwise. Trust me. I've played games since I was a kid, went through experiences like cube world (dev went 100% radio silent for like 6 years...), so I know what it's like when you keep checking on a developer, hoping they'll post but they just don't, and thinking "wow has this guy just given up?". I haven't in the slightest, I'm actually really pleased with how much I've gotten done recently compared to some low-points of productivity in 2019. So just know that whatever it is I'm up to, a lot is getting done and one day you'll get to play every bit of it
So even though it doesn't seem like it, just know that each day that passes, I'm getting equal to (if not more!) work done than those days where I'd post Pets / Spelunking stuff
fiery citrus
Still going strong with the announcement! Posted a little gem giveaway in #free-gem-contest💎, simple react contest for some GEMS
May start posting pictures once I start drawing more mysterious stuff 🕵️
fiery citrus
I have a time-frame set in my head for when I want to announce the announcement, but I also want to know, when do you think the announcement will be revealed?
🚀 = within a week
🏎️ = this month
🚣♂️ = 2-3 months
🚶 = 4-8 months
🐌 = 2021 beyond
⚠️ this is not a vote for when it will be announced, and I'm gonna keep working just as hard as I am regardless of reacts. Just trying to gauge how you all feel about it ⚠️
||also if you vote Rocket prepare to be disappointed ||
|| also if you vote snail then you should be ashamed for letting your 'angry gamer' instincts take over your judgement, its obviously not gonna take anywhere near that long||
|| also thanks to everyone who has been supportive recently, its tough to make decisions like this (hence why so few people do it, youll see when i explain it all after announcement) and its easy to get in your own head about whether or not your making the right decision, so the support is honestly appreciated so much ❤️ gonna make u guys proud once its announced, huge motivation right there ||
||also, 9 of the following 10 ⬛ 's are filled with 💥 , but one is filled with , try to guess which!||
|| 💥 || || 💥 || || 💥 || || 💥 || || 💥 || || 💥 || || || || 💥 || || 💥 || || 💥 ||
fiery citrus
These are gonna be very passe (ok just looked that, opposite of passe) when they are released with the announcement
Your dopamine receptors will learn what these are real quick
fiery citrus
What does the word "Obol" mean to you?
||🇼|| It's like a kind of song or music
||🇧|| It's like a little medal thing
||🇪|| It's a synonym for myth or legend
||🇿|| It's a swear word I use at my parents when they dont give me money for V-bucks
||🇨|| No idea what it means...
Click on the ||◼️|| Next to YOUR ANSWER -- Then REACT with the letter you reveal!
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Still working on the Announcement! I dont have a release period yet (when I do, it wont be a specific date but rather an approximate time range, like "Early Febtembuary").
I'm still kind of settling on exactly how much I want done before announcing it. What do you guys want 🤔
I want to know NOWWWWW
I want to know when its kinda almost done, like 70%
I want to know when its being tested by alpha testers, and nearly done
I want to know when its 100% done and released
Lavaflame2 more like Meanyflame2 I never want to know 😭
Also I'm trying this thing that I saw in a ted talk, where you basically avoid looking at memes and reddit so you dont stimulate your brain so much, its supposed to help with postponing announcement productivity and focus so I'll make a post about how that goes, hopefully it'll help me get this update done sooner!
fiery citrus
I think it's finally time....
The announcement that you have all be waiting for
IM STARRING IN A MOVIE
Up until now, part of my contract stipulated that I wasn't allowed to tell anyone that this movie was being made, but now that all the filming has been completed and we are gonna start our media advertising, we have been told that we can start telling everyone about it!
They're still waiting to announce the actual movie screening date, but I'm sure that announcement will be announced really soon!
Gonna get back to making idle games once this movie is out! They're projecting itll gross $224.9 million, and our budget was only $40 million, so I'm gonna have plenty of funds to hire all the best people to make the best games with! Hoping to get Major Update #1,632 out by early January 2025, and even release Idle Skilling 2, Idle Skilling 3, and Idle Skilling REBORN by 2028!
fiery citrus
Still working on the announcement! Also still going with that anti-stimulating thing, which was tough for the first few days but now its pretty easy, its much easier to come up with ideas which helps a lot with the announcement.
I still wont say when I'll announce it, but I can say that I am close to being able to say when I might actually announce it, if thats any indication.
So in the 5 stages of Announcements:
- Announcing the existence of a future announcement
- Announcing that the Announcement for possible time of announcement is coming soon
- Announcing possible time for announcement
- Announcement of exact time for announcement
- Announcement
We are at stage 2!!!
But actually just to clear the air a tiny bit, I will say that the announcement will come sometime within the following months. Way before the announcement, I'll say more specifically when I want to announce it, But I will say right now I'll be sometime in the next few months.
summary: Still not sure when announcement will be, but it will be within the next few months
Also, let me say that there are lots of people who build stuff up big time then the thing theyre building up goddamn sucks.... this wont be one of those times.
Youve all been too good to me by playing my game and sharing your enthusiasm for it with me, that I wouldnt lead you on some wild goose chase without the payoff being absolutely epic
fiery citrus
... oh this? Totally unrelated to the announcement, its actually just the design I'm gonna take to the tattoo parlor. It's gonna go right on my forehead, I think it'll make me look like a real cool kid 💪 😤
Low IQ people: "What no way, theres no way that this isnt related to the announcement"
High IQ people: "What no way, theres no way you would only get 1 of those tattoos, I mean just look how cool of a design it is'
... im typing out these elaborately terrible jokes as a form of procrastination, arent i 😅
POLL!! Please vote to help influence announcement!
Lets say you're looking up bonuses.... like how much +% cash or +% damage you have
And lets say, for this specific thing, there are only two sources
Would you rather see:
Total Cash Bonus: +65%
Total Damage Bonus: +12%
Source A:
Total Cash Bonus: +33%
Total Damage Bonus: +8%
Source B:
Total Cash Bonus: +32%
Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Cash Bonus: +65% (+33%, +32%)
Total Damage Bonus: +12% (+8%, +4%)
In option 3, the numbers would be different colours, so it would be easier to see "TOTAL (Source A, Source B) " if you see what i mean
ALSO keep in mind, there would ONLY BE 2 SOURCES here. Never 3, never 1.
... never 4
Sometimes fiv... no? I'm getting a head shake, so i guess never 5 either
SUMMARY of POLL
When you look at total bonuses, do you want to know exactly where theyre coming from (VOTE OPTION 2 OR 3)?
Or do you just care about the total and thats it? VOTE OPTION 1
fiery citrus
on 16 hour coding spree, 5 am, feeling good, youll all be seeing these (or not depending on your choices...?) in a few months 😉
This used to ask something else, but I changed it. Now you'll NEVER know what all these people voted on.... pranked ya!!
fiery citrus
⚠️ ** POLL -- IMPORTANT PLS VOTE!!** ⚠️
Do you like mini games that allow for active gameplay for rewards?
OPTION 1️⃣
Yes, those are epic. I like to waste 5 minutes here and there playing them when im bored and its fun to get stuff for doing it too. I prefer them to be mandatory too! Force us to play them!
OPTION 2️⃣
No, they get boring after a while and it's frustrating to know im missing out by not playing them...
I dont mind if they're optional, I just wont really play them much tbh
**OPTION 3️⃣ **
Yes, I like them, but only if theyre optional! Only if there is an idle option to get those rewards slowly over time!
I like the mini games, but ONLY if they're optional! I'll probably play them from time to time, why not!
**OPTION 4️⃣ **
No, even if theyre optional i still HATE them! Go to hell minigames, youre for LOSERS!!!
I don't like mini games in idle games. Optional or not, I hate them!
SUMMARY: This is one of the more important polls I'll have for the announcement.
If you LOVE LOVE LOVE mini games, vote 1️⃣
If you DONT ENJOY mini games, but aren't offended by them, vote 2️⃣
If you KINDA ENJOY mini games, but dont play them that often, vote 3️⃣
If you HATE HATE HATE mini games, and are offended by their existence, vote 4️⃣
⚠️ IMPORTANT -- Mini games in this context would be similar to Hoops. They would be 1-tap, reactionary/skill/luck minigames that can be enjoyed in short bursts. THEY WILL HAVE LESS BUGS TOO
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
ANOTHER POLL yeehaw!
Skill trees are really fun and all that, but think about one thing -- level caps. Ascention has no caps, but rebirth does.
What do you guys like?
I dont like level caps, gives me the feeling like I can get as good as I want as long as I keep playing! Infinite levels woo!!!
e.g. Ascention Perks
--
I enjoy having level caps. It kinda "grounds" what im doing -- increasing something's level by 1 feels significant when I know I can only get 100. Also gives me a goal!
e.g. Rebirth Perks
--
Lava I dont care, just make your announcement!! >:0
(joke aside, vote here if you genuinely have no preference at all)
--
I do care, and I genuinely enjoy both equally! I appreciate having the two types kinda co-existing!
Announcement is going well still by the way, I'm kinda going back and forth between thinking I've chewed off more than I can bite, but at the same time I feel like thats a good thing, dont you think? can't be too sure about yourself or you get lazy and complacent and then itll definitely be too much :0
fiery citrus
What do you guys thing of my new style? Do you like the shape and the images, if these were in some way unlockable would you be intrigued to see what other stuff there might be based on these images?
Those are REALLY good! Love it!
yea looks decent lava my dude, keep it up!
cool... cool... but I dont really play for the art anyway. I guess theyre kinda nice
Lava I want to play the announcement now cmon youre gonna make me cry 😭
Theres going to be... whatever 26 x 15 is of them. That many of them yea. But I think I can start getting a few done per hour so I'll get there eventually!
I think the only thing keeping me going right now is just knowing that there are actual people out there (like you reading this!!) who are excited about this thing, I really cant wait to announce it and enjoy it with you guys :]
Want me to do a contest in about a Month, where you vote on what you think the announcement will be and winners are selected from the correct choice, then 1 month after that, I actually announce the announcement?
fiery citrus
3.30 am another good day of announcement making, just found a source of lag for whatever the announcement is that ive been looking for for an hour or so
heres a little guy i drew that is in the announcement, free of charge
and for all you angry gamers ive got an angry fist clench skill just for you
fiery citrus
Tree... pickle.. afterlife... radiation...?
Maybe its a code you can enter in the game for infinite gems? 🤔
it's also one 'question' away from a party because... like... T-P-A-R-"why?" ---> T-P-A-R-Y ---> P-A-R-T-Y
fiery citrus
3:30 am again :\
I know I love to meme about the announcement and all that but Id be remiss to not say that for the 99% of the time im not here making bad jokes, I'm putting in everything into whatever this announcement will end up being
I do like to keep up the bravado of "oh yea I know exactly what I'm doing I've got it all under control, announcement will be epic 😎 " mostly because thats what I was taught in school and from adults growing up and all that (dont get me wrong though, I do believe in what I'm doing)- but I just want to say that there are many times of self doubt over what I'm doing, my direction in life, whether I'm just wasting my time and would be better off doing what people told me to do and all that.
Not to complain at all, I'll take the ups with the downs and it's all part of what makes life interesting... but I just wanted to say this so that if you doubt yourself at times and worry about whatever your doing / wherever you might be headed in life (especially at a time like now where the future is so uncertain), you can know that you aren't alone in that.
Hope you're all doing well wherever youre bunkered down at, hopefully I'll have something real special for you all once this is all over, gonna get back to it now
I'll still continue posting stuff and maybe narrowing down the timeline for the announcement, just wanted to open up a bit, mix it up from the usually "heres a picture and a joke suspiciously absent of humor" posts I've been doing recently
fiery citrus
POLL -- Influences the Announcement!
React 1️⃣ to your FAVORITE aspect, 2️⃣ to your next favorite, 3️⃣ to your least favorite
What did you like about the secrets?
I liked the unique characters and settings in each one, like (spoilers) ||Pig on island, death kid in death land, etc||
I liked the secrecy of them, how they were kind of tucked away/unexpected/exclusive. I like secret stuff!
I liked that they had bonuses. They weren't game-changing, but helpful! Made me curious what other bonuses might exist
Secrets will always have these 3 aspects, dont worry. Remember to vote in the ORDER of what you like!
Each option should only be reacted to once. You should only have 3 reactions in total, 1 for each option!
fiery citrus
Throwback to when pets was going to include many different teams, and each square is a zone -- you would also swipe left and right to look at all the different teams and zones
(no Idea what the blue stuff on the side was meant to be, probably something to do with background movements)
You'd progressively unlock more and more squares to manage over time, but I guess it was too complicated for me to do at the time, or perhaps I was worried it wasn't feasible to have so much stuff without also causing major lag for most phones
fiery citrus
ANOTHER POLL -- Influences the announcement!
For each option, vote either or on if it's true for you!
I really like Main Quests, I usually do them when they're in games
I usually do lots of Side Quests before doing all the Main Quests
I don't really do Main Quests, but I like that they exist because they're kind of a 'safety net' in case I get bored
I genuinely hate Main Quests. They're a waste of time and no one ever does them... why do people even make them ugh
Also, so you guys know, do not be discourage by other people's votes!
If you want to vote one way, but 90% of people voted the other way, vote YOUR way!
There is a big difference between 250 and 50 , versus 300 and 0 , so every vote counts! unlike the primary election since you cant even vote for Bandit Bob as president so it's a wasted vote no matter who you vote for
fiery citrus
Skill info:
Hoops -- Spawns 50 bugs that swarm the the enemy causing it to miss (even when the monster really thought it would have hit)
Still going on the announcement, thanks for voting on that last poll! I had no idea people actually did main quests (I've literally never done one), so thats very useful to know.
No date yet for announcement. I am wondering if I need to wait for corona to calm down before saying anything, although I feel like it may be many months before corona is under control, and I will not be waiting many months more to say anything.
I did have my mind set on completing 3 "things" (wont say what a "thing" is...) before having the announcement publicly available to play, but I think I may cut it to 2 before that.
I would like to make the announcement about 1.5~2 months from now. I have NO IDEA IF IT WILL BE READY BY THEN but I'm genuinely starting to lose myself by not having any 'end' in sight, so just like I've done for all my last updates, I think having a set "end" in my head will help me through things.
To give a better picture, here's my forecast:
35% chance that I can't get things where I want them to be in 8 weeks, and I have to delay a few weeks before announcing
50% chance that I get things where I want them to be, and I make announcement
15% chance that I surpass where I want to be, and jump into Beta in 8 weeks.
Also, gimme 1000 and maybe this will be a part of the announcement :
And trust me if it is, you'll want it
fiery citrus
Mini Poll -- Affects Announcement!
Whats the most beginner / noob footwear you can think of? (In terms of Armor/Equipment)
Flip-Flops -- they dont even cover your foot... very bad!
Socks -- they're not even real shoes, more like 'under-shoes'
Sneakers -- I dont consider the above to be footwear, I'm more of a traditionalist... so this is the worst type of shoe
Slippers -- so lame even the monsters would make fun of you thats how bad they are!
Vote for the one you think is the weakest shoe type. When the announcement is out youll go "oh hey so thats what that one poll was for" (more realistically you wont even remember this specific poll though )
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Oh and I'll be putting in the Ice Cream Pendant(s? 🤔 ) into the announcement if it turns out to be possible (may be against google ToS, gonna look into it before adding... it probably isn't though)
fiery citrus
Loot Bags... brand new concept of mine. $99.99 and you have a 5% chance to get 50 copper ore! The other 95% of the time you win an additional charge of $99.99
Why make new content when you can instead patent ideas like this to sell directly to EA?
This is actually a usable item you make with ores that will do something... not sure if it'll increase something TO an amount, like "Sets XYZ to 50" or if it'll increase something BY an amount, like "Increases XYZ by +5"
fiery citrus
Hey you there, what are you doing with that person-shaped bag out here near the dumping grounds? And why is it screaming for help?
"Oh these are my.... grass trimmings... they set XYZ to 50, or they might increase XYZ by +5 I'm not exactly sure which one or what XYZ is"
Yes yes of course, we've all played the announcement we all know what that is... I was talking about the other bag...
"Oh, that's just a kidnapping victim Im about to dispose of. He hacked a game of mine by setting the time forward on his phone"
What??? Are you admitting to kidna---wait you made idle skilling? Oh man that game is my favorite! I gotta say those jokes that take you like 30 minutes to type out in your future content blog are my FAVORITE thing, they're always so ironically devoid of humor it just cracks me up every time!
Lets just pretend I didn't spend the last 14 minutes making up a mediocre joke loosely involving some drawing which I've basically given 0 actual context for...
fiery citrus
QUICK POLL -- affects announcement
Are you on the look out for Non-Obvious/Clever/Unintended things or systems when you play?
For example, imagine there is a quest that involves a quest item called a Scripture. It takes quite a while to attain this scripture, and you are meant to turn it in to complete the quest.
However, You know that you can "Forfeit" quests to restart them (in case you lose the quest item or get stuck). You also realize that the scripture sells for a large amount of money. You then think "hmm... I wonder if it would be a killer money-making method to: Get the Scripture, Sell it, Forfeit Quest, and repeat!"
⚠️ Please read the little Example if you dont understand the question! ⚠️
= Oh man all the time, I LOVE those little things. Sometimes theyre bad but sometimes theyre great, but discovering them is fun!
= Yea those are alright, I don't really think about them too often
= Huh? I just... play the game normally. I don't look for these things
(Also this is not really related to current idle skilling. This is just a question about you as a gamer! Rise up gamers!)
Still going on the announcement. I wish I had filmed some videos or something, it would have been cool to document my work on it but I've never been too keen with cameras or any of that kinda stuff :\
fiery citrus
Also no, the announcement is not a simple graphics overhaul lolol
its a complex graphics overhaul its not a graphics overhaul
that would be very lame and sad if i had you all anticipating just a change in graphics
fiery citrus
its so weird getting so much done in a week, and scrolling up to see how it looks like of got nothing done since most of it is conceptual / coding
really hoping this whole thing turns out even remotely closely to what i want it to end up like 😓
fiery citrus
Still working away at the announcement, I've got a good deal of it figured out (at least, the parts I want done before i announce it), still plenty to go after, although I think I'll be having an open beta before it goes 100% live to all
Starting to get a nervous sick feeling whenever i think about the fact that one day I'll actually get to announce this all which is... a good thing I think haha
pretty sure thats a good thing
probably a combination of caring a lot about it, and actually being close enough to finishing it to realize that im actually gonna probably finish it haha
still a lot to do though, lots of art, lots of story to write (god im bad at this, if anyone here is a writer pls DM me some tips, I'd genuinely appreciate any advice I can get about writing engaging stuff), lots of systems to implement
but I think it's gonna kinda snowball.. the more I get done at this stage the closer I'll be to getting to announce it, and the closer I get to announcing it the more I'll be working to get everything done
genuinely cant wait to share to all of you what ive been doing, gonna make it work the wait since you all deserve it to be
fiery citrus
some more icons that ill be using for certain things that are related to the announcement
im sure you all understand by now, but i'm just gonna keep saying it just in case anyones thinking "... this doesnt look like a lot"
the stuff i post here is like.... literally less than 1% of the work that im actually doing
For example, today I spent the majority of the day implementing a new mechanic and drawing some weapons for it
and its only been like the last hour or two that ive drawn a few icons
and even then im only posting 2 here
Basically, don't be worried by the lack of substantial posts here, although I'm sure most of you are well away by now lol
Instead see these as like a tiny little preview, as well as just proof of like "oh cool he's still going at it"
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Oh also that was a joke ^^ Staying up that late only means that I'm enjoying the process and lost track of time haha
Current Icons drawn: 40
fiery citrus
Havent posted in a bit, not much stuff I'm willing to show
its getting to the point right now where I'm really in the thick of it, so posts may be less often atm
im kinda just bunkered in my room, I dont really go outside other than to get some water or packets of food or whatever
so again, you may not be seeing some posts here for a bit, just because im literally waking up, working, sleeping -- which is great, i just dont want to psych myself out of it by opening myself up here... may sound a bit weird but basically the emotional baggage is insanely high haha
like every day that goes by is just more of myself ive invested into this thing, and the more self-conscious i get about it and worried and all that
basically just doing whatever is best to actually get this announcement done... its... well youll see its quite a big undertaking (I hope youll all agree when I finally show it) and I just need to stick to doing it
ill try to send a little "hey im going great, still working" message every few days... it probably sounds super silly, like "cmon man its just a discord post, its not that hard" but its kinda psyching me out just thinking about it, which is why i havent posted and just stuck to working
Also to anyone wondering, way back when I started on this ages ago, I had hoped to announce it on april 1st, as like a reverse april fools joke of sorts...
then a few months into it I shifted my expected release to like... Late May
Not sure at the moment, I find myself saying "one or so months from now, Im sure!" every week that passes
But... just know that im past the point where I wanted it out already, so I have in my head 'I want this announced asap", and im not thinking "eh, ill get it out eventually whenever haha lolol ill just take my sweet time xD"
Heres a ring i drew a few weeks ago
Little fun fact -- every single hand in the game (and the one on this ring too) is actually traced from a picture I take of my real hand
||this one was a bit hard, since I had to actually cut my hand off in order to trace out the bone part||
Thanks to everyone who is still excited to see what I'm doing, it's gonna be insane to finally show you all when I get the chance to, and I really hope you'll all love it
fiery citrus
Current Icons drawn: 77
spent most of today just drawing icons, and spent the rest creating some functions for Offline time in the announcement.
Which Icon do you want to see?
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
How would you all feel about an earlier release of the Announcement?
As I said months ago, I was initially planning on having 3 worlds in before announcing, but... well worlds are huge and thats not gonna happen
Then I figured I'd just do 2, but now I'm thinking since worlds are so huge, maybe it would be best for me to get 1 world done well, and have you all help me test the gameplay and balancing and all that so I can make world 2 even better
So, How would you feel about an earlier release of the Announcement? Basically... Imagine if i was making a 2 hour movie. Would you rather me make the 1st hour and show you, so you can see it early and tell me what you think? Or would you rather me make all 2 hours then show you?
= oh yea yea lava yea wooo do it! I need it!
= eh, I'll take a look but, I may just wait till it's all released
= pfft not interested till its done lavalame2
fiery citrus
oink oink 🐷
Current Icons Drawn: 92
drew that little lad a few days ago, been working on some underlying systems, trying to accurately simulate Away-Time for one of the things in the announcement... lots of variables to consider
still working as hard as i can to get this out, super big thanks to you all for staying with me here, as frustrating as it is to be given so little info about it all. I'm closing on having everything figured out to the point where I just need to execute on it
also when its finally out, i really want to believe that you'll all say to yourselves "... oh, thats why it took him so long" ||I although tbh I've absolutely lost all perspective on the scope of this, so I'm kind of unsure about even saying this... self doubt's got me pretty hard, but it usually gets me more and more the closer I get to finishing something so thats a good sign i guess||
fiery citrus
POLL -- Affects the announcement greatly
Think about the contracts for a moment.
You complete quests and get Merits to spend in the shop.
This let you choose which rewards you wanted, but at the same time, it meant that all Tasks were of similar value.
Now imagine if each Contract didnt give merits, but instead just gave you a bonus itself.
This means you would more strategically try to complete the Tasks that give you the rewards you want, but it also means that you dont have "ultimate choice" over which bonuses you want, since the better bonuses would be locked behind the harder Tasks
I like getting merits. I like getting to choose whatever I want from a shop
I didn't like the merits. I wouldve rather just gotten bonuses straight from the quests -- it would have made the quest more "unique" from each other.
I would honestly like both. I think some choice is fun, but at the same time I think some quests should give their own Unique Bonus that cant be unlocked by doing the other quests
BONUS QUESTION
Daily tasks that are randomly generated are Good and I like them!
⚠️ IMPORTANT ⚠️
These are just simple tasks, not quests. Things like "Kill 1000 of monster X", or "Mine 10000 copper in 10 seconds". Very Similar to Contracts!
There WILL be a Quest System in the announcement SEPARATE from this, but those will be more traditionally "Quest"-ish, with more elaborate things to do and extremely unique Rewards, rather than just bonuses
Pic unrelated to Poll
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Quick Poll -- Just to make sure I've got the right idea before I do it
How much do you care about the "context" of what you're doing? i.e. think about a story driven game that shows the setting/reason why everything is the way it is, versus getting dropped into a world with no explanation and you just start doing stuff
I really like knowing what's going on. I hate it when the game just says "... ok now play!" without any story or meaning or context.
Clear context is 100% important
It's good to have something explain whats happening, I kinda get lost sometimes without it.
Clear context is 75% important
Eh I mean its good if its done right but otherwise meh
Clear context is 50% important
Nah, just drop me in so I can play. I dont need any story or lore or stuff like that
Clear context is 25% important
Wtf is this nonsense? I literally never play games with 'context' and for good reason, stuff sounds boring! I just wanna play!
Clear context is 0% important
Vote for one of the Above options before revealing!
||Now gimme a Yes or No:||
||I would rather a game have some context, something to tie together why things in the world exist!||
fiery citrus
quick poll -- Keep me from doing something that will be hated by most people probably!
How would you feel about a secret bonus that can only be gotten during one of those tutorials?
If you can get it later on, then its fine!
No, I don't care if you can or cant get it later, thats just bad
I think its funny, as long as the bonus isnt very good at all!
I would prefer if you could only get it during the tutorial! Then its extra special!
I'm actually frowning IRL and scrunching up my face in anger just thinking about this concept >:[
(Feel free to vote on multiple if you agree with multiple statements!)
fiery citrus
might start posting random snapshots of the announcement ;333
3 votes:
How are you feeling in your own personal word? School/family going good?
How do you feel about the world at large? are you optimisic and hopeful for what is to come, or scared and worried?
How do you feel about the announcement, and the huge stuff that will be released within the coming months?
Just finished up the tutorial, trying to take some time every day to settle myself down from my anxiety -- youll all see later why I have this "bit off more than I could chew" anxiety -- but it does hit me strong at times.
Just wanna come in and hope everyone's doing ok, even if just 'ok' isnt that great around these times
Thanks to following me along even still. I have still yet to really consider what the day will feel like when it finally comes, but itll sure be quite something to behold
Also to give you guys a bit of happy in these very anti happy times, I have a new FREE GEM contest over at #free-gem-contest💎!
fiery citrus
kinda zooming along now on the announcement, finally filling the gaps on things that have been left empty for a while, since I now know how I want them to function
Honestly not sure where this one's gonna end up. we could see a private beta within a few week, or maybe not. I will say that I would like to have a public version sometime in July. If i look down at my calendar and see "August", and the game is not public, I will be both shocked and disappointed with myself.
I have a very similar feeling toward this "Before August" deadline as I did toward previous releases I've had (Namely August 31st "Pets" release, and Dec 22nd "Tunnels" release, both of which I was 24 hours off of making), so I'm hoping that this is how it goes down
fiery citrus
ended the day drawing up these stuffs
that little carrot cube honestly looking like one of those overpriced meals at some fancy restaurant, where its just a tiny cube of food on a plate with some sauce splattered on in some "decorative" fashion
fiery citrus
Announcement Snippet #2
Im getting a little more and more sick in my stomach each time i post here -- not like bad sick, more like anticipation sick as if i was about to give some speech in front of a crowd or show a project to an online audience of gamers -- so its definitely getting closer and closer to being ready enough for me to show :0
fiery citrus
POLL -- Vote m'gamers!
How do u feel about having 1 or 2 minigames that involve tilting your phone around?
Yes yes yes, that sounds very cool. Makes it feel more real / involved, and it would make that specific minigame more unique!
Eh, but only because I don't really think I'd like it after a while
Eh, but only because Im not stable while playing (on a train, in a car, etc), so it would be hard to control.
Eh, only because I'd be self-conscious about other people seeing me moving my phone around and they'd probably think im mega dumbo
Nah, keep all minigames it just tapping. My phone isn't a steering wheel after all >:0
⚠️ IMPORTANT This isn't a vote about if ALL games should be tilting. I'm asking if there should be just 1 game, or none at all.
like, would you rather see 15 "tapping" minigames, and 2 "motion" minigames?
Or 17 "tapping" and 0 "motion"
fiery citrus
oh also I realized i kinda have been... venting more of my concerns/frustrations here than positive stuff lately!
I've been working on this announcement now since the start of the year, and its so easy to just lose sight of what youre doing and give up.
So this way if things go well, some of you guys can go "oh hey I remember how worried he was about this... if he can be so uncertain about what hes doing, then it's ok for me to feel uncertain about what I'm doing"
I feel like being uncertain or just worried about oneself is more common than people let on, so I want to kind of help normalize it a tiny bit, at least to those of you here
Point is, the announcement wouldnt be where its at right now if I didn't have huge underlying confidence and belief in what im doing.
I'm kind of playing the long game on this one, and if it pays off its going to be a lot of fun :]
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Im not sure if that is me carrying the weight of this announcement work
or if thats you guys carrying the weight of the suspense and anticipation i keep laying onto you all
fiery citrus
Quick Poll (7/10 importance)
Imagine a buff that boosts your stats for 10 minutes. say it gives +50% damage. How do you feel about that buff running out while youre Offline?
Question 1
I would like the Buff to stay for the entire time I'm offline. It gives the buff more value because its like a bonus to my away gains!
I would like the buff to only stay for 10 minutes -- so if I'm gone for 3 hours and the buff was active before i left, it only has a tiiiiny impact on my Away Gains. Its just too OP if it lasts for the entire time i am AFK
Question 2 -- Still talking about Buffs here!
Now imagine the buff does stay with you for the entire time youre Offline.
I would get upset every time i log in for the day and realize I didn't use the buff before I left the time before. It would make me sad knowing that I missed out on some efficiency, to the point where it would possibly make me hate the game.
= This is literally how I would feel
= eh, I mean itd be annoying yea, but its whatever
= I would not be bothered at all
ANOTHER POLL (nothing to do with buffs)
Imagine you craft a bonus called "Salary Man: +5% Money".
Later on, a few days down the line, you craft another bonus called "Company CEO: +10% Money"
How much +% Money do you think you have In total??
Reveal the text next to your answer, and react with it!
Id have +10% Total Money! ||React with 👍 ||
Id have +15% Total Money!|| react with 👀 ||
⚠️ DO NOT REVEAL BOTH. Reveal 1, and vote for that one ⚠️
Asking you don't reveal both, so that you give an Honest Vote. Dishonesty hurts us all
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
Tentative Release Schedule (don't mark your calendars, but also don't be surprised if I meet these timelines):
Tiny Private Alpha (a few dozen trusted users) -- Mid July || Purpose: To test some server stuff, and get early impressions on gameplay
Large Alpha (open to anyone here in the server, won't be available in Android Store) -- Early August || Purpose: To get large scale feedback (balancing mainly), and to stress-test servers
Google Play BETA (open to anyone who signs up for it on google play) -- Late August || Purpose: Not really much reason, it's just standard practice to roll out releases slowly like this. I do it with every update. I get a bit more feedback, and another window of time to make sure everything is operational
Google Play Final Release (full release) -- Early-Mid September || Purpose: Gives me time to add the content that is needed for me to consider it complete
fiery citrus
Really hoping everything goes well!
I still fully believe you'll all love what I've got in store, but also I don't want any of you to be angry/disappointed if you dont like it.
Just remember this is all for your own enjoyment, and it's ok to not like something. If you end up loving the announcement, thats great! If not, don't feel like this is a personal Attack against you. Remember that I am a real person here just doing his best to make as many people happy as I can (I don't really have any other motivators, I'm kind of boring like that :p)
Cant wait to finally @ Everyone in a few months in #new-updates⭐ ... its been way too long since I've gotten to do that :]
fiery citrus
RANDOM POLL
Think about collections, and Sets of things.
Select one of the following Descriptions that best match you!
I really like Sets and Collections! I like 'completing' things, and its even better when they have bonuses! I don't really care about completing them all... but I mean I'll give it a try of course!
I really like Sets and Collections. However, I am very obsessive about them. It there are collections that are too hard to complete, I will probably get a bit upset... like if theres a set that only 0.1% of players will complete, I wont be happy
Bruh, collections? Sets? What is this, banjo kazooie? We gonna play a collect-athon? I hate them.
fiery citrus
Where are you at in terms of excitement for the announcement?
"We're giving Lava's Announcement hype an 8 out of 10. It's got a little something for everyone."
(Also I'm not fishing for enthusiasm because im mining for enthusiasm instead, there is no "right answer" here)
fiery citrus
fiery citrus
genuinely had the most productive week of work so far, not even to say the other ones were bad but this has just been unreal
definitely feel like pulling the wrong lever, because oh yea.... its all coming together
fiery citrus
Man I may be onto something really good here guys, I think with some help from the alpha testers itll be quite the thing to witness...
anyway I've just been feeling really good lately, putting in great amounts of work and actually enjoying the process quite a lot more than normal. Thanks for the continued support, and trust me that in a few months we are gonna be right back to how it used to be! I can't wait to get some daily communication between us, more in-depth posts with Mechanics and Pictures, all the good stuff!
...
you know, you guys are honestly the best, so heres a big spoiler, depending on how Big-Brained you are or not 🤔
If you dont get it, thats ok too!
I'm gonna get some sleep, and wrap up the 5-day task ive been at now tomorrow
it's got something to do with that door, and with that tiki chief
fiery citrus
Gonna give myself even more pressure and say it here as well:
Just told the private Alpha peeps that the Alpha will be ready July 26th
First actual specific day timeline I've ever given for the Announcement.
Remember -- this is a private alpha (I may be accepting about 10-20 more people) -- not a publicly available version. I'm only saying it here just so you can know the Timeline of whats going on!
:-0
fiery citrus
Still going great on the announcement, hope youre all doing well yourselves!
I do wonder though... please react to the following youd most like:
I want to know exactly what the announcement is as soon as the alpha testers get it! I want a big post explaining it all!
I don't want to know anything until I get to play it myself -- and I want a private Beta (after alpha) for us discord peeps somtime in august so I can get to play it!
I dont want to play it early, I want to play the finished product. However, I don't mind seeing posts here!
I dont want to play it early, etc etc. but I still want to go in Blind! so I want a "warning" of sorts so I dont get any of the announcement spoiled!
The announcement may be a bit of a shock to the system, and will have plenty to be worked out, but I'm not gonna stop until its something you all fucking love. Been 'accidentally' forgetting to sleep sometimes to continue working on it, which means it's got that extra bit of pain-passion which makes for the best stuff
But I honestly also want to say once again, that we WILL be returning back to normal in a few months time.
I am very keen on getting back to weekly updates/posts, discussions, memes and giveaways.
It's been a hot minute but we will get back to normal here, and I'll definitely find some way to give out some prized as we transition back to normalcy
Quick last question:
Scale of 1 - 10
Do you want to see Announcment Posts before you're able to play it yourself?
0 = Dont post ANYTHING EVER (literally me over the last 7 months)
4 = Yea make a post, idk sure why not
7 = Oh yea broh post that shit wooo
10 = I NEED TO SEE IT I NEED TO SEE IT
fiery citrus
Still going strong on July 26th Private Alpha 💪 
Really hoping i never go this long without player interaction again :\
fiery citrus
I'll post announcement snippet #5 when I wake up
Would you rather see:
🇪 = a random snapshot of the announcement
🇾 = an image of a cool NPC
🇵 = an image of 2 random items
🇭 = a gif of a lame NPC
I'm honestly out of words for this thing. I cant wait for you all to see it...
I may get the Private Alpha testers to give me some 1 sentence impressions for me to post here, almost like those magazine reviews you see on things that arent out yet, like "this announcement is so bad itll make your eyes bleed. 8/10, its got as little something for everything" hahaha :]
I think you guys will all get to see this within 30 days of this message, possibly sooner
fiery citrus
Also, if I'm starting to sound like a broken record, trust me I'm very aware of that, and I don't really like it either. Ive been extremely tempted to just reveal it all randomly before its done, just to get it out there... but I think youll agree when you see it, that I've put too much into it to just 'give up' like that, and that I need to see it through all the way before I reveal it.
Also also, quick poll, just so I can make sure im right:
Think about the help screen in game. There are often pictures that go along with the words explaining how things work.
As long as the pictures are very clear with what they mean, they are very helpful! I rely on the pictures 100%
Any pictures at all are good, I don't care if they're super clear or not. I rely on the pictures 50%
Pictures? Nah I just read the words, i dont need pictures! I rely on pictures 0%
fiery citrus
Id put it at a 50% chance ill be announcing sometime before august 9th, depending on if i can get certain Art/Naming stuff done before then. And even if I dont, I may just do some not-as-good placeholder art and announce it anyway for you all
However it wont be open beta at that point, still closed off private
fiery citrus
Im so happy you guys have stuck with me though this one
I've got something really special, and really near and dear to my own heart to show you all
I understand it's been one hell of a frustraiting wait, please know that, and I dont want to dissuade you from being frustrated.
But when I finally announce it in about a week's time -- Im planning on releasing between august 1st and august 6th -- you can all finally see behind the curtain
Now for a final Vote before it gets announced in a weeks time:
How much backstory do you want to hear about the last few months?
Nothing really, im only here to see the game
Give us a Q/A where you answer the highest rated questions
Tell us everything you wanna tell us in great detail
I know all the content creators do this, but like im sitting here in my chair, 4:20 ||niiice|| in the morning just so happy that youre all gonna get to see this thing that ive been building up toward for so many years and finally getting to show it all to you
Beta test in 2 days, public release a few days after, public testing a week after, it all feel so yessss yehaw
The legendary @ everyone spell is charging up...
The next post you see here will be the announcement of the announcement
fiery citrus
Announcement is now out in Private.
Will be announcing it publicly right here in this very channel on Friday, 12:00 PM noon PST (US west time)
That is exactly 3 days, and 14 hours from this message
When this happens, the game will be OPEN ALPHA, as long as you do the below:
To enter Alpha Stage 2, just PM your email address to --> @lilac fulcrum (my alt account). Do this before Friday, and you'll be in!
The alpha cant overwrite/replace your current save, so dont worry about that
I will also be explaining the past 7 months. Everything that happened, all the words, right here in this channel.
fiery citrus
To everyone applying for the alpha, you will get an email on friday with a downloadable copy of the Alpha, and instructions on how to install it.*
Here's a hunter dude in the meantime
fiery citrus
Gonna fix up some final bugs, then post the story and email out the APK to everyone who has been accepted
If you have NOT been accepted yet, you will get into the alpha in like 6 hours.
Everyone who doesn't get into that one will get in tomorrow.
Hi if you're reading this, I still have some bugs to fix. I will be posting 1 hour from this message!
fiery citrus
================================================================
EVERYTHING BELOW THIS LINE IS EXPLANATION OF WHY I DIDNT MAKE AN UPDATE
⚠️ Warning, reading ahead! ⚠️
||redacted||
||redacted||
||redacted||
||redacted||
||There used to be a story here, now there isnt. Oh well. Maybe ill post it some other time||
SUMMARY
- I put a lot into Idle Skilling, and by the time Tunnels was released, I was 100% burned out. I couldnt even Open the game's files, because looking at them made me sick.
- Burning out of Idle Skilling is NOT the only reason why I quit it before putting out the last update. It is also because I really felt like another update would be "phoning it in" so to speak, and admitting to everyone "look, I have no more ideas. Idle Skilling was my 1 and only thing I'll ever do, and I'm gonna keep doing it until I milk it dry. So make this new game for me was saying "hey, you guys believed in me SO much, and I want to SHOW you im worth believing in, so I'm gonna do something crazy new and different and cool"
- Idle Skilling WILL GET A FINAL UPDATE. Bruh, that shit's my baby you know what I mean. That was all I was for like 2 years, and I actually did think that was awesome. I've been making games since 2012. Before this, I was just "guy", but thanks to Idle Skilling, I was "guy making a game". I cared enough about myself to do what I knew was right and make an MMO, and I care enough about the thing that was my life for 2 years to see it to completion.
- "Why did you never fix bugs in idle skilling?" First of all, you don't see all the ones I do fix before release... haha lame excuses aside, Idle Skilling was made out of 100% passion aaaand... well.. 0% coding knowledge. I didn't really know how to code. Most of the bugs people talk about could be fixed, theyre so wrapped up in "spaghetti code" that I risk just blowing up the whole game and wasting a lot of time in the process.
- "Why will this game not be buggy?" I learned to code! It's an MMO, you cant make an MMO, and have alpha testers say "yo this is a good start!" without learning how to code well. I have spent SO MUCH extra time NOT having spagetti code, that there are no bugs that could be a risk to the entire structure of the game.
- **This is epic but, why didn't you tell us? ** I didn't know it would be this big! I thought it would be a little multiplayer thing, and would be done in like March, then I'd just get back to Idle Skilling. Also, I think I would have failed if I announced it early. I was motivated by the pressure of having to make an announcement live up to the hype, but I think any negative backlash from entitled/angry gamers (yes unfortunately idle skilling has some of them) could have de-motivated me. This is an mmo. I love that you all love idle skilling, but this has 10x the scope and requires 10x the effort, and I don't think I couldve managed doing this solo and bearing the brunt of angry gamers telling me i to go die or whatever
================================================================
EVERYTHING ABOVE THIS LINE IS EXPLANATION OF WHY I DIDNT MAKE AN UPDATE
Lava's MMO (Working name, will be changed)
- THE ANNOUNCMENT IS A STANDALONE, IDLE MMORPG GAME.
- IT IS CROSS PLATFORM (android / PC), AND YOULL BE ABLE TO FREELY PLAY ON BOTH PLATFORMS
It's like idle skilling, but if you controlled a character instead. Rather than swapping between screens, collecting idle gains, you create new characters and specialize them in Skills as you find more and more skills. The fun comes when youre at, say, World 4. You have 17 different characters to swap through, all of whom youve personally trained to be good at specific Idle Features, and youre trying to figure out how to engage with the 12 skills activities in a way to get enough Damage to beat the World 4 Boss to get to world 5, and unlock 3 more skills and more character slots
Features:
**A whole World of things to do, **fit with unique background art, animated monsters, unique NPCs with their own Quests, and other MMO type world stuff
Full MMO multiplayer interactivity: show off your equipment to other players! Make fun of their crappy equipment! Call people who are better than you at the game noobs! Go on Boss Raids together, add peeps to your friends list, create guilds (Stuff in italics are in alpha, but are 100% gonna happen)
Leveling up, skills, points, oh yea baby its all there!
There will be 9 skills at launch, and 9 Playable Character Classes! Each Class has 15 "Traits" (icons on the right), that upgrade TONS of different things.
Each character class specializes in something, so you could have a Mining Berserker, who mines the best ores for your Smithing Hunter to craft into the best weapons for your DPS Archbishop to use to beat bosses to unlock new worlds, with new skills and more character classes!
Full Idle experience
All of your Characters (remember, you'll be managing more and more as you play) work ALL THE TIME!
All of your Characters (remember, you'll be managing more and more as you play) work ALL THE TIME!
||Also sorry to any band members in imagine dragons, your username has been taken ||
Hope to see you all in game one day ❤️
Congrats on making it through the wait, hope I lived up to the hype
If you're blindly enraged and want to 'come get me' for betraying you and becoming the epic villain in the manga that is your life, send me a PM so I can help calm you down!
fiery citrus
The announcement is REVEALED!
There will be 1 more Update for Idle Skilling, but not until the MMO is released
||Alpha testers will get an APK later today
A full release is expected in 2-3 months
I will be posting regularly here now about the MMO. Do not expect any Idle Skilling talk until after the MMO is initially launched||
[ QUICK LINKS ]
https://discordapp.com/channels/437797104786604034/438216759120756737/738858001280270399
Why did you put off making the final Idle Skilling update until later?
https://discordapp.com/channels/437797104786604034/438216759120756737/738850621133684866
fiery citrus
@everyone Here u go
PS: bob miiight definitely be in announcement in a big way 😉
fiery citrus
⚠️ Don't play the Alpha across multiple devices-- Doing so will CRASH your savefile
fiery citrus
EVERYONE IS NOW IN THE ALPHA
Leave Bugs in #_
Vote in #mmo-polls & #mmo-polls-2
Leave suggestions in #player-suggestions
New updates, with bug fixes, added suggestions, and more content will come every week!
I AM RETURNING TO POSTING ABOUT FUTURE CONTENT NOW
fiery citrus
Alpha v0.6 will feature:
Grassylands BOSS! Full fight, drop table, and new crafting items, as well as a new Questline for Dogbone the Ghost!
TONS of bug fixes, and Quality of Life additions shown in #737061185387495444
Estimated Release: 4-5 days from this post
If youre not in the alpha, message @lilac fulcrum with your Email to get in!
fiery citrus
Also, for anyone IN the alpha, if you have an idea for the name of the game, send me a DM! Even if you think its a bad idea, it will still help me in my search for the real Name!
fiery citrus
If you've PM'd @lilac fulcrum and still haven't gotten a "added" message back, you have a 50% chance to be added for this weekend's alpha v3 -- if you don't make it this weekend, youll get in next weekend!
fiery citrus
Sending out APK's sometime this weekend! (it's early saturday for me)
I still haven't send out "added" messages, so do not be sad if you haven't gotten one yet from Lavaflame3!
fiery citrus
very rare drop from monsters -- similar to Coupons in idle skilling, except more rare so they actually mean something rather than you swimming in 99+ of them
This one doubles all your rewards from 1 AFK session
Also, for anyone who wants to know how this MMO actually works:
||I probably shouldve mentioned this before, but it's quite Idle Skilling 2 (keeping in mind the guy who made it isn't the kind of person to just make a carbon copy as a sequel)||
||Except instead of there being different 'screens' for each skill, the Skills are scattered throughout actual Worlds that you get to explore, and you create LOTS of characters who you personally specialize in each of the skills. Your job is to coordinate all their efforts to make equipment, brew potions, etc etc to get enough damage to Kill each World Boss to advance to the next world, where there are more skills, more +damage bonuses, and more Character Slots waiting!||
Spoilers^^^^^^ ~ Don't reveal if you want to go into the game 100% blind like a TRUE gamer!
fiery citrus
I have 1 more slight change to make tomorrow, then I am sending out APK!
I will edit this message when I am less than 2 hours away from APK
I still haven't sent out "added" messages. There's 500+ of you on the waiting list right now, and I plan on adding 250 tomorrow. Everyone who DOESNT get in will get in before WEDNESDAY!
fiery citrus
Stats from ~75 Alpha Testers
Really happy with how varied it is, I definitely want everyone's characters to feel like theirs and not just someone else's
and as i add more and more monsters/bosses/quests requiring different HP/DEF/ACC to do, i think itll just make things even more open to personal specialization
fiery citrus
Future Content poll -- Affects a main, game-wide mechanic
I plan on having a system that will be a mix between Contracts and Masteries, where you complete Tasks from all across the game for rewards. Each World has its own set of Tasks.
Within each Task Set, would you like to see some 'mystery' tasks? They'd have normal rewards, but wouldn't tell you how to complete them, but instead would just have the Name of the Task, and it would be up to you to figure out what it means to complete it!
Of course, you could always look up how to solve it on the game's Wiki, so these would be there for your own enjoyment
In other words, if there were Riddle Tasks -- like "Stone yourself to death: 0/1" --would you:
Try to figure it out on your own, since you find that fun and games are meant to be fun
Instantly look it up, since the only fun you get is from completing it and you dont care if you have to Wiki it
Keep in mind, there will be dozens of normal Tasks like "Enhance an item by +10 Stats", and "Kill 100 monsters in 100 seconds". These would only be like 5% of total tasks
⚠️ If you would Try it Yourself at first, but eventually just look it up if u cant find it, vote for the 1st one
fiery citrus
V2 has been sent out.
V3 will probably come in 3-4 weeks, and will have all the content that the actual game will have on release!
If you haven't already, please send your email to @lilac fulcrum to enter for V3 alpha. This version will be sent out Early September, and I will need LOTS of help getting it perfectly balanced!
If you already applied and haven't gotten a response, DONT WORRY! You will get an invite in Early September for V3. I will need more 'fresh' users to test out the game in it's more completed state, which is why many of you have still not gotten into the alpha
fiery citrus
Curious what will be in V3? See below!
||* Yum Yum desert will have 80% of its content: 3 new skills, 2 new sub-systems (like statues/stamps), 10+ new NPC's, 11 new Monster Maps, 1 new Boss Fight, etc||
||* Grassylands will have 100% of its content: All NPC's will have their completed Questlines, and there will be some Secret Areas added.||
||* Sub-Classes: Warrior/Archer/Mage will be able to branch out to 2 subclasses. Only 1 of the 2 will be available in V3. You'll find the Promoter somewhere in Yum Yum Desert||
||* Star Talents: Very special/wacky talents that you'll get from finding secrets, completing Tasks, and from certain quests.||
||* Tasks will be added to the game! These are a mix between Contracts and Masteries from Idle Skilling if you remember those haha!||
||* Cards will be added to the game! These will all give tiny passive bonuses, and will be much harder to get than cards from Idle Skilling. There will also be card-sets that give mega bonuses once you collect all the cards from a region!||
||* Family Bonuses: Each 'class' gives your entire account a bonus. This incentivizes playing on you alt-characters, since leveling them up will give your entire family (all your characters) a permanent bonus!||
fiery citrus
Summary of what's happened in the last 1.5 weeks
I have been working on an MMO since January, which is set to release Late September. It is basically a 'reimagining' of idle skilling, except a bit more 'engaging'. Instead of swapping between screens, you juggle between playing as different characters, specializing them in different skills.
Idle Skilling's final update -- involving Afterlife, an actual 'Ending' beyond the current 'Gold Ice-cream' ending, and 2 new skills -- will be made once this MMO gets released and is in stable condition.
I have held 2 rounds of Alpha Testing, which so far totals just over 700 people, which have gone very well! No 'bad' bugs have been found so far -- by 'bad' I mean that all bugs found were easy to fix -- and the core Gameplay Loop of the game has been enjoyed by just about anyone. There is a lot of room for improvement with balancing, but that is to be expected with any game.
There will be one more Alpha before public Google Play Release, which you can apply for by DM-ing@lilac fulcrum your email. All new applicants, as well as the 100s who are still waiting (dont worry, I haven't forgotten you all!), will be given access to Alpha v3, coming in Early September. This will include 90% of the content that will be seen in the Google Play release, and will be held for Balancing purposes, as well as seeing if there are any QoL changes or major bug fixes that still need to be done.
The final Release date of Lava's MMO (name is a work in progress), will be around September 25th. This date is not set in stone, but I am going to work extra hard to keep to a deadline. As you all know, I am very bad with my Time Estimations -- however, I have never been wrong when I have given a specific date for something, so don't be surprised when the game drops on September 25th.
If you liked Idle Skilling, you're gonna be so happy with this game. The level of freedom and impact your choices have, the lack of Bugs, and vastly more intuitive UI are all huge improvements to what was in Idle Skilling. If you didn't get to witness the epicness of when Idle Skilling was getting massive updates on a regular basis, dont worry, because you're gonna get to see something even more epic-er pretty soon. I've got so many plans in store for all the Skills, World Bosses, Party Dungeons, Server Events, NPC quests, its gonna be great :]
fiery citrus
Sub-Class promoter -- After picking a main class in the Grasslands, you'll find this guy in the Desert who will let you specialize into another class within that first class, which will add 15 new Talents to put points into!
Each further specialization has its own separate class points, so each time you level up you get to upgrade different talents from all classes within your character!
Each specialization also adds an account-wide, passive bonus to all your current and future characters!
This adds to the sense of growing power with each new character you make and train, and adds yes another level of personal choice! Should you train your 3rd character to be a Bubonic Conjuror for the Account-wide +% AFK gains bonus, to help with idle gains, or go for a Blood Berserker for the +% Kill per kill bonus, so that characters can zoom through maps faster?
fiery citrus
Quick reminder:
If you've messaged Lavaflame3 looking to get into the Alpha, and still have gotten no response, thats normal. I have 500+ people I haven't responded to, and won't be responding to until Early September when Alpha v3 comes out!
lilac fulcrum
I think I may have a minigame for every non-town skill -- was originally planning for just 1 per world, but this would mean there are 2 per world
Also, I literally have 800+ people waiting to be responded to for the Alpha. You'll get a response early sept (and 100% be accept into Alpha of course).
Just gonna be working hard until then, so don't expect too many posts here for now. Still feeling the Sept 5th Alpha v3, and Sept 25th Google Play Official Release timeline.
fiery citrus
still working hard, been distancing myself from the discord for now for the extra focus it gives me to the game -- definitely easing myself into the hardcore 'wake up, eat, work, sleep' schedule similar to what I used to do with some Idle skilling Updates, buuuuut...
I am 100% approaching it with caution. Having been working on this MMO at a very healthy pace thus far, I'm finally starting to realize how absolutely shit those few weeks where last year where I'd work literally all day to get some of those idle skilling updates out on time. That's not gonna happen this time around, funny thing about getting older that I didn't 'get' until recently, you can actually learn from your previous actions and can change your future actions instead of just repeating the same mistakes :0
Anyway, point is, making an actual MMO isnt easy, I'm doing the best I can, thing will be different in the future, blah blah blah all that generic stuff.
**While I still have my sights set on the release dates I've said earlier **
- Early Sept: v3 FINAL Pre-Alpha
- Late Sept: Google Play Release
**I will not hesitate to push back things by a week or two if it means avoiding unhealthy working schedules. **
This game is an objective step-up from my last one (remember, I'm literally the same guy who made idle skilling, except I have experience that comes with making it, so I'm like a NG+ version of the Lava who made idle skilling. Just wait till you play the game in a month if youre still skeptical for whatever reason), and with that will come what I hope to be an objective step-up in my working procedure.
MMO CONTENT -- dont reveal if you want to play the game Blind at first!
Yes, the actual specific details in the picture are just filler the orders wont all be for Ice Creams that are called 'pickaxe stamps' for no reason (just some )
Without spoiling much, basically this is a system I put in ||because I really like futurama and I like bad jokes as something of a soft-core 'daily system'. You have Orders you fulfill, where each 'company' has different things they tend to order. You unlock more companies as you complete orders, and you spend the points on a bonus system kinda similar to Pet Research, except with more choice on your end instead of it being linearly unlocking more tanks, and no 'time' aspect, so you don't have to arbitrarily wait for your upgrades to level up||
||The idea is that this, along with the "town Skill" for this World (this is a World 2 feature), are your first real taste at 'specializing' your characters, since its up to you on which Branch of upgrades you want to spend your Order Box Points on. Your Fishing Warrior will probably spend their OB points on fishing efficiency and HP (yes hp, youll see haha), while your Main DMG mage would spend it on damage and stuff.
Unlike Talent Points, which thanks to the Early Alpha testers I understand need to have readily-available reset options, these will be near permanent decisions -- probably limiting you to 1 reset per month at most.||
If you want to go into the game BLIND, dont read any of this stuff
This is the stuff I've been working on since just monday by the way, so don't think this is anywhere near all I've done in the last few weeks.
.. wow feels so epic to post future content stuff again, even if its just the postbox system, I've really missed this. Gonna repeat myself here, since it is still praying on my mind, but I know some of you still wanted more idle skilling (and of course you will get it sometime next year with the final update) but you're gonna be very pleasantly surprised when you play this game and go 'oh wow this is.... basically Idle Skilling MMO but with a different name, nice'
Ok thats about enough for a novel I'll end there.
I'll see you all in early Sept for the Final Alpha (I've got 900+ people on the waiting list I still haven't responded to, don't be sad if you havent heard back from me).
fiery citrus
hey whats up gamers im back again
im pretty much back in the "wake up, work, eat, sleep" cycle, so things are moving along quite well
I have a few more systems I'll need to get in (Alchemy, 2nd classes, Cards, Tasks, and some more maps), but I've got nearly everything 'figured out' which is nice
so now its all about just coding it up and getting some extraneous art stuffs done
Here's 3 Talent Icons I've drawn out over the week (I've done about 20, they take -30 minutes each, so it's a good 1-2 hour break each day)
And I've also just finished most of the 'Starting Menu' screen:
This doesn't have much 'use' exactly -- theres a more efficient way to look at all your characters' stats within the game -- but i think seeing the big class icon guy every time you start up the game is a good thing
The other thing those of you who have tested so far might notice... thats not the normal background when you open up the game...
That's because you can unlock new backgrounds by completing certain tasks! That means that when you reach a new area that has a background you really like, just complete the task for it, and you can choose that to be your Opening Screen background!
Every single background in the game (will be about 14 in the Google Play version) will be an unlockable background, so you'll get full customization here!
I was initially planning to attach some bonuses to these backgrounds, but ultimately it was a pretty simple "Nah", because imagine if the best bonus was on a background you didnt like looking at, thatd be just annoying
So this is a purely cosmetic feature with no bonuses or anything. I'm still gunning to make this a very 'personal' game, so no two accounts are the same, and you can really feel like your gameplay is your own and not that youre going through the same hoops everyone else is
"Ok but whats the timeline now... I haven't even gotten into the alpha yet!"
FINAL ALPHA v3 will be next weekend -- and yes, i literally have 1,000+ unanswered messages, so dont worry about not getting your Alpha Invite yet, you'll get it soon!
It will have about 90% of the content that the game will have in the Google Play release. There will be some filler art (mainly the Talent Icons), and possibly some unfinished questlines, but most of this you wont see until 2+ weeks into testing
FULL GOOGLE PLAY RELEASE probably won't be September 25th, but rather early October.
I've gotten some great contracts signed since I'm taking things seriously this time, and that'll probably push me back 1-2 weeks. These just have to do with marketing (getting videos/screenshots), so fortunately, I'll still have 100% ownership of the game, so it'll have the same 'you don't really need to buy anything' payment system that Idle Skilling had, and I'll be putting in tons of free gem sources!
||Also I just finished putting in into the game, and I was able to draw him really well too, so you'll recognize him and you'll be very happy with how 'not-lame' he looks!||
fiery citrus
I'll see you all next weekend with Alpha v3. Here's one of the Desert NPCs, inspired by the best pet to ever be added to idle skilling!
fiery citrus
Thinking of having some Alpha Items that you get by logging in within the first week of google play release
Not sure what it will look like exactly, buuuut would you rather the exclusive alpha item be...
A Hat
A Medal (shows up under your name)
An Equipment that other players can't see (like a Ring)
Ignore the specific items shown in the picture. The picture is just mean to show you what Hats/Medals look like on your characters
Side note: This "Alpha Item" is separate from the Idle-Skilling Ice Cream necklaces you will all be getting based on your Idle Skilling progress
Side-side note: Last time I'll mention this, but there will be another Idle Skilling update, probably early 2021 once the MMO is in a good place. I'm planning on taking 4-5 weeks off from the MMO and making another 'set' of skills, like how Pets/Tunnels was a set of skills.
fiery citrus
If you have sent your email to @lilac fulcrum before this message, you will get an email soon with Alpha v3!
Note: even if I didn't respond to you, YOULL STILL GET INTO THE ALPHA :]
I have a list of things I still need to complete before the final Alpha V3:
Alchemy skill -- Vials & Liquid cauldrons & Liquid shop & Bubble Upgrading
Fishing -- Quick Balance
Catching -- Nest 2 and 3 & Small nest-respawn bugfix
Second Class Advancement Changing this to be just 8 classes instead of 11 on release (classes 9, 10, and 11 will be centered around World 3 which will come out Post-Launch)
15 talents for all new classes [Filler Art for now, sorry. Their bonuses WILL work though]
Code some missing Grasslands quests
Code Desert Questlines
Finish Desert Maps 4 - 9
Gem Shop I'm testing out my Shop Ideas. I won't be charging for gems during Alpha v3. I'll be giving everyone 4,000 gems just to test with
I don't expect to get them all done tomorrow, but check back over the next few days and see my progress!!
You'll probably realize yourself when I'll be done by, if you pay attention to how many things get crossed off each day
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⚠️ Alpha v3 WILL BE FULLY RESET before launch ⚠️
However, based on your testing, I will be rewarding people with FREE GEMS for the new mmo! :0
I'll keep a tally, and will reward the gems AFTER release on Google Play Store sometime between Sept 25 and Oct 10
So definitely come join us for this final alpha, get some free gems, help test things!
Thanks to those still sticking around, I've got some huge moves I'm gonna be pulling over the next month or two, this place is gonna be boppin' if things go to plan (which they always do, right? plans never fail! oh crap, wait, failing is the only thing plans do).
It's been a rough year for most of us, and part of me is sad that I couldn't help support (even if just some small way) by providing some fun idle skilling updates and have some more posts here...
But, as you all can tell by now, I took the long-term choice of just bunkering down and working on something for the future, which you will all FINALLY get to see
Votes about future content? Sneek peeks of what Guilds and World-Raid bosses will look like? New skills and class types? It's gonna be a trip for me to finally show you all in its finished state, and I hope to make you all proud that you've stood by me this whole year.
You're all gonna be stocked when you see how far I've gone to make this game a reality. Even sitting here, the feelings I've had toward making this game recently are starting to feel like those I had when making Idle Skilling back in 2018 -- so I still do strongly believe that the same uniqueness that made idle skilling such a quirky, enjoyable game will be here in this one as well
See you all in a few days!
fiery citrus
I have fully entered work all day and then sleep mode! I will be staying in this mode until alpha v3 is out.
I have still not sent out any emails yet.
You can scroll up to see a checklist of my progress toward finishing Alpha v3!
Send me energy pls thank u :]
fiery citrus
POLL -- Final post before alpha v3, and probably final before Google Play release too
I have some ideas for names for the game. The actual name might not be any of these, but it could be, depending on if you like them!
Please vote on ALL NAMES -- Each name has 1 of 3 emojis to choose from
Things you should vote from:
- Could you say this name to a friend without them giving you a 🤔 look?
- Does it sound unique, and not generic to you?
- Does it sound like an MMO version of the game idle skilling is?
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Scroll down and look at the Icon so you know the context behind voting!
||Upward Heroes -- Idle MMO
🐮 = AMAZING : D
🍌 = Its good :)
🧧 = Meh, its ok :
🌲 = Terrible :[ ||
||Blunderbound -- Idle MMO
🏎️ = AMAZING : D
= Its good :)
🍬 = Meh, its ok :
🔹 = Terrible :[||
||To the Top -- Idle MMO
👽 = AMAZING : D
👨🦰 = Its good :)
🌊 = Meh, its ok :
🔫 = Terrible :[||
||Secret Sentinels -- Idle MMO
🍌 = AMAZING : D
🚗 = Its good :)
🥗 = Meh, its ok :
📘 = Terrible :[||
||Upwardbound -- Idle MMO
🩸 = AMAZING :D
💎 = Its good :)
💴 = Meh, its ok :
🔳 = Terrible :[||
||Fighters of Idleon -- MMORPG
🥕 = AMAZING : D
🍓 = Its good :)
🍀 = Meh, its ok :
🐧 = Terrible :[||
Try to Vote before seeing if other people like/hate the name. I want your personal opinion!
=======================================
Also, please don't hold back. Vote them all as "terrible" if they are!! -- I have only been coming up with names recently, so I wont mind
fiery citrus
Final Vote
Go back through the list of names, and find the one you like MOST
Whatever the "AMAZING :D" emoji is for it, react with it here!
||vote here if you would've preferred Bandit Bob's Bountiful Badventure||
fiery citrus
I'm going with it, been finalizing some marketing stuff, just still going all day on this.
I'm not gonna say any deadlines, other than obviously the game is not coming out September 25th, however its at a point where I just have a list on a small notepad infront of me of things left to do, and am just working until they're all done.
Alpha v3 still has not started, big sorry to everyone who has been waiting, but just know I'm sitting here going 'shitshitshitshit', and im not sitting here twirling my moustache going 'mehehe i have tricked these gamers once again!" I will be announcing here when the Alpha v3 is out though, so just check back every few days for that.
fiery citrus
Alpha v3 isn't done, but I am finally done with the content/balancing I have planned for it
This means all I have to do before v3 is get Cloudsaving working, and just do general surface-level bug fixing... things like making sure playing between 2 devices doesnt 'erase' your data or cause crashes