Routes

 The game's routes are really the pivotal aspect in our story telling. The routes diverge shortly after the prologue and tutorial, so there will be almost no overlap in previously viewed scenes or quests. They may not be as long because of this but we feel it is more important to deliver four unique experiences than just one with some branching thrown in here or there. The stories are very different between routes; bad guys can become good guys and the main character's personality, unique, job, and abilities will be very different. The routes will also force the player to rethink their strategies because the different jobs will be unlocked in a different order. The game has no random encounters so opportunities to grind are few. A powerful job received late in the game may have to be shelved due a dearth of chances to increase its job level or research job improvements. Some routes will have the player focus on physical attackers, ranged Aer wielders, or the spirit summoning Spirit talkers. I think this little change up will be quite nifty and will really force the player to resort to new tactics. As each route will have its own feel and story line the player will really have to play them all to find their favorite and get the full sense of the game.

On a side note the first possible route in the game, Route A, or Revenge has been written. All that awaits it now is the editing process. The game is in other words 25% written. We'll finish this thing yet!

Update

Man I have been busy! I had to take a short break from game development most of which was a non-fun-mostly-work trip to Spain. I have been working all morning on my ideas for the AI. I wrote some notes to myself for what I wanted to include and then I typed out some equations and pseudo-code for the parts I'm planning. My notes/principles of design below, modified to better suit your perusal:

 I want to try and make an AI for each enemy type that agrees with that enemy's design. I also want to make not necessarily a "learning" AI, but an AI that adapts by recognizing trends in common tactics. So for a kill the leader mission the leader's guards have a "intercept and disable" function that recognizes when player units come within a determined coordinate threshold and then the guard moves to attack them. I think that's pretty simple and straight forward. If multiple units come forward multiple guards are dispatched, but what if the player creates a hole in the formation the guards must recognize to go all in at once, but then a player can circumvent them. They have to then recognize the new strategy and cluster about the leader. The leader being the most powerful unit has to recognize when the player has killed enough enemies that the tides are turning so that it can deploy and thwart the player, but at the same time be aware of his own delicate position. Arrgh very vexatious! All the "what ifs" and countermeasures will make for a very confusingly prioritized code so I have to think of a way to simplify it into something like a trend recognition program or some other machine learning algorithm that can "learn" from the most recent turns, and then detect and project player strategy, thus deploying simple countermeasures when they are apt. I might need to build something like a common strategies bank and counter measures. I was thinking what would be kind of cool for you guys is the enemy commander could announce your strategies like he's commanding and countering your troops ex: "They're trying to flank our position! Phalanx formation". Some commanders would also be purposely stupid I guess by not giving them full access to the array of possible counter measures. The algorithm along with the strategy bank will be the most complex aspect of the AI by far. I'll have to find a way to simplify highly variable player choices to a recognizable trend or strategy profile. It will have to analyze trends between multiple coordinate points as well as player vs. enemy class, and unit statistics. In short design a macro thinking AI like chess AIs. The only easy part will be the basic micro AI types, "Archer use distance formula to determine distance between self and enemy if within range always fire when out of range move closer, when within "d" distance move back, prioritize proximity and for units within same proximity lowest max health." Simple.

I might be over thinking the algorithm I do that when I get excited. I always try to use the most complex math possible. Hmmm.

Important name change and update

Although no one seems to care, save me. I will be changing the terrible place holder name "zoal" and replacing it with a more fit name. Aer. I like this name better for a vast slew of reasons. Here goes:

• It sounds like air and since Aer (formerly Zoal but here forth only referred to as Aer) is like a telekinetic gas it fits better with the gas/steam motif.
• In greek mythology "aether" is the upper air that the gods breathe as oppose to the lower terrestrial "aer".
• In the game's universe aether is the pure physical/psychic energy that populates the spirit realm and aer is a less volatile derivative substance that bleeds through into the physical realms.
• Thus I create a somewhat relevant mythological allusion while also reinforcing the gas motif, all in word that is far more pleasant to say.

Now no one probably cares but me. But here it is. I will probably go back and change all the past mentions of zoal but I'm also really busy so that might not happen for awhile.

An update on our progress:
The gameplay demo is coming along but programming has been slow. We are still exploring artistic options for the concepts, backgrounds, and sprites that will be in the game. I'm very busy and so is our writer so script progress will be slow at least for December. We have, however, completely written the prologue and tutorial as well as outlined all of Route A. In January I will return from Europe so that's when progress will really take off. I foresee the entire project taking about 2-2.5 years. I hope that's not a huge disappointment and that everyone can wait that long to play the game.

Thanks

Progress

So much work is being done on the game it's unbelievable I've been too pressed to post. In terms of plot we have added a new peace route where the player tries to settle down and live a peaceful life. While that may sound boring it should prove to be the most twisted route yet so I'm happy for it. We're also going to implement a religion system where the player can build a temple in the village to receive help from the gods themselves. The writer and I have really been hard at work furiously writing the various routes and developing the complexity and life of each of the various worlds. It's turning out better than I had anticipated and I'm caught in the state of being an obnoxious little kid who's tantalizing you, "I know something you don't know. I have a secret." The world lore will definitely come out in time but as for the different routes that's our life blood and I can't very well give it away so I hope you can all wait for the game to come out which looks sooner and sooner everyday.

Plot Direction

The village building, exploration, and combat are all aspects of the game that I'm developing and concerned about getting right. But the plot will be the defining asset in the game's playability and re-playability. Our project recently acquired a new writer who has been pitching some great ideas that will be really fun to hash out. Because of him we're now ready to take on the onus of a branching plot structure where the player can embark on three different story lines.

The story so far has the player character escaping from his albeit video game cliche life of lab rat. When his escape fails and he finds himself trapped on the fragmenting crust of a dying world, suddenly a multi-planar organism reaches out and saves him from his demise. This ethereal being a "godlike" entity places him in the safe haven of the unconnected, unexplored forest world of Ellia, and charges him with creating a novel series of broad reaching events, with the express purpose of entertaining the bored hyper-powerful denizens of the spirit plane. The player explores Ellia and finds the village. While the villagers are first distrustful the player quickly proves his superior intelligence and leadership capabilities by streamlining the village structure and fighting off a small incursion of destructive and invasive alien beasts. In the large forbidding Manse or mansion on the outskirts of the village, a relic of a once powerful species of extra-world interlopers, the player finds the means to travel back and forth between the worlds. Here the player's path diverges, he can seek out and destroy the organization that experimented on him, he can try to reconnect with the history he lost when he became a lab rat, or he can set out on a path of universal domination to install himself in the opulent crux of omni-world supremacy. This last path will be more difficult and require substantial knowledge of the game mechanics and superior strategies. All the while completing the story behind each new world and directives from his supernatural benefactor.  The three paths are still in development and are likely to change, but for now they're the way we're going. Though the paths are mutually exclusive there is still room for player choice within each path.

Player story choice within each prime gameplay path takes place at each world where the player must decide how they want to complete the mini-story that is each campaign. These stories within each campaign will be decided by talk options and strategic options like where the player directs their army and when. The "normal" talk options will always be available but some talk options can only be selected by passing the right personalty checks. The main character's personalty is slowly decided by the minor decisions the player makes throughout the game. Unlocking some talk options will require that the player be acerbic, overly assertive, and generally douche baggy attitude while others will require a slightly more charismatic angle. The player can improve the main's character personalty over time but instead of starting at neutral he will start with sort of a bastard bent. I've always had the most fun playing over the top only in a video game obnoxious characters so I feel that's how the protagonist should start, sort of between chaotic neutral and chaotic evil. With the decisions the player makes in game he can become even more of a bastard or approach the slightly more tolerable range. I might throw in a little something for the people who love to play as the goody-two shoes but he'll probably stay pretty much a jerk. I hope this will prove to be a really memorable fun character to play as and hopefully our new writer can reign me in when I get too over the top.

Some more advanced aspirations

For the game I want to have a highly situational adaptive AI. I want it to be hard and if possible recognize and counteract obvious player strategies. Right now that's just a dream, but I think I'll start by having different enemy jobs behave based on their map. Behaving defensively, targeting weakened characters, forming a blockade around spell casters and leaders, that sort of thing.

I would also love to include more jobs in the game. I have a fair amount now that all fill different roles but it still seems sparse to me. Job evolution and branching is also a possibility.

Siege weapons and Zoal shields are something I'd like to include to help the player counteract especially fortified battle fields.

Finally animated "alive" battlefields are my ultimate stretch goal. I doubt I'll get there but it's good to dream.

Update

I released my GDD check it and other information down below. I am also recruiting so if you have any desire to help me and you have any skill from nuclear engineering to whistling I'm interested in your help and would love if you could drop me a line.
The project is coming along swimmingly I spent all day experimenting with FIFE's source code and trying my hand at python. We're coming along very nicely and I feel we will commence the real work shortly. See you all at the finish line.