Post-v0.3 Plans for Black Road Sky

A couple of months ago I outlined the possible paths I saw in moving forward with Black Road Sky: give up, start over, or just keep going. I have chosen a path.

I'm actually having fun again, so giving up has lost its appeal. And now that I've reacquainted myself with the code base, which was more of a trial than it seems like it should have been, starting over feels unnecessary. SO ONWARD WE GO! I have reduced the scope of the game somewhat, but I've never said much about what the full scope was going to be, so who will ever know the difference? No one, but I'm gonna tell you about it anyway.

I've pared all of the ship systems down and even eliminated a few. This will help give me a chance of finishing the game in my lifetime, and now that I've made that decision I think I was probably over complicating the systems stuff anyway. I'm getting rid of a planned Tank Management System which was going to handle pressurizing & depressurizing consumable tanks as well as routing them to the appropriate systems. The system also involved a complicated network of valves for refueling, purging lines, and so on. All of that stuff is just going to happen automatically now. I've also decided to completely hand wave away the Life Support System, which was going to handle cabin pressure & temperature and would have had its own tank of life support gasses. And nearly every remaining system has been simplified to some degree, most notably the electrical & communications systems. Don't worry, the cockpit will still be an overwhelming mess of buttons and meters, but I'm trying to make sure that every button and every readout is really significant in terms of gameplay. I'm also shelving some non-trucking and endgame ideas, but those are things that I could add back in someday if it seems like the game needs it.

It's looking like another 2 months before v0.3 is ready, so that probably means like 4 months, but work is progressing steadily. If I can get it done by July, it'll only be 2 years later than my initial goal. Pretty good.