The Next World [SF strategy] - Just released

[Winterslice]

Release is upon us! TNW came out on Steam yesterday, and we've had a really successful launch so far. Spent a full day on the first page of Steam's Popular New Releases, got a writeup on Rock Paper Shtogun, and a lot of love in the Steam reviews. Couldn't ask for more!

If anyone here remains interested in TNW, I heartily recommend checking out our store page, or our new trailer on YouTube, or our older trailer on YouTube. Now's the time to be getting it, since there's a 20% launch discount for the first week!

Thanks again to all the people on LemmaSoft who supported us, and a big shout-out to local team members Kia and rgbvscb, who put in lots of hard work getting us to this point.

[PyTom]

I sort of wonder if you might have a debate between a faction of people that want to stay on nextworld, and a second faction that wants to "go home" and recolonize earth - despite it taking the entire game to rebuild the colony ship and probably multiple lifetimes to return to earth. At the same time - even with (most of?) humanity wiped out by a nuclear attack, it's still a lot more habitable than a mars-like world. So that could provide a source of tension in the game, and even potentially two endings depending on who the player sides with.

[Winterslice]

I sort of wonder if you might have a debate between a faction of people that want to stay on nextworld, and a second faction that wants to "go home" and recolonize earth - despite it taking the entire game to rebuild the colony ship and probably multiple lifetimes to return to earth. At the same time - even with (most of?) humanity wiped out by a nuclear attack, it's still a lot more habitable than a mars-like world. So that could provide a source of tension in the game, and even potentially two endings depending on who the player sides with.

There's no way to rebuild or launch a ship with the resources the colony has, but that's never stopped people from wanting something badly enough to kick up a storm. It might even be more poignant when it's a goal that isn't really achievable.

I already wanted a subplot that fragments the colony but hadn't settled on anything. This might well do the job. Thanks, Py'Tom!

[Winterslice]

Updated the first post with our new logo. Lettering may change. Will add some character illustrations in the morning.

[Winterslice]

Edited in finished version of logo, new lettering, and character illustrations. Bit later than planned. Hell of a holiday weekend.

Also added a couple of rough screenshots from the opening cutscene to the list. Still accepting ideas if anyone has one!

[SwedishJazz]

The game looks interesting! Good luck with development. Will it be available on Steam (or GoG)?

I don't have too many ideas, but just to get the thread started:
1. "Woman or Tiger"-style series of events - you, as a leader, have sparse information about what happened, and have to use logic to figure it out. (for example: Johnny was shot and there's three people suspected. He was shot with a pistol and two of them have pistols, but both of them have alibis; one of them must be lying and the other must be telling the truth, BUT... so on)

2. If there are any young people on board, they're sure to be restless and disobedient (more than adults, at least), and banding together to egg themselves on. Confronted with growing unrest between them and the threat of a forming gang, you have to decide what to do - split them up among different jobs? Punish them to deterr them, risking justifying their anger and making yourself look like a bad gu, and the punished - martyrs in the eyes of the other disgruntled kids? Use their closeness to give them a job that involves communication, but risk their inexperience and impatience sabotaging it, taking precious resources?

3. A search party is missing, and the probability of them returning are slim. Send a search party for the search party? (spoiler: they're all dead anyway, but your decision has an impact on your people's views of you.)

I might add more as I think of them!

[Winterslice]

The game looks interesting! Good luck with development. Will it be available on Steam (or GoG)?

I don't have too many ideas, but just to get the thread started:
1. "Woman or Tiger"-style series of events - you, as a leader, have sparse information about what happened, and have to use logic to figure it out. (for example: Johnny was shot and there's three people suspected. He was shot with a pistol and two of them have pistols, but both of them have alibis; one of them must be lying and the other must be telling the truth, BUT... so on)

2. If there are any young people on board, they're sure to be restless and disobedient (more than adults, at least), and banding together to egg themselves on. Confronted with growing unrest between them and the threat of a forming gang, you have to decide what to do - split them up among different jobs? Punish them to deterr them, risking justifying their anger and making yourself look like a bad gu, and the punished - martyrs in the eyes of the other disgruntled kids? Use their closeness to give them a job that involves communication, but risk their inexperience and impatience sabotaging it, taking precious resources?

3. A search party is missing, and the probability of them returning are slim. Send a search party for the search party? (spoiler: they're all dead anyway, but your decision has an impact on your people's views of you.)

I might add more as I think of them!

Thanks for the ideas! To answer your question, we'll be releasing direct to Steam when it's finished.

Regarding your #2, approximately a quarter of the surviving colonists are children of various ages.

[Winterslice]

OP updated with a download link to our first demo. Check it out!

[Sidji972]

The game looks great but there are some issues with the current demo version as soon as we have read the tutorial : http://puu.sh/lfe0L/2cf05493ed.png

[Winterslice]

I actually fixed that right after uploading the first file, the current download shouldn't have that crash.

Can't have a demo without a huge game-breaking issue first thing, after all!

[Winterslice]

Early versions were super bugged, as expected. Many have been fixed. Download link remains the same.

The morning shall see more features and content.

[Winterslice]

It is time for a long-awaited update, as we have much to show you.

Whether you played the first playable demo of The Next World or not, it was obviously pretty rough and basic. Plenty of promise, but not that much to see. It is now exactly 3.5 weeks later and we have a very different beast on our hands. Welcome to TNW Demo: Round 2.

Basically, we have a brand new demo out, available for download from IndieDB. It's accompanied by a detailed news post with lots of screenshots to show you the progress we've been making. More colour, more art, and more meat all around. Some of those screenshots are attached below for your delectation and convenience.

For further convenience, I present you with a direct download link: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/start/94219

Also, I want to add that we're currently seeking a dedicated, reliable sound designer/foley artist to create sound effects for our cutscenes, strategy and visual novel segments. This position involves a significant contribution to the project and is paid in royalty share.

[Winterslice]

Great news! TNW has been approved for sale on Steam. We're already working on our store page, hoping to unveil it soon.

Also, if you or anyone you know would be interested in working with us, we are still looking for qualified people -- check out our recruitment thread here: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 60&t=34376

[Winterslice]

Time for an update on our progress! Copy-pasted from OP:

It's as if Christmas were alive and among us today. Except better. The Next World has officially leaped -- nay, vaulted -- onto the stage of international game-dom, and we do so with a brand-new store page on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com//app/427860

The store page also contains our shiny new trailer! You can check it out there, or on IndieDB if you prefer: http://www.indiedb.com/games/the-next-w ... r#imagebox

Things are getting pretty exciting. We're only a few weeks away from launch, and I hope you'll join us in loving the game when it's out.

[Winterslice]

OP updated at long last, with tales of our impending release and other important stuff worth reading! Scroll up and feast thine eyes.