TLDR: After several months of struggling with LFS and Git Bash an early prototype is ready to play. Please be mindful that we have to rework and revamp many systems that we we're just starting to learn when this project began 9 months ago. Our goal is to create a short experience that highlights world exploration, difficult encounters and problem solving. The project will go live by the end of the week.

THE LONG PART

Barren Grove is a project that we started with no clear idea of how we wanted to do it. It is intended to be an action RPG that takes inspiration from Yakuza and Monster Hunter franchises to create an experience that emphasizes world exploration, problem solving and difficult boss encounters. This prototype build is very rough idea of these core ideas built up but after taking some time away from the project we are pretty excited to get back into things.

For this early alpha we have introduced not one, not two but FOUR POTENTIALLY BROKEN CUTSCENES! Like many things that will be discussed in these dev logs, these were our first interactions with all of US5 systems since we were, and still are, learning the program from scratch. Like mentioned, we took some time away from this project and that time helped us learn a ton that we need to take back into this game. What you actually get with this prototype is three maps and three quests to explore. We have introduced two stances but currently have no tutorial, so all of the controls and instructions are scattered in the notes when you download the game. 

While we have a lot to work on, we are hoping that people will see the core elements of the game come into effect. By completing the quests, you can unlock the different stances and get gear (purely statistical) that synergize with each other. While in each stance a different resource will drain meaning that its time is limited. The wind stance for instance drains stamina, improves move and attack speed but reduces attack damage. There are pieces of gear scattered through quests and around the map that improve max stamina and damage to help anyone who enjoys the wind stance to see their stance really pack a punch.

FUUUTTUURREE

Our immediate need is to fix dumb things we did like layering the same UI element every time you press a button JUSTIN. These are things we only learned after stepping away from the project and diving into deeper and more complicated tutorials. In this list includes but is not limited to:

• Fixing UI layers
• Input mapping
• Boss fight sequencing
• Stop using homemade animations you suck get real ones they're just better
• Introducing a map and better land markers for improved exploration
• Optimizing/Cleaning up the player BP
• UI design 
• Bug fixes
• cutscenes/tutorial

This list is to say the least, time consuming. The goal is to break these fixes into sections and include background fixes in with improvements or expansion to content with each patch until there is a full demo. This will take time so as always; we thank you for your support and look forward to hearing feedback on our projects.