Hey Reader,
Each night feels colder than the last, and it’s supposed to hit negative five on Tuesday. Nope, hard pass on that!!! It just makes me even more set on trying car camping in the Spring. Big thanks to everyone who sent kind words and suggestions after last week’s email—much appreciated! (Also, shoutout to my fellow Subie owners! Send me pics of your ride if you’re feeling it. There’s a little car update farther down the email.)
- Things are in a solid place right now for The Infected. The dev is gearing up to work on the content coming with V22, which means that we'll be pulling back up the Beta hub (Steam Forums) and branch sometime in the near future.
- Forward motion for Derelicts and Romain has slowed. Right now Early Access is slated for no earlier than 2026. Progress reports from the developer have dried up entirely, even for me. I'm working to get something squared away that I can share, so fingers crossed?
- Among the Trolls may be back? Ish? Or something may be happening?? If you're unfamiliar with the title, I actually made a video about it 2 years ago. TLDR: It was in development, then the entire dev team was fired, then it languished for a while with a dead Discord, and last week someone associated with the publisher (I think?) said they'll have news to share shortly. Hmm.
- The Rooted Alpha has now moved to Phase 2. I still can't tell you anything about it, because NDA. Right now it looks like their timeline is to complete all Alpha phases by the end of 2025. At that point, I wonder if it'll do a year - or less- in Beta, or move to Early Access.
- The Gold River Project finally has fucking signs of life. In a nutshell: many of us backed the funding period of this game back in...2020? 2021?? I don't even recall. Anyway, it was supposed to get a backers demo shortly after funding finished, which got pushed back, which then entered an eternal cascade of excuses. And now (supposedly) there's something for us to test out. I missed the first window for gameplay, but the backers branch will open up again this Wednesday for a week- which means I should have time to test it out and write something up.
- 10 months ago (time flies) I streamed the backer demo for As One We Survive - and since then the demo has received a handful of changes/updates. I'll see about either recording another bit of gameplay, or doing another small livestream.
Her name is Nix! It was a whole thing to get here, but here we are. I know I'm not the only one that names their car, so hit me up with those names!
ICYMI, last week, Becca killed it while working on the game. Like many, we bounced off the ESRPG framework, which provides basic interaction systems, core survival systems, and basic multiplayer functionality. (Video: Becca testing server replication for PCG and interactable foliage. Remember that the footage is just the basic models/map.) We're now looking to shift frameworks to something with a bit more flexibility.
What I'm Watching
Love After Lockup: No lie, while I find this shit interesting, this is mostly great to watch with Becca because of her over-the-top reactions.
Shrinking: This show is interesting, but I watch it with Becca because I have a terrible track record of sticking with a series. (Also, I love Harrison Ford.) ((Also, also, look- it's the guy that played Jefferson Darcy in Married with Children!)
What I'm Reading
I decided to hit it hard with Libby this year: broaden my reading a bit because I've repeatedly reread a ton of my old stuff. (If you don't use Libby, you should. Virtual library books are the best. And free.)
If you like fantasy, read Fourth Wing/Rebecca Yaros. For some weird mech/trippy stuff, try Heavenbreaker/Sara Wolf. Authors with quirky people/romcom stuff: Abby Jimenez, Beth O'Leary, Rebecca Serle, Laura Starkey.
What I'm Playing
I've mainly been using my Switch; it's been the easiest thing to slog in and out of- especially when my office was a wreck from "reorganizing." Games: Tomb Raider 1/2/3 Remastered (hard nostalgia), The Flame in the Flood, Far: Lone Sails (finished! loved it!), Dredge, The Oregon Trail. PC-wise, I'm working to organize my library and plow through demos/playtests/alphas.
Curated Clicks
This week, I'd like to dip my toe back into writing. I've got a handful of article ideas, and we'll see how it works to put pen to paper. (Or whatever the digital equivalent is!) Anything published will be on the website, and I'll ping folks in Discord at publication.
The developer of Short Snow has messaged me multiple times to ask me to change my Curator review of the game. This is hilarious because it's not worth changing. I probably should have been harsher, and you need a thick skin for this type of stuff.
I wonder if it's worth an article.
Jordan