Hello everyone!

Welcome to Slormite Chronicles #47!

For those who haven't been following the latest Slormite Chronicles, we're in the final stretch before release. We are currently preparing the last update of the Early Access phase, leading to the official launch.

This is the most crucial stage for The Slormancer, so we’re doing everything we can to ensure the best possible release and that as many players as possible are there for launch. This is one of the reasons why we had to postpone the opening of the Experimental Branch, which was originally planned for the end of February.

In the last Slormite Chronicles, we announced that the game's Experimental Branch would open around the end of February, allowing players to test the 1.0 version before its final release.

Unfortunately, we’ve decided to go back on that decision and postpone the opening of the Experimental Branch so that it is closer to the game's actual release date. The planned release date for The Slormancer hasn't changed, but the Experimental Branch will open a bit later to ensure that the game works perfectly for everyone.

We sincerely apologize for making an announcement and then changing course. We took the time to weigh the pros and cons of opening the Experimental Branch too early, and we believe that to maintain the momentum and hype we hope to build around the launch in the coming weeks, it would be much more effective not to start distributing the final version of the game via an Experimental Branch.

To go into more detail, the way Steam works—and how players decide whether a game is worth buying—is directly linked to the number of sales, the number of reviews, and the number of active players at any given time.

If players buy the game following the launch of the 1.0 version on the Experimental Branch, play it, and don’t return for the official release, we lose out on the snowball effect.

We also believe that opening an Experimental Branch to everyone isn’t necessary. Instead, a closed beta with a few dozen players, which will begin soon, should be sufficient.

I believe we made the right decision for the game, but not necessarily the best one for players eager to try this version. Once again, we’re sorry for this change—we should have thought everything through before announcing the Experimental Branch.

The last Slormite Chronicles have been relatively difficult to write. We understand the anticipation for a release date that we still can’t share, as well as the desire for new information. Unfortunately, we've already revealed all the new features of the game in previous Slormite Chronicles.

Not much seems to be happening on the surface, but we’re still making progress toward the release!

We’re currently waiting for translations to be finalized. The translation teams have given us a deadline, and everything is in progress and should be ready soon.

On our end, we’re working on the game’s marketing. We’re revamping the Steam page, which will be updated soon. We want a more eye-catching banner, an updated trailer showcasing the new features, as well as the addition of GIFs and decorations to enhance the page overall. After all, it’s the game's main storefront.

We’ve neglected marketing throughout Early Access, so it’s time to make up for lost ground. The Steam page hasn’t been updated since the start of Early Access, despite the many things we’ve added to the game.

From a development standpoint, the game is ready—or at least, it will be once we’ve integrated the feedback from the beta—but the release itself isn’t quite there yet.

I’ll wrap up this section with two quotes that perfectly apply to game development:

"The first 90% of development accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% accounts for the other 90% of the development time."

"Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law."

We’ve already talked about these mechanics in previous Slormite Chronicles, but I’d like to share some additional teasers from my own playthrough.

The final gameplay loop takes place in The Netherworld. There are 45 Cataclysm Expeditions, where the goal is to close enough breaches to complete the Expedition.

The Cataclysms used are in their "Warlord" version and at their highest difficulty level, meaning players regularly need to add or adjust stats in our build to mitigate their effects.

Additionally, all Breaches in The Netherworld are in their Cataclysmic version, progressively adding new Cataclysms throughout the Expedition.

Once a Cataclysm is completed, it unlocks higher-difficulty Cataclysms. And once all necessary Cataclysms for facing a Warlord have been completed, it becomes possible to challenge them.

During the Expedition against Cinderolis The Fireborn, five Warlord Cataclysms will be active at all times: Fire Strike, Fire Rage, Floor is Lava, Endless Fire, and Equilibrium.

Once defeated, the player will be able to choose from three Legendary and/or Nether-rarity items.

We’ve done a lot of internal playtesting for this update. And even after all these years of development, I’m still having as much fun—if not more—than before. I hope you have as much fun as we do when the 1.0 update is available.

That's about it for now!
Cheers!