A Valley Without Wind 2 - a full sequel free for existing customers - is coming.

[tigersfan]

I doubt I am the only one who wonders this: Will you be releasing some sort of mapmaking program for slices? And if so, how soon?

It's basically just an update of the previous room editor. My guess is that we'll release it with the first beta.

[Volatar]

Can't stop the PR: http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/10/01/new-visuals-still-no-wind-a-valley-without-wind-to-get-snazzy-sequel/

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Rock-Paper-Shotgun also posted about it. Me thinks x4000's wish to keep this quiet has epically failed at this point

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/10/01/a-valley-with-a-new-look-in-a-valley-without-wind-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RockPaperShotgun+%28Rock%2C+Paper%2C+Shotgun%29

[x4000]

Good grief!  All we did was post this on our blog and indie db.  Suddenly it's on VG247, Blue's News, RPS, and so forth.  I honestly had no expectations of that; I figured that some of the more indie-focused sites would mention it and that would be the end of it.

Well well well.  I'm certainly not going to complain about this, although it does make me a mite bit antsy.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Good grief!  All we did was post this on our blog and indie db.  Suddenly it's on VG247, Blue's News, RPS, and so forth.  I honestly had no expectations of that; I figured that some of the more indie-focused sites would mention it and that would be the end of it.

Well well well.  I'm certainly not going to complain about this, although it does make me a mite bit antsy.

I guess that shows that Arcen's name picks up a lot of interest .

[x4000]

That's certainly something that has increased thanks to AVWW1, I will say.

[Volatar]

Like it or not, you are a successful, noted indie dev. People pay attention.

[x4000]

Well, this is new to me.  In the past we really had to chase people to say anything at all.  Then last year we had to chase them but they were largely obliging to say something about us.  Suddenly we don't have to chase?  That is very very new.

Again, I'm not going to complain, but it's not something that I would ever have predicted last week.

[MouldyK]

Wow, things are looking interesting all of a sudden! 

The sequel sounds like an Assassins Creed 1 and 2 kinda deal where the first had ambitious and new ideas and the 2nd is more grounded and more focused. Cant wait to try it. Until then though, i will be playing Borderlands 2 when my pc ain't breaking mid-game and the alpha of Prison Architect by Inversion (playing it at an Expo in London helped persuade me).

I will try to make sure that AVWW2 does not stop my halo 4 gaming though. =p

[Shardz]

I've been an Arcen customer and fan for years and have really enjoyed the experience, especially in the masterfully crafted AI War universe which continues to thrive today. The immense programming skills of Chris and Keith combined are a force to be reckoned with, but there is just so much more that works properly to even list here. The work flow machine is well oiled and community input is paramount to the entire production and it creates an environment that is enjoyable to read and participate in, as well as admiring from the shadows. Given all this, I commend Arcen for the amazing display of independent game development done right.

With this important background primer out in full view first, I would also like to mention that I am completely confused about the direction the vehicle is traveling in and at the rate in which it travels. I've been a bit mind-boggled since development of Valley came out and continue to be out of the loop to this very day. I just collect my AI War expansions once a year and go on my way because I don't really understand or grasp the intended encapsulated experience that I am supposed to get overall. When you lose suspension of disbelief, or never achieved it within the game to begin with, one tends to gravitate to what they can understand - and this, for me, would be AI War within this special camp.

I'm not sure how one would arrive exactly at the decision to jump into a sequel of a game that was 1.) not well-received while generally misunderstood, and 2.) not entirely finished, either. Then with an adventure game in the wings and AI War splashing around, I have to wonder how all these resources will be allocated. Will this latest AI War expansion be it until 2014? Will Arcen choke on the mile-wide cookie on their plates? Will I even live to see all these games finished? And will I understand half of them when they are released?

I wonder what the future holds, but I have been wondering for some time now and I still can't really grasp any of it. Sorry for being stale cracker in the dip, but I just had to post my feelings about everything I suppose.

[x4000]

Generally speaking:

1. AVWW1 wasn't poorly recieved.  It was unevenly received, but some folks really liked it.  It was also very complete, insofar as anything we do is ever complete (is AI War "complete?")  From a financial standpoint, it was not a flop, but it was also not a standout for us compared to AI War.

2. The timeline for these projects is much shorter because we're working off of extensive existing resources.  Shattered Haven had 8 months of solid development in 2008, and Valley2 is riding off all the code of AVWW1.  We'll be done with both of those and looking for something else to work on by the end of Q1 2013, I'm quite confident.

That said -- what does "something else to work on" mean?  I can't really say, because I don't know.  If Valley2 is well received, we'll probably do a bunch of updates for it.  Same with Shattered Haven.  We'll also probably start on some other project either way.  The next timing of the AI War expansion is going to be related to how well the current AI War expansion does and not much else, in the end.  Hopefully we see another expansion for that late next year; there has certainly been quite a surge of interest in AI War, so for the moment that seems likely.

[Lancefighter]

Looks like more than a few eyes are going to be watching the avww2 update..

[goodgimp]

Looks like more than a few eyes are going to be watching the avww2 update..

[keith.lamothe]

Looks like more than a few eyes are going to be watching the avww2 update..

Nah, he's mad about the art style switch.

[Volatar]

Looks like more than a few eyes are going to be watching the avww2 update..

snip

Nah, he's mad about the art style switch.