Followers of TLT have probably guessed at there being some setbacks with the engine, made obvious by my complete lack of tweets or blog posts in recent weeks. I always hesitate in voicing such setbacks as some may find it discouraging, but seeing as this project is all about open development I decided it doesn't get much worse than not saying anything one way or the other.

So, about those setbacks...

The Problem
To be blunt, the main setback with the engine is that it essentially needs to be rewritten. There are a few reasons behind this (and a few reasons that there are those reasons), but mostly, a 3rd person 3D adventure game is probably one of the most advanced and complex game engines one could write, and I don't think the current structure of the engine is properly up to the task.
Thankfully I should be able to keep a lot of the existing code; it just needs to be structured better to properly accommodate the needs of the game.

The Bright Side
Not only is the engine structurally unsound, but it's also a bit of a mess since it came together in my early days of learning Unity. Rewriting it will clean it up and fully reacquaint me with it, and most importantly, a proper structure should considerably expedite the addition of new features- thus increasing the rate of demo releases, as we originally intended.
As bad of a setback as this may seem, getting the engine structured properly now is infinitely more productive than doing so in say, a couple years from now. I've been there before. It's not fun.

The Holdup
Time. I need quality time to properly research, plan and implement this new engine structure, and so far this year I haven't had any. Finances have been a prime concern and I've been pouring all my energy into getting a new business off the ground in an attempt to rectify that. With any new business its success is heavily reliant on how much time and energy you put into it, so by the time my work day is done I truly don't have the mental stamina to put in the effort necessary for TLT's current engine needs- despite being painfully aware how much louder actions speak than words when it comes to fan game projects.

I know there are plenty of programmers who would like to help with the project's advancement, but likewise I haven't had the time and energy to put into directing most of them either, and the few I have assigned tasks to have yet to come through.

The Bottom Line
This is an unfortunate delay in the engine's immediate progress, but I certainly don't intend for this period of struggling and being overworked to last forever. I can assure you that I'm more anxious and excited than anyone to see TLT's engine finally get moving again, so I'll be working on it just as soon as I possibly can. I'm as committed to the project as ever so I hope you'll continue to bear with me on this for awhile longer.

While this may seem like discouraging news to be posting so close to TLT's first birthday, the future is still bright; when this restructuring is done the engine should finally, finally be in a position to move forward at a steady pace. In the meantime please look forward to other updates as the project moves forward with models, music, artwork, etc., and of course, Events!