Archive for September, 2011

Nordenfelt Dev Log 20

Here is the new entry in Nordenfelt‘s weekly development log. There was much grey this week… You’ll understand when you see the screenshots.

But first:

You can help getting this project done, test Nordenfelt’s latest versions and discuss the game in the secret development forum with other preorderers by preordering Nordenfelt. If you like to stay in touch, be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, email newsletter or listen to my tweets at @black_golem.

Now, what changed since last time?

Drafting Level 2

Drafting, drafting, drafting – all day long. Here are some wordless screenshots:

Shop Improvement

Today I’ve started improving the ingame shop. Its current version has a rather clumsy function flow. E.g. buying and equipping a weapon needs three mouse clicks. That may not sound that much but it is. The optimal click count for any functionality IS … *drum roll*:

ZERO!

Brain-reading devices are not available by now so I have to aim for the suboptimal single click. Or worse.

Win Nordenfelt!

I have decided to make subscribing to Nordenfelt’s email newsletter more attractive. From now on subscribers can win access to the secret development forum each time a new version rolls out.

So, in case you haven’t done it yet:

Subscribe and Win Nordenfelt!

That’s it for this week.

As mentioned before, feel free to support the project by preordering Nordenfelt. Many thanks to all the people who already bought the game. You’re awesome!

Cheers,
Thomas

Nordenfelt Dev Log 19

Here is the new entry in Nordenfelt‘s weekly development log. One minor release was done, more to come.

You can support me, get your hands on the game’s regularly released versions and discuss the game in the secret development forum with other preorderers by preordering Nordenfelt.

Released Version 0.5.1

Nordenfelt 0.5.1 was released last Friday. As promised I’ve tightened the release cycle. No more waiting months for the next release. From now on updates roll out every 2-3 weeks, right into the secret development forum. Therefore I can announce …

Upcoming Version 0.5.2

The next version comes up on the horizon. Its theme: level 2 conception.

Up to now I’ve made a stamp sketch of the new level and derived dummy background graphics. I’m a little handicapped by the blank canvas fear. It’s always hard to get started with a new level out of thin air. What should be in the background? Which enemies will be there? Formations? Play strategies? As long as these questions clutter your mind you won’t get anywhere. Don’t think, scribble – ideas will follow.

Always Peering at Sales Stats

It’s thrilling when you start selling your own product. Every day you jump out of the bed, log onto your sales account and check out the charts hoping for new customers. The sales curve does not leave the floor very often but some peaks happen. That’s no problem, I never had the illusion of becoming rich by preorders. 🙂 Like developing the game PR has to be built up continuously. I’m curious if the upcoming press release will prove itself. We will see.

Website Tweaking

As done last week I continued website improvement. Aside the demo download buttons the About button gets clicked quite often. My conclusion:

People need a crisp explanation what your site is about.

That’s it for this week. Feel free to support me by preordering Nordenfelt or simply stay tuned by subscribing to Nordenfelt’s RSS feed or following me on Twitter at @black_golem. New insights every Wednesday.

See you next week.

Cheers,
Thomas

Nordenfelt Dev Log 18

Here is the new entry in Nordenfelt‘s weekly development log.

Website Improvement

The Nordenfelt website got some important navigational buttons underneath the logo. It’s good advice to present the most important stuff above the fold.

Further on the page’s content was streamlined to a one-column layout. Now there’s no more distracting content beside the main message.

Google Analytics Code Struggle

Some days ago I became aware that Google now provides asynchronous tracking code. Thus I decided to update and improve all my website tracking. After installing the new code tests showed that event tracking (e.g. showing screenshots or clicking outbound links) is not as reliable as it seems. At one time it works, at another it doesn’t (testing the same link). Until now I could not find an answer for this on the net. Do you have a clue?

Squinting at Porting to Linux

Just out of curiosity I fired up Ubuntu and had a short look on porting Nordenfelt to Linux. The game was built with portability in mind so it should not be that hard to do it. The only problem is that I’m a Linux noob. It would take quite some time to port and test Nordenfelt on this platform. And finally there’s this fine excuse: Wine.

Version 0.5.1 is Coming Soon!

The next version is just around the corner and the corner’s imprint reads:

16th of September

Nordenfelt 0.5.1 will be preorder-only and will include the new equipment shop. Buying and improving your arsenal of weapons will be vital for scoring high.

That’s it for this week. Thanks to all the nice people who already decided to preorder Nordenfelt. You rock!

As ever feel free to subscribe to Nordenfelt’s RSS feed or follow me on Twitter at @black_golem. New insights every Wednesday.

Cheers,
Thomas

Nordenfelt Dev Log 17

Here is the new entry in the Nordenfelt dev log series.

Today was the first full work day after celebrating the release of Nordenfelt 0.5 … 4 days running. 🙂

Therefore there ain’t much to tell you today. But I’ll gain momentum over the next few days and will tackle these tasks:

  • Nordenfelt page clarification/improvement
  • massive PR – trying out new stuff like gamerelease.net
  • website A/B testing
  • getting started with version 0.5.1

A shorter release cycle is a long-cherished dream of mine. Most of the time embarrassment is the only reason why minor changes don’t get published immediately. A trick I’ve learned while releasing Nordenfelt 0.5 is that a merciless deadline is the best antidote to acting reserved. So I’ll set up a few small dates for this month to provide more value to the new forums. Let’s see if it helps.

You can get your hands dirty on version 0.5 by preordering Nordenfelt! Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed or follow me on Twitter at @black_golem if you rather want to await further progress.

Thanks for your support!

Cheers,
Thomas

Nordenfelt Dev Log 16

Here comes this week’s dev log message, delayed by a deity:

Nordenfelt 0.5 hit the shelves today!

Everything’s set up and running. Just the store activation is pending. Fingers crossed it will be done within the next few hours.

The last days were pure crunch time. Much work was done and I’m tuckered out now. I don’t want to list all the work details here. Instead I tell you a little story …

The funniest incident during the 0.5 release adventure was that I was cut off from the Internet just before release. Yesterday my father’s ISP (which I’m using ’cause I still have no own net – customer support in Austria seems to be stuck in officialdom: “Why hurry?”) halted our connection. A billing problem made them cut the line immediately. Everything for releasing Nordenfelt 0.5 was set up and ready to go but the final steps could not be done offline. GREAT! Some god presumably pointed at me and told his buddies: “Today we hoax this guy!”

Now (1am in the morning) I’m sitting in our local youth center (which has Internet) and write these day-concluding lines. Even if any deity tried to mess around with me I just can say:

Nordenfelt 0.5 is out for sale!

It was important for me to meet this milestone before this weekend, just for B.O.C. Murphy’s law came true again but good preparation made it fizzle out.

Nordenfelt versus deity: one to nothing


Cheers,
Thomas