HOPE 01 - Roadmap

Heya! Bug Fixes are winding down and I'm starting to look towards the future! So I'll be putting down my honest thoughts and tentative plan going forward with HOPE 01!

You might have noticed that HOPE 01 has quite a bit of content for an Early Access Game!

It was because I was quite scared that the game was going to completely bomb and I wouldn't be able to justify working on it much further. So I wanted to make sure the Early Access version of the game was basically a full game, that way players would be at least get something worth their money, regardless of the success of the game!

But Thanks to you, it didn't bomb, so 1.0 with more content is on the menu!

That said, HOPE 01 wasn't some crazy breakout success either and it's still up in the air about how much time I have to work on it!

Disclaimer

These are tentative plans! and are likely to change depending on various circumstances, anything from success of the game, my own ability, technical problems, and anything in between!

Regardless which path 1.0 takes, it will drop as a single BIG update to the game and will unfortunately require a WIPE of the saves. Don't worry though, it will be the only wipe, and I'll make sure there's enough new content for it to be worthy a whole new playthrough!

I'll also keep the Early Access build accessible for anyone who still wanted to finish their playthrough if it happens to drop while they are in middle of one, much later in the future!

1.0 Priorities

So lets say the game doesn't perform well enough to buy me much development time! What happens then?

On a limited success, my plan is to start development immediately on creating MORE of everything that's already in the game! No new fancy features, but tried and true, bug-tested features.

• More NPCs! including their quests, accompanying endings and epilogues!
• More Items! Gadgets, Weapons, and Usables for you to loot and use!
• More Enemies! Bosses, Mini-Bosses, and general enemies to bully!
• More Upgrades!
• Localizations! I'll try to fund as many as I can, working down from list of highest wishlisted languages!

While I am adding these, I'll be looking at the health of the revenue through the months, to try to gauge how long I can afford! More time I have, more I'll be able to add from the Wishlist Features below!

I'll also try to implement a New Game Plus mode, even tho this is a new feature, I'd still like to try to get it into the game to let people keep some progression between endings for 1.0!

Wishlist Features!

So these are the fun stuff! Stuff that would take quite a bit of time to implement and bug test! If the game begins to trend higher, or maybe even explodes in popularity (fingers crossed) while I'm developing the base 1.0 content, I'll be able to add these extra features!

SCIENCE Weapons

I would start with SCIENCE WEAPONS, or rather weapons that aren't your typical "gun" but behave uniquely! These would also use Fabricks as ammo! Think Flamethrowers, Nailguns, and Railguns!

HOPE 01 is a extraction shooter first, so adding more to loot and shoot with is always the number one priority!

Hideout Upgrades

These would be pricey upgrades that make your life easier outside of the raid, and maybe sometimes in them as well! Dedicated storages for specific types of weapons, add-ons, or even maybe customizable room for Hope herself!

This is still secondary to the science weapons content, but it's quite the compelling idea so I'd love to be able to add something like this! But it could really take so many different forms, so I won't promise anything specific yet!

In Raid Events

Dangerous and Interesting events that happen randomly or maybe not-so-randomly while you are out raiding in the habcluster! I've got some ideas but again, I won't go into them for now!

and Maybe More..?

I could easily think of some random other thing that I find cool and do that in addition or instead hahaha.

Future of HOPE 01 and Bending Boy Games

Regardless of which version of 1.0 comes to life, 1.0 will likely be the end of development for HOPE 01!

Why?

Besides the fact I'm old school and prefer the old days where games were made then sold with no microtransactions, dlcs, live service, or being a forever-game, there's a reason that I made HOPE 01 as my first game.

There's also a reason it has multiple endings as well!

I have an ambitious dream...

Some of my favorite games are ones with multiple endings, but I was often frustrated that those choices rarely remained canonical or referenced so loosely in future installments that almost all the choices I made felt like dust in the wind...

So I wanted to create a game with multiple endings.. then follow through on as many endings as I could with a NARRATIVE sequel (Not a mechanical one).

I LOVE games. They've been part of my life as long as I can remember. I've enjoyed so many different genres that I want to contribute to them by bringing my own wacky ideas to life.

So once HOPE 01 hits 1.0, provided I have any funds remaining, I will begin development on other games that follow through on the various endings of HOPE 01. A completely separate game set in that "timeline" that you as the player view as a canonical or is your favorite.

It's... ambitious for sure, and may not come to fruition... but I don't think I can rest without having tried!

If you have questions, ask away! I'll answer them!

Thank you all who love and support HOPE 01 and, in doing so, keeping my hopes alive!

-The Bending Boy