After a couple of weeks of sparse work due to a mix of legit reasons, uncertainty about how to handle certain questions, and a few excuses, too, I've had four consecutive days of multiple hours each devoted to finishing Strike! I didn't update on Friday because I thought "Well, I could post another disappointing update or I could actually buckle down and do the work... Yeah, it's better if I just do the work." And that's exactly what I did!

That's mainly what there is to say. I'm not going to give an estimate for when it'll be done because I know my baby is due any day now and it would be unwise to try set a firm deadline in such a situation. The key thing is that I got over the various practical and mental obstacles that had blocked me and I am working hard at it once more.

Here, I'll even show you a couple of things I've finished finally.
Masters of the Four Elements Draft
Illustrated Combat Example
The second one has some very cute combat illustrations from Yuri.

Also, here are two possible versions of a picture Yuri just finished. Let me know which one you like best.

I missed my usual update last Friday. Sorry. Here's the news from the past couple of weeks. Work on Strike slowed down significantly for two reasons. First, between high school exams coming up and university summer semester tests, I had a wave of tutoring clients, and I'm not at the point in my career where I can afford to turn down paying work. This was good news for my wallet and bad news for my schedule. Second, as anyone who has had a baby can tell you, the last month of pregnancy can be unpredictable, and so it has been for us. I won't get into the medical details of course, and there's nothing to worry about, but the events of the past couple of weeks have meant that my wife can only do a fraction of the things she usually does. So I've been trying my best to keep up with doing all the tasks that usually just get done while I'm not looking and that I usually get to take for granted.

Am I saying Strike's release will be delayed into July? I don't know. At this point my best guess is yes. I'll still try to get things done by the end of the month, but my dispassionate assessment is that I won't make it. It's important for me to finish this promptly, but it's more important for me to do things well and make sure the game is ready to be released before I release it.

While you're here, I'll show you a preview of the new layout. Exact details like fonts and such are still up in the air, but this is generally what you can expect. If you have opinions about the layout, now is the time to let me know. Once I get much farther, it will be very difficult to change things. This layout is thanks to the good work done by Cosmonaut.