Might and Delight, the team behind the indie social MMORPG Book of Travels, has provided a recent community update detailing its ongoing efforts to improve and expand the game. The update reports significant strides in various aspects of the game, all of which show significant progress from their early access release back in October of 2021.
The team has grown to include engineers, artists, writers, user experience, level, and audio designers. This expansion has allowed a more comprehensive approach to feature and event development. This is a stark departure from where Might and Delight were at just a couple years prior when they were hit with massive layoffs, that reduced the team down to only 10 remaining developers. Despite that, Might and Delight has worked hard to get where they are, and it seems with their new team members, development of this indie title will only increase.
The developers have reported considerable efforts towards refining the backend, development tools, and overall game performance. This has culminated in the opening of new regions within the game's world, including the city of Kasa. Despite the anticipation surrounding the reveal of Kasa, it's worth noting that the city's rollout has been described as a "slow burn," indicating that its complete realization might take some time.
The narrative team has introduced a new Quest and Flag system, promising more varied and branching events. They have reportedly been focusing on writing and designing events for the newly added city of Kasa. However, it's worth noting that despite the optimistic announcement, the player's experience will be the ultimate measure of the system's success.
The fishing update is another of the recent features added to the game, accompanied by the introduction of 20 new fish and fishable creatures. The team is looking to implement a cooking feature, with culturally significant recipes and associated inventory updates, and with fishing in MMO’s being one of the most popular professions, it could very well pay off for their players.
The development of an in-game journal, designed to chronicle the player's journey, was also mentioned. The team has also reported that they plan to continue revisiting the combat system, intending to improve it and create new animations and fighting styles.
With a very positive player review score on Steam, it’s looking like the game has come a long way from it’s initial Early Access launch. We await further developments, and hope to see more positive impacts of these changes on gameplay and overall player satisfaction in the future.