Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's CEO Chris Rowan has published a new producer's letter that looks back on 2023 and how the indie studio Visionary Realms has fared this year. Writing while in-game during this week's Alpha test, Rowan looks back on the ups and downs, and gives some insight into next year's plans.
This hasn't been an easy year for Pantheon, with the developer admitting that there have been "stumbles" as this year has waned. Yet, Rowan makes a point to remind readers that the team did fulfill its goal: alpha testing before year's end - a test that almost didn't end up happening, we should also point out.
Yet, it did (it's going on right now, in fact), and Rowan spends a good chunk of the start of the letter describing the goings on in the test with excitement.
"As I write this, Alpha pledges are experiencing Pantheon for the first time. And the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. While I know I should be looking through our Discord for some testimony about their experiences to add to what I write here, instead, I’m going to log into Pantheon and see how people are doing."
The next few paragraphs are spent describing the alpha, from which server was most populated at the time (Korecera Realm), and how he resisted the temptation to change the foreboding and dangerous night back to sunny daytime.
"If I were on the Development server I could type a secret command and make it bright and sunny (and slightly safer) midday, but this server is live, people are playing – this is real – I can’t just randomly change the time of day…
Yep. This is live. Thousands of people are experiencing Pantheon. It’s not done, it has some rough edges. It needs more content. But this world is live, playable, dangerous and fun."
Despite its issues getting there, Rowan praised the team for fulfilling the goal of an Alpha test before year's end, and whole it's certainly rough around the edges, Rowan mentions that "thousands" of backers are experiencing the MMO for the first time.
2023 saw some massive roadblocks for the studio, though, which Rowan acknowledges in the letter. He touches on the feedback to the art style change, saying that it simply does not come across well in screenshots and videos. He also uses this as a springboard to tease that the Visionary Realms team is looking at some "bold steps" to get more people into Pantheon to experience it for themselves in 2024.
We do understand some people don’t like the new art style. For some reason it doesn’t show well in stills and video. But many of the critics of the art style feel very differently after actually playing the game – it’s a consistent comment that we see frequently. It works, and it works well, but you have to play to feel it. If we find a way to bring this across in stills and video that will help, but nothing helps more than allowing people in to see for themselves, so that will be a major theme of 2024 – more people playing Pantheon, seeing it for themselves. And we are considering some very bold steps to get more people into the game.
Rowan also touches on the 247 extraction test mode the team introduced earlier this fall, where he maintained the stance that this mode helped accelerate development on Pantheon proper. Saying that the "247 Test Mode launched us forward on so many fronts," he does acknowledge that the community were just not fans of the new direction, saying that the backers "freaked out" in response to the new mode and monetization talk.
He closes up the producer's letter with a shortlist of what 2024's plans are looking like, with an emphasis on improving communication both externally and internally. Additionally, Rowan says a goal for the studio in 2024 is to better complete their "stated goals" on time, getting more content into the MMO at a faster pace. He also mentions increasing resources in order to "accelerate production" and, most importantly, getting more people into Pantheon, which means "making it available to a broader base of players."
The letter also shares some concept art that creative director Chris "Joppa" Perkins has been dripfeeding on the Discord, which includes a look at some Goblins and Golbin Cultists, and the new Thronefast Guard in Heavy Plate. Oh, and there's an imposing Ogre shared as well - you can check them out below.
