Hello fencers!
We'd like to provide you with an update on the current state of Hellish Quart.
The game is still in Early Access, and we are making slow but steady progress towards an alpha version. By alpha, we mean that the Story mode of Hellish Quart should be finishable, and all main characters should be playable. Following this milestone, our focus will shift towards the beta version. This entails having all content and features in place and locked, allowing us to concentrate on testing, bug fixing, and balancing. Once we believe the game is ready, we'll release it as the final product.
At present, we are finalizing a short supporting story for one of our main characters, Jacek. This roughly 30-minute episode (duration may vary based on your fighting skill!) will introduce a new form of adventure game-like gameplay in Hellish Quart. It will showcase the style of in-game cutscenes, set the pacing of the story mode, and establish the tone of the entire game.
In a deliberate decision, we have chosen to feature the voiceovers for the story in Polish rather than English. While we understand this may pose a challenge for non-Polish speakers, there are several reasons behind this choice. Our writer crafted the game's story in Polish, we, the developers, are Polish, and the story unfolds in Poland. The characters in the narrative would naturally speak Polish, reflecting the rich variety of accents present here. Having been inspired by films like "Potop" or "With Fire and Sword," we, as developers, can authentically gauge if the dialogues fit the setting. This authenticity might be compromised if we worked with English-speaking actors attempting to mimic the 17th-century Polish and Ruthenian way of speaking. However, subtitles will be localized to other languages.
Mechanically, Jacek's story is now playable from start to finish. We are currently working on finalizing the remaining cutscenes, ensuring they are polished and visually appealing. Additionally, we are developing the second boss fight of the game against Maryne Ludzicka, which will conclude this episode.
Following the release of Jacek's short story, we plan to transition the game to a newer version of the Unity engine. This upgrade will significantly enhance the graphics and, simultaneously, by incorporating DLSS and FSR, improve performance on lower-end machines.
NOTE: You can already use FSR or Nvidia Image Scaling from outside the game by configuring it in your graphics card driver app, such as NVIDIA GeForce Experience or AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. Steam Deck users can also utilize it as it is built into the console.
Thank you for being a part of the Early Access journey. We greatly appreciate your contribution to shaping this game and your patience!
