Hey iiMStevo, While I do garner the Community Manager name, I also end up doing a large amount of Customer Service and other miscellaneous tasks that would otherwise occupy a developer's time. I try to get new screens and information out when I can, but such material usually needs to be cleared by either the Art Director or CEO. I'm in charge of scheduling the streams and definitely try to get any new artwork or assets out to our social media wherever possible. I know the 4 - 5 pm est timeslot doesn't work the best for streams so I make an effort to get highlights done and logged in our twitch clip directory while also saving each VOD to our YouTube as unlisted (the URLs are in the directory here http://www.identityrpg.com/community/topic/10271-twitch-clips-directory/) The new website should bring some welcome changes to both updated information and overall presentation. The developer tracker should be reiterating what's posted on some of our social media, but it's admittedly seen better days as behind the scene tweaks have left it partially functioning. The Web dev is working on rectifying this for the new site layout. I'll see if I can get help contribute some new media to the forums in the meantime. At the very least, I'll keep the new screenshots thread in Town Square updated. I apologize for not appearing as frequently as I should on the forums and I'll make an effort to turn this around.

Hey everyone. First of all let me start this by saying I've been a huge fan and player of Altis Life for years and have been looking forward very much to Identity, and I still am. With that being said, the amount that some people are defending the developers here is quite crazy. Don't get me wrong, the developers should be treated nicely and in a fair manner, but they also must be criticized for their mistakes, how will they ever do things better if not? I want to address a couple of arguments I have seen. 1. It's game development, of course this stuff happens!: I agree with you, delays are a part of development and sometimes they are needed. This is completely fine, the issue is not in the delay itself, but the way the developers have handled the community. At first people were arguing with the video, saying it was not a set date so it's not their fault if it gets pushed, which is fair enough, the issue now is Town Square WAS a set date, and I still see people arguing about it, you're going back on what you originally said? At the end of the day, DELAYS ARE FINE, the issue is not the delays, but the communication. Let's look at the video, at first we were told end of January and start of February, then left in the dark for a bit, then told with a few days, then it comes out over a week later with rather disappointing results (Also, the reason for the delays was supposedly animations, which if that is true, I really cannot see anywhere in that trailer where there were complex animations or things that were not placeholder, which the devs have admitted themselves. Also, as a video editor myself, I seriously do not understand how that would have taken over a week tops). This is bad communication, which leads to broken trust. 2. It's all your faults for making them focus on videos and stuff! No. If the dev team is that split or busy, then nothing of the sort should have been revealed to the public. I see people going at others because they never PROMISED it, which they did not, but they did communicate it to the community and gave a pretty narrow date, so what do you expect? On a community management side this has just been handled horribly, and I put no blame at all on the community manager as it seems he was just left in the dark as well. Now people may say, well that's just developers, they need to tell people about things! That's not really the case, but even if it was, there is a better way to communicate it, take this for example: Hey everyone! We have a new video coming, currently we are not sure when it will be released, but please look forward to it in the future! That is much better than: Hey everyone! There is a new video coming at the end of Janu....start of Febr.....Few da....At some point....Maybe. Let me finish this by saying this, I am still hopeful for this game, I want it to succeed and I hope it does! That is the point of criticism in the first place, not to hate, but to try and assist someone in bettering their product, if everyone said my work was amazing just to be nice, I would probably still be making the worst video edits on this planet, criticism is important, and trying to hate towards it or defend it is quite ridiculous. With all that being said, thumbs up to the devs for allowing people to share their opinions like this and to criticize them, some other studios would try to hide this type of stuff. In the end, the issue is not with development, it is with communication. I hope for the best for this game, I really do.

Crime Doesn't Pay, This Time Earlier this month we released a quick and raw gameplay video showing off an interaction in a rural area of the world. The art in the video is very much in development, but it's a great way to see some of the features and how they work. You'll get a glimpse of a drug production mini-game, the computer system used by police officers, and more. For this dev blog I wanted to toss in a couple clips that didn't make it into the video; all in glorious GIF form. The environment shown in the video is actually quite old. For example, those trees have been in use for a couple years of our development. The character animations (in fact, the entire way you control the character) will also be much different when you get into the Town Square. To give you an idea of how our art has progressed over time, see below one of the older placeholder trees, as is seen in the video, compared to a more recent tree which will be found in the Town Square. The Finishing Touches As you'd expect, our priority for the last month has been getting the Town Square ready for play! We've been working overtime getting everything into place, and it's shaping up very nicely. You'll see from the image above that our artists have been producing absolutely incredible assets. In my own opinion, it's the nicest looking environment I've ever seen in an MMORPG to date. With the original release date for the Town Square quickly approaching, it's become evident that we're unfortunately going to have to push the date back, although the delay will not be long. More work is required to ensure that the launch goes smoothly; we need time to reinforce our server structure and do more internal playtesting. The Town Square will be released to all Founders (and above) one month later on April 23. This is an unfortunate reality of game development, but we want to make sure you get a quality product which isn't rushed out the door too soon. To help ease the pain of waiting for a taste of Identity, we're going to start throwing more media out for you, including a Town Square trailer video overviewing the features you'll find inside. Making it Big! We recently hit the incredible milestone of $1,000,000 USD raised! In fact, right now as of this writing we're in at just under $1,025,000. The support from our community and pledgers has been absolutely incredible. I wanted to take this chance to say thank you; it's because of you that Identity is becoming a reality. The game we've all wanted for such a long time is coming. Around the Studio We're in overdrive over here, working hard to get the Town Square ready to go! As I sit here in my office typing this blog post, Andrew is finishing up the new character creation system. The user interface Artur made is beautiful. I couldn't be happier with the new UI systems he's produced following Scaleform's demise (our old middleware which is now dead). The biggest change here in the office this month is the addition of Mark (who the community has dubbed Marker), our resident graphic designer. He's pumping out amazing art for in-game brands at an incredible pace. This will translate into all sorts of clothing brands and patterns, wallpapers and much more. He'll be bringing you a whole lot of customization options throughout Identity. The real big news, though, is the birth of our lead programmer Henrik's (Sone) new baby boy! Be sure to congratulate him if you spot him on Discord. He's probably too tired to read, though. Liam has been getting a lot done on the new Identity website, too. You'll be seeing the launch of this new website quite soon, and it's going to bring a whole bunch of new options and features for you to enjoy. The Twitch Clips If you've been following Identity's development closely, you probably already know that developers stream their work live on the Identity Twitch channel every Tuesday and Thursday. We also use that time to answer almost every question that gets asked about Identity's development and gameplay. Now that we've been doing this a while, we've answered a lot of questions. Our awesome community manager, BeachBall, has taken the time to compile a massive list of questions linked to clips where they're answered by a developer. Get comfy and head over to the Twitch Clips Directory forum thread. If you haven't found this already, be prepared to spend a good bit of time listening to all sorts of awesome information. This is the best place to get to know the fine details Identity! -- John VanderZwet

So just to clear this up; This video is not intended to bring hate to the developers but more to show them what the community wants and give them some recommendations on what they should do! Leave your opinion; agree or disagree with my points on here on in the comments. Thanks- Aaron.

Extra shot of Antoine's End Table: Illuminated shot of Antoine's decorative lamp: Marvin's US Flag Patterned Bicycle Helment: TV Stand by Antoine: Studio Apartment WIP Render by Jade: Small tables and a room divider by James: Decorative stool (or is it a chair?) by Antoine: Contemporary End Table and Cabinet by James: Partial-glass table (tentative name, forget the reference) by Antoine:

I have absolutely no quarrels with the release date being pushed back slightly (a month is a slight delay in game development). What I do have problems with is how the Identity team release information. Unless I follow the twitch stream (which isn't streamed at ideal times for me anyway), I don't know if anything is being done at all. There's a new community manager that got appointed, but Identity's homepage, literally THE place to discuss Identity, is completely left untouched - save for one article a month. If you want your fans to keep faith in you, start showing everything on your own website, so people that don't follow your twitch can actually see you're doing something. Brandon shouldn't have any issues getting a few screenshots each day for what's been worked on for the previous day and writing up a quick article to detail what it is that's happening... that's why you have a community manager - to connect your community to your developers.

There's plenty of other games out there to play.. It's delayed, so what ? does it matter... ? I would rather them take as long as they want to get a decent version of it out rather than something glitchy and full of bugs, like other games devs do. I pledged a good amount of cash for this also but i sit back and enjoy the updates and twitch streams, if there's a delay then that's fine, good things come to those who wait and i'm in no rush. Keep up the good work dev team and keep the info coming Those who rant and complain about it, the door is that way >>>>

Hi all. Christ, it's been a while. I apologise for being so inactive as of late. Work has taken its toll and after a year of uncertainty, I'm back and better than ever. In short, I hope that phrase can eventually be used to define Identity. Honestly, the game has gone through something of a slump in recent months, with many previously-active backers losing interest and moving on to other matters, while more and more delays are announced. Thus, I propose that a radical new strategy is needed to propel Identity's popularity once again - something akin to the endorsement of FrankieOnPC from years gone by? What can we do to stir up new support, generating new forum members and dedicated players? How can both we and Asylum prove that Identity is not yet dead in the water? We need ideas, people! Regards, Felix

I am no advocate for the activity of the dev team lately as I am sure some of you know all too well, I have criticised the behaviour over the last few weeks greatly, however I feel the need to say some things for those considering buying the game early but haven't quite made their mind up. Just to get this straight off the bat, I fully recommend buying the Founders Package. It is currently $30, and you get both the game on release and the beta access, and here's why I think you should get it. When I backed this game, I instantly assumed my money was burned. This way no matter what, I won't be too bummed about the loss. I still hold true to this philosophy when backing any project, always assume the worst. Assume the project will be cancelled and you will lose your money. Same thing with cryptocurrencies, don't buy in with more than you are willing to lose. Using this idea, the founders package seems to be the best option to minimise your losses and maximise your gain. If the game completely flops or is cancelled entirely, you are only down $30. It's more than you'd like but hey ho, shit happens. If the game completely takes off and is perfect, you get access to everything and you spend $30 for it, as opposed to the $60 you will pay after town square release. If you buy in now and it fails, you lose $30. If you buy in now and it succeeds, you have saved $30. If you don't buy in now and it fails, you have saved $30. If you don't buy in now and it succeeds so you decide to buy it, you are paying an extra $30. As you can see, there is no reason not to buy in now. In fact, it is less riskier if the only thing stopping you buying in is the chance of the game flopping. Either way you will either lose $30 or save $30, so why not take that risk with the added benefit of getting to play the beta. I know hopes haven't been so high for the game recently, I agree with everyone condemning the development team fully and I think they deserve every bit of criticism coming their way, but this philosophy is why I will never refund the game. To me, my money is already lost and now I am just hoping for something good to come out of it.

Many people are upset about the delay and many more are telling the Devs to stop giving deadlines. Both fair. A LOT has been said about timetables and game development in this community regarding the TS module in particular. We know good games take time. Please take a step back and just realize where we are as a community that is shaping a game that most of us want it to be the best it can and a team of Developers with the same belief working to that end. I've not been around as long or as often as other members here, but in my short time and limited knowledge, I can appreciate the progress the Devs have made. The video was not 4k quality ok, but in it we witnessed details and our imagination lit up again. The TS module will be worth the wait. Whatever the wait. The game is making progress, and sometimes progress has delays, and thats ok. if you want examples just think of your own life; Does everything ALWAYS go according to schedule in your life without a delay ever? better late than never some would say, anyway im rambling. Hyped as always! Peace.

Keep up the great work! @Beach_Ball

You won't be able to name car brands, nor will you be able to create a complete custom car. You won't be able to create a complete new car "Box cars" if the game has not got the design then you cannot get it.

That is... creepy... That would be a good question to ask (Beach_Ball) for the Twitch streams. Honestly I'm not sure that they'll implement organs in the criminal market. Ask yourself, would it be allowed in a game?

One thing that simply does worry me though is that this game will be released and be stuck in Early Release hell for the longest time like Rust, DayZ, and many other games. What I see fit, however this not being my choice, is to get the game released and continue allowing pledgers to pay for a module pass for the next month and release hotfix after hotfix patching the game as much as possible, simply so that funding will rise as well as the community can calm down a bit about the huge scam issue. Right now, if the game is in a playable state, I think it'd be time to release and just allow players to know that the game is at the least truthfully in development. Players are okay with a few bugs in games, as long as they're hastily fixed. First impressions are important yes, but you can't be focused on being a perfectionist when it comes to this game. It will have issues and continuously delaying the game in hopes to put out the perfect game on release will only cause a loss in hype and player support. I want the best for the game, I'm not downing the game, simply putting in my personal opinion on the stance of the game and community at the moment.

Makes sense, like I said, no one likes a delay, but I think it's more about the way your PR team goes about releasing information and informing the community. Fix those issues and many of the problems in the community we currently have will probably ether lessen or go away entirely. Thank you for what you guys are doing for this game, but it's a learning curve and I wish you guys luck on getting past that.

Welp, that ether means 1) Beach was kept out of the loop about the decision or 2) Beach didn't want to be online for the initial backlash so they waited till the weekend, which I wouldn't be surprised.

Welp, glad to see that these predictions didn't even last 1 day. Probably just gonna avoid the forums for a bit, I don't want to see all the forum posts about it. Im just gonna say they better not delay again.

Lets be real, we all knew deep down it would be delayed again in-fact I wouldn't even be surprised if it was delayed again... I am very rapidly loosing interest in this game.

To be honest i'm quite annoyed at this, yeah yeah we get it the devs are a small team we've heard it all before, now i recognize the devs are hard workers, really they are and they've done a good job so far, but the constant push backs and delays are starting to annoy even the most patient people which is including myself, when you announce that you're 99% certain that it will release with no problems and only has a 1% chance of needing more time and then by some chance it needs pushing back, people are going to start getting a bit pissed and frankly i can't say i blame some people. some of the things we've had release have taken god knows how long and now all we want is to play town square, i'm not making demands nor am i asking for it right here and now, i'm simply asking that the devs don't make announcements about things unless they're absolutely certain because a lot of people are feeling like it's not happening. i believe this game will be a success which is why i pledged and committed myself to it but for heavens sake asylum entertainment please stop with the push backs INB4 every single defender gives me the usual i'd rather have a polished game that takes ages to release yadda yadda

Lol they delayed to April, this is why people think this shit is a scam. Stop pushing the fucking release back, holy shit. We keep having to wait and wait for the new release dates and right before it hits "oh unfortunately we have to delay but we will post more media" bullshit. They should already be posting as much as possible. I don't know how anyone could not lose faith in this game and refund this is just sad.ill be in a retirement home before TS is out

They made a million dollars 1 million for models, unreal engine, and promising a game. They can provide more than just ideas and talk about the game at this point, because from what they showed, they've done nothing but model props and brainstorm

See, you're thinking about this the wrong way around. Imagine a large publisher hiding their product from the shareholders. Not the public, but the shareholders. Do you honestly believe those shareholders would stick around? No, they want to see what their money is used for and they have évery right to demand it (not getting into the whole aaa bs now, just focus on this one aspect). Now imagine a game where people on the internet pour money into the development of a game and demand to see where the hell that money is put into. Sounds awfully the same as the example above, doesn't it? And how is it then suddenly no longer a valid point to say they deserve transparency? Oh fun fact in case you didn't pick up on this yet: those people are you and me (well, soon only you) and that game is Identity. Who would have thought. You rule yourself out of an equation you deserve to be in mate. Your money, your rules. It is not us who knew what we were getting into. It was Asylum who choose this way of funding. It was Asylum who knew the consequences. And it is Asylum who now fails to be as transparent as some of us demand. Edit: to clarify this for the ones wondering... No, I have not once been scammed by game companies. Common sense is what saved me from making wrong investments up to this point. Kinda want to keep it that way, which is why I am pulling out of this one for now.

When you have hundreds of people constantly riding your ass to produce something they can see or else they’ll request a refund, then you have no choice. You say that it’s currently your top priority so people will relax. Have everybody continue to do their job and take time making the video because that shit isn’t important right now. And then release it and have everybody complaining about it anyways. This game was announced three years ago. It takes soooo much time to make a game. Even if it’s a 2D game or a game like Minecraft. It takes time. UI, Animation, Models, Graphics, Bug Fixing and then actually creating the things they promised is hard as all hell, especially when half the community is yelling at them threatening to take their funding away from them. You knew what you were getting into when you donated. You knew that they said everything was a work in progress and doesn’t represent the final game. Leave them the hell alone, let them make the game they wanna make. Don’t pressure them to release shit for you if you’re just gonna shit on it. You’re lucky they show you anything at all. Stop complaining

Just adding some screenshots in here. Some may not be the final product, but are pretty close to what you'll see in game. I think I've seen Jade work on one of the apartments, not sure if it was one from these blueprints: Then there's these lovely screenshots, but contains a few placeholders. It'll be polished before the module releases don't worry.

Will there be any form of cooking, since eating will not be a vital feature? And also, will people be able to have a restaurant? Also, I searched the forums, and I only found meth cooking topics... So, if this has already been asked before, please be sure to tell me

I do agree with you, but it will not happen. They've decided against that. There won't be undercover cops. There will a clear and visible line between law enforcement and the rest of the population.

Welcome to the Political Arena!