A visual feast! As we approach the release of the Town Square, it's time to start showing off! Identity's gameplay is unique; there's no game in the world which accomplishes what we've set out to create and as a result, this will be one of the most immersive gaming experiences available. In some senses, graphics weigh heavily on environmental immersion and we've really started to show Identity's beauty in this last week. Last week, we did a short live stream on Twitch to show off the Town Square in motion. If you weren't there for the stream, check out the details below. Ash Hill Cinema ticket booth In addition to Identity's artistic beauty, we also want to show you what the base gameplay will be like in the Town Square. We do plan on doing another stream shortly where we'll move on into the interiors and interact with some of the features you'll find when you log into the Town Square. We'll have to mute the karaoke and streaming radio elements for Twitch and YouTube, though. I really do wish we had more time in our last stream but we were an hour late getting the stream started and what was meant to be a 10 minute display ended up being half an hour long. Half of that time was spent in character creation, so if that's of any interest to you be sure to check out the stream. I'll leave the video below. Ash Hill's Town Square in early morning Ash Hill's Town Square at night With our next gameplay stream, I'd really like to show off the Town Square at night. Check out the screenshot above to see why I feel that night in Identity has an incredible atmosphere. Night will be useful in Identity too; for example, some animals will be more active when the sun goes down. Just imagine running from (or with) the cops in the dark of night! A beautiful and well-designed environment makes great gameplay even better. Ash Hill's fruit and vegetable market As you can tell by now, I went a bit overboard taking screenshots of the Town Square environment. I'm so proud with what our art team has accomplished, so you're getting a handfull with this developer blog! The market seen here is in the Town Square, although it won't be the only food market in Ash Hill. Markets play a fairly important role, and not only for your own access to food. Gathering and growing food will be a safe and reliable way to make some money in Identity. It doesn't require any sort of investment, so it's one of your options for making a living the moment you step foot in the world. It will get much easier with a vehicle, though. RIDE bicycle shop The screenshot above is from the interior of the bicycle store you'll find in the Town Square. You won't be able to buy them right away, but once we start implementing our final vehicles we'll likely unlock the bikes in the Town Square, too. Bicycles will be an important tool in Identity. If you can't afford a vehicle (they're not cheap) then they're your best option for getting around town without dishing out cash for a cab. Ash Hill Tattoo interior My final screenshot today was the interior of the tattoo shop you'll find in the center of Ash Hill, and thus the Town Square. Hidden in the back of the parking lot behind the DMV, this parlor will be opening shortly after the Town Square release. Tattoos in Identity are either paid for or earned; some tattoos are only unlocked with achivements, most of which being for less than legal actions. Tattoos aren't available during character creation and must be gotten through a shop such as this. Town Square gameplay live stream YouTube Town Square preview stream If you missed our live stream of Town Square gameplay last week, click on that big image above to check it out now. If your email client is afraid and you don't see the images, you can always click here. I spent the first while creating a character and then took a quick look around the exterior of the Town Square environment. I can't wait to show more! The tasks at hand Our new task tracker has been one of the most well received additions we've ever released, and it's very easy to see why. As the Asylum developers continue to knock out tasks daily, we're getting very, very close to allowing you all into the Town Square. As of my writing this, only 3 primary tasks remain and are already in progress. The tracker is showing only Town Square tasks, although many of those in our team (who don't have anything left for the Town Square release) are already hard at work producing SWAT module content. It won't be long before you start seeing a lot of our SWAT efforts appearing, and I'm extremely excited to give you more information on how it'll play. Keep your eyes on the tracker, as it will continue (even after Town Square release) to be the best indicator of when you can get your taste. A quick thank you to our supporters We've been working hard to create the game that can, quite seriously, affect the entire MMORPG industry. Nothing like Identity has been done before, mostly because a game of this scale is a risky project for any established studio. It is because of you receiving this update, our pledgers and supporters, that our dreams and ambitions are becoming a reality. The ultimate RPG is on the horizon, and I'm so very grateful to the wonderful community around me. Again, I just want to say thank you as I sincerely appreciate your support. You're helping to create a game which thousands, who don't even know we're here yet, will come to enjoy. You're here on the ground floor. 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

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

It's been awhile since I've posted but I was curious to what everyone thought about the new video. So here's a poll: My personal opinion of the video is that for the amount of money and time spent for this one video it was poorly done, the acting was unnecessary and it was too short. This is my personal opinion and you are absolutely entitled to your own personal beliefs. If you haven't watched it yet here's the link then vote;

Hello, Identity Community. I have been noticing that several users have been calling for aircraft, trains, and other paraphernalia which are not necessarily allowed or necessary for a realistic environment. The game will take place on an island, a small island, which will allow users to experience a small but vibrant community. The reason why airplanes and trains don't make sense, other than abuse, is simple logistics. A small island would likely not have a train network. If the island did, it would be very limited. If the lack of aircraft takes away from the realism, there are several populated areas IRL which have banned aircraft. Part of the island lore could be that aircraft were banned for sound pollution or something else. I recently noticed a post about prison bus transport. Again, not necessary. Consider the size of the island, and what would be logical in reality. The main reason why this project attracted me in the first place, was because of the realism and entire map freedom. By limiting the environment to an island, the developers have given us the freedom of exploring "everywhere" without making an endless mindless map. Finally, I am going to discuss the video. Ladies and gentlemen, just forget the video. If it comes out, let it be a nice surprise. The primary goal is the first module at March 21st. The last thing in the world any of us want is that enough players make such a noise about the video, that they focus on that instead of necessary module development. If the March 21st deadline is pushed we are going to be worse off than missing some video. Let's be surprised, and let's focus on March 21st as the goal.

Hey i was just wondering if it was posible to do a tour around the Town Square.

Hey there, so I've been looking around the forums for answers about the upcoming gameplay video that's supposed to happen before the year is out, does anyone happen to know how that is coming along and whether we will still be getting it by New Years?

Threw a frag movie together, like n a comment would be nice! No ads, all for entertainment.

Are they planning on coming out with a combat video? Have they set a date for it?

I'm probably not the only one wandering this, but when is the next dev update or post? I believe there is one like once a month or that's what I thought. I'm always excited to see a new dev post, or update and see the progress the team has made. I can't wait for the release of this game, and I understand that nothing comes fast. But keeping the backers in the loop is always greatly appreciated.

I swear this is the most hilarious shit I've ever watched! Please show me more funny videos, I feel like laughing.

Was just wondering when the next video would be coming out and what it would show off.

It looks amazing check it out guys!