Well, first of all, sorry. Almost 8 months without significant news it's way to much. A lot of things have happened, all at the same time. But that doesn't mean I can use it as an excuse to avoid posting updates. Once again, Sorry. I'm writing this for several reasons. One of them to demonstrate that I’m not dead or something similar. And second, to address some concern over the last events related with Islanded.
Unity 5
Islanded now works using Unity 5. And this was a tough decision.
I started developing Islanded with Unity 3.8 (A long time ago). Going form 3.8 to 4 was nearly impossible, and the game was totally redone. With the appearance of Unity 5, and Islanded being in active development using Unity 4.6, another upgrade was just around the corner.
Being able to upgrade form Unity 4 to 5 in seconds wouldn't be a problem. Error.
The API upgrade was handled by Unity itself, but it delivered some errors. Nothing too serious. Until I press play. Everything was broken. Frame-rate drops, flickering shadows, some of the terrain shaders missing, no sound, and so on.
Keep using Untiy 4 wasn't an option. The developers community was already over Unity 5, and Unity 4 stop the direct support on bugs and updates.
Long story short, I literally rewrited about the 60% of the game configuration and code. It took a lot of time, but brings a more stable gameplay, new UI, and a lot easier development for the future. That is one of the reasons of the 8 month silence.
Desura
If you don't know this, Desura is in the process of going bankrupt. I never received anything from sales that occurred in Desura. For the fate of many, they were very few compared to those of Humble bundle, for example.
No one at Desura or Bad Juju Games Inc. (Actual owner) seems to be working at the moment.
As of this, Islanded will not be available to be purchased on Desura from 10 of November of 2015. News will still be posted on Desura, but updates WILL NOT.
Please, if you purchased Islanded on Desura, send an email to contact@islandedgame.com to write down your purchase if Desura suddenly disappeared.
If Desura reborn some way, this could change. For now, Islanded is out.
Website
A new Islanded website will be available soon to replace the old one. Nothing new that affects the game itself, just a totally new website, that will include also the long waited “Upgrade package” to upgrade form Backer to Supporter (more info on the website). Islandedgame.com
Beta
No, this is not a changelog of the beta version. As I'm writing this down, the Beta is not yet playable. Is still missing some core mechanics from the update to Unity 5, but I feel optimistic. I can't say a date, because I don't know it myself. If you want to follow the active development, just follow @EngyneCreations on twitter.
That's all I got for now. Thanks for your support and sorry again for the huge silence season.
Well, it's great to hear from you again after all this time. Sorry to hear that you had to practically rebuild the majority of the game's code from the ground up thanks to the Unity update. :(
Still, this is a great project and, despite the troubles it's currently facing, I hope it sees the light of day.
Say, I know you've said in the past that you want to wait until Islanded is in a stable and fully playable state before you release it on Steam, but I think, given the state of Desura, that maybe you should consider Steam's Early Access program. It's up to you, though.
I really need to considerate Early Access now. Desura was a support for the development, and now that is practically gone...
I have to think about what will happen in the coming months.
I bought The backer package a long time ago strait from your website. Do I need to worry about Desura?
Not at all. If I am correct you should have your Humble Bundle page. There you can get the DRM-FREE updates, and if I finally post Islanded on Steam a key will be delivered there too.