Very close to releasing Ambition, progress in August 2023 news

Hey all, Fiffle and Bread here (we're writing this in a Discord VC together lol)
First and foremost, this mod is coming close to completion. The main story is entirely playable from start to finish and every map in the game is at least somewhat detailed if not super eye-catching and gorgeous and ready to be optimized. The project is still on track to release (if not even sooner) on Halloween!

This article will be brief, split into two parts, and touch on the campaign and bonus content and non-game stuff respectively.

First off, Ambition's main campaign:

As stated at the beginning of the article, the campaign is extremely close to completion. Playtesters have tested the game with us, we're currently making modifications and improvements to the levels based on their feedback and adding lots of small details in areas to give them some life and atmosphere.
- To playtesters: we will have an update out for you soon. We can't guarantee every map will be at the same level of detail as the devs are all working at different paces, but some fixes and added areas will be included.
- To non-playtesters: the mod is moving along very smoothly and we're making consistent progress. The chance of a delay is extremely slim, Halloween is the latest deadline to ship the first portion of Ambition.

Speaking of the "first portion," let's dig more into that and talk about the update schedule for this mod!

The first release of Portal: Ambition will contain the main campaign - and possibly a few other extra pieces of content - but the main focus right now is the game's story, not the extra content. Whether we ship it as early access or as a 1.0 release is still up in the air, however, what is planned to be there WILL be there.
As for the Xtra Play, possible dev commentary, side missions, and misc. areas to explore, and the Portal: Hope campaign (yes! that is planned too), they will be shipped later on as a second update to the game, with included bug fixes, optimizations, and added details based on the public's feedback. Currently, the aimed date to put out the extended content is December 17th; however, this is likely to change.

Focusing on the main campaign before the Xtra play lets us devote more time to the selling point of Ambition. The story, the semi-open-world aspects, and the eye candy are all more of a priority to us right now than working on extra content. Xtra play is more of an as-is set of maps, that is less of a priority. Ambition as a game is less dependent on the inclusion of that extra content (although we are still planning to ship it!) Having two separate deadlines has multiple perks:
1) We can dedicate all our effort to making the main campaign as good as it can be. If it's buggy and underdetailed, we aren't shipping a good game. Without a solid campaign that lives up to be worthy of the word "Portal" in its title, this mod wouldn't deliver on its promises.
2) We can ship a fully fleshed-out main product by the first deadline without delays. The earlier everyone can play Ambition, the better. You're happier, and we can make our game more efficient (which leads to number 3,)
3) Shipping the campaign before the additional content will give us the ability to change the campaign based on players' thoughts in the update where extra content will be added. Two birds can be killed with one stone, making our development and release process more efficient.
4) Adding new stuff in a second update gives players a reason to come back to enjoy the game again while also giving you cool, additional gameplay to look forward to! We want you all to enjoy playing this mod as much as we enjoy making it, giving you more fun stuff to play is a win for everyone. Those wins should be worth waiting for.

Now, the non-campaign content:

It's being worked on. We only have 13 bonus maps right now, but with the main focus being on the main campaign, reaching our goal of 30 bonus maps isn't the main priority at this moment. It will still happen, though!

We also updated the mod's page here on ModDB to have new, up-to-date screenshots and have deleted the old alpha ones. Looking through the images will provide an accurate look at the mod's current state (as of today, August 20th) and the level of quality to expect from the released build. Feel free to have a look if you're interested!
Here's some to get you started:

And finally, team positions! Contact Rye if you're interested in any of them!
1) We need a music composer to help us create a soundtrack for Ambition. We need the composer to stay consistent with the making of tracks for the game, as we are approaching our first deadline. The expectation is for the composer to keep up with the pace like our other developers on the team, who are trying to stay consistent as we approach our deadlines. Tracks will not be wasted, whatever is not used in the main campaign will very likely be used in our bonus maps section of the game.
2) To top off our members list on the development team, we are also seeking one or two texture artists. Both a single texture artist can work on simple graphic art, and the other can work on complex environmental textures with all the fancy details. For example, the simple graphics artist can help work on icons and signage for bonus maps and campaign content. The artist capable of making complex textures would be asked to make extra textures for existing (and possibly new) props, machinery, and generally repeatable textures for brushwork surfaces.
Additionally, if you have any other skills you think we'd benefit from (e.g. modelers, animators, etc.,) feel free to reach out and we'll consider your position!

Thanks for reading, we're looking forward to the release! If you want more frequent updates or want to follow the mod's progress overall, consider joining our discord!

- Fiffle