LotA: With less than 1 month to go, my focus has shifted entirely to Lions of the Atlantic. The storyline is done. It takes up 20 kilobytes of pure data - words that tell the character's tale. It should last about 15 to 20 hours total - a good size.

I keep finding new things I want to add to the engine, along with things I should have added a long time ago. Things like automation for your fleets are definite necessities - without them, the game would drag far too much to be fun. Then, I need to add boarding and capturing, ship-to-land collisions, and the ability to flee the battle. Another thing I want to add is a set of tools that will be displayed if you have a unit of Navigation Instruments on board. Things like a compass and barometer will tell you the direction of your ship and the direction of the wind, respectively (the latter being used in combat as well); while the Wind Chart will add a diagram of major trade routes to the main map. Fortunately, the majority of these should not take long at all; and when they're done, all I'll have to do is testing!

I have put here the text of the first cutscene - the one that greets you when you start the game.

02-01-1580

The Coast of Greenland

I have been betrayed. I have recieved the punishment for the crimes of a group of pirates called the Black Cross. I have been banished to these God-forsaken shores - they call this place Greenland, I believe - for the rest of my life. But I have not spent my time in idle contemplation or self-pity. I have built a ship - nay, a boat - and intend to set sail for new lands within the week. I have taken some stock of wood from the rich forests that grow along the shores of this country - they will provide me with enough money to start my life again. Perhaps… perhaps I can find the ones who did this to me, and repay them for their treachery.

I write this as a footnote to my life - so that, if my body be lost to the waves of the Atlantic, perhaps someone will find this record and finally clear me of the deeds so wrongly placed upon my shoulders.

Captain Richard Carter, Exile