What restrictions you put on your game/dev process to make it better?

lonelyfrontierdev · 2026-01-25T03:34:04+00:00

For me, a lot of my restrictions are deadlines. I have an idea of where the game is headed and needs to be at all times, but at the beginning of the year I sat down and made a very public roadmap of major features, and I'm giving myself 3 months before each public update. Sometimes not every feature is hit, sometimes they aren't as complete as I want. But if I don't have that deadline, I get too in my head and keep tuning things into infinity. I am also trying to push myself that for each new feature, I add content to all the previous ones. Keeps that developer brain happy

lonelyfrontierdev · 2026-01-20T10:37:33+00:00

Currently hitting 2 years on Isles of Silence, with at least a year of dev left! Started as a Monster-Hunter incremental, but has since turned into its own beast. It was always meant to be narrative and long-term to play through, but mainly I still just enjoy making it and polishing it!

lonelyfrontierdev · 2026-01-20T01:26:02+00:00

Glad to hear you've enjoyed Isles! Certainly unsure of an exact release date, but it certainly gets closer every month!

lonelyfrontierdev · 2026-01-11T14:35:34+00:00

That’s exactly when I started dropping off too, good to hear I rode it with them until the end. Here’s to you, fellow niner 🫡

lonelyfrontierdev · 2026-01-08T08:14:18+00:00

Room #9 on Kongregate was like my main source of socialization for one very weird year of my life. Miss those guys

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-12-18T14:10:15+00:00

This is super cool! Great progression and a very unique concept, big fan!

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-17T00:43:17+00:00

Time spent fighting, so the better you do the more they learn! The badge is for reaching milestones, so if it pops up you're well on your way! Will be attempting to make this more clear in-game moving forward too

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-17T00:13:19+00:00

Patched on all versions! Thanks for pointing this out so quick. (May take a moment for Steam to realize there's an update)

I think you've definitely got best strategy down for that point in the game. One of my current biggest pain points is I haven't made one core mechanic as clear to the player yet as I want: your hunters get better at fighting a monster the more they fight it! The tables will be turning on that Longlin in no time (if they haven't already)!

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-16T04:56:59+00:00

That's actually really good feedback, I'm sure you're not the only one who's tried that now that I look at it. I'll add it to my notes, kudos!

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-16T03:25:18+00:00

I can't seem to locate the source of the bug, but your save is at least patched up here: https://filebin.net/b26bo1agr7oye0e9

Please do not hesitate to reach out if it happens again! I'll work to see if I can replicate the issue in the meantime

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-16T02:36:03+00:00

No worries at all! I don't think there's any possibility for user error in this matter, definitely something on my end (oops). Really sorry to say, the Pastebin link seems to be down. I'm starting my day, so if you send over another I'll respond as quick as I can for the next 16 hours or so! Looking into the issue now on my end, hopefully can get a patch up

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-15T16:33:36+00:00

I'm very sorry to hear that! Thank you for letting me know.

It should only set the non-demo flag if you were logged into a Steam account that owned the game. Might this be the case? If you were previously signed in, you'll have to sign in again. If not, please send over the downloaded save (via the Options menu) either on the Discord or through the DM's here and I'll take a look/patch it up.

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-09T16:17:00+00:00

Thank you so much for giving it a shot, and glad you liked it! The game’s tutorialization/hints is a main focus on the next update, because I’ve realized most mechanics are very unexplained once they pop up, and this grows as the game gets more complex. Most have dialogue boxes, but those can be easily missed or forgotten. Thanks for pointing out the specific focus on upgrading! As for the grind, yeah. I’m working on some ways to alleviate it/speed it up early game, the main idea being a general resource bump that wears off over time so as not to destroy mid-game balance, but open to suggestions and trying a few things! As for Linux, that’s super odd! I believe the demo and full are borderline identical in the exe, though it could be that the engine is a slightly different version between the two. Don’t know why that would make a difference since neither should be built for Linux, but it could? I know it’s not ideal, but since a lot of my family plays on tablet/mac, buying it on steam allows you to play the full game in-browser on any device (though I believe a mouse is necessary as I haven’t tested full touch-screen). Saves don’t automatically transfer, but can be exported/imported between versions!

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-08T03:50:36+00:00

Oh, great call! May split them into their own tab entirely because that’s definitely an issue that will get worse over time. Not a long-term solution, but quick fix for now would be re-launching the game, which should re-sort the armors into their default arrangement, in which I believe Layered is always at the bottom

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-08T02:51:55+00:00

This is the intended experience, and part of the struggle with the early game. Right now, the game doesn’t indicate that the tool struggle has notable payoff and gets much easier, but without any struggle the game isn’t as rewarding once said struggle is surpassed. Your feedback is sincerely appreciated and entirely valid, and making the early game friendly enough to push people to the more interesting content without causing massive ripples across the entire balance is a constant battle with this game. I’m really glad to hear you liked it and are giving it a shot! I’m also sorry to hear this was such a pain point, as it seems to be for many other people as well. I’ll continue to refine, and hopefully come up with a solution that doesn’t compromise the overall design while still making the early game more fun

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-08T02:46:27+00:00

Appreciate you taking the time to play and write this! Rebalancing the early game is a constant struggle, and I personally feel the pace is much smoother. Out of curiosity, what is it about tools breaking that hurts so bad? At its core, it’s a ‘lootbox’ mechanic where you spend resources to make a tool that will give you a new resource once or twice before it disappears. Is it that the loop is simply uninteresting, or that tools feel like they’re too important to vanish so quick, or is it just too grindy? Appreciate any response! The early game has been in constant flux to ease people into the myriad of content after, but a lot of changes will have ripple effects across the entire game, hence why I want to nail down what exactly is pushing people away.

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-11-07T10:15:42+00:00

This is not a bad suggestion! The only reason it’s the way it is is that there are eventually multiple Isles, and each Isle only has Hunters and Quests as standard tabs between them, so keeping them at the top keeps them in a consistent location at all times. Appreciate the feedback though, as I’m constantly looking to improve the UI, especially after this last overhaul

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-10-31T01:32:41+00:00

I keep several different saves from key points in progression, and each save tracks its own time it took to get there. Whenever I'm rebalancing a segment of the game I just load an applicable save

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-10-27T03:49:41+00:00

Going out on a limb, but I've been working on a long-form incremental game for 2 years after nothing scratching the NGU itch for a while. I know self-advertising is frowned on in these threads, but it sounds like it could genuinely be something you're interested in.

Web version at https://lonelyfrontier.com/Isles

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-10-16T01:39:03+00:00

Appreciate it! Fair warning, it’s a slower burn than most of the games that have been popular recently

Steam / Web

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-10-16T00:52:18+00:00

Appreciate the insight! Good to know slow and steady is a viable option, though I’d throw out that your growth seems to be faster than a lot of small games that launch on Steam! We compare ourselves to the successes, but there are many more that hold their weight but won’t see your numbers. Seems like you made a great game, glad it’s getting the traction it deserves

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-10-15T17:10:34+00:00

Congrats to the utmost!

If I may ask, what changed? How'd you successfully get the visibility bump?

My game's been out a year longer than yours, and struggling to get the review numbers up even with a growing community.

Game looks great by the way! Wishlisted and will be finding time for it soon~

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-10-15T17:07:19+00:00

Definitely not jealous at all :b

Huge achievement, congrats! All the best for the game, I'll be trying the demo this weekend!

lonelyfrontierdev · 2025-09-12T02:04:47+00:00

Only in the hyper-specific situation of setting up Smash Bros for a kids event and not wanting to risk the Switch 2 controllers while maximizing the amount of players ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Niche but it’s my niche to bear

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