As Kronian Titans and its underlying tool, Castagne, progressed, I've been able to get a better idea of how it will all come together and can now write a high-level roadmap. This will outline the main features I wish to add with each version, until we hit Castagne v1. I also added some external ressources I plan to make after we hit each version.

Castagne's objective is to allow people to make fighting games a lot more easily, even if they have no programming experience, while also remaining flexible enough to cover more advanced projects. The three main features of Castagne are/will be:

• Flexible script system, with modules that can be switched or added easily to cover most use cases.
• A complete character editor, accompanied by a modelled and animated character for rapid prototyping.
• Working rollback netcode out of the box, with, if possible, free to use servers for small projects.

As a reminder, Castagne's development follows Kronian Titans', so you might get general improvements depending on what I need at the time.

If you want to stay up to date, don't hesitate to join the discord to get pinged for new releases and advances.

Castagne v0.3 - Refactoring

I want to start by cleaning up the current code, which is a glorified prototype. At the time of writing, this is pretty much done and just needs to be released. This should be consider a "half-way" release of sorts.

Main changes:

• Refactorting of modules to be more flexible
• Refactoring of engine to support entities (just the background work for now)
• New function interface for the attack module
• Simple model and example character
• Documentation of functions

External Ressources:

• Website with the documentation
• Video Tutorial on how to make a character

Castagne v0.4 - Entities

While the last update was a global refactoring, this one will extend the engine further to allow projectiles, additional characters, etc. Once this is done, the engine will be way more stable and I can start working on the network in parallel again.

Main changes:

• Allow support for multiple entities
• Functions related to entities
• Better module loading and global settings
• Documentation on inner workings of the engine and how to extend it
• Global cleanup / bugfixing / polish

External Ressources:

• Article or video on Castagne's architecture

Castagne v0.5 - Character Editor

Another big part, this will probably take a longer time to get a level of quality I want. I also want to add a relatively good-looking 3D model with a variety of animations for rapid prototyping. I think this is the point where Castagne will really take shape.

Main changes:

• Character editor, with several tools to help creation
• Parser improvements (better error reporting, additional options)
• Higher quality model and animations for prototyping

External Ressources:

• How to make & rig a 3D model (focused on being useful for artists and non-artists)
• How to make a character in Castagne

Castagne v0.6 - Menus / Input / UI

Global quality of life update, that will go a ways towards having complete games in Castagne. This is mostly stuff that is already possible in engine, although it is annoying to do, and needs to be made easier.

Main Changes:

• Customizable menus
• Customizable input
• Better input buffers
• Customizable UI

Castagne v0.7 - Replay / Training

Another quality of life update, this time more on the game side. Training mode already exists since the beginning, although it is pretty barebones.

Main features:

• Save and see replays
• Training mode features

Castagne v0.8 - Solo play

Local multiplayer is cool and all but I have no friends.

Main features:

• Customizable AI in matches
• Some kind of solo mode, like arcade or survival
• Combo trials

Castagne v0.9 - Misc & Polish

General improvements and polish. It will be mostly fixing / adding stuff that comes up beforehand, and some improvements might be made out of order.

Main features:

• Sound and Music
• Better interfaces
• Hitstop
• Easier 2D sprite support
• Whatever else comes up, don't hesitate to tell me or implement what you happen to need

Castagne Net

This will be worked on in parallel. I already had a working version using dsnopek's addon, so it is something possible. Exact timing will depend on that addon's developement schedule, general development on Castagne, and how much I can tolerate network programming on a given day.

Main features:

• Making rollback work again after Castagne v0.4
• Better error handling
• Lobbies
• Server

What will happen after ?

This is really far away in the future, but I'll probably continue adding general features for a good while.

I however have a few directions I want to explore:

• Better tools for helping to balance the game, like finding combos automatically
• Other types of modules to extend the engine, like one for 3D fighters or character action games
• There might be some way to extract meaningful data from characters and matches automatically, which could allow interesting applications to rise
• I am not an expert at all on the subject, but adding accessibility features could allow a lot more people to play even the small games

This is all in the distant future anyway, I'll already be happy when I manage to make Castagne v1 and if people make games with it. :)