Dante Direct. One year In.

Hello :3 This is a very special Field Guide Post. 

Happy one year to dante. 

It has been 1 whole year since I started this project. Technically, if you want to be pedantic, 1 year, 8 days, and 4 hours at the time of writing this. 
And just….
Holy fuck. 

That means alot to me for a few reasons. 

One Year of Dante. 

I had found lancer last year around April. I had known of it since 2021, but never really looked closely until then. At the time I was in a time of transition. Gender, School, and life. And…Lancer was one of the things I started to look forward to. It was something that became an outlet for me. When I started this project, I started it because I wanted to create for myself. I had just burned tf out of my first major, and that did leave a massive creative hole I wanted to fill. I wanted to show myself I could do a long term project like this and that I still had true joy in learning how to create, and make and design. 

And one year later? I can say I’m on the path. I’m not one to pat my own back in alot of regards (the mental ill school of thought that what I achieve/succeed is not impressive because its a personal obligation to achieve it. As well as that, there’s still m u ch to do before I consider this project “done”). But as I look back at the first 3 missions of S&S, the 4 one shots I ran, and the combat testing games I’m doing now. A year ago, it seemed like wizardry. And now, i’m learning how to do kitbashes, and working towards sidequest project to help me grow. 

I never expected Dante to blow up as much as it has. And in particular, I do truely want to thank the pilot net community. I’ve gotten so much encouragement, advice, feedback, and most importantly….made friends. There’s a saying I remember from highschool that Actors without directors are flapping their hands and talking in the dark. But a director with no actors is unable to make anything. A huge, massive, massive, massive thank you to those who i’ve met who have been patient wth me, teaching me, and helping me just by being interested in the project. 

Hearing my friends talk about their characters or poke me with world questions helps me find the enthusiasm and drive to keep working and cranking at it. 

A common theme in Dante is community. As without community, no individual can be sustained. 

I am truely grateful for this community. 

Any special Dante updates? Not at this time, no. 

I’m still working through the changes. 

Notably, I’m about halfway through faction rewrites. Alot of things in the factions have changed, including extra factions being added. 

As well as that! I’m doing frame testing and working on compiling about 6-7 months of frame rewrites. The one thing I will say like anyone doing a project like this alone, I got a job, and soon, in august, i’ll be in master’s school! Release 2.0 will be coming soon! I expect that next month I’ll be in the thick of GM writing or even in the thick of frame balancing. 

I’ve been frustrated with myself due to slowness of time and how long i’m taking to write. But at the same time when I have Dante posted in public servers and yapped to friends, the depth of ideas has kept them drawn in. 

Thank you for being so patient! 

See ya in a month for updates.