I have listed all of the updated data on it here, as well as added an ass-load of new information. Email me at RPG2284@rpgmmag.8m.com if you have any questions, and go to the mag to download the demo.


Sorry, server's being a @#%$. I'll have it fixed tomorrow, hopefully.

Game: Acre-age
Genre: Farming Sim/Adventure
Demo Release: October 2002
Targeted Full Game: Winter 2002
Length: Unknown, (at present, 30 blocks)
Progress: 100%!(demo); 40%(full)

Features

A different take on Harvest Moon!
In this game, you start as Jance, a man who's been banished from his home for being an arrogant brat (think rich kid) and now must do something for the benifit of mankind before he is allowed to return. He finds his calling (rather reluctantly) in the MID, an policing office. Now he must take down the pirate mafia, a notorius group called the Landlubbers, before terror takes over the land...

Days!
The flow of time does touch Acre-age. Every day, you wake up, go out, then come back in. Also, people say different things every day, too.

Farming!
Farming is done by the way of Growth Points. All I can say is that it's integral to the game, you can get more, and it replenishes itself. But there are 10 crops: 8 regular crops and 2 for those who want to take a walk on the wide side. (One of which is something terr mentioned) ^_~

Cooking!
By purchasing all of the cooking utensils (which is a small investment), you can use your own crops to start cooking your own food. In a complex, but oh-not-so complex manner, you will be able to cook dishes. The following is what you can select:

1. Select crop.
2. Select condiment. (Salt, Pepper, Sugat)
3. Select a utensil (Knife, Pot, Pan, Mixer, and Oven)
4. If needed, you can choose 2 different utensils.
5. Hopefully, Bon Appetite!

HP benefits come in greater mass from different foods.

Chicken Feeding!
Buy chickens and get eggs! You must feed your chicken different kinds of feed to receive different types of eggs.

Trading Hub
When you first start out, the hub will be empty and barren. It will be up to you to drive more business to it. By talking with certain people as you track down the Landlubbers, they will begin working for the hub. The people will have various skills and trades such as selling you additional Growth Points or purchasing your hunted prey from you. Their items will never be in any shop in the land.

Hunting!
Go into the forest and hunt down countless beasts for food or profit. Different colors indicate the strength level of your potential prey, ranging from easy to rare prey. There are 12 different animals in all. In addition to getting meat, harder-to-kill prey often have special rewards. Once you meet the meat trader (he goes to a certain place, and only for a day in a good while) and sucessfully woo him into working at the Trading Hub, he will buy them from you and pay you according to their health condition condition.

Diseased-Crappy Pay
Poor-Bad Pay
Good-Average Pay
Very Healthy-Good Pay
Exquisite-Great Pay

Fully-Functioning TV!
Just like it says, there are three different tv stations, with different topics every day.

Swashbuckler Today: A show all about swords hosted by Weio. From time to time, they bring up ads for new swords that can be purchased from the market chain in town.

Lena's Cookin' and Datin': All about, you guessed it, cooking and dating hosted by Lena. She has advice that is not good to pass up.

Hunting World: Hosted by someone who oddly looks like one of the town's residents, this show is all about guns. As Swashbuckler Today, they bring up talk of new market standards that the town's chain will carry.

Dating!
That's right, you can get your groove on! And instead of having your honey-poo at home, she actually joins you on your quest! Each girl has special abilities in battle.

Rose: Daughter of the town's Priest, her mother, who happens to dislike Jance from the start, she is a master of the sword and has admirable offense. Her attack is not as strong as Jance, and she's a little slower, as well.

10/23-Note: I've started on Rose's dating scene. I'm thinking about having one date per girl.

Elise: Daughter of the town cook, her father, and a bit of an airhead, she is obviously well-versed in cooking. She has relatively stable defense, though her offense needs work. Her abilities allow her to whip up tasty foods in the middle of a battle. How she could do that, I will never know.

Zoe: Daughter of the Pub's married couple, she is good at mixing up explosive drinks that can burn foes or get them drunk.

(I haven't completed this aspect, so it's not in the demo)

Sniffy's designs!
Yes, thanks to Sniffy, Acre-age is possible! With his great designs, I could make Acre-age close to my original vision.

Sniffy's contribution includes: Jance, and 8 original crops.

Idea Hub
I have an idea that will split Acre-age into 5 memory cards, each with a different story path on it. There will be a part where you must decide something critical, and that's where the card splits off and branches. Then, after beating the other pathways, the final mission comes up. What do you think?

Targeted Full Game: Winter 2002

And 8 years later...