The Broken Hourglass: Paused

It's been a while since that last weaponry update, and I'm afraid there's really not a lot to say, progress-wise, so I've been dragging my feet. At present, The Broken Hourglass is on hold as Jason Compton deals with some difficult real-life stuff.

I can't say I know all of what was and was planned in game, but the situation as I knew it last:

NPC-NPC dialogs: Finished, though (as always) we could use a few more, especially with some pairs. I'm a fan of lots, and lots, and lots of NPC chatter.

Interjections: A good amount..

PC-NPC Dialogs: Sufficient. I'd like to add a couple more, when the pause ends. Nekos, especially, needs more.

Romances: Ioanna's is complete and in-game, Makarios' has, I hear, a solid rough. Two more need to be written, one had a possible writer. Carind is slated to be the second romance for male players. The other romance for women is probably going to be Nekos, though we have, on occasion, debated.

Quests:  An abundance.  Fifty-some finished, everything from simple "Please get my cat out of the tree" types to ornate, curlicued quests with multiple endings and possible side-branches (Oh, former modders just love baroque plotting).
     The Grand Finale: Sadly, needed some rewriting. Some of what I wanted to do proved uncodable, so we need to talk about alternatives.
     One major quest needs some minor tweaking. It got caught between two objectives and the journal entries sometimes reflect one, sometimes the other. Could be worse, but it also could be better; it definitely needs some discussion before it goes anywhere. Most importantly, we need to pick one of the two main objectives and run with it.
      One quest in complete limbo. I think it likely we'd end up writing that one off, since it's non-essential. I can't swear to that, though.

Soundsets: All PC soundsets are written, voiced, and in place (That's actually how I first got started on this, in case anyone was wondering). Minor NPC soundsets (You know, the peasants, thieves, and beggars) are written, some are voiced, none are in-game yet, though I've heard a few and they sound good to me.

Other voicing: Still to be done. I'm not sure whether Jason was planning on full-voicing or first-line, Baldur's Gate-style voicing. Personally, I prefer the latter, but I know some find full-voice more immersive. It may very well come down to budget.

Artwork: The backgrounds are done and are gorgeous; sprites are done. I'm not sure how far along spell-animations got. I believe most were done and in-game. Most items had icons, but some--around twenty?--still needed them. See my earlier post on making weaponry. Also, some new quests spawned new items.

Item-making: I don't know. Almost all the quest items were made (See the grand finale needs some revision for the reason I can't say "all").  Some weapons needed effects added.

The music is done, but you all know that. I've raved and raved about it. I'd link, but I can't find Rob Howard's site these days. He's moved around a bit. One day, I hope you get to hear the full sound track.
   Edit: I think this is one of his pages. Looks like he's been busy!

And, I think that's all....

So--how long would it take the game to be finished if we were to go from here? I don't know. I've never done anything quite like this before. It's doable, definitely.

How long will it take to be finished now, the way things stand? I don't know. I've gotten quite fond of the characters and their city. I think everyone should meet them.

I'll let you know when there's something to know, in any case (Trust me. I'll shout it from the rooftops, and the blog may include some all-cap entries).  Thanks all for your interest and your reading.