I took down the RetroQuest wiki for now. The database still exists, so what work I've put into it isn't gone, but it's not accessible for the moment.

When I put it up it seemed useful to have a way to compile documentation for the game as I create it, but I actually found it kind of limiting. Early ideas should be viewed as a beginning, not the end... as soon as I start writing something down in an instructional form, I tend to stop examining it. The question of "How can I make this better?" becomes "What can I add to this?" when sometimes the best thing to do is take things out.

But the game's taking shape in its final directions now, so I'm going to start writing a manual for it soon. Instead of starting with exhaustive wiki article for each chargen option, though, I'm going to go more with a traditional style guide. I believe I'll replace the wiki with a simple CMS-based site that can have one page for the Primary Skills, one page for the Fighting Styles, etc., with a capsule description of each.

The game's getting nearer to its first limited testing with other people, which will be followed by some closed testing. The initial tests will have 10 out of 12 Primary Skills available (the 2 that won't be included, Crafting and Mechanisms, have more to do with the crafting side of the game, obviously), 12 Combat Styles, and at least 4 companion options (Badger, Bear, Cat, Dog). The reason I'm starting with just those four animals is the other companions have more complicated extra mechanics... I want some sessions where everyone's playing with the basic companion mechanics so I can make sure they're working before I start testing the others.