Dev Update (9/17/2026)
In this week’s Dev update, we return to the world of Harness. Plus, what’s going on with encounter and mission design?
Harness Chapter 2: Raised Up
Orlondo never expected to serve his city of Premonta as a harness bearer, but now he stands atop a platform before the great harness Gatewatcher. Soon, its plinth will be installed, and the harness will come to life. But the danger of looming war and Premonta’s uncertain future threaten to bring chaos even to this civic ceremony.
Here’s an excerpt:
The scaffolding creaked around Orlondo as he climbed its steps. It didn’t matter how lightly or firmly he set his feet. The chilly air within didn’t help with his shakes either. The brightly-painted drapery around the platform’s exterior hid him from the pale, overcast sunlight. It also hid him from the plaza’s crowd, but he still heard their waiting clamor outside, rising as the herald on the podium above addressed them.
Finally, he emerged. He willed himself up the last step, through the platform’s opening, and into the open breeze. As he did, high, brassy clarions sounded on both sides of him. Then the herald resumed with her bellowing introduction, and his trembles rippled all the way from his fingers up his sides.
“And so, both Lordship Councils of Premonta desire this honest guildmember—” the woman paused for a moment, squinting at the crowded document in her hands “Orlondo of Piccovila—to be a harness-bearer of our Republic. Shall one of your fellow citizens conduct this armor, Gatewatcher, in peace and in war?”
Read on in Chapter 2 today!
Mechanics Update: Searching for the Heart of Encounters
Encounters and missions are the focus of this week’s mechanics update. Armed with a minimum viable prototype, we playtested a pair of conflicting sample missions to see where they stood up and where they fell apart (like my mech)!
Here’s an excerpt:
Last week’s Mechanics Update got into some of the ways the initial and rather barebones take on Encounters in Precipice have been straining under the needs of the system, along with some thoughts on how they will be evolving. This includes specific elements, like the use of a standard poker deck for certain randomization to allow for unequal information (a player whose mech scouts an enigma can discover and record its nature without telling their opponent). It also includes a higher-level evaluation of what an encounter represents, and how it should present incentives to players that influence their decisions.
And that covers this week’s Precipice updates! Next week, we’ll have more to share about encounters and missions as design iteration continues, as well as insight into the art behind Harness!