Hey guys,
So today I just wanted to talk a bit more about the world and show you all what I've been working on this past month. As the title suggests, it's the overworld map. This is part of the core gameplay and as such it will take probably at least a year before I am finished implementing everything I want to get in. That said, I want to release the overworld map in smaller chunks. I'll probably release the first overworld map update sometime next month, this is surprisingly several months ahead of schedule.
So as you know, in the world of Dead Monarchy, there is something known as "The Great Mistake" and for better or worse it has plunged the world into chaos. It's obviously not the first time an RPG has come up with this setting and it won't be the last, but for me it's a tool I use to craft the world I want and more specifically, the gameplay around it.
There was no great demon invasion but rather, a series of "natural" disasters that has reverted what you could consider a feudal society into something a bit more primal. The lands are not as safe to travel so what settlements remain both serve as protection and a hole to die in.
One of the natural disasters was a great flood that has essentially fractured the continent into several smaller landmasses which then further isolated the surviving communities.
This then plays into how I want to implement the overworld map. I've been thinking about this for a while and I've decided to split the landmass up into smaller chunks with the player being able to travel between these maps. This is obviously better for performance but it also allows me to easily add in more maps to explore in the future and the smaller landmasses makes it easier to sculpt.
I don't know how many maps I'll do at this point, but the actual terrain itself is 2km x 2km, with the island taking up about 75% of the actual terrain and the rest of the terrain being water.
The first thing you might have noticed if you've been following previous updates is that I've dropped the 2D tileset. I ended up running into a lot of issues with it and it didn't help that a few games have already been released on Steam with that tileset too. Placing 3D models for locations on a 2D background also looked a bit off, so I bit the bullet and decided to go for fully 3D overworld maps.
The biggest challenge for the world map was figuring out how to implement time. Time is a crucial thing as it plays into the company management gameplay. What I've decided to go with is having time increment as the player moves as opposed to always ticking away. This gives me more flexibility for future events when I add them in as it basically allows me to check a whole bunch of things directly tied to the player.
The other thing I've started implementing are all the scripts for defining different shop types for the cities. IE merchants that sell swords, shafted weapons, bows and different armor types. Each city has 2 of these merchant types, a camp to hire new recruits, general marketplace for supplies and 1 active contract that the player can take.
The player base will lose some buildings, like the marketplace and camp (recruitment) but it still retains its purpose and will be elaborated again in the future.
Again it is early days, but currently each city only offers one contract at a time, Contracts come in three difficulty levels but it is based off the old difficulty system. So a level 1 contract has enemies that scale between difficulty 1-4. There are no dialogue events right now, but I have set it up to allow for dialogues in the future. Also, the contracts themselves are still just extermination missions.
All in all, going 3D and finding the best way to create these landmasses was a very steep learning curve but it was still enjoyable. As this is my first game, it has been both a journey and a learning process.
I've learnt that there is a fundamental difference between a solo developer and even a team of 2 or 3, the difference is night and day with the main culprit being that the entire game rests on your shoulders. It became blatantly obvious to me as these past few weeks have been quite hard on me following the death of a family member but it has also made it even more clear to me that before I leave this world too, I'd like to create a world of my own.
Cutting to the chase, development has not been affected in a negative way, I've been keeping busy as a way to cope with the stress. I do find it funny though, as a player I have read similar updates regarding a loved one's passing but it never really hits you as you finish reading and carry on with your life. Yet there isn't anything expected of you either and knowing that you have read this is enough for me, as writing this is a way of moving on for me too.
Anyway, to end this on a cheery note, thanks to all the recent feedback and support on the forums, it's funny how that one seemingly innocent message you write brightens up my day. It is also nice to see that the community is nearing 2k members.
Cheers,
Kevin.