Dev Blog #10

01 Mar 2021Developer post

Source: Steam Community (opens in a new tab)

Welcome to Dev Blog #10! We hope you all had a lovely February and are staying nice and healthy. This month we have a lot of exciting things to share with you all. Our team is growing with the addition of Flicker, our VFX artist who we already have working on particles and decals, and Brigade, our 3D Environmental Artist who has been hard at work making Dragon nests. Starting off, we'll let them both introduce themselves...

Flicker

Hi, I'm Flicker, Beawesome's VFX artist! I'm actually also a 3D generalist, so I can do a little bit of everything: modeling, texturing, rigging and animating; however, I was chosen as staff for my technical side, and work directly in-engine to create a variety of effects, from acid projectiles to dripping blood!

I like reading, watching movies and shows, and gaming. I really, really like gaming, so much so that I decided to make them my life! Also, as a bonus, I love dragons.

I first discovered Day of Dragons as a fan and, through a series of chats and fun moments, decided that being able to make this game, this dream, a reality could be fun. I'm super excited to be on the team, and am looking forward to playing with everyone!

Click here to follow Flicker on Twitter.

Brigade

Hey! I'm DragonBrigade, but some of you might already know me as Brigade- or Brigs, or Bridget, or- you get the point. I'm working on creating 3D environmental assets, with the focus currently being on unique nests for each dragon that will be added in the Genesis update. I have a formal education in game design and graphics, with a focus in 3D modelling.

Some stuff about me: My favorite animals are chickens, I like purple, and I love heavy metal- like, a lot. But most importantly: I've loved dragons for as long as I can remember, and Day of Dragons is my dream game that I've always wanted to play- and work on. I'm super excited to be on this team, and I can't wait to see everyone curl up in some cozy nests :) Keep an eye out, there might just be some spooky scary things around the corner...

Click here to follow Brigade on Instagram.

With introductions done, lets get into what we've been working on in February...

Beginning Concept Art Again

If you've read our last announcement, you are aware that we have once again begun creating new concepts for future dragons. The first, and personal favorite of Bad Parrot, is the Micro Feathered Dragon. This dragon will join the game in an upcoming (after 1.0) update as an unlockable dragon for all players. Kickstarter backers will recognize this dragon as the $500k Stretch Goal reward, meaning that all Kickstarter backers who activated their "Original Backers Rewards" keys will have the Micro permanently and automatically unlocked for them on all servers they play on. That's just one of the great perks to being a Kickstarter!

With the Micro concept now completed, we have turned our attention to the greatly anticipated Bioluminescent Dragon.

Shadow Scale Progress

As you know we are currently in the pre-beta testing phase which is open to Kickstarter beta access backers and owners of the Acid Spitter Drake. Once we get the Shadow Scale to an animated playable state, we will open the Beta to everyone (Open Beta) so the Shadow Scale continues to be the focus of our animation team.

Check out some of his newest animations with more coming in from our animation team each week.

Diving

Sitting

Lay Down to Sleep

Modeling and Effects

The rest of our team has been working hard on their projects as well. Brigade and Flicker are working on creating the effects and structures needed for the next big update.

Now that we have completed all of the Genesis 1.0 Update creature models (meaning they are waiting to be rigged and animated), Jia Hao, our 3D Creature Artist, has moved his attention to the dragons coming in the v1.1 "Helping Herbis" Update, namely the Singe Crest (Healer) and Nurse (Name TBA) dragons.

Healer Wyvern aka Singe Crest

The first dragon being worked on for version 1.1 is the Kickstarter Healer Dragon, now officially named the Singe Crest. The Singe Crest is a small support type dragon that will be able to heal his group members and stop their bleeds using its cauterizing flame and healing pheromones. As of this writing, the Healer is all but completed, just awaiting final 3D model and texture approval from our lead developer.

Hao is currently focused on modeling the Nurse Dragon.

Shadow Scale Nest

Brigade has finished her second custom nest. The Shadow Scale's nest is made of stick and twigs collected in the Forgotten Forest. The trees in this area have a special coating that makes the resistant to fire and high temperatures, making them the perfect material for Plasma nests.

Up next will be the Flame Stalker's nest, which is be quite unique compared to the other finished two.

Custom VFX

Flicker has been busy with a variety of VFX effects. She has finalized the Acid Spitter's Acid Spit attack and has also finished the Shadow Scale's Plasma Blast attack. Now she is turning her attention to environmental VFX. Check out some gifs of what she done this month below.

Plasma Blast

Acid and Plasma Hit Decals

Landing Dust Cloud

Update from the Lead Developer

Greetings Hatchlings,

February has come and gone. Ever wonder why they didn't just take 2 months with 31 days and shorten them to 30 and give February 2 more days so it has 30 like every other month? It always goes by so fast! Speaking of fast, we are working fast on getting all the particles and nests we need for the "First Five" coming to Genesis 1.0. Flicker and Brigade are doing outstanding work and we're glad they joined our team. They were both fans who displayed some amazing talent so we hired them. After getting access to our development, they were very impressed by the work we have been doing... even stuff you all haven't seen yet. Shhhh.

I have been working on AI and implementation. There's a lot of implementation to do. As you know, in Genesis 1.0 we plan to have AI for players to kill and eat. As time goes on and more updates come out we will expand on both the number of AI and the complexity of the AI. I've also been working on the Shadow Scale and getting it playable, integrating particle FX, polishing the nesting system, and working on the flight mechanic. 2021 will be an awesome year for Day of Dragons.

We have been getting a lot of questions about when Genesis 1.0 will be out, we can confirm that the full release with all 4 dragons will not be out in March as we are currently only finished with 1 of the 4 dragons. Shadow Scale is on schedule to be in a playable state sometime this month, but the Flame Stalker and Inferno Ravager are both still awaiting their turn to be animated. So Genesis 1.0 will not be out in March, but the Genesis Open Beta Test (consisting of the Acid Spitter, Shadow Scale and AI) is still on schedule for Q1 2021. The good news is that the Shadow Scale dragon rig being completed will help to speed up the Flame Stalker and Inferno rigging and animations. But we can only work as fast as development allows, and we are working as fast as we can while maintaining a high standard of quality that you all have come to expect from us.

We're also working on the Bio Concept, the Nurse model (we haven't named her yet, got any ideas for us?), and then 1.2 modeling content. After the Bio concept is done, we'll be working on the Behemoth Ice Drake concept... and then that does it for Kickstarter concepts! Yay! All Kickstarter concepts will be finished this year. The models are being worked on now. Healer - check. Nurse - on it. Micro - next. Then Bio/Hybrid/Ice Behemoth/Ice Wyvern/Blitz after those (in no particular order) followed by Fire Behemoth and more Elementals.

We have a lot in store for you all, Day of Dragons is not a sprint project, it is a marathon, and each lap will bring more and more content to our fans. Thank you (especially our Kickstarters and Patreons) for supporting us!

- Jon Slabaugh, Lead Developer

Thanks again for reading!

Dev Q&A Livestream

Our next Q&A livestream has not yet scheduled. Stay tuned and watch for updates to find out when the next one will be!

From the Community

Each blog post, we pick some of our favorite screenshots and artwork posted by the community to showcase here. Want a chance for your submission to be showcased on our next blog? Post it in the appropriate channels on our discord!