Since I intend to recover the rhythm of weekly updates, I tried to get a measure of how many weeks we’ve been working on the project. I’m using November 5, 2018, as the start date of the project on its current incarnation, and removing about 8 weeks to account for times when we were not fully working in the project (because we had to switch to client work, mainly). The project has changed so much all this time… it’s been a huge labor of exploration on different themes and gameplay mechanics.
So, welcome to the development update for week #83. Here we go!
Overworld visuals
Quite a bit of work here including the addition of the first wildlife (butterflies, fireflies, and parrots) as well as palm trees (planted both at the beach and in palm forests in the coast) and three new types of trees for the jungles, bigger than the other and with a different, more isolated placement. We also tweaked the beach textures for them to not reflect as much light.
Also, we added a new model for the European “explorer” unit, adapting the design we had to the more “bulky” style of the other units.
We also created models for progressive constructions of outpost buildings, although these are pending integration.
Scenarios
I laid out some foundation design for three scenarios, each one placed on a different era of the land (“First men of the Land”, “Great Highland Nations” and “Visitors from beyond”). I want to highlight that The Land is the protagonist of the game, and each scenario will provide a different core mechanic around it. More info to come soon, but for now want to confirm that the scenarios with European-inspired explorers will not include settling into the land, just exploring around and completing specific missions.
On a related note, I also removed ambushes by indigenous populators, so now there is no possible combat between Europe-inspired cultures and established nations of the land in the “Visitors from beyond” scenario.
We created logos for 6 different sponsors for two of these scenarios, each one will provide different starting conditions and quests.
User Interface
The biggest change here was the addition of tooltips with detailed descriptions for commands and status area, which really helps with onboarding. We also integrated the icons for the movement mode change and the clear climate indicator for the night, and tweaked the description of some quests.
Exploration & Discoveries
We tweaked Field of View bonuses and integrated the exploration range for mapping and main camera, and also added a new discovery image (Eagle).
Character Interaction
Some visual fixes in the eye direction on character portraits (so they stare each other) and in the composition where we had some issues with overlapping facial hair.