DD# 246 A Busy but Rewarding Week

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another week's developer's diary.

As mentioned last week, I got pretty busy with some real-life business this week. My father's surgery seems successful. He recovered pretty well enough to keep sneaking out of the hospital. But, anyway, meanwhile, I was taking care of him, his business, and his pet fish. (I'm glad it was not some more athletic pets that can demolish an entire building.) So, some daily updates of this week got affected to a certain degree. But it never stopped.

Now, let's go through them.

On the Dolovian front, the story continues. Charaton got his dialogs and could provide you with some clues about the main story if he likes you enough. In the Beasthrys Temple, a new type of alchemy device has been added so that you can find out where those witch-priestess get their potions from.

You can also buy such a device and use it as furniture in your pocket dimension.

As we also got another Oct. 7th during this week, Israeli content has also been added with a special diary to remind everyone what happened two years ago.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1519140/view/516348030198220901
We got a new accessory that represents hope and resilience in the face of such tragedy.

We also got a new Israeli sniper rifle as a good wish, and hope alone cannot enforce the law and bring justice.

Arad 7 DMR is currently used by the Israeli forces in Gaza. It's a relatively new firearm.
What makes it special is that it is an assault rifle modified into a sniper rifle. The reason behind this is that we already have quite a wild array of Israeli weapons over the past years, but we didn't have a sniper rifle. Well, technically, we didn't even have any other sniper rifle except the AWP before adding this gun. So, I decided to add this. Compared to AWP, it's less powerful. However, it has a higher fire rate, allowing you to shoot multiple times in one FPS session.

I respect Netanyahu's strong and decisive leadership. He is a man who wants to get his family and friends back, even if he has to fight against the entire world. I will probably do the same if I were in his shoes.
But, anyway, I hope this is the last time I need to do this. To remind people of the war that Hamas started. To remind people that there are still hostages kidnapped. Thanks to President Trump. It seems the hope of peace is now finally coming, and all the hostages can finally get home.
Now, here is something funny. Because it's Trump's achievement, the leftists are now starting to hate the peace they claimed they wanted during the past years, just as they hated Charlie Kirk.
And for Charlie Kirk, we shall not forget.

I plan to have some more content next week on his birthday to honor him once again.

Meanwhile, to answer a popular demand, everyone can now use the appearance of the Templar Knights to customize their main character or any customized teammates.

The assets have been in the game for 4 years. But, back then, there was some debate on whether this should be a faction unlockable or just free for everyone to use. But, since I have not worked on the Templars for quite a while, I guess it's only fair for everyone to be able to use them anyway.

That's not everything yet. Time to bring out a new revolutionary feature in the cooking system!
It's the prepared meals! It's a hot topic in China recently regarding food safety and quality. Some would consider such meals soulless, just like they view AI-generated art. But I view them as a necessity of modern-day life.
I personally quite enjoy cooking. However, there are busy times in our lives when time is a luxury that requires higher efficiency. That's where those prepared meals come in.
From a game design perspective, it offers alternative choices to utilize the cooking system. It simplifies things, especially for complex dishes, for people who just want to make a quick meal.

Here is an example:

You don't need to gather all the ingredients from groceries or even by defeating monsters.
All you need to do now is just heat it in an oven or a microwave.
It's easy and convenient this way. However, as a balance, when cooking such a meal, only a small percentage of your cooking skills can affect the outcome. It's mostly depending on whoever prepared those prepared meals for you, and their skills can vary greatly.
Well, the Pork Fried Rice was just something I saw in the supermarket the other day. It was a proof of technology.
Now, here is the second experiment to see if such technology can be duplicated.

Everything seems to work.

Now, some may ask, if we want to have things done easily, why don't we just purchase those cooked meals from restaurants?
Well, that's because you still have some levels of control when you cook those prepared meals. You can decide what kind of addition to add to them when cooking. You can add things like curry and wasabi to change their flavour. In some cases, you can even have more control over them.
Let's have a look at the third example:

This time, things are a bit different. In addition to just heating it, you need to add some water to cook the prepared Steamed Egg with Minced Meat. It gives you control over what kind of water you want to add.
And I know, in this game, the most favored water ingredient of most people (except some demon or undead players) is the holy water because it can create a blessed version of the food.
So, here we go:

In the end, it's a balance between convenience and control.
Even though you cannot pick the exact ingredients when you cook those prepared meals, I still hope you can be the master of your own fate, or food.
Bon appétit!

Oh, one last thing, just for some additional fun. A new type of merchant usually sells those prepared meals, and they have some interesting dialogue lines for those meals.

Well, here is a historical fact: many prepared meals originate from military rations, designed to allow soldiers to easily cook under challenging situations. But who is there to say our modern environment is not a battlefield? If you have not spent some time entrenched in offices, fighting against deadlines, or in schools preparing for exams, you are a very lucky person, I guess. :)

That's for this week. My father will be officially out of the hospital tomorrow. It will finally be over for now. I am thinking about taking tomorrow off. But I don't know if my future self will allow me to do so. Anyway, we will see. The story continues.

The full update log of this week:
20251004
English
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[Furniture]New Furniture: Witchcraft Alchemy Device
[Shopping]Enchantopia Elegance Emporium now sells both Witchcraft Alchemy Devices and Witch's Cauldrons
[Shopping]Random witchcraft vendors now also sell Witchcraft Alchemy Devices.
[Shopping]The Priestess in the Beasthrys Temple now also sells Witchcraft Alchemy Devices and Witch's Cauldrons. The price is affected by your relationship with the Dolovian.
[Beasthrys Temple]Added a Witchcraft Alchemy Device.
[Wiki]Updated the alchemy page.
简体中文
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【家具】新家具：巫术炼金装置
【购物】优雅吟唱者秘法店现在会贩卖巫术炼金装置和女巫的大锅。
【购物】随机的巫术用品商人现在同样会贩卖巫术炼金装置。
【购物】碧丝崔斯神殿的女祭司现在也会贩卖巫术炼金装置和女巫的大锅，价格受到你和多洛维人的关系度影响。
【碧丝崔斯神殿】加入了一台巫术炼金装置。
【维基】更新了炼金页面。

20251005
English
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[Warchief's Tent] Charaton's dialogs are being added。
[The Siege of Dana]Story continues. Sergeant Stormer will reappear in the Dana Shelter.
[The Anomalous Nation]If you have progressed the main story far enough, you can ask Charaton about Zhang Yin and Aten Cultists. If Charaton likes you enough, he will give you a clue.
[Wiki]Updated the page of The Siege of Dana.
[Worthy Opponent]Added weapon type: Stone Axe to the potential reward pool.
[Weapon]New Weapon Type: War Axe
[Worthy Opponent]Added weapon type: War Axe to the potential reward pool.
[Shopping]Various smiths now sell War Axes.
[Shopping]The equipment store in Hottle may now sell War Axes with the "Storm" prefix.
[Shopping]Various smiths now have their crafting skill levels affect their products. The Blacksmith Apprentice in Marinas has a level of 20. And the smith in the Dolovian Camp has a level of 40.
简体中文
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【大酋长的帐篷】查拉顿的对话内容开始出现。
【达那围城战】剧情继续。史东尔中士会再度出现在达那避难所。
【异常国度】如果你的主线已经进展到了这里的话。你可以问查拉顿关于张银和阿腾教团的事情。如果查拉顿足够喜欢你的话，他会给你一条线索。
【维基】更新了达那围城战的页面。
【有价值的对手】将石斧类型的武器加入到了可能的奖励池。
【武器】新武器类别：战斧
【有价值的对手】将战斧类型的武器加入到了可能的奖励池。
【购物】各种铁匠现在会贩卖战斧
【购物】霍特尔的装备店可能贩卖带有风暴词缀的战斧。
【购物】不同的铁匠现在有不同的技能等级影响他们的产品质量。玛丽娜斯的铁匠学徒的技能等级是20。多洛维营地的铁匠的等级是40。

20251006
English
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[Equipment]New Equipment: Yellow Ribbon of Oct.7th
[Shopping]Various clothes merchants and magic item merchants now sell the Yellow Ribbon of Oct.7th
简体中文
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【装备】新装备：10月7日的黄丝带
【购物】各种服装商人和魔法物品商人现在会贩卖10月7日的黄丝带

20251007
English
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[Firearm]New Sniper Rifle: Arad 7 DMR
[Shopping]Various gun vendors now sell Arad 7 DMRs
[Shopping]Dr. Kyoruy's assistant now sells Uzi and SMG ammo.
[Wiki]Updated the Gun Modification page.
简体中文
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【枪械】新狙击枪： Arad 7 DMR
【购物】各种枪械商人现在会贩卖 Arad 7 DMR
【购物】恐龙博士的助手现在会贩卖乌兹冲锋枪和冲锋枪弹药。
【维基】更新了枪械改造页面。

20251008
English
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[Character Customization]You can now use the appearance of the Templar Knights in power armor.
[The House of the 20th]After you meet Tanya for the first time, this location's background music will change to <>
[Music]New Music: <>
[Document] When you read the history document of the Dragons, <> will now play, temporarily replacing the background music.
[Boombox]You can now listen to <> in your Boomboxes.
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[Document]New Feature: In-game documents can now come with their own background music when you read them.
简体中文
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【角色自定义】你现在可以使用穿着动力装甲的圣殿骑士的外观。
【第20号房】在你首次遇到谭雅之后，这个地点的背景音乐会变成《尼斯联盟万岁！》
【音乐】新音乐：《龍有不同的颜色》
【文档】当你阅读龍的历史时，现在《龍有不同的颜色》会播放，临时替换背景音乐。
【音乐播放器】你现在可以从音乐播放器里听《龍有不同的颜色》
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【文档】新功能：游戏中的文档现在可以自带音乐。

20251009
English
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[Cooking]New Feature: Prepared Meal.
[Cooking]New Prepared Meal: Prepared Pork Fried Rice.
[Shopping]New Type of Merchant: Prepared Meal Merchant. They shall appear in locations such as Liu's Commodity Market and Hottle.
[Wiki]Updated the cooking page, added a section of prepared meals.
简体中文
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【料理】新功能：预制菜
【料理】新预制菜：预制猪肉炒饭
【购物】新商人种类：预制菜商人。他们会在疁城的小商品市场和霍特尔出现。
【维基】更新了料理页面，加入了关于预制菜的专门章节。

20251010
English
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[Cooking]New Prepared Meal: Prepared Cabbage Fried Noodles
[Cooking]New Prepared Meal: Prepared Steamed Egg with Minced Meat
[Wiki]Updated the cooking page.
[Hottle]Added a BBQ device so that everyone can just purchase some prepared meals from the nearby market and heat them here.
简体中文
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【料理】新预制菜：预制卷心菜炒面
【料理】新预制菜：预制精肉炖蛋
【维基】更新了料理页面。
【霍特尔】加入了一个BBQ设备，方便所有人从附近的市场买了预制菜之后直接到这里加热。

Latest news from Ukraine/乌克兰小剧场
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