Hi everyone, I know it has been a while since the last post so I appreciate everyone being patient with me. With patch 0.3 growing into almost a second launch for the early access version of Fargone I have decided to start doing some develops that I will be posting every 2 weeks regardless of other announcements or sharing of new features.
So the big question is, why is patch 0.3 taking so long!? Well, this update has become huge internally. This patch has grown into a soft re-launch of the game for me. Not saying there was anything wrong with the original launch however there were many things that I did not get time to do in the way I wanted and many features that were either missing or not completed fully. So, let's get into what I have been working on in its entirety since the last post.
This post is a continuation of the previouse patch 0.3 post so if you have not read that yet you can find it here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2242100/view/5868803522304295947?l=english
A rework of the entire code base and toolset surrounding items
This may not seem exciting on the surface however it is major for ensuring the long-term health of the game. A big issue I have had for some time is how items were originally created. The system was tedious, and difficult to manage and made managing items both time-consuming and also very error-prone. The new system allows for easy mass management of every item in the game, allowing me to add, edit or delete any item in the game within seconds. This is part of my plan to ensure the game is easier to work on going forward making for faster updates.
Whilst working in this area I have also added an entire new loot spawning system. Loot is now randomised far better and spawns more frequently both in containers and on the ground. This can also be adjusted by the new difficulty settings announced previously. Also, loot now has a new rarity attached to each item which is color-coded allowing for a bit more excitement when looting those cool rarer items! Hovering over an item will now change the tooltip header to display the rarity colour.
UI tweaks & refresh and inventory rework
A big change that is currently being worked on is a new grid-style inventory system. This is something I have liked the idea of for some time and am very happy to finally bring to the game. Storing items will now be a small mini-game in a way as opposed to a simple hard limit on the number of slots. This feature is still early on as reworking the inventory is a huge task but progress is good!
Another thing I have been working on is refreshing various parts of the UI starting with the base font. I have had a lot of feedback in regard to the font so have adjusted several text-heavy areas with a new clearer font. The tooltip window and context menu have also been cleaned up and although small, these little bits add up to make for an overall better experience.
Here is a WIP preview of the new grid system.
Weapon retexture project
I have announced this already but it has now been finished so I wanted to share some of the amazing work done to the weapons in the game. These textures fit much better with the gritty atmosphere that the game has been striving for.
Barrens local network system
Here is something I am very excited about! The Barrens local network has received a major update allowing for dynamic messages to be posted by the AI that inhabits the world. You will now receive messages from actual AI nearby to warn you of things such as incoming toxic weather, shops getting a stock refresh, certain special enemies being spotted or just general messages asking for help when under attack and much more. This is a feature I wanted for some time and it adds another level of depth to the AI making the world truly feel alive and that things are happening around the player without their direct involvement. You can also view a full log of recent messages in a new tab within the datapad.
The datapad is also due for a major rework however I am not quite ready to share too much since the new artwork has been completed and it has been planned but I have yet to implement it into the game.
Visual & audio improvements
Another thing coming which I want to give a quick mention is some visual and audio changes. The first is a new procedural lightning technique that has been added to the game bringing a bit more atmosphere to storms, a small feature but one I personally love.
As well as this I have been working on improving certain audio features such as the sound detection method for which footstep audio should play. This has long been broken and often would play the wrong sounds. I am also looking at making some changes to the weapon sounds however this has not yet been started.
What's next?
Well, that wraps up a lot of what I have been working on so far, the rework of the item code has been a major undertaking and I can't stress how important it will be going forward for the game. I still have lots of unannounced and planned content for this patch that I will update as time goes on. This patch will still take a tad longer and I am sorry for that however I promise it will be worth it once it drops and future content will come out faster as a result of this update. The core of the game is being rewritten in lots of ways to create a new foundation with patch 0.3. The idea is going forward updates will be far more structured and content-packed.
I know many will want to know a release date and I am not quite there yet, just know my plans are for this not to be a million miles away. A month or two would be a realistic target without setting a concrete date. I will be sharing more info and dev logs regularly so keep an eye out and as always thank you very much for the support and for playing Fargone!