Hello!
Back again with another devlog to show some behind the scenes of what is being worked on. Quite a few things are ready to be pushed for the next patch, but I want some more time to polish it and push some backend changes that will be important for the future of the game.
So expect a new content patch soon, containing some (but not limited) to the things that are showcased today!
Let's dive right into it!
Continent 3
After the second continent, The Empire, was released together with Early Access, work has now begun on the third continent of the game, that being The Frozen North. This will take a different direction from the lush green environments we've been in so far, and focus on a more dark and cold scenery.
This gives the chance to include some additional mechanics (because why not!) that are exclusive to this biome. For example, you'll have to keep an eye on the heat level of your character while you're in combat and in deep frosted areas, to make sure you don't start suffering cold damage! The areas will also be filled with hazards that can take you by surprise, in addition to the many mechanics that the monsters of each biome bring along!
To give you a better view into what type of scenery to expect, I'd like to present the next town in which you will spend your time!
Your encampment for this continent will be one of the very few places that has a cozy and warm vibe going around. The Frozen North also doesn't have a night and day cycle like the other places. Due to the location in the virtual world, this place is permanently enshrouded in a slight darkness. The regular weather also does not apply here. Instead of rain and lightning you will be facing snow, snow storms and blizzards!
The heavy snow can already be seen on the picture above.
As you know the titlescreens evolve throughout your journey. For the third chapter you will unlock following titlescreen:
And yes, I am looking into making it so you can choose which titlescreen you want featured on your savefile!
Expect more details around this new continent throughout the coming months.
Onto the next then!
Multiplayer
Another big topic that I did not expect to discuss this early on in the project lifecycle! As stated in the Steam description for the game, we always wanted to have some form of multiplayer in the game, but we did want to keep the difficulty unique and something you yourself need to get through without any help.
So to get the best of both, the decision has been made to give the players the choice of playing offline or online, where it does not matter which form you pick, the gameplay remains the same.
So what will be the benefit of the online version?
Well, in this version you will be able to see other players running around the various different maps, and you will be able to chat with them. It's a good way to show off the skins/pets/aura's/ranks/... that you have unlocked!
Below you can see a very early WIP image of three clients succesfully connected and interacting with each other:
So far it's going good! I'll be looking at broadcasting the pets and aura's to all clients next.
For you that may have noticed, you'll see that the chat system is already in place as well!
Any text you send will be sent to the server, holding your username, your message and some information about your steamID. Which reminds me, you can NOT join the online server if you are not online on Steam! This is because you are not required to make an account for this game. Instead, I will be targetting your steamID and or IP if you perform malicious conduct on the online game. Unfortunately a kick/ban system is always needed!
For those who own the founder pack, you will also get a different color name in the chat!
The color code looks like this:
- Developpers: Red
- Staff: Green
- Founder Pack owners: Orange
- Server itself: Dark Red
Here you can see an image of the chat in more detail:
Anyway, expect more information on this important update coming soon!
Player Updates
In order to prepare your characters for the online update, a few more things will be noticed when you next update the game. Since you don't have to register any accounts with me, I will be using your save files to broadcast to the server. That means that I'll need a few bits of information from you. The most important one, being your username!
Next time you boot up the game after the next patch, you will be prompted to select a username:
You can pick any name, and it doesn't matter if it overlaps with anyone else. I use your steamID to identify you from other people, so pick whatever you like!
When you do you'll see your name pop up in non-combat areas!
Something else you may notice is that it's not just my name on that screenshot!
Introducing ...
Hero Ranks!
Something additional that will be able to show your progress in the game to other players, is your brand new Hero Rank! This will display a badge next to your name, going from rank 0 to rank 10. Hero Ranks will show your mastery of each continent. You will earn 1 Hero Rank for completing Arena Rank 5 of each continent! So this badge will be reserved for the experienced fighters.
The image above displays a rank 1 badge, which will evolve to the following rank 10 badge:
The Magic Rework!
Why keep creating flashy new moves when you can only equip 1 special one, right? I agree. So I've decided to make it so the player can now select two special magic abilities at the same time. Duplicates aren't possible, so no, you can't stack frenzy twice!
When you visit the attunement room after next patch you will be greeted with the following:
You will unlock both slots at the same time, as soon as you beat The Nature Golem! Keybinds for these are still F for the primary ability, and E for the secondary ability!
To go along with the coming patch I will be putting in two more abilities. Details on these will be given in the patch notes when it comes out.
Settings
The previous "settings" menu in-game wasn't really a nice settings menu. I've started reworking this menu into something that's a bit more visible with proper sliders. You can see the WIP here:
This will also be available next patch, but I'm currently working on expanding on it and introducing more customizable settings.
... And yes, I will be looking at remapping your keybinds :)
Anywho, that's it for this loaded devlog. That's what's been cooking the past two weeks! Until next time!