Hello Everyone,
I was trying to do a dev blog last week, but Steam wasn't allowing me. It seemed to be an issue in Steamworks that was a big to-do-about, so I left it alone for a week.
Instead of posting the update I wrote last week, I'll talk about what we have going on. We ran into a roadblock with how much we can do with Unity, so we've had to do some unique scripting to handle various components of game objects. In short, it's going really well and the visual difference is remarkable - as well as a huge FPS increase - so we are very excited. Initial testing with FPS is showing 90+ frames per second, with a massive increase in terrain objects. We won't have an update this week, as we will continue testing through the weekend and finalize some features for the 18th which is next Friday. Such a large game with so many working parts is rough, with Unity not cooperating it's even more difficult.
Next weeks update inclues:
-FPS Fixes
-Bug Fixes
-*New* Infinite Terrain
-Updated Terrain
-*New* AI NPC's
-*New* Inventory Management Integration
It is possible we will get these in for the update, but if we do not they are to follow shortly after:
-*New* Building Persistence
-*New* Wildlife
-*New* Items
In terms of what remains for us, a HUGE chunk of our foundation is complete and we are nearing up on the tail end of our initial development phase. From here, we add and modify any number of new resources, items, equipment, weapons, components, structures, characters, aesthetics etc. As we start pumping the game full of interactable objects that have been shelved for months, we will continue to polish the gameplay and functionality as the final components for the bane of ABD. The biggest thing about a MMO is a large database of items, and interaction with the environment is especially important. There will be a point when we have a enormous database of game objects, which will be created and implemented regularly without any additional coding.
A large portion of the game requires fundamental editors and extentions for us to add new items, modify their statistics, and how they are acknowledged by the game. When I mention these stages, or use terms like "Inventory management" it is a brief mention of one of these editors. So lets say we have a Tier 1 hatchet, well that hatchet also has stats that a Tier 30 M4A1 uses since it is a weapon, such as damage, conditions etc. With these large editors being created, we can go back through the game and add any number of items in various categories, from throwing a Banana to a hand grenade.
One thing I will make a special mention of is the new Infinite Terrain. By taking the extra time the last week and a half, Jack has worked with Boris to create Infinite Terrain that is persistent. Not every component of the terrain is complemetely persistent, but it is rapidly getting there. Yep, from trees which will regrow over time from their stumps, to rocks and bushes and other foliage you will be able to harvest in the near future. With this new system, all it takes is modeling a resource and run it through a compiler and bam we have a new component with its own requirements, conditions, statistics and information.
Again, we are getting rather close. There are a few modules that will take extensive time such as our Diplomacy and Alliances, but we will take care of that while you all are exploring and destroying the environment to your best ability. We all very much look forward to seeing your reactions after next weeks update, hang in there and have a great holiday if we don't get to see you after the update!
-Robert Bonner
Creative Producer - ABD: A Beautiful Day
G.A.M. Entertainment, LLC.
www.GagAMaggotEnt.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/gam_ent