Greetings Mercians, and welcome to Dev Blog #68!
In this Dev Blog we would like to take a look at some more features and additions that we have been cooking up at SIG HQ!
The coffee is flowing and we are hard at work on making V0.35 Expedition an amazing update, packed with loads of new features and additions to The Black Death. We can't wait for you all to get stuck into our new update and enjoy the content!
Towards the end of this Dev Blog are the dates for the Beta and Live Build dates for our new V0.35 Expedition update.
With every update we craft for The Black Death, we appreciate the communities feedback, comments and of course Bug Reports. When the new Beta is pushed out, our Google Bug Report form will be updated to reflect the new version. We appreciate every bug report we are sent, these help us to find crucial issues as soon as they arise so we can get to fixing them as soon as possible for a smoother gameplay experience when our updates are pushed to the Live Build.
On with the Dev Blog! Here’s some more features that are coming to the black death in the next update: V.035 Expedition!
Leveling Up!
The XP system has been ‘remastered’ into a level system, taking a more traditional RPG approach. Now when you hit a certain level of XP you gain a level which is fully persistent with your character. Each level provides a group of points to spend anyway you see fit (varying on level). This allows new players to have more points to spend per level but also provides season veterans with bragging rights.
Ranged & Heavy First Person Combat
Ranged weapons have now been polished for a new visceral first person experience. It’s never been more satisfying to land a headshot in the black death. They including camera movement for aiming (zooming in) and equipping animations. 2-handed heavy weapons have also had their animations created for a unique first person experience.
Day and Night Adjustments
Lighting, the sky and fog effects have had further improvements to provide a more dramatic effect/difference between day and night to give the feeling that venturing out at night isn’t such a good idea. This also provides for more interesting lighting scenarios in towns and caves.
Arena Map
One of the maps the player can play privately with friends is our new arena map which comes with some unique features. One being a bell that can be rung to summon a randomised bandit. This is perfect for training, however be careful, they can kill.
Mini Community Update & Showcase Issue Preview
Just a few words here from SIG_Emily on the community side of things.
"Hello plagued ones! I do hope you have all been enjoying our Dev Blogs and teasers for our latest update, I myself am very excited to explore the new regions, especially the Outlaw Town! I do have a sticky post on the Steam Forums about where I have been. The short of it is that, I am studying at University full time, and sadly I haven't been able to dedicate as much time to the Community as I would like. To make up for this, I want to give back to the Community by finishing the Player Housing Guide and create some Seasonal Treats for you all! Those of you who have been following us for the past two years know what these are!
The Steam Player Guide is currently on hold for the moment, but it will be making a return in the future. It is an ambitious project and I want to do the community justice in making it the best it can be, with quality content with attention to details and quality screenshots and GIFs. The Server Setup Guide (both our Steam and Blog one) will be updated after our new update V0.35 goes Live!
A special "Seasonal Showcase Issue" is also being drafting up at the moment! So "watch this space" for that post in a couple of weeks!
- [SIG] Emily"
V0.35 Exploration - Dates & Information
We plan to get the update out on the 21st November in the public beta so everyone can try out all these juicy new features, we will do another announcement so everyone is notified when exactly this beta is out. Depending on beta performance the latest for a full release will be the 28th of November. Thanks everyone for your patience, we can’t wait for everyone to try out the new content!
See you in Mercia!
// The SIG Team