I'm making progress on the Skill System and I wanted to post a quick update on the work as well as other aspects of HammerHelm's development!
The core parts of the Skill System are done. Skill XP can be earned from killing monsters, completing quests, and placing buildings. Skill Points are awarded when you reach the required amount of Skill XP and those points can be spent on skills.
All of the nine planned skills are functioning in game too! I need to add some feedback however so you can easily tell that the "Second Wind" skill worked or that you got some more gold from the "Riches" skill.
The skills have mouse-over text letting you know what each of them does. Gaining and spending a Skill Point is also part of the tutorial now.
In the above shots you can see that I have 1 Skill Point. Each skill can be upgraded 3 times, including the initial purchase, by pressing the arrow next to it when you have 1 or more points to spend. Once a skill is at level 3, the arrow no longer appears.
After getting some great feedback on the forums, I'm also going to be using the Barracks as part of the Skill System. The Barracks will allow you to place a Trainer, who gives you a small buff to your Skill XP gain and will allow you to "respec" your Skill Points if you decide to spend them in another way. This will likely include a Gold cost depending on how many Skill Points you have spent. I'll be working on that part of the system next.
You'll notice that I have some of the concept art for the weapons being used as Icons in the second row of the Inventory. This won't be in the next build but I wanted to try them out and figured I'd show them too. I want to play around with them a bit more, perhaps adding an outline or some other effect. Zoomed in shot so you can seem them better.
Once the 3D models are in the game, I'll change out the icons as well. Eventually I'm going to have all of the icons redrawn in the same style as the weapons and shields.
Speaking of which, some very exciting progress is being made on the new weapons and more!
The 3D work has already begun on the new weapons and the concept artist who made those designs is now working on designs for the Shoulder Armor, Helmets, and Bracers. I'll show those once they're ready!
Work on the new trees is progressing nicely too. The artist and I have gone over some sketches and we're on to the 3D model phase. We're going with a much more stylized look that I think will fit the game much better than the current trees. I expect that they will really change the look of the game and match the look of the characters better.They should also be more efficient from a performance stand point.
So, lots going on. Since I have to finish all of the Skill System work before releasing a new build I wanted to keep you all in the loop in case you have any questions or feedback. Feels weird not updating the game in almost a week! :)