Rivalry Status Update #102 - Maps, Blood and A New Weapon
Arenas The basics of arena/map functionality are now finished. It is possible to not only play different maps locally but also over network games. However, there are still some aspects of the map feature that need to be implemented before it can be released to the public.
The first step I completed when working on the arena feature was to get a movable camera that would allow the user to control what could be viewed. This is now fully functioning and works with all intended arenas. The first arenas that I have added include:
The Box The Original Arena
The Inner Circle Simple Arena inside a Circle
Bamboo Forest This was the first arena to include physics objects which are the Bamboo Stalks. The player walks on top of these stalks and the stalks will bend under their weight.
Sparta This arena consists of a large pit that separates the two players. At the bottom of the spit there are spikes that deal damage to both players. There are also two Grecian vase props that can be kicked into the enemy to deal damage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Oo5GASbFE I also added a parallax background that currently consists of a couple of pillars and a large looming omniscient scimitar in the background. Once I have proper graphics I hope to implement more aesthetic and complicated backgrounds into each Arena. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dixfsfGoP4Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SrP99wpdiQ While arenas and the user-interface used to select arenas have been implemented in both local games and network games. The only boundary preventing the feature from being released is an issue sending prop transform telemetry over network games. Once this problem has been solved and better background graphics added the feature should be ready to go!
Blood I have also added YouTube / Family friendly blood colours to the game which can be changed in settings UI. A large array of colours can be chosen from including my personal favourite"clown".
(An example of Clown Blood)
New Weapon Lastly a new weapon has been added… The Sai! A blunt, defensive weapon which is light, manoeuvrable and easy to catch other weapons blades. However like the real weapon it has no sharp points and only does blunt damage like the sledgehammer.
Also... the background is white now... Tell me if this is something you want changed or you would rather another colour?
Remaining tasks are now
Finish up arenas
Sound effects and music
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
Rivalry Status Update #101 - Back To Work and The Beginning of Maps.
After finishing my first term at University I can safely say that I am back at work developing Rivalry and have even begun work on a new feature, Maps!
The map feature will enable players to play the game over much larger and more varied arenas. The first step in implementing this feature was to allow the player to control the position of the camera.
This has now been implemented and I am beginning to plan and develop how maps could be selected in the choose weapons UI. After this, the task of actually designing and creating maps will become my next priority.
(Player who now falls through the endless void after escaping its arena)
Remaining tasks are now
Research different arenas and backgrounds.
Sound effects and music
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
Rivalry Status Update #100 - Scimitar And Buckler Now In Game!
Over the past weeks I have been working on both the Scimitar and Buckler. Now they are in the game!
The Scimitar in terms of both damage weight is somewhere between the Katana and Longsword. However, what differentiates it when compared to other weapons is both its curved shape and its angular maneuverability. Its curved blade allows it to sneakily bend into areas that a straight blade couldn’t, making it perfect for getting around shields. And its angular maneuverability makes it a great slashing weapon with the blade being blunter at the base and sharper at the tip.
The Buckler is a new shield added into the game! For what it loses in size it makes up in maneuverability meaning it can very easily move to defend unprotected areas. While it does very little damage compared to most other weapons it can still be dangerous when rammed into the enemies head or body.
I have also updated the skin status badges to be a little MSpaint and more easily recognisable.
I was originally going to make the game music procedurally generated based on how intense the battle was but this game needs to be released at some point.
Remaining tasks are now
Continue to polish skin feature
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
Research different arenas and backgrounds.
Sound effects and music
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
Rivalry Status Update #99 - Upgraded Rivalry Server
As the number of online players and games has rapidly increased in recent weeks the Rivalry server has been having more technical issues such as crashes and service failures.
Because of this I have increased the power and memory of the current Rivalry server! This should hopefully both stabilize it and allow more people to play.
Remaining tasks are now
Continue to polish skin feature
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
Research different arenas and backgrounds.
Sound effects and music
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
Rivalry Status Update #98 - The Scimitar!
I have added a new weapon to Rivalry! The Scimitar is a long curved sword that is somewhere between a Katana or a Longsword in both length, damage and mass.
What differentiates it from other Rivalry weapons is its curved shape which allows for some interesting new tactics. Only one edge of the Scimitars blade is sharp and does more damage the higher its velocity.
While the scimitar isn’t currently released to the public I am aiming to release this weapon as well as a few others (Including fixing the spear which is currently too powerful) in an update within the next few weeks.
I am also aiming to fix a few more bugs that have been identified within the skin feature. These include skin lists failing to update and altering the skin list logic.
Remaining tasks are now
Continue to polish skin feature
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
Research different arenas and backgrounds.
Sound effects and music
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
Rivalry Status Update #97 - Restarting Development of Rivalry!
Development of Rivalry has restarted! My aim is to continue both working on and refining the skin feature in the coming weeks. My latest change now enables the user to rename their personal skins through the UI instead of manually through the YAML file.
I am also planning on adding new weapons to the game soon and any more weapon suggestions would be greatly Appreciated.
I would also like to thank all those who have taken the time to create and share skins online for myself and others to see and use!
Remaining tasks are now
Continue to polish skin feature
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
Research different arenas and backgrounds.
Sound effects and music
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
Rivalry Status Update #96 - Restarting Development Soon!
I have posted this to make aware that I'll be restarting development on Rivalry soon(ish)!
I haven't been able to develop Rivalry recently because of both high school final year studies and a robot platypus. However, now that my finals exams will be over within the next month I can start once again developing the game.
I expect to restart development at some point during mid December after a long awaited holiday!
Rivalry Status Update #95 - SKIN FEATURE IS LIVE
The Skin Feature is live on the default and Beta version of the game!
It's still missing some minor components like ingame renaming but all its major features are complete. I will be fixing bugs and features when people find them. Some major bugs may also be present but I can only fix them if you can find them!
The process of creating skins is still a little weird as you have to edit each individual limb using a graphic editor. And changing the name of the skin can only be achieved through editing the YAML file located inside the skin folder. Just remember to not change the name of each limb file and any other important information in the YAML file and the skin should work! Also, I will be checking submitted online skins periodically throughout the week for approval.
Have fun creating and sharing skins and remember to create a discussion if you find any bugs!
Pending tasks are now
Continue to polish skin feature
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
Research different arenas and backgrounds.
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
Rivalry Status Update #94 - Fixing limb sprites and Issue relating to retaining network skins in local
Over the last weeks I have polished the template limb sprites and fixed an issue relating to network skins loading into local games after a network game has been setup
An issue was discovered that related to how skins in network games including sideloaded skins would attempt to display themselves in local games. This would result in a disagreement between the game and the display as even though it the skin was “selected”, the skin would fail to display. This has been fixed so only skins that are locally owned or downloaded will automatically appear in local games after being used in network games.
I have also polished two limbs from the template skin as one had not been cropped appropriately and another had a black outline surrounding it. These issues have each been respectively cropped and and removed.
Next week I am hoping to release a Beta which includes the skinning feature! This will enable anyone who downloads the beta to create, download and share skins. I may also add the rebalanced Spear back into the game and see what people think of it.
Pending tasks are now
Polish and debug skin feature
Steam workshop for player skins.
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
Research different arenas and backgrounds.
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
Rivalry Status Update #93 - More Polishing and Possible Re-introduction of New Weapon
Over the last few weeks I have been continuing to polish the skinning feature as well as look a little at possible new weapons with a focus on implementing the spear. It has also been harder recently to work on the game with my final year assessments occurring.
The most prominent issue that was fixed was an issue relating to how weapon and skin selections were remembered and displayed across different game modes such as normal and Quickplay. This caused an issue whereby getting weapons randomly selected in Quickplay and then changing to normal mode wouldn’t display any weapons. visually this is what you would expect, but if start was then pressed the old combination from Quickplay would be used even if visually nothing was selected. This took longer than expected to fix as it required a lot of restructuring of very old code.
The players weapons have also been centered around the wrist of the player on instantiation. This improves the visual smoothness of the players creation as the quick re-positioning of weapons in the first few frames of the match no longer occurs.
The spear was added into the game a little under a year ago but was quickly removed as many including I, felt it was too powerful. Ever since then I focused on the implementation of different features such as networking and skinning.
I have now re-evaluated it and am now considering different methods of nerfing it without losing its appeal as a long stabby weapon. Previously it was about as sharp as the rapier with a longer range but also suffered from a high mass and lack of maneuverability. I have decided I will decrease its sharpness to a level that is still fun but also less powerful. However, I still need time to balance the exact amount of sharpness it should have.
Pending tasks are now
Polish and debug skin feature
Steam workshop for player skins.
Complete network game lobby UI (make pretty and complete all network game modes).
Complete network game restart UI (make pretty).
Research different arenas and backgrounds.
General bug fixing, tidy up and enhancement of look and feel..
