Louis here. Janna and Michael are taking a few days off for their birthdays, so I’m in charge of the digest while they’re gone - and boy, do I have one for you this week.
Wendy’s hard at work in Bone Reach right now, as part of our plan to keep on top of zone updates so that we can ensure they release in a timely fashion without speedbumps between each zone. As you may have heard, the Windless Woods will be our next zone. So while that’s in the detail phase (encounter design, quests + narrative, towns + NPCs) Wendy’s blazing ahead with blockout in the next zone. It’s too early to show you what she’s working on, but while Janna’s gone I’ve managed to sneak this little teaser out to you:
Whatever she’s doing, seems like it’s visible even from Hope Harbor.
Things are continuing apace in the Woods. Here’s some spots you haven’t seen before:
On my end, I’ve been busy setting up all kinds of traps, triggers, levers and devices for the team to make use of in the ruins you’ll come across in future updates.
Stream viewers will recall the tripwires and pressure plates that can be used to open doors and operate elevators, but they can also be used for more devious purposes:
Better watch your step in the ancient ruins we’re working on in the Windless Woods.
Alongside these devious machinations, I’ve been delving deep into our combat code - tidying up, pulling out the parts we’ve outgrown, and laying the foundations for the new systems we have planned. It’s a big job, but we’re nearing the stage where we can start pushing prototype content to our dedicated testing team.
Before we wrap up the digest for this week, I have a segment here from Mike, who has been helping us a TON with server management and networking behind the scenes. Take it away, Mike:
[table] [tr]
Back in our extensive Quality of Life update in March, we gave you the ability to see who is on your server, what their Steam name is, and if needed, the ability to kick them from your server. Giving you the control you need when running a server is necessary to stop and prevent unwanted guests. Immediately, many of you asked "great, but what about banning?". We're happy to say that you'll be able to ban players from ever joining your server again, even if you stop and restart hosting at any point. This ban is tied to Steam accounts, so offenders can't just make another character. You can access this in the same admin panel from the pause menu.
And don't worry, if you ban someone by accident (or let's be real, you banned them as a joke) you'll be able to unban them using their Steam account ID.
As you might have noticed from the prototype screenshot, we’ve taken things a step further and set up the ability to grant trusted players moderator power. These players will be able to do everything except add/remove moderators.
These changes are part of our effort to bring you dedicated server support (that Kindred leaked in a stream back in February). We can't promise you a date (Soon™️), but we can tell you it's important to us and we're actively working on it. Stay tuned for more updates!
[/tr] [/table]
Alright folks, that’s it for this week’s dev digest. Thanks for having me as your guest host while Janna’s away! She’ll be back in charge next week.
Take care! Louis
Development Digest April 1st - 8th
Hello there! Welcome to April!
It's been a while since I've posted, but we've been getting updates and patches out. We do still have one more patch coming to fix some remaining small bugs.
While we've been working on the patches, we've also have lots of progress in fleshing out Windless Woods. The storyline for Windless Woods is about 90% done (leaving ourselves room to play) and the first encounter is already implemented and tested by our dedicated testers. Next week will be starting to add in the rest of the questline along with new crops, resources, meals, wood, furniture, outfits, the list goes on.
Next Friday's development digest will be a bit different as Michael and I will be taking a small vacation for our birthdays this month (his was on the 3rd and mine is on the 10th). It'll be a nice getaway, but the rest of the team will be working on lots of fun things. If you haven't checked out Louis's stream (our lead programmer), he's been working on traps, bug fixing, and the combat overhaul. He's also working on a few key features we need for the Windless Woods questline to be successful. Wendy is back in Bone Reach fleshing out the level design after she finished the final details in Windless Woods. Everything is looking great and I have some pictures to share!
Like I said next week will be a bit different, but I'm recruiting the team to get some great screenshots and/or gifs to share! The following Friday I'll have some NPC introductions, new crops, meals, and resources to share! See you all next week!
Patch 1.4.15.1 - Bug Fixes
As par the course, we discovered a few bugs that slipped through the cracks.
Fixed:
The ability to rise to the surface and jump out of the water when swimming
A phantom popup visual when looking at placed furniture
Missing collisions on building parts for clients in multiplayer
Update 1.4.15 - Architects and Dancers
Hey all! No development digest on Friday as we were preparing for this update! Check it out:
New:
Equipped weapons now show up on the character select screen
Chat activated emotes - /sit /relax /wave /nod (Check /help command to see your unlocked emotes)
Near character’s head a pop up alerts you of things you can interact with
Quincy opened up his dance lessons
Withdrawing gold in inventory has new, improved UI window
Architect's Table - a new set of crafting items for housing plots
Improved:
Double jumping now resets fall height to reduce or cancel fall damage
Fiora’s Rose has updated icon to match model
Griffon Egg has updated icon to match model
Amulet of Azura has new model to match icon
Ancient Relic has new model to match icon
Millie now knows that you’ve completed the quest
Bedroll is no longer see-thru from under (also got an updated model)
Two-handed weapons are now larger, do more damage, and have a new animation
Directional signs in Sleepy Haven now have matching colors
Job board quest rewards now ensure you get more gold than you turn in
Fixed:
Quest Seed Delivery quest markers updated
Golem death sounds aren’t duplicated anymore
When mounted, you can no longer climb ladders to the sky
Maiden’s Dress no longer has a small floating particle
Lavender pot now loads when further away
The NPC you’re looking for in Sleepy Haven is no longer in the floor
Quest Wylie’s Song quest markers updated
Quest Seasick Sailor quest markers updated
Quest Lover’s Bloom quest markers updated
Quest Stolen Toy description updated to say Teek instead of Sandy
Wearing a hat on the character select screen no longer causes flickering when hovering the mouse over it
Testy Tom stopped sending you impossible spam mail
When selecting a multiplayer server with a password, you can no longer keep clicking to bloom the password UI
When using a gamepad, the radial menu no longer shows “-”
In multiplayer servers, fixed an issue where clients would mount up but still move at walking speed and be able to glide and dodge roll
Ramshackle Job Board quests asking to kill boars, now asks for the right kinds of boars
Elite Boars are now named properly
Azura mushrooms are no longer doubled
Patch 1.4.14.5 - Bug fixes and gameplay improvements
Just a small patch to address some lingering issues from the last update.
Fixed:
Doors block the player camera now
Radial hotbar no longer gets stuck when holding R and equipping items
When brewing, splash now appropriately output 2 potions
Fixed various issues with the mail system
Chabbin's Pickaxe has been fixed and has a new model and icon
Various quest markers were fixed
Character panel now shows character name instead of Steam ID
Mail about Henrietta should be receivable now for all players after her quest
Fixed various job board typos
Fixed various firefly bushes
Fixed Gravekeeper's Apprentice quest - Can now find secret lever
Fixed an issue with goblin hunting job board quests
Necromancer's circle texture is no longer blurry
Elaborate Robe clothes were updated to correct texture
Moonforge typo fixed
Improved:
Skeletons and Graverobbers had a falling out
Harkin learned a few new moves and wants to show them to you
Harkin fired his entourage
Mysterious key got a new model
Ring of Protection got a buff
Vitality stat slightly rebalanced
Humanoid NPC's now have a better telegraphed melee animation
Sleepy Haven loading volumes tweaked for faster loading
1.4.14.2 Patch - Wooops!
Just fixing my fix from earlier.
Fixed:
Removed god mode!
Patch 1.4.14.1 - Post Update Bug Fixes
Hey guys. Found a few odd bugs in the latest update, so this patch addresses most of them.
Fixed:
NPC's stuck in the floor in Ramshackle and Sleepy Haven
Maxoph's spell does damage now
Player hitbox vs ranged attacks fixed
Various job board typos
Goblin job board jobs fixed
Empowered Frostshard nerfed back to where it's supposed to be
Crits no longer do insane damage. Formula fixed.
Back hits now do additional damage and even more additional damage with daggers
Quality of Life Update 1.4.14
Hey! It's Friday!
Instead of a Development Digest today, we're doing an update! We've been super busy the last two weeks getting this finalized. This update has so many requested features and updates and new quests and adventures.
We'll focus on any bugs that come in after this update and then we're focused on the rest of the combat overhaul, magic overhaul, weapons skill and abilities, and of course, Windless Woods.
Here's the patch notes for you all:
New:
Bug Report link in game - https://bugs.swordsnmagic.com/
Job boards: daily procedural quests
Mannequin furniture item to display your favorite hat, mask, and outfit
Miscellaneous Furniture items
Quests and NPC’s
Mysterious puzzle on Azura
Trinkets
Shield skill
Shields deal damage back with a successful parry
Weapon skill tracking now auto tracks based on what you have equipped
HUD showing weapons and your ammo if bow or slingshot are equipped
Crafting windows now show experience preview before crafting an item
Tutorial card for the radial hotbar (when you pick up a bandage for the first time)
When dead, if you don’t travel to an anchor shrine in time, you’ll spawn at one with reduced health
New shield
Admin Panel for the host of the server
Kick feature to remove players from your server
In-game chat message when someone joins or leaves your multiplayer server; if you are hosting the game, you’ll see their in-game player name and their Steam name
Improved:
Sorting options in the crafting table menus
In-game maps in color
Easier to pick up items, hold the interact key to pick up all items around you
Hotbar with radial menu and expandable pockets (Use "R" to access)
Winter is over, spring is in the air
Auto detect your computer specs to give you the best performance when you first launch the game for the first time; this should also drastically improve performance in the character creation screen
Stone Golem has more range to get to you when being attacked
Azura guards now help you fight enemies if they see them
Greenskull Peak is no longer deserted
Foliage is now affected by the video settings to help performance
Chat window allows scrolling
Loading zones in Sleepy Haven for performance
Fixed:
Hitting your head while swimming no longer makes you fall to your death
Invisible rugs around the world
Rayna patched up her outfit
When buying something through dialog, it no longer says “+- X gold”
Sleepy Haven innkeeper now takes your money when you stay the night
Camera improvements while at the Sweet Sardine
Saddles now have no value and can be obtained for free from stablemasters if you need one
Can no longer see into the void when at the dungeon door on Azura
Blacksmithing and Carpentry station furniture items collisions
Gamepad buttons are now displayed instead of text
Changing a keybind now reflects properly on tutorial tips
Trees no longer go through the Barracks in Sleepy Haven
Trouble at Moonberry quest no longer autocompletes
At medium-low settings, the Sleepy Haven river no longer looks like milk
Bows no longer apply arrow damage when no arrows are equipped
When players leave a multiplayer world, their location on the map also disappears
The top of Greenskull Peak now triggers the quest advance instead of under it
The elusive tree behind Harper has been swapped out with a regular tree
If you are in a multiplayer server and the host closes the server, kicking you to the main menu, you no longer have to restart to view the lobby and host/join other worlds
Anchor shrine beams adjusted
Development Digest February 18th - 25th
Hey all! A bit late, but for a good reason!
We've done last week's development digest as a YouTube Video!
It's premiering right now, so come check it out!
[previewyoutube="kl7qI-pJQmg;full"]
I'll see you this Friday for a regular update!
Development Digest February 11th - 18th
Hey all!
I'm a day late - sorry about that. Let's dig into what the team has been up to this week!
First off, here's the updated roadmap:
While we adjust to Joe leaving, we've reprioritized what we need to do and how best to go about it. We're looking at getting an update out within the next few weeks with some quality of life things, job boards, and some other fun things. I'd say the most important part of the update is getting rid of the snow. It's just too much (am I right or am I right?).
This doesn't mean the combat, weapon skills, abilities, and magic system is being pushed off. It's still very much being worked on. Just that without Joe, it'll take more time to complete. So instead of just waiting until that was done, we wanted to get an update out sooner with the things that have been done. Louis is still chipping away at the backend programming for all the new systems.
One of the most requested quality of life features is sorting in the crafting menus!
Another quality of life update is also in the crafting menus. You can now see on your experience bar how much each recipe will give you if you craft it. No more guess work!
The last big big piece of news for the update is a necromancers cave on Azura. It's actually been there this whole time, it just didn't have the mechanics needed to open up. If you caught the stream on Twitch, you'll know where this cave is. If not, you'll find out when we update!
Last update for this week: we've recently taken on a volunteer. Mike has been part of our community for about a year. He's a fellow Unreal Engine dev working on his own project. He's offered to volunteer some of his time for the next month or so to help us with whatever he can. He's already been a big help with quite a few tasks that we've had to push to the side. If you are in our Discord, you've probably seen him answering questions in our #game-dev-chat channel and you'll see him in our weekly meetings as well. We're thankful for the help!
That's all for now as we work on getting you all a QoL update! See you next week!
