DunKalar
Nov 13, 2013
ok
when can we play the game then xD? *poking jack to hurry*
jack1974
Nov 13, 2013
It will be available the day... when I'll finish it !
Jokes apart I think the first months of next year I should start having something playable (beta of the first two seasons if all goes well).
DunKalar
Nov 14, 2013
I hope you take responsibility for all the agony people have to endure because of detoxification from your games
jack1974
Nov 14, 2013
I'm sorry for causing you pain
Lonestar51
Nov 14, 2013
It will be available the day... when I'll finish it !
Jokes apart I think the first months of next year I should start having something playable (beta of the first two seasons if all goes well).
How long after that before all four seasons are ready for shipping? (Assuming no unexpected/unexplainable things interfere...)
I'm sorry for causing you pain
Not only DunKalar is suffering badly.
But then, lots of bugs do not help either, so ... well ...
jack1974
Nov 14, 2013
I really hope to have this game out by next Summer at the latest, if I can work on it like now (about 3 days a week). I hope sooner but don't want to be too much optimistic
jack1974
Nov 21, 2013
Today implemented a new feature which I call "autoleveling system". Will explain it in details in tomorrow's blog post, for now here's a sneak preview:
http://i.imgur.com/OFkmM44.jpg" style="max-width:100%">
in practice using the coloring system popular in MMORPG to define enemies difficulty/danger.
P_Tigras
Nov 21, 2013
Today implemented a new feature which I call "autoleveling system". Will explain it in details in tomorrow's blog post, for now here's a sneak preview:
http://i.imgur.com/OFkmM44.jpg" style="max-width:100%">
in practice using the coloring system popular in MMORPG to define enemies difficulty/danger.
Looks snazzy.
If I were to make a guess, I'd guess that the autoleveling system prevents companions that don't get used very much from falling too many levels below the protagonist. This way we don't need to grind to keep all of our companions relevent, as the more they fall behind, the less inclined we tend to be to use them. From what I recall of my Dragon Age mod'ing days, Bioware handled it by autoleveling any character you added to the active party who was 2 or more levels below the protagonist, making them only 1 level below the protagonist.
A second guess would be that it automatically updates their stats for you if you don't want to be bothered allocating attribute and skill points. This is not an option I care however about since I'll never use it, but no doubt there are people out there who consider stat'ing companions a distasteful chore.
jack1974
Nov 21, 2013
Haha no, though both are interesting things to consider
Actually about this:
A second guess would be that it automatically updates their stats for you if you don't want to be bothered allocating attribute and skill points. This is not an option I care however about since I'll never use it, but no doubt there are people out there who consider stat'ing companions a distasteful chore.
I have added it already, it was in Loren too, but only for the attributes, even if in theory I can do it even for the skills.
As said will talk about it in detail tomorrow but basically is how I'll design the battles, using an autoleveling system for the enemies so that I can have a "base value" as reference that match the one of the party average values. From that "starting point" I can then add traits or modify the enemies. So I can say that all Goblins will be weak to fire, have lower SP, but be faster. And also randomize each enemy a bit for variety.
That will solve the endless problem of "the game is too easy" or "the game is too hard" that I had for Loren, since the enemies base value will reflect your party.
Lonestar51
Nov 21, 2013
Like in Oblivion?
The system makes sense, if there are a lot of optional sidequests and/or sandboxy exploring. I rather like such a system, though be prepared for a lot of people who don't: For one thing, it discourages grinding. Some players think they deserve to play hard level, or torment, not have to think about tactics, and get a way to grind their way to winning.
jack1974
Nov 21, 2013
Why discourages grinding? I can always define groups of enemies at a specific low level. Note that autolevel in this case means only that I use as starting point the same stats as the party average. Then, I do whatever I want with them. I can define a group of Goblins that are all 1-3 levels lower than the current party and that will be an easy encounter. Or have another with 3 "Easy Goblins" plus 1 Super Goblin that is 2 levels above the party (sort of mini-boss).
/SELF BRAG MODE ON
I think honestly that this solution is the best possible
(I realize that maybe wasn't clear how I explained it, hopefully after tomorrow's blog post will be completely clear)
Lonestar51
Nov 21, 2013
Why discourages grinding?
Oh, this boss is SOOOO hard. I better grind against a few goblins, and come back later. ... Oh no, the boss is now two levels harder than before. This is SOOOO unfair.
Sorry, channeling a meanie is the easiest way to explain.
I think honestly that this solution is the best possible
Well, I agree. But then, if a fight is too hard, I lower the difficulty, and think nothing about it. For me the autoleveling means that I do not need too much fiddling with difficulty, or thinking about if doing the sidequest makes the game too easy or not doing it makes the game too hard. Others have a competitive streak, and NEED to fight all fights with minimum party AND at the highest level.
jack1974
Nov 21, 2013
Oh, this boss is SOOOO hard. I better grind against a few goblins, and come back later. ... Oh no, the boss is now two levels harder than before. This is SOOOO unfair.
Well the boss is two level harder if your party is two level harder. So is relatively the same level as before
With this system the relative difficulty of battles remains intact (more or less).
Well, I agree. But then, if a fight is too hard, I lower the difficulty, and think nothing about it. For me the autoleveling means that I do not need too much fiddling with difficulty, or thinking about if doing the sidequest makes the game too easy or not doing it makes the game too hard. Others have a competitive streak, and NEED to fight all fights with minimum party AND at the highest level.
Well, nobody will force you to fight the fight with all party members (apart the early stages when there aren't many). So those who wants that can do it.
But wait, while the enemy base values will align to the party, obviously as your party levels up, they'll learn new skills and be more powerful. Don't think that with this system there's no more strategy in building your party. Choosing one skill instead of another can change some battles radically already at lower levels. Also, since you have many attributes to allocate, you can personalize your party even more. You can have a Warrior with a lot of HP, or another with a lot of SP so can perform more skills during the battle.
Same thing for the enemy, they have various skills like for Loren. The only change is that the base values are more balanced, but two identical Goblin could have very different skills (one that targets a single party and another with area of effect damage) so the battle will be very different too.
Lonestar51
Nov 22, 2013
Oh, this boss is SOOOO hard. I better grind against a few goblins, and come back later. ... Oh no, the boss is now two levels harder than before. This is SOOOO unfair.
Well the boss is two level harder if your party is two level harder. So is relatively the same level as before
With this system the relative difficulty of battles remains intact (more or less).
Which is exactly my point: Some people will want to play with "hard" or "impossible" settings, but still grind their way to having easy wins.
-------
BTW: How are you balancing the skill-gain with the equipment-gain? Assuming I get XP for two levels ups, but depending on the route taken I might either have two rusty daggers as loot, or some +100 swords of smiting. This could upset the balance as well.
But wait, while the enemy base values will align to the party, obviously as your party levels up, they'll learn new skills and be more powerful. Don't think that with this system there's no more strategy in building your party. Choosing one skill instead of another can change some battles radically already at lower levels. [...]
Same thing for the enemy, they have various skills like for Loren. The only change is that the base values are more balanced, but two identical Goblin could have very different skills (one that targets a single party and another with area of effect damage) so the battle will be very different too.
Does this mean that a goblin with a random build will be sometimes easy (wrong skills chosen by RNG) and sometimes very hard ("right" skills chosen by RNG)?
jack1974
Nov 22, 2013
BTW: How are you balancing the skill-gain with the equipment-gain? Assuming I get XP for two levels ups, but depending on the route taken I might either have two rusty daggers as loot, or some +100 swords of smiting. This could upset the balance as well.
I balance that by checking the items available, but those who like to grind will be able to earn enough money to buy better equipment. The grinding will still be "active" but different, for example getting a weapon with a specific elemental damage that works against a specific enemy race, or vice versa armors that offer a protection against an elemental damage. To be honest I can't really say how well that works at this point since I'm only testing the plot battles
Does this mean that a goblin with a random build will be sometimes easy (wrong skills chosen by RNG) and sometimes very hard ("right" skills chosen by RNG)?
I can decide the range of randomization, by default I just put a small one (+/- 5% change of values) so that doesn't break anything. For random/optional encounters I might do more randomization so could be fun to play, like a sort of random challenge and not fixed battles
P_Tigras
Nov 22, 2013
BTW: How are you balancing the skill-gain with the equipment-gain? Assuming I get XP for two levels ups, but depending on the route taken I might either have two rusty daggers as loot, or some +100 swords of smiting. This could upset the balance as well.
I balance that by checking the items available, but those who like to grind will be able to earn enough money to buy better equipment. The grinding will still be "active" but different, for example getting a weapon with a specific elemental damage that works against a specific enemy race, or vice versa armors that offer a protection against an elemental damage. To be honest I can't really say how well that works at this point since I'm only testing the plot battles
As I recall, there was a degree of "autoleveling" in the original Loren as well, but it wasn't fully linear as some stats were affected more than others. The cyclops, for example, were more dangerous at level 22 than at level 18. With strike-through, they could kill one of your back row mages or thieves with a single attack at level 22, while at level 18 they needed two. You may have nerfed Cyclopses a bit since, but the underlying "autoleveling" is still there.
jack1974
Nov 22, 2013
I published the blog post, check it. In practice, I do the autoleveling the reverse way: instead of trying to find the right values manually, I start with the base values automatically and then I tweak them. Is much easier this way to avoid problems like the one you mentioned
jack1974
Nov 22, 2013
another scene coded, with some choices, looting an abandoned goblin camp by night:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/a25cb4adfb1f7c872296dd4b412213d4/tumblr_mwp86nTiw21qhts2bo1_1280.jpg" style="max-width:100%">
it's towards the end of second chapter. In Winter Season there are four, so I'm about halfway but I'm still missing all the side-quests and the random encounters. Not all seasons have same length though, Spring is almost double the Winter Season.
If I can keep this pace I think should have a beta demo sometimes in January though
jack1974
Nov 23, 2013
Yes, I meant to write "Winter season"
Game is divided into the four seasons, but they're not even in length, that's why even if I'm mid-way through the first season doesn't mean that I'm at 12,5% of the whole game dev time
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