In the initial week of February, the collaborative efforts at Depths of Erendorn brought notable advancements. The 3D Modelling team focused on texturing the Centaur, using earth tones to capture its wild, grassland essence. Concurrently, the Server-Side Programming team optimised mapping tools, ensuring seamless transitions between world chunks and refining the movement code for smoother gameplay. The Client-Side Programming team continued to refine the Dry Log system and implemented initial fast travel, enhancing overall game functionality. The Environment team elevated the city gate's visual impact, while the Animation team, leveraging an improved rig, crafted authentic Knight animations. The VFX team dedicated efforts to refining the waterfall fluid system, achieving functionality that gracefully aligns with various meshes. This collective progress signifies the ongoing commitment to elevating Depths of Erendorn's visual and gameplay elements. For detailed insights, explore the individual team updates below. As always, join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit for daily updates on Depths of Erendorn. Alternatively, join our Discord for all the latest! - now let’s get into it!
3D Modelling
In the ongoing development cycle, the 3D Modelling team at Depths of Erendorn focused on the meticulous task of texturing the Centaur model. Employing earth tones, the team crafted textures that embody a rough and hardy aesthetic, evoking the image of a creature well-acquainted with the untamed grasslands and forests of the game's initial area. This intentional choice of textures not only adds visual richness to the Centaur but also contributes to the immersive storytelling of the game's diverse environments. The team's attention to detail in capturing the essence of the character's habitat underscores their commitment to creating visually compelling and thematically cohesive 3D models for Depths of Erendorn. Examples of their accomplished work throughout this week can be explored below.
Programming
Client
During this week, the Client-Side Programming team at Depths of Erendorn continued their focus on fine-tuning the Dry Log system, achieving consistent results from testing various abilities. This process involved further adjustments to several input variables and the resolution of associated errors resulting from these changes. Subsequent to addressing the cascading issues, adjustments were made to the dry test game mode and ability target handling. This modification enables proper testing of multi-target abilities and addresses broken caster animations in the testing environment. The latter part of the week was dedicated to completing the initial setup for fast travel out of the settlement. Future tasks include enhancing how characters are handled and implementing a solution to address unique ID issues during Dry Log generation. Additional work completed by the team can be seen below.
- Fixed UI layering and basic panel functions of fast travel and map panels.
- Added the ability to select destinations belonging to different fast travel networks.
- Updated how the Dry Entity Parameter Type is saved, loaded and used when generating Dry Logs during testing.
- Updated how the Array Parameter type functions to allow it to contain arrays of Dry Entities.
- Added three new Parameter Types that revolve around a similar concept, incrementing values. These Parameter Types are useful for simulating LogIDs, AbilityInstanceIDs, ActiveEffectIDs and other parameters that need to be dynamic but share reference with other Dry Logs. The following parameter types have been added to be used by any log type and are currently applied to Ability, Active Effect and Stat Change logs:
- Incrementor Static - A static variable that is increased whenever it is called upon.
- Incrementor Channel - A variable that takes a specific channel ID and increments this channel when called upon.
- Incrementor Copy Channel - A variable that uses the value stored in the specific channel ID without incrementing it.
Server
During the past week, the Server-Side Programming team at Depths of Erendorn focused on refining critical aspects of the mapping tools and movement code. They successfully addressed bugs that were causing impassable barriers around world chunks during transitions, ensuring a seamless experience. The mapping process was optimised for RAM efficiency, leading to decreased mapping times for each chunk. Substantial updates were applied to the auto-mapping feature, allowing specific mapping phases to be targeted and run. The introduction of data invalidation enables the team to invalidate specific mapping phases on selected chunks for efficient re-mapping using the auto-mapper. Over the weekend, considerable effort was invested in re-mapping the newly playable area and resolving arising issues with the mapping tool. A significant step forward was taken in the movement code by adding a small delay at the start of movements, eliminating the small teleportation issue. Refactoring how interrupted movements were sent to the client and processed further reduced issues related to movement interruptions. Additionally, a bug causing premature movement endings was fixed, addressing teleporting anomalies. Additional work completed by the server-side team can be seen below.
- Fixed an issue with World Chunk loading issues which meant certain areas were not loading correctly.
- Fast travel options no longer include the origin point in the fast travel options list.
- Fixed an issue with object retrieval from the cache.
- Fixed entity inventory handling between sessions.
- Fixed some server config files.
- Fixed progression data handling in sessions.
Environment Art
In our recent week of development, the Environment team at Depths of Erendorn dedicated efforts to enhance the visual impact of the city gate. A significant improvement was made by refining the silhouette, necessitating some meticulous re-modelling for a more striking and cohesive appearance. The team then proceeded to UV map the gate, strategically placing test materials in MAYA to gauge the aesthetic with low stone walls and archways. To further elevate the overall settlement environment, various kit pieces were employed, and a trim sheet was applied to parts of the gate, ensuring a consistent and polished look. Throughout this process, the team actively engaged with iterative updates, including refreshing the trim sheet to achieve the desired visual finesse. These collective efforts signify the team's commitment to refining and enriching the visual elements within Depths of Erendorn's environment. Examples of their accomplished work throughout the week can be explored below.
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Animation
In the latest week of development, the Animation team at Depths of Erendorn made notable strides in refining character movements, particularly focusing on the Knight's generic skills. Leveraging the improved rig, which facilitates better armour placement, the team dedicated efforts to crafting animations and ideas for the Knight's fundamental skills. This encompasses a diverse set of blocking motions and a rallying call, showcasing the team's commitment to creating a dynamic and authentic combat experience. Notably, these animations served as a rigorous test for the enhanced model, involving meticulous adjustments to the model's shoulders to ensure precise and realistic armour positioning. This iterative and detail-oriented approach underscores the team's dedication to bringing lifelike characters and engaging animations to Depths of Erendorn. Examples of their accomplished work throughout the week can be explored below.
Visual Effects
In the recent development efforts, the VFX team at Depths of Erendorn has dedicated substantial work to refining the waterfall fluid system. While acknowledging that it may not be perfect in terms of visual finesse and optimisation, significant strides have been made in achieving the desired functionality. The system now effectively integrates with various meshes and collisions, as demonstrated in the provided video featuring black shapes. With the assurance that the fluid system gracefully follows the contours of any mesh and collision, provided cliffs have colliders, the team has achieved a notable milestone. Although there might be some visual intricacies up close, the system showcases impressive performance and aesthetics when observed from a distance. This progress highlights the team's commitment to both functionality and visual appeal in developing dynamic environmental effects for Depths of Erendorn. A demonstration of their work can be explored in the accompanying video.
That’s it for this week’s devlog, but have you seen our monthly roundup of January yet?!
