This week in the development of Depths of Erendorn, various teams showcased their ongoing dedication to enhancing the game across multiple aspects. The 3D Modelling team embarked on texturing a visually captivating armour set, employing a striking combination of gold and blue. The Client-Side team concentrated on finalising tutorial help pages, implementing shoot animations and projectiles for ranged characters, and addressing several UI bugs, refining the player experience. In the audio domain, the Sound team fine-tuned vocals and abilities, enriching the auditory landscape, and continued their work on magic effects, aligning them with level 3 abilities. The Environment team focused on crafting immersive, multi-story structures, while the Animation team prepared the main bipedal rig for future updates and polished Dwarf character animations. Together, these efforts underscore the ongoing commitment to enhancing Depths of Erendorn across its visual, gameplay, and auditory dimensions. 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
The 3D Modelling team at Depths of Erendorn embarked on the texturing phase for a distinctive set of armour, employing a captivating combination of gold and blue to create a visually striking appearance. Their creative endeavour is set to continue in the upcoming week, reflecting their dedication to crafting visually impressive and unique assets for the game. This work is a testament to the team's commitment to enhancing the overall visual quality of Depths of Erendorn. An example of the work completed by the team throughout the week can be seen below.
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Programming
Client
This week has been about finishing the tutorial help pages, implementing shoot animations and projectiles for ranged characters as well as fixing a number of UI bugs. Examples of the work completed by the client-side team can be seen below.
- Rolled back some changes to the progression system to add in new header artwork and adjust how they're displayed.
- Fixed the layout of the stat panel in the inventory so that stats are arranged so as to avoid allotting space for unused and hidden stats.
- Updated artwork in the help book.
- Fixed launching onto the wrong intro page in the help book.
- Fixed wrong pages displaying in the help book.
- Improved Tutorial Help Page text, layout and ordering.
- Tested Tutorial Triggers and their saving.
- Added the ability for bow using characters to fire projectiles and spawn hit VFX in basic attacks.
- Updated stat panel toggle layout and show button.
- Fixed a bug preventing enemies from showing hover and aggro outlines if they join a combat after the initial start.
- Updated the "Select spawn tile" layout and triggers to ensure the message shows while spawning is possible.
Server
This week the server team has been fixing some final bugs before our major development milestone. This included further optimisations to ranged enemy AI to allow them to more efficiently choose a path, and not 'shuffle on the spot' between a few tiles that happened to be equidistant to their target. The team fixed a bug with dungeon entrances which caused the players to be returned to the wrong location after completing a dungeon. The players were being sent back to the adventure start location and not the dungeon entrance. A separate bug that enabled players to move onto the same tile as one another if they requested a movement at the same time has also been resolved.
The team would also spend time working on the new Inventory code for our next milestone. Player Inventories will now have multiple containers, a long term storage available in hub/settlement areas and an Active inventory container that you take with you as you adventure, this container has your equipped gear, any consumables and spare equipment you want to take with you as you adventure as well as any loot you acquire on your journey. The space in this container is limited, alongside this, the code has been started that will make loot drop into a container from events and combats, as a result the looting experience will be in a more traditional and interactive manner instead of having it be handled by putting loot automatically into an inaccessible place which is then granted in the settlement. Loot will now be usable and immediately available in the players active inventory. The container code for loot is not yet implemented but the inventory management code has been as well as item equipping and unequipping. Finally, the foundation code for having consumables and items being usable has been started.
Sound Design
With the game engine back in operation, the Sound team at Depths of Erendorn has been diligently fine-tuning various elements to enrich the player experience. This involves minor adjustments to the volume and attenuation of character vocals and abilities for both player characters and enemies, ensuring a well-balanced and immersive auditory environment. Furthermore, the team has continued their work on magic effects, primarily focusing on level 3 abilities initially designed by the VFX team. While these effects are presently of a more generic nature, they are inspired by visual elements and are planned for redesign to align them with specific abilities as soon as the current build adjustments are complete. Examples of the work completed by the sound team can be seen below.
Environment Art
During the past week, the Environment team at Depths of Erendorn focused on creating a more immersive and functional building for players to explore. This endeavour began with adding characters to the environment for scale and developing a multi-story layout. The introduction of multiple stories not only adds variety and visual interest but also enhances the functionality and character of in-game structures. In this pursuit, the size of the building was significantly increased, roughly doubling its original dimensions. Furthermore, the Viking roof shape underwent a complete redesign to align with the aesthetics of a traditional Viking longhouse. Structural elements like beams and joists were meticulously incorporated to enhance visual authenticity and create a physically believable structure. The team added a second floor to expand the building's functionality and also introduced a balcony, still a work in progress. Ongoing work includes the design of roof windows and the addition of a mezzanine on the first floor, which leads out onto the balcony, further enhancing the immersive quality of the environment. Examples of the work completed by the environment team can be seen below.
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Animation
The Animation team at Depths of Erendorn has been actively working on preparations for future updates, primarily centered around the main bipedal rig. They have engaged in planning and experimentation to ensure the rig's readiness for upcoming developments, emphasising the team's forward-thinking approach to game enhancements. Additionally, the team dedicated efforts to refine various animations for the Dwarf characters. This work involved adjustments and cleaning, followed by the exporting of these animations, highlighting their commitment to ensuring smooth character movements and maintaining animation quality throughout the game's development. Examples of the work completed by the animation team can be seen below.
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That’s it for this week’s devlog, but have you seen our monthly roundup of September yet?!
