In our 300th weekly devlog, the Depths of Erendorn team made impressive strides across all facets of development, pushing forward on critical gameplay enhancements and visual refinements for our online RPG. The 3D Modelling team finalised the sculpting of the Minotaur's armoured variants, transitioning to retopologising and optimisation to ensure these imposing models maintain high visual fidelity without compromising performance. On the Client side, efforts focused on refining last week's optimisations, addressing landscape deformation issues, and advancing the functionality for players to enter dungeons seamlessly from the open world. The Server team tackled crash fixes and message format consistency for the new dungeon system, while also implementing significant inter-server communication improvements to reduce lag in combat and exploration. The Sound team recorded fresh audio for abilities, crafted impactful new combat sounds, and heightened the immersive brutality of close-quarters combat. Meanwhile, the Animation team refined character actions and began transferring generic animations across classes for greater consistency, while the VFX team balanced spell visuals, addressing lighting issues and enhancing the clarity and impact of abilities. 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
This past week, the 3D Modelling team at Depths of Erendorn completed the sculpting of the armoured Minotaur variants, adding intricate details to enhance the imposing presence of this creature in-game. Following the sculpting phase, efforts have now shifted to retopologising and optimising these models, ensuring they are efficient for real-time rendering without sacrificing detail. This work is essential in maintaining high performance while preserving the visual fidelity of the Minotaur, making it a formidable sight within the world of Erendorn.
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Programming
Client
This past week, the Client team at Depths of Erendorn focused on refining and testing the optimisations implemented in the previous week to ensure smooth gameplay performance. Alongside these improvements, the team addressed a few build issues that arose due to landscape deformation patches, resolving them to maintain stability and visual consistency in the game world. Work also progressed on implementing the functionality for players to enter dungeons directly from the open world, an addition that will enhance exploration and immersion as players venture into more challenging environments. These updates, though primarily technical, are essential steps in ensuring a polished and engaging experience for players.
Server
Over the past week, the Server team at Depths of Erendorn made substantial progress in enhancing gameplay performance and functionality. The Void Flicker ability was finalised, now fully benefiting from the newly implemented functionality that applies to all abilities. Following this, the team addressed several crash issues related to ballots in the new dungeon system, collaborating closely with the Client team to ensure that messages were being sent in the correct format for the new dungeon style. Additionally, work focused on optimising Active Effect Trigger messages by reducing unnecessary data; specifically, logic was introduced to eliminate messages for triggers that do not have a material impact on gameplay, improving efficiency. Previously, efforts were directed at refining inter-server communication to mitigate lag in combat and adventure sessions, especially as player numbers increased. This involved increasing message size to reduce the number of updates sent, optimising combat update frequencies, and refactoring how updates are distributed. Instead of sending individual combat updates to each player, a single message is now sent to the player server, which then distributes it to all players, significantly reducing lag. NPC movement updates were also streamlined to prevent unnecessary end-movement messages, addressing spikes in message traffic that previously choked inter-server connections. These optimisations have markedly improved gameplay fluidity, particularly during combat-heavy scenarios, although further refinements are ongoing to perfect this experience.
Sound Design
Last week, the Sound team at Depths of Erendorn dedicated time to recording fresh source material for a range of abilities, ensuring a robust library of raw audio to draw from in future designs. New base magic effects were also crafted, designed to be versatile for use across multiple abilities or as reworks where needed. Additionally, the team created several new combat sounds, with particular emphasis on enhancing the impact and crunch elements to add intensity. This was exemplified in the new Elbow Smash ability, where the updated sound design reinforces the raw, brutal feel of close combat. While some older sound assets remain suitable for early-level encounters, these new additions aim to bring a heightened sense of power and immersion to physical and magical attacks alike, enhancing the visceral quality of in-game battles.
Animation
This past week, the Animation team at Depths of Erendorn focused on refining and updating various animations to enhance fluidity and realism. Alongside these improvements, work began on transferring animations to other character classes, with particular attention to generic animations that can be universally applied. This process will streamline animation consistency across different character types, ensuring that movements and actions maintain a cohesive quality throughout the game. These updates are pivotal in elevating the visual experience, making character interactions in Depths of Erendorn feel more dynamic and immersive. Examples of the work completed by the team can be seen below.
Visual Effects
Last week, the VFX team at Depths of Erendorn focused on an initial balance pass for spells and abilities, refining their visual effects to enhance gameplay immersion and clarity. The team successfully completed updates on Quick Strike and Incision, ensuring these abilities are visually impactful yet balanced in their presentation. Additionally, adjustments were made to the Level Up effect, adding finer details and modifying colour intensities to ensure it harmonises with the game’s lighting. This change addresses issues where certain effects appeared overly bright under certain conditions, achieving a more consistent and visually pleasing experience. These refinements collectively contribute to a more polished and immersive journey for players as they explore the world of Erendorn.
That’s it for this week’s devlog, but have you seen our monthly roundup of September yet?!
