This past week, the team continued their work on crucial aspects of Depths of Erendorn, continuing to bring new levels of detail, functionality, and immersion to the game. From refining character models and implementing new visual effects to optimising in-game systems and addressing balance changes, the team’s efforts have been focused on enhancing both the aesthetic and gameplay experience. The 3D Modelling team worked on creating the imposing Minotaur character, while the Set Piece Design team finalised a set of Viking-style tents, and the Animation team planned updates to player animations and introduced new spawn sequences for enemies. Meanwhile, the Client and Server teams worked diligently on improving game functionality, from debugging movement issues to refining account systems and combat mechanics. Additionally, the VFX team reworked key abilities to ensure clearer and more impactful visuals. 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 week, the 3D modelling team at Depths of Erendorn began work on the Minotaur character, using the Lionmen model as a base to expedite its creation. Collaboration with the concept team helped refine the sculpt of the Minotaur's face, with images showcasing the gradual progress toward its current form. In addition to these facial refinements, the team adjusted the overall body proportions, ensuring that the Minotaur stands around eight heads tall, making it slightly taller and more imposing compared to other characters. The final comparison highlights the changes made, contributing to the character's powerful and intimidating presence within the game. Examples of the work completed by the team can be seen below.
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Set Piece Design
This week, the Set Piece Design team at Depths of Erendorn completed a diverse set of four Viking-style tents, each featuring unique elements such as different designs, fabric types, and metal trimmings. These distinct variations not only provide a visual variety but also offer an in-game representation of the tents' relative value, enhancing depth of the game’s world. With these completed, the team has now begun work on modelling carriages, further expanding the range of detailed environmental assets that the team can place across the vast lands of Erendorn. An example of the tents can be seen below.
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Programming
Client
This week, the client team at Depths of Erendorn made notable strides in improving in-game movement functionality within the dry testing environment. While debugging has been challenging, functional (albeit buggy) movement has been achieved. This involved manually generating movement data typically provided by the server, tracing errors, and implementing functions to address these issues. Additional work included creating necessary functions to convert between world space and movement nodes for accurate path setup, though the current positioning and timing still require refinement to reflect in-game movement accurately. Alongside these developments, the team also focused on implementing the ability to create Depths of Erendorn accounts directly within the game and enhancing the overall login process. Additional work completed by the team can be seen below.
- Added a Create Account Widget at login.
- Upgraded how HTTP request responses are formatted/parsed for login and account registration.
- Implemented the handling of HTTP error codes for a better troubleshooting experience for users.
- Began implementing a window for EULA and other agreements required for creating an account.
Server
This week, the server team at Depths of Erendorn focused on implementing a new round of balance changes, with particular attention to the Parakaw and Druid classes. This included reworking abilities such as Frost Missiles and Cursed Ground, which required innovative solutions for server-side combat functionality. Active effects in combat can now have layered children that retain a link to their parent, allowing them to refer back or trigger actions on their parent when necessary. Efficiency improvements were also made to the logic responsible for detecting when players enter or leave trapped areas, ensuring these triggers occur accurately on multi-tiled traps. Alongside these changes, the team also addressed a bug in the Zone Density settings that was causing small enemy groups to spawn incorrectly, which has been temporarily reverted pending further adjustments. Additionally, improvements were made to the account login and registration endpoints to provide clearer feedback to the client, and the cluster name of servers was added to users' tokens. Lastly, the post-adventure movement bug was fixed, contributing to smoother gameplay and reducing disruptions during testing.
Animation
This week, the Animation team at Depths of Erendorn focused on planning updates to player character animations to enhance fluidity and responsiveness in movement. Alongside this, work began on adding spawn animations for several enemies, bringing more life and dynamic action to the game’s world. These new animations will add to the immersion, ensuring that both player interactions and enemy encounters feel more engaging as players journey through Erendorn’s evolving environments. An example of the animation completed by the team can be seen below.
Visual Effects
This week, the VFX team at Depths of Erendorn focused on reworking key abilities to improve visual clarity and gameplay impact. The Cursed Ground ability was revamped into a 2x2 lingering ground AOE effect, featuring an OnRemove state, which enhances both its tactical utility and visual feedback during combat. Additionally, Frost Missiles was reworked to directly hit the target rather than acting as another projectile, streamlining the effect and providing a more immediate and satisfying response. An example of the work completed by the team can be seen below.
That’s it for this week’s devlog, but have you seen our monthly roundup of August yet?!
