In the past week, the teams at Depths of Erendorn have shown remarkable progress in various aspects of game development. The 3D modelling team is in the final stages of sculpting the agility set of armour, preparing for refinement, retopology, and texturing while focusing on completing the agility set. The client-side team has been refining the Help Book systems, enhancing tab navigation, and streamlining UI element closures for a smoother player experience. The server team improved Nav Data and addressed connectivity issues, resulting in more efficient code and better prediction in the client. Despite engine issues, the sound team worked on UI sounds and ambiance recordings, while the environment team continued constructing the Viking-inspired settlement, crafting dragon figurines and expanding the Viking trim sheet. These collective efforts demonstrate the dedication and progress within Depths of Erendorn's development. 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 has made substantial progress in character design throughout the past week. They are nearing the completion of the sculpting phase, with only final details left to be added. Following this, the team will transition to the refinement stage, where they will fine-tune the model. After refinement, the focus will shift towards retopology and unwrapping the model to ensure optimal mesh topology for animation and rendering. Subsequently, the team will proceed with texturing the model, adding depth and realism to its appearance. Examples of the progress made on the agility set can be seen below.
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Programming
Client
This week has been focused some more on the help book systems, including some adjustments to displaying popups and improvements to tab navigation. Additionally, there's been an overhaul of how we handle the closing of UI elements, such as the inventory, dialogue and vendors etc. This has cut down on the logic steps used and lets us better tackle case issues more directly. With this came the fixing of broken movement after exiting the help book, and persistent context menus after exiting the inventory. Finally, the team worked on fixing a bug preventing Combats from starting correctly, improving update log readability and improvements to the Help Book tutorial pages layout and content. Examples of other work completed by the client-side team can be seen below.
- Fixed a bug where Combat Updates were being lost during setup if the Updater was backed up with other updates. Updates received during high traffic moments now correctly queue Steps so nothing gets missed.
- Improved how all updates are tracked and logged in the Client. This means that as developers we can more easily follow an update through each process; from when it is received via the Server, to execution and until destruction.
- Added new pages for the Help Book.
- Updated Help Book content layout to allow easier reordering and bring all content pages together visually.
Server
This week, the server team had a little tweaking of Nav Data to do, namely on where the co-ordinates of valid event spawn locations are stored on the server and a few more minor things. The result is more efficient code and a few edge cases have been dealt with. Prediction in the client, which was used to determine where to path from, has improved significantly. It was previously causing many weirdly formed movements and it felt 'janky'. With the changes this has improved a lot. The bulk of the work this week, however, has been adding a few new features to the editor software we use to tweak the behaviour of enemy AI. The first enemy to benefit from this was Droval Scavengers, who can now sprint at specifically the right time to always make it into melee range with their spears on the turn they sprint, and not waste it by casting it on cooldown for no reason. More work by the server-team can be seen below.
- Connectivity issues on our latest server cluster have been resolved.
- GetNearestTile has been improved leading to faster combat starts with no freezing.
- Improved efficiency of our connection code.
Sound Design
In the past week, the sound team at Depths of Erendorn encountered engine issues, but with the programming team's assistance, they worked towards resolving them to maintain their workflow. Despite the challenges, they managed to make progress on requested UI sounds, responding to the User Interface team's needs. This included crafting a menu pop-up sound for tutorials, offering two variations, one with a whooshing element and one without. They also worked on pen scratching sounds for quest logs, although these are still in the early stages and may evolve alongside visual implementations. Additionally, the team took advantage of their surroundings, editing general ambiance recordings to enhance the game's auditory atmosphere, making productive use of the tranquil countryside setting. Examples of the work completed by the team can be seen below.
Environment Art
Throughout the past week, the environment team at Depths of Erendorn has diligently advanced their work on the settlement kit construction. They've made significant strides by crafting the base shape for small, low-poly dragon head figurines intended to adorn the edges of buildings, adding an intriguing and thematic touch to the architecture. Additionally, the team has designed various kit pieces, including windows and wall structures, experimenting with diverse structure sizes and shapes to enhance the visual variety of buildings within the game world. Notably, their Viking trim sheet has seen substantial progress, now incorporating ornate pieces that promise to bring authenticity and detail to the settlement's aesthetic. Examples of the work completed throughout the week can be seen below.
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Animation
During the past week, the animation team at Depths of Erendorn focused on refining character animations for a more seamless gaming experience. For the Human Female Ranger, they adjusted the rig and skinning due to discrepancies caused by a recent update to the female rig, successfully reimporting it into the engine. They also added cloth physics to the character's cape, enhancing its visual realism. Animations for combat idle and bow attacks were meticulously created for the Human Female Ranger and subsequently imported into the engine. In the case of the Twilight Elf character, the team began addressing animation challenges related to the lower body back cloth, ensuring it moves naturally instead of remaining rigid. While addressing skin weight and bone placement issues on cloth parts, they contemplated a potential rig update to resolve these concerns. The animation team also continued their work on cleaning and organising raw animation files and folders, contributing to the overall animation refinement process. Examples of some of the work completed by the 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 August yet?!
