AQWorlds
Artix Krieger
| Sunday, October 6, 2024
Our history is being written now. Be a part of this new game's story by reading along this week's daily updates.
If you have not read the last post... please do! It is a good one.
How was your weekend? Hope it was adventure filled. I have some stories for you from mine.... not entirely sure I should post them. I made a huge mistake at the martial arts camp & black belt testing. O_O. Really bad. In fact, they removed an entire drill from the curriculum as a result. But first, how about we catch up on AdventureQuest Worlds: Infinity?
Today's full team sync was intense. We are aiming to conduct the next Tech Demo ASAP. Embracing 100% transparency, we wanted it to be an ultra smooth perfect experience. But that is not going to happen. With a few systems still behind schedule, we are going to focus the test on just two things -- the Mage Class and Bludrut Keep's first floor quests.
I will post time & day info for the Tech Demo here, so be sure to check back daily.
A lot of bugs were fixed since the last post. Spider has been making incredible progress through the combat list. Which includes the FX sizing issue as seen in the screenshot above. Every screen in AQWorlds can have a unique size and scale. That is how you can walk from a zoomed out shot to the cozy and tight interior of a cave in the same map. The characters, npcs, monsters, FX, and even walk speed need to be adjusted on each screen to match it. Compared to the server sync parts of combat, the sizing stuff is trivial to someone of Spider's skill. But our game is very art focused so this sort of detail work is extremely important.
Ghost just has one more change to make to the Mage Class's Ice Skill. Warlic also carved through the massive list of quest issues. As a result, we now have a few new issues... including this "triple up" of notification messages. (As seen in the GIF below)
Are you REALLY sure I opened that door?
It is like the quest version of pop up ads XD
In the Gif above, the quest objective, a machine notification, and the quest complete indicator are all firing at the same time. (Whoops!) What is good about this, is that they are all working. LOL. Quests that have a single objective should just show the quest complete in the middle of the screen and automatically give you your new quest. This is on giant "fix it list" (With a horde of other strange issues)\
Nulgath completed all of the Bludrut monsters and has been working waaaaay ahead of us. Same as J6 is ahead with the new maps.
A shadow of his former self
There are two ways we are animating monsters in AQWorlds Infinity. One way is similar to how we animated in the original AQWorlds. Every piece is seperate... which is more powerful, but not as good for performance because of how many draw calls is creates. The other is using Unity's skinned mesh renderer which is incredibly good for performance. The second one also lets us export "skins" for monster animations. Useful for things like Frogzard's which share the same animations.
Here is the anatomy of a Frogzard.... (Particle FX sold seperately)
When animated they look great!
Mage Mana Mania
Serious question: Is there even a reason to get stronger if you start off all-powerful? Long time players of AQWorlds are really, really, really strong. Thanks to crazy gear, a horribly broken LUK stat, and classes that are so OP that the game servers buckle under the sheer magnitude of your DPS... you guys show up as Super Saiyan 9 if looked at through a power meter. AQWorlds Infinity will have a separate level. So your character will have one level in the existing AQWorlds and one in Infinity. We are pretty scared that it will feel bad going from Hero to lvl Zero for the next tech demo. Also, when is the last time you needed to worry about things like... running out of mana?
I have played a few different versions of Mage these past two weeks and here are my comments.
Bludrut Progress
Reens and I ran through the first floor today with the new quest changes. There is a lot more to do. All of the cutscenes need re-done with the new system. I feel bad, this is the 4th or 5th time she had to redo one of the cutscenes. We are going to get started early tomorrow. Even if the cutscenes are not perfect, it can still be a solid tech demo as long as the quests flow. There is also a Bludrut Key weapon we made that we can use as reward that testers can take back to the existing AQWorlds (I hope). Wish us luck!
OK... I did not expect to write a post this long today. #ThankYouForComingToMyTedTalk. Come back tomorrow for that martial arts story.
The Pressure Cooker
In Discord, I said today was a "Pressure cooker day on Infinity." One of my buddies thought we were literally making a pressure cooker item for the game. In his defense he was very hungry. We started early. When I am completely overwhelmed (which I certainly was today) my strategy is often to just... start at the end.
This is the literal end of Bludrut's 1st floor
The Bludrut Blade... was a lie!
It turns out, there has never actually been a Bludrut Blade. The sword found in Bludrut Keep was actually the Groglurk's Sword. #WhatATwist This gives us a unique opportunity. When we finally reach the final level of this dungeon... we can reward you with the real, true, honest to goodness "Bludrut Blade." At least, we can after someone designs it O_O. But no pressure there... we hit so many bugs in the quests & cutscene issues for the first floor that I am sweating just writing you this update post.
Getting the Cold Shoulder on Mage
I have been getting warnings from the team that I am violating my 80/20 rule with all of the Mage class changes I have been sneaking in. That rule is 80% the same and 20% better. The problem with making too many changes is that it sets a slippery slope & unrealistic standard for converting 100+ classes when we are also going to be introducing those fancy new infinity classes. The last message I got sorta felt like getting a note telling me that I have to go to the Principal's office XD. They are right of course. It will be hard to balance if we detour too far from the way things are in AQWorlds.
Getting through these first 4 base classes is a vital moment in this game's design. It will be the foundation by which other things are balanced by. It is weird that mage went first. Giving it a ranged auto attack is a really nice upgrade. The mana shield restoring your mana works really well too.
How about that Ice spell?
Ghost has been eagerly waiting on the new ice attack. The current one is too long and thin. It looks like the magic missles. J6 is out sick. So Aranx stepped up to make the shard. It is common to Google-fu images for inspiration.... then draw a stick figure of what I would like.
Check out the actual process of this art being created below...
An hour or so later Aranx sent these.... O_O
Then Aranx improved it even more!!! O_O
I was absolutely blown away. It looks gorgeous.
So I sent this request for the "Freeze in place" FX
#NoPressure
See why I am getting in trouble for last minute Mage changes?
But OMG this is going to be so awesome! If you cast your Ice spell, and your target is at 100% health, it will attempt to freeze it in place for a few seconds. It is a good opening attack because you can use your long range magic to get a few hits before the monster charges you.
"Smell what the Rock Elemental is cooking"
It probably smells like Rock Lobster or Rock Candy
Each floor of Bludrut keep has a different cursed elemental boss fight. Reens moved the dramatic cutscene from the original story to just after this fight. The cutscene reveals why the Spirit Hunter is actually in this dungeon. Of course... our ever changing codebase corrupted that cutscene... repeatedly. She has rebuilt it over 4 times now. We are also still making changes to the quest system. There is a magic to having a deadline.... it puts you in the pressure cooker. Things that work... flow like magic. Things that have issues... crumble like like that Rock Elemental when hit with a fireball. But the deadline forces you to deal with those issues-- quickly. There is no way this is going to look the way it needs to in the next 24 hours. So I have a good idea.
Stability Test (Tech Demo)
We have been making so many changes to combat, quests, and everything else... how about we run a Mage class & game client stability test first? This would be a tech demo just to make sure all the things we changed are working prior to releasing Bludrut. Not only is it a great way to stall for more development time while still letting testers hop on the game.... it is probably a pretty smart idea. This way we can find & fix combat and multiplayer bugs before introducing all of the new bugs in Bludrut XD. Let me know if you are down for a test this week. Probably Thursday. I will confirm it if it happening in tomorrow's post.
P.S. Oh gosh, I owe you that martial arts story....
TECH DEMO TOMORROW!
Mage Class & Combat Stability Testing
We are trying not to get cold feet about the test... but just watch how the Mage class's new ice spell causes cold feet!
Details about the Mage & Combat Stability Tech Demo
There will be an Infinity test tomorrow (Thursday, October 3rd) sometime between noon and 4pm EST. The primary reason for this test is to check the game's stability to prepare us for the upcoming tests. We have changed a lot of things (and we are still making changes tonight) and do expect there to be significant bugs and issues. We invite players who became and AQWorlds upholder this October, or last October.... (who are brave enough to face whatever horrible bugs await...) to join this test. Just to set expectations properly, it is entirely possible that things break so bad that the server will only be up for a few minutes. If things do go smoothly (unlikely) we will do what we did last time and try to keep the servers up late so players can join us when they get back from work on the other coast. But if you cannot make this test, do not sweat it. This is just a stability test. There will be no special rewards or items to take away from this test-- other than the trauma from the bugs.
Yesterday I posted this pic..... here is what Aranx did.
#ItLooksVeryIce
Testing Mage Class
Mage class, which is the first of the base classes to be ready for testing will be front and center. You and all players in the test will be using this class. Yorumi added some code that will automatically give you all of the mage skills now matter what class you actually are. All of the skill changes we talked about in the previous posts have been implimented. Jongaar, Immortal Joe, and I just finished adding sound fx to it before I started writing this post. We eagerly await your feedback on the class. In previous tests we tested DragonSlayer and Umbra which were pretty beastly classes. Mage is a base class. So it is no where near as powerful. You will have to experiment and learn how to play this new variant of the class to keep your mana levels high...and continue dishing out those larger spells. When you test this class, imagine you are a brand new player to the game. Seeing the class with a "beginners mind" and giving us your feelings will be the most helpful to team.
Bludrut will not be open for this test
Do not worry, it is not going to hurt the Groglurk's feelings. (The Groglurk is already grumpy.)
How will the test work?
Tomorrow, I will make an official tech Demo post with instructions on how to join the test. It will work the same as the last ones. If you meet the requirements, you will be able to download the game from AQWorld's account management page. Once again, lower your expectations for this test-- it is just a stability test. Thank you to anyone who does choose to join. ... and cross your fingers/claws/tentacles that it goes smoothly. #progress
Coming soon.... "Maybe. Just maybe." "Yup, definately"
Tech Demo in the early afternoon EST.
OK, this is funny / not funny. Last weekend was a martial arts camp + black belt test. There is this warm up drill we do called "SHOULDERS & KNEES!" In this drill you square off in fighting stance and attempt to touch your opponents shoulders or knees. It helps teach footwork and maintaining the right punching distance... and is pretty good cardio. We were asked to partner up. Of course I chose the top ranked, highest belt in the school to be my partner. And then it happened. On this first drill... on the first move.... he shot his jabbing hand forward and I parried... his thumb flew into his eye where his thumbnail cut the side of his eyeball. #OOOUUUUCHHHH (Was that the real life version of the Paladin thorns skill?)
Just like that he was unable to do the rest of the training.... off to the docs and out for the rest of camp. I felt absolutely terrible. Still do. It gets worse. He was the highest rank person there and supposed to prepare the Black Belt candidates ready for their test the next day. Grandmaster Jeff Smith (7 time world kickboxing champion and pretty important guy in the martial arts world... I mean, the guy would literally go over to Jhoon Rhee's house and eat dinner with Bruce Lee back in the day ) was there because the owner of our school was testing. As a result of that they decided to remove that drill from the school all together. So, my single deadly block just removed this drill we did every day from the school. /facepalms
With a new partner, we started the SECOND drill. This one was to get in grappling range and try to untuck the back of your opponents shirt from their belt. My opponent was another one of the instructors. On my first move.... #sighs... I ripped the back of his shirt off.
Stop laughing. It is not funny. Look, historically speaking... I am one of the safest people to train with. In several decades of training there are only TWO incidents that I am ashamed to say caused any sort of injury. Naturally Grandmaster Smith was there for the other one too. X_X. Did you ever irredeemably screw up multiple times in front of someone that was very important to your peers? There is only one thing you can do in this situation. That is to keep going and do the very best you can. So I helped prepare the candidates with the other instructors. (I have been checking in on my friend with the eye and am happy to say he is mostly recovered and back to normal as of this post.) That was hardly the only injury of the weekend. Black belt tests at this school (Krav Maga + Kickboxing) are notoriously filled with blood, tears, and teeth. (No teeth were lost in this black belt testing) The first hour of the actual black belt test is purposefully designed to exhaust you and run you into the ground. The next few hours are to test the quality of your technique under that level of exhaustion. The most exciting part to witness are the "stress drills." In these drills the candidates do 9 kickboxing sets (in memorized order) against a pad holder while they are randomly attacked by chokes, knifes, sticks, guns, headlocks, take-downs, and all other manner of attacks. As soon as they properly handle the attack they go right back to their next kickboxing set. It is fascinating to watch. Easier to watch if you did not get any eyes poked in the warm up drills X_X.
Looking forward to the next time Grandmaster Smith visits... will give the hospitals a heads up first.
The Tech Demo will be up and running through the weekend.
