There's been a lot going on behind the scenes recently that we'd like to fill you in on. I've probably mentioned about half of this to about half of you, but I'd like to give you a more comprehensive review of where we're at. Here goes.
- (1) What's going on in development?
Well, as y'all know, we've had two significant updates recently, and are hard at work on a third.
- First, the Bazaar, which seems to be working very well, and finally enables something of an economy to get going. The economy hasn't quite settled in yet, and there are a few more things to do, but it's in good enough shape to leave as-is until after Beta--all the important structures are in place.
- Second, the PvP system which we've created in the last couple days. We have had a growing PvP problem in the game which we hadn't anticipated, but it brought our attention to the need to create a solid system that would allow (even encourage) PvP combat, and yet ensure that there were consequences for excessive PKing. We sat down on Monday and put a lot of thought into the problem, and it looks like our work is going to pay off: we have a working alignment system which looks like it's pretty close to how it's going to stay, and we even worked in a /ignore command. This being Alpha, there are a few small things that need to be fixed, and the balancing may well need a little tweaking (e.g., how much alignment per kill you lose, how quickly you gain it back), so give us your feedback over on the Alignment update post.
- Third, the Item update is coming along well. This one has been difficult and slow, but we're taking our time so that we only have to do it once. The update will be a completely new item system. We've designed: a prop system much like Xenimus's; a system of determining item drop that is complex enough to produce interesting results and very customizable, but very simple to adjust for when we need to change it; a coherent and expansive item set, extending out well past the items we'll need for Beta. Right now we're finishing up with the item names and properties. This update will be released with the Mystery Update (number 3 below).
- (2) What's up next?
We've got a handful of big updates that need to happen between now and Beta.
- One, the Critical Bug update. Karl's taking a look at some of the bugs that have been persistent in Evidyon, notably the problems with Vista, the freeze-at-log-on bug, and the BSOD bug. Because one factor contributing to some of the bugs is the way in which the map is stored, he is reworking the map code as well. Although this should help kill the bugs and will allow us to do some very interesting things with the map that we can't do right now (e.g., transable building walls, fog, pits), it's a very big project that could take up a lot of time for a minimal result--after all the map works right now, just not as well as it could. Therefore, the solutions to these bugs will be developed in parallel with the tasks mentioned below and released as they are completed. At the very latest they will be completed along with the fourth item, the clean-up update.
- Two, Quests. This is like the Alignment system: something we can't go into Beta without. We don't want to end up like Xenimus, with a hacked-together quest system that is boring and doesn't work half the time. We also promise to make the quests more interesting than "Go Kill 10 Bugs" (even if there are a few of those here and there
). - Three, Mystery Update! This one's gonna be good.
It's another central part of the game like the Quests or Alignment, but it's not quite like any other game that we can think of that's out there. Since this feature is so unique, we don't want to give too many specifics until it's closer to being released. The new item set will be released at this point. - Four, Clean Up. We need to clean house, fix all those little irritating things that have been hanging around but never fixed, so that we can go into Beta with a clean game that runs smoothly. This will clean up the code, unify the GUI, fix most of the small bugs and issues, and include some development tools that will allow us to create content more easily so that we can put out a lot of good content quickly between this point and the commercial release. Any critical bugs still in the game will be fixed with this update.
- Five, Balancing Week. We're planning a week or so of rapid-fire mini-updates in which we check our numbers over and over again so that we can go into Beta with something that players like. This will be the point at which we really look at the class, stat, and monster balances and try to get them as close as we can to perfect before Beta.
- (3) What's Beta going to be like?
We're planning to release Beta at the end of July. This is just an estimate and may change, but we're confident we can finish everything we need to before then. So what will Beta include?
- New content: A new (or significantly updated) map with plenty to do; new quests; new NPCs; new monsters; new artwork; new classes; new spells and abilities; new races; more levels; more items. Evidyon will be a completely playable game.
- Better server. We're a little tight for cash right now, but we'll be upgrading to a far better server for Beta so all these damned problems go away.
- New website. Awesome website with a big DOWNLOAD button. This brings us to:
- Public. Invite everybody! We expect to have many more players in Beta, and will be busy inviting everybody we can to come and check out the game. Alpha is boring and small; Beta will be a hella lot of fun and big.
- Character wipe. We had thought we could get away with not wiping characters at Beta, but we've realized that we're going to have to. Here's why: when we got down to design this big item update we've been working on we realized just how much of a mess the game is right now. It's sloppy, nothing makes sense with anything else, there's no design to the game. Everything that's in-game right now was just created at the last minute to test whatever code Karl had turned out for that particular update, and none of it is fit for a public game. So a good majority of the work that we'll be doing before Beta is designing the game as a whole, and the game we have at Beta will only bear a surface resemblance to the mess we have now. It wouldn't make much sense, then, to start everybody out 25 levels in. 25 Beta-levels aren't even going to be comparable to 25 Alpha-levels. It will be much better if everybody starts out at the bottom and can experience the new game from the ground up, especially since we're going public with Beta and want everybody to come in at the same level.
- As a thank-you to all you Alpha testers active at the time we release Beta, we'll be giving each of you a special item for Beta: a Ring of the Ancients, which will give you +1 to every attribute and never drop on death (although in all other respects it will behave like any other item--i.e., you'll be able to drop it manually, sacrifice it for geonite, sell it in the bazaar, trade it, store it, &c.). Also, we'll be designing a high-level Shrine of the Ancients which will have tombstones with one character name from each active Alpha tester. So y'all will still have your glory and honor, and a pretty easy time leveling back up quickly between your experience playing Evidyon and the Ring of the Ancients.
- (4) And then what?
Once we release Beta, Evidyon will be very near to being ready for commercial release. First we'll go back and clean up any lingering issues from Alpha, but most of what we'll be doing during Beta is just designing more and more content and adding it to the game and advertising so that more and more players join. We'll also (of course) be fixing any last bugs that pop up, and paying close attention to all those balancing issues so that we have a kick-bum game ready when we decide to go commercial. Once we have enough in the game that we feel we're justified in charging money for it, we'll release Commercial. Much like going into Beta, Commercial will include a significant content update, with more levels, maps, monsters, &c.; unlike going into Beta, there will be neither a character wipe nor an item wipe, so anything you accomplish in Beta will persist into Commercial release.
Best,
Joe M.
but ill be on today while she's at work, if i aint watching my series.