Devlog

[superjack]

Looks cool, but really disagreeing with not copying the spellset system though.

[Quentin]

Well, it's not set in stone yet, it's still very prototypish. But i already wrote quite a bit about why i think it's superior in the "Spellbar-Hotkey-System" thread. I'm open for suggestions/discussion though.

Bottom line is mouse scrolling sucks as it's unreliable in most mice. Accessing more than 25 spells means you need bigger bars or access it with 1-9/weird custom keys. That's where the Nox spellbar system collapses in my opinion, especially if you want to keep it somewhat beginner friendly.

[superjack]

Then think of another way to get 25 spell possibility, fair enough. In original NoX many players used E & Q to switch spellsets anyway. But whatever you do, please at least make it a legacy option to use the original system, because I'm fairly sure the oldschool nox players would use that. And if that's a wombat for you - I'll pay you for it myself, lol.

[Quentin]

Sure, if players want 5x5 spellbars i can make them optionally, that wouldn't be a problem. The problem is i want to support more than 25 useful spells. That means you would be at a disadvantage using a 25 spellset. (:

[superjack]

Let's see about that, then

[Quentin]

Spent quite some time on trying to make roofs happen but there are a few edge cases i can't solve. I really would like them as they do improve the overall graphics quality quite a lot; a flat black roof just doesn't look very good.

Edge cases:

1) Doors: roof visiblity needs to be based on the door state or you won't be able to look into a room with an open door while standing further away. I can't think of a good way to do that without looking bad.

2) Because the camera looks from above at an angle the roof blocks even more visibility than the LOS system. That means the roof also needs to become transparent based on its height. I feel like at this point roofs would be more transparent than opaque, rendering the whole thing borderline useless.

Other than that i'm still working on the combat system with functional warrior bots as next step.

[Quentin]

Progress is slow atm, currently getting used to C++ and the UE4 ability system which is a bit complex but supports proper prediction & rollback.

Also still thinking about how to handle weapon collision vs. static objects. My first thought was just to abort the attack on hitting anything static (mana crystals / walls) for the most realistic effect but that creates a problem if another player stands directly in front of a wall while you attack at an angle which causes the attack to abort before hitting the player. Feels pretty shitty.

[Quentin]

One year status update

Overall progress is ok but slowed down in the last few months.
Currently i'm taking a break and try to finish a side project of mine but i'm still doing a bit of work on Project Glaurung in between.

TBH, multiplayer tired me out a bit, i've read almost every article on the internet about it and the conclusion isn't pretty. The problem is physics, it's next to impossible to do with client-side prediction in UE4. This topic is a black hole and i spent a lot of time researching. Either i'll find a workaround or physics will have to be cut.

Realistically it will take another year to make a somewhat playable multiplayer alpha.

Current big picture roadmap:
- getting used to the ability system and implement a few basic spells
- have the ability system working flawlessly in multiplayer
- tighten up the warrior attack animations a lot
- implement a somewhat competent AI to playtest with

Estate (new mana stones)
https://i.imgur.com/p3nVpE4.png

Druid
https://i.imgur.com/N6N2nwS.png

[Quentin]

Added a nox-like minimap, footstep sounds based on ground type and turn-in-place animations (just rotating the character without animation looks hideous in 3d, especially in a more realistic artstyle)

[Quentin]

Added many sound effects, nox-like weapon cooldown, multiplayer chat (chatbox and chat bubbles). Currently working on replication to get multiplayer going.