Welcome back to another Depths of Erendorn game devlog! So many exciting features have been added to the Game Client this week that the virtual stars are beginning to align; and with four new animations created for our stoic Earthen Dwarf, it’s a game devlog you won’t want to miss!
3D Character Modelling
After noticing that there was an issue with the mouth topology on the Human and Elf base meshes, our Character Artist spent much of this week fixing this issue in order to ensure deformation. The following have been changed as a result of this:
- Female Human base
- Female Elf base
- Forest Druid bases
As the changes were carried out on the female Human base mesh, the ears were also improved because they were originally too flat against the head. This base mesh also had its textures improved as well as getting a little more definition on the bottom lip. Finally, the male Elf’s head has been retopologised in order to accommodate the new lip topology as well as to improve the overall deformation.
Animation
In last week's game devlog, seven animations were made for our fearless Earthen Dwarf character. On top of these, our Animator added the following animations to the mix:
- Death animation
- Kick animation
- Rage animation
- Special attacks
However, after animating the Earthen Dwarf, some issues were found with the skinning, so this also received an update. Our Animator also paid some attention to the Forest Druid character this week, which had its skinning weights and mesh updated.
Server and Game Client
There was only one ability changed in the server this week. Shrouded Step, a generic skill used by characters like the Twilight Elf Assassin or Watertarg, had its cooldown increased from 8 turns to 10 turns. Meanwhile, there is a new scene in the Game Client this week, called ‘Settlement Screen.’ This serves as the player’s ‘hub’ where they can:
- Change equipment
- Buy and sell inventory items
- Visit their class-specific locations
- Join a game with friends
But this isn't the only exciting addition in this week's game devlog. It is now also possible to access a character’s inventory, which was up and running this week and is displayed in the client. In the inventory, a placeholder section was added which will allow the user to see what their character has equipped; and next week, it should also allow them to equip more items.
In order for all of this to work, an Inventory Manager had to be created for the client so that the items could be received and parsed from the database. On a similar note, players can now hover over items to see their respective descriptions. In the future, these description boxes will be extended to display a better summary of the item, including not just its description but also its stats.
The final work carried out on the items this week involved adding a new stack limit to them. This will limit how many items can be in a single stack in the client. All of this is a step towards having items, loot and equipment added to the game. This will create a great deal of depth by providing the player with a lot of options, such as customising their character with specific items in order to change the way it plays. Since different stats and items will be better for different character builds, the player will also have to make choices on what stats or items will most benefit their playing style and character. Items can also be:
- Sold to merchants in the game in exchange for gold or another item
- Found throughout the dungeon depths as you explore
- Awarded to the player after they successfully complete a dungeon room
Having multiple valid choices on how to equip your character also increases a player’s skill-cap in the game. Together, all of this shows just how much content, and thereby depth will be added to the game once all of these items have been implemented.
To round off this game devlog, the Character Selection screen was improved so that it shows a character’s abilities. This helps to tell the player which abilities belong to a character, which will be especially important if a player has several characters of the same class but with different builds. This new feature will also massively help when we get around to testing Depths of Erendorn towards the end of the year.
https://depthsoferendorn.blob.core.windows.net/assets/DeathAnimation.mp4
The death animation for Erendorn's Earthen Dwarf was worked on in this week's game devlog, along with 3 other new animations.
This week, we also released another Behind the Music interview with our composer, who talks about the theme music for our Forest Druid character. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out on our Facebook!
