Over the past week, the development teams at Depths of Erendorn have made significant strides across multiple facets of the game. The 3D modelling team has been refining the base bird model and completing high-poly throne models, moving into the process of transforming them into game-ready assets. Meanwhile, the client team has been diligently advancing the dry test environment and XP bar UI, addressing bugs and enhancing functionality. Simultaneously, the server team has focused on planning and implementing essential server infrastructure, resolving critical bugs, and improving overall stability. The sound team successfully recovered files from a corrupted hard drive and updated workflow management tools for streamlined collaboration. Additionally, the environment team has been making progress on settlement construction and water plugin system testing, while the animation and VFX teams have been revising character animations and enhancing visual effects. 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
Over the past week, the 3D modelling team at Depths of Erendorn has continued their work on the base bird model. They have nearly completed the final low mesh, refining it to ensure optimal detail and accuracy. Additionally, the team has begun the texturing process, bringing the model closer to its final, detailed form. Examples of the work completed by the team can be seen below.
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Set Piece Design
Over the past week, the set piece design team at Depths of Erendorn has completed the high-poly throne models, designed for the higher-ups of Erendorn to take counsel. These meticulously crafted thrones reflect the stature and authority of their intended occupants. The team has now embarked on the subsequent steps to transform these high-poly models into game-ready assets. This process includes creating low-poly versions, UV mapping, baking textures, and finally, texturing the models to ensure they fit seamlessly into the game environment. Examples of the assets created throughout the week can be seen below.
Programming
Client
This week, the client team at Depths of Erendorn has focused on continued development of both the dry test environment and the XP bar UI. Significant progress has been made on fixing projectile-based abilities, and the majority of abilities, including many new generic spells, now have functioning audio in the dry test environment. Additionally, bugs caused by the transition to 3-dimensional coordinates for abilities that force movement have been resolved. However, new bugs were discovered that block all animations, VFX, and audio for abilities causing status effects; these issues are still being addressed. On the XP bar front, the visuals are nearly complete, and the blueprints now need to be synced with stats and tested to ensure they function correctly. This ongoing work highlights the team's commitment to refining gameplay functionality and enhancing the user experience.
Server
Last week, the server team at Depths of Erendorn focused on planning and beginning the implementation of the login server, queue, and server coordinator tasks. Although completion of these systems is expected to take a few more weeks, a scalable plan has been devised to serve a variable number of players by independently scaling the various systems. The server coordinator will monitor server capacity and assign joining players to available servers as they reach the front of the login queue. Additionally, the team successfully identified and resolved a subtle yet serious bug that had been causing multiple issues, including problems with group navigation indices, spawning around fast travel points, and pathfinding. With this critical bug fixed, the server is now operating much more efficiently. The team has also polished a few edge cases in certain events that previously caused minor visual errors and lag, further improving the server's stability and performance.
Sound Design
Over the past week, the sound team at Depths of Erendorn dedicated their efforts to recovering files from a corrupted hard drive. Although most data was backed up, a few sound effects (SFX) for generic skills were lost. The team has been working diligently to remake the unrecovered SFX, including Decay, Healing Pulse, Magic Stitches, and Withering Blast. Additionally, the team updated a comprehensive spreadsheet to track SFX, VFX, and animations alongside Blueprint implementation. This enhancement is expected to streamline the workflow between artists and programmers, fostering more efficient collaboration and integration of assets into the game. Examples of some of the work completed by the team throughout the week can be seen below.
Environment Art
Over the past week, the environment team at Depths of Erendorn has made substantial progress on the settlement house creation. Most major buildings have been replaced with new versions, bringing the settlement closer to completion. Floors and stairways are currently under construction to enhance the structural integrity and accessibility of these buildings. The team is also engaged in planning a reshuffle of landmarks and the overall settlement layout to improve navigation and visual appeal. Additionally, testing of the water plugin system with ocean elements is underway, aiming to integrate realistic water features into the environment. Examples of their work throughout the week can be seen below.
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Animation
Over the past week, the animation team at Depths of Erendorn has made significant progress on the Centaur and Revenant revisions. The Revenant has been updated with a slow, menacing walk that exudes power with every step, enhancing its intimidating presence. Concurrently, the Centaur received a comprehensive rework of all essential animations, ensuring that each animation is now seamlessly fitted to both species of Centaur and their respective variants. Examples of the continued work of in-game animations can be seen below.
Visual Effects
Over the past week, the VFX team at Depths of Erendorn focused on creating modular versions of the waterfall, enabling the environment team to piece together waterfalls that fit perfectly into various locations, rather than forcing a single static model into place. In addition to this, the team worked on optimising the level 3 abilities by reducing draw calls, enhancing overall performance and ensuring smoother gameplay. Examples 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 April yet?!
