Hey guys,
It’s time for another update and this will be a big one to round out the year. There is quite a bit to talk about, but let’s start with the big question first. I still don’t have an exact date but more or less by the end of this year I will be releasing the first update since I decided to rebuild Dead Monarchy completely from the ground up. The update will first be available on the beta branch and eventually it’ll transition to the main build.
Here is what the first update will have:
- 1 map, with 1 major settlement and 5 minor outposts. The way the open world works now is different, instead of just 5 largely empty islands, I am going for small maps that join together to make a region. Smaller maps will allow me to put a lot more detail into each map and it will be easier for me to handle random events and place locations.
- Dynamic day and night cycle. While in this first build, there won’t be much impact however at least now there are day/night cycles as opposed to just constant daylight, you’ll be able to see the shadows move as the sun rotates while you traverse across the map. Map movement has also been slowed down as a result, the days do not pass as quickly. Map movement speed is now no longer tied to difficulty, it can be toggled on and off at any time.
- Major settlements have been completely updated. Major settlements take place in a new scene, with a fixed camera. Whenever you click on an option there will be a nice camera transition taking you to the front door in which you then load into its interior. I wanted to pull the player further into this world rather than just immediately opening up an options list and killing the immersion.
- Contracts have been completely overhauled. Now rather than just suddenly opening up a list and being presented with a random contract, the player can now choose. Similarly to the very first build of DM when released, the player has 6 difficulty options. There will only be 1 type of contract, “raids” when this update is released.
- Each region with a major settlement now has its own regional modifiers. Your “affinity” or relationship with the settlement will determine contract pay and other things like market prices. “Prosperity” will determine what type of equipment will be available in settlements and in the future the result of a contract will affect these regional modifiers too.
- 10 weapon types (5 tiers, so 50 weapons), each weapon type has 10 perks (abilities bundled in), so 100 perks all up. Weapon types are thematic to each region and as of now I have decided to just focus on one region. General perks will be added in the future. Weapon types are now tied to backgrounds.
- 5 factions which are the outlaws, bandits, raiders, mercenaries and nobles, you also have non-hostile factions like the peasants/militia. The outlaw/bandits/raiders are your typical brigand factions, 3 tiers with raiders essentially being deserters from the noble armies. Again, all the armors/outfits are thematic to each region too. Gear loadouts of enemies are completely randomised now too to ensure for maximum variety. The first region is commonly known as the “Midlands”, inspired by various medieval European regions. There will be 5 noble factions in this region, each faction will have its own distinct look.
- WIP shot of another noble faction:
- Vastly polished UI. The inventory, organise and perks menu are now fullscreen. The inventory menu now has an animated character model, item toolips have also been polished, it will show its quality and the full item image.
- Over 50 sets of armour, I really am only scratching the surface here with equipment. The equipment that is currently implemented is also only for this region. It is very loosely 13th century in appearance. That said, it is more that the world has been forcibly pushed back to the 13th century so to speak. In the future though, I will be implementing “Masterwork” equipment, which is essentially highly coveted equipment from a later period.
- Armor sets also have a lot more variety, previously I couldn’t show off things like hands or arms due to technical issues, every set had to be completely enclosed. This also means that characters now have actual faces, hair and eyebrows rather than just use the placeholder human model. Again, these faces are thematic to this particular region.
To close off, overall my objective is to polish up this 1 map first, to implement all the major features the full game would have before moving onto other areas. There is still quite a bit of work to do, I’m a couple weeks out from connecting the main gameplay loop and then I need to do some initial testing and balancing. Once that’s done and I feel its adequate enough I’ll upload it and I’ll be looking forward to your feedback. That’s all for now, until next time!
Cheers,
Kevin.