Welcome back everyone!
A few weeks ago you got your first look at When Wardens Fall 2.0 when we introduced you all to The Camp and all the features that are currently being developed to make our front end experience more satisfying for players.
This week we are focusing in on a specific system that is receiving a lot of love in patch 2.0. When we started thinking about the future of the alchemy system in When Wardens Fall 2.0, our team agreed that we liked our initial approach to alchemy. The system we decided allowed players to get creative and build the potions, poisons and explosives that worked best for them. However, we also knew that this system was often hard for players to understand or interact with, limiting that creative nature and making it a frustrating experience.
Effect Indicators
Step one in our alchemy overhaul is making sure that players know exactly what effects are being created from their recipes. For us the most important part was to keep the Alchemy System as menu – less and interactive as possible. After some experimentation we came up with Effect Indicators.
As seen in the picture above these new indicators allow us to show what effects are currently being created inside the distillery. In addition, the Effect Indicators shows the number of each effect you have created inside the distiller and the resultant potency. We are hoping that with these Effect Indicators players will be able to more accurately work with their plants and ingredients to create the recipes they want.
Alchemical Compendium
Don’t worry though you won’t have to remember all these icons or guess at them. Welcome to step two of our alchemy overhaul – the Alchemical Compendium. Located directly in front of the distillery, the compendium explains each effect indicator symbol. This useful tool will allow players to accumulate knowledge of the game but if you take a break and come back later we aren’t punishing you for forgetting the meaning of a symbol.
Plant Inventory
Previously when approaching an alchemy station, all of the plants that a player picked up throughout the dungeon would magically appear on the alchemy table. The main issue with this system was that every plant type required an individual spot. Meaning, with our current 12 plants, we needed 12 individual spots for the plants to spawn, in case a player had one of every plant. This of course causes an issue when we start to think of adding more ingredients. In addition, we wanted a way of telling the player the effect of each plant, once the player had used that plant at least once.
Step three of our alchemy overhaul is making plants through a book and podium system as pictured above. The Plant Inventory Book displays the plant name and the two effects associated with that ingredient. Based on the page you are currently on in the plant inventory book, the relevant plants will appear on the pedestals next to the book. A plant will only display for the plant to grab and work with is that plant is in their inventory (they collect that plant in the dungeon).
Handy Hands
Have you played When Wardens Fall and been confused on where you can put certain plants and ingredients when playing with the alchemy system. If the answer is yes, meet step four of our alchemy overhaul – our new Handy Hand. This hand will appear on any of the stations when you are carrying an item that is valid to be placed inside that station.
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I hope everyone has enjoyed this look into the future of our alchemy system. Bear in mind that all of this is still in development, but I hope this gives a good idea of the direction we are taking with alchemy as we try and make a more user-friendly experience for everyone.