It’s taken longer than expected with these changes, as I think there was a bit too much taken on for a single update. But here we are at last! Now to try and summarise all of the changes…
One thing to note first, is that for these changes you will have to create a new world. You can use the same character, but you will not be able to experience the new map unless you do so.
Custom Design / Procedural Generation
In my last post, I shared my thoughts on wanting to switch to using custom design for maps over generating them. The feedback on this topic was interesting as it shows a desire to still retain an element of generation. Basically I want to reassure you all that the world creation will continue to use a mix of both custom and generated areas.
However, one distinctive difference with this build is the addition of rivers and other custom designed areas. For the Woodland, the way this is constructed is by first generating a random “base” of the area, then a custom/static layer is printed on top to produce the mix of the two.
One thing to note here is that I had to create a developer-only map edit mode to facilitate much faster editing of large areas. It’s good that this exists now for future use.
Rivers & Fishing
There are now rivers running throughout the Woodlands, with small and large fish lurking in the waters. You will need to craft a Fishing Rod and to carefully cast your float out next to a fish. Any fish caught can then be sold to a vendor for a generous price. Four rods are currently available and each increases your chance of catching more valuable fish.
Fishing Rods and Crafting Requirements:
Wooden Fishing Rod (Branch, Branch, Reed Grass)
Iron Fishing Rod (Wooden Fishing Rod, 10x Iron Ore)
Ruby Fishing Rod (Iron Fishing Rod, 10x Ruby Gems)
Gold Fishing Rod (Ruby Fishing Rod, 10x Gold Ore)
As for the fish – You will catch different ones depending on where you are in the Woodland. Below are the fish that are available:
Gully
Perch
Trout
Salmon
Golden Gob
Moon Speck
Crab
Shrimp
Yopper
Carp
Pike
Azure Toad
Runed Skipper
Abilities
Four new abilities have been added. Orb of Light is a non class specific ability to simply help add a bit more light when you want it. The other 3 are more defensive options for each of the class types. On a related note, the crafting requirements for some abilities have been adjusted to make some more readily available.
Orb of Light
Summons a mystical Orb of Light that orbits the caster and illuminates the surroundings. Lasts 30 seconds. 1 min cooldown.
Unseen
Briefly go out of sight. For 4 seconds, you are completely invisible and will not be detected by monsters. 20 sec cooldown.
Mystic Bubble
Envelops the caster in a bubble of mystical energy. Prevents knockback and transfers 20% of damage taken into consuming mana instead. Lasts 8 sec. 30 sec cooldown.
Brace For Impact
You prepare for impact, reducing damage taken for the next 1 second by 80%. 14 sec cooldown.
Queen Bee Mini Boss
There is now a mysteriously large hive in the Woodland. Proceed with caution if you don’t like large flying insects.
There are however two new items to craft if you manage to pluck up the courage to vanquish it.
Stinger Staff
Chitin Crest
Cursor Based Melee & Interaction
One of the sore areas for feedback has been around the movement and melee systems. Changes have already been made to allow for full directional movement by holding down RMB. However there were still issues with the melee system being difficult to aim/position for new players.
With this update, the melee system for both players and enemies has changed to be range based. That is, enemies will now also move in any direction and once in range, will directly attack the player.
More importantly, you can now melee attack enemies and objects by using RMB. The cursor now accurately selects/highlights enemies, blocks, doors or NPCs to either attack or interact with.
Misc Changes
There have been so many small tweaks/changes, but here are more notable ones:
- Added a Sort Inventory button
- The character’s position is now shown on Alris’s Map
- Fixed an issue with the collision on the edge of the map
- Hand cursor for object interaction no longer shows in menu
- Blocks that are out of sight of the player (FoV) will now appear more transparent in order to allow for other closer blocks to be seen.