When this project started it was only Singleplayer. But along the way a POC was made and proved Multiplayer will work having different Game Modes for World Map and Combat.
At the same time a lot of time has been spent on upgrading Unreal Engine since the goal was to settle on UE5, which it now does on a fairly stable release (UE 5.4) that has fixed most child issues of UE5.
This meant Multiplayer had not too much attention or optimization. But now it finally got some needed love and this patch has a heavy focus on improving Dedicated Server. Adding new features such as Local Chat and optimizing data in combat and world map.
So now is the time to start hosting a public server that everyone can try out. This will make it possible to gather more needed logs for further refinement.
And some QoL features for hosting Dedicated Server will be added in coming patches where Multiplayer will now get more focus than Singleplayer (still all comming features will be same in both).
Local Chat
There are already Chat Bubbles in place for Local Chat, but now there is also a standard Chat window to handle local chat in a better way.
This is still just local in a radius around Players. If you can see another Player on World Map both will hear each other.
So for long range communication the idea is still that Messages has to be written and sent with Birds. Something that is still in the works.
Server Performance
World Map CPU usage now takes less than 2% on a i9 CPU. And memory is down to 0.5-1.0 GB. This makes further optimization unnecessary and there is plenty of head room for the future features added to World Map and AI.
All AI Characters are still fully operating on the map regardless if any Player is nearby or not. This is not something that will be simulated to save performance.
Battles and Sieges have also been heavily optimized where 200 soldier limit is default in server configuration. And even though bandwidth have been reduced significantly for each connected Player this is an area that will be looked at more. But to do that will need much more Players trying the official test server.
So far testing has been made with 2-3 Players and the difference to 1 Player is not noticebale anymore in performance.
Bugfixes
* 1h + shield now has 4 High Mode attack combos
* New Battle widget design
* Improved ragdoll
* Added Clock in combat UI
* Fixed a helmet issue with head mesh
* Settlement UI fixed quick buttons showing coins
* Settlement UI moved Back buttons to bottom for better mouse flow
* Settlement UI removed showing Loader when fetching initial data in MP
* Settlement UI fixed an issue with updating Visiting Lord total power
* Settlement UI fixed a rare race condition if opening UI same time as World Update started
* Settlement UI improved opening Character Panel while in Settlement
* Settlement UI fixed quick close from Market
* Multi Select widget in UI got better visuals and style fixes
* Recruitment and Daily Upkeep costs increased by 50%
* Fixed a bug where a built Extension could be available to build again
* Fixed Settlement Market price sometimes showing wrong Need
* Fixed a blocking volume on World Map
* Fixed World Map spawns using Troll spawn points
* Fixed weapon tracing for Ghouls and Wolves elite characters
* Fixed Ghouls sometimes using Human Taunt sound
* Fixed Kingdom Panel sometimes showing wrong portrait in Multiplayer
* Fixed an issue with Stamina Regen
* Changed Running Stamina Cost to depend on Stamina rather than Toughness
* Blocking a Hit with Shield now cost Stamina based on stats for hitter and blocker character
* Stamina regen now stops while Running and while Parry/Block
* Fixed Lineage Tree showing default placeholder when no family
* World HUD Top Panel showing materials got several fixes for showing big numbers
* Fixed updating total coins after being granted coins as rewards in Taverns for Multiplayer
* Changed early game Undead Bosses weapon sets
* Fixes to styling of Screen Loader
* Fixed follower Elysa dialogue when talking to her while in party
* Fixed speed on World Map set correctly after Settlement Event Dialogue
* Unit UI in Character Panel got reworked to be more clear
* Added Discord button at Main Menu
* Camera brightness is changed and now separated better between World Map, Battles and Dungeons
* Fixed Multi Select sometimes allowed higher amount than item in Crafting UI
* Fixed Overview Map showing Heralds on Settlements
* Fixed destructible fragments to not interact with Players