For the last month, we've been quiet, but we've also been incredibly busy. So busy, in fact, that we've leaped from version 0.7 to 0.8 of our Early Access build of "Riftbound: Legacy of The Surge" - our crazy RPG multiplayer massacre!
Here's a detailed list of: a) what's fixed, b) what's new, c) what's still waiting to be fixed, and d) what's next:
a) Fixes
Game Mode Rework - No More "Game Over"! Players no longer need to assign themselves a team and can now respawn at the main spawn location if they don't have a Riftstone or team selected.
Respawn Logic Rework: When players spawn in, they can now choose a spawn location based on the Riftstones they possess.
Reduced the amount of foliage in the Wasteland map to improve performance and balance gameplay.
Reworked First Person/Third Person Camera Switching: Instead of using "Num +" to switch between cameras, you can now do so by scrolling up and down with the mouse wheel (use /camera in chat if it bugs out).
NPC Hearing and Sensing Distance Improved: Gameplay in rifts has become much harder (because we don't like easy, we like possible!).
Hotbar has been reworked and should now function as intended. We've also maximized the hotbar slots to 9 instead of 5.
Minor buildable item price adjustments.
Various map and performance improvements.
Fixed the player character model's mouth always being open.
Fixed the crosshair disappearing after equipping armor.
Fixed half of the sounds not working or missing during gameplay.
b) New Stuff
Braziers (Followers/Guards): Players can now build this additional structure (facility) in all four team bases. Once built, it allows you to purchase followers and customize their weapons, health, and amount of inventory slots.
Default player inventor inventory slots reduced - hire followers to be able to carry more.
Player slots get increased temporarily upon completing a quest, however items in these slots on death/restart does does not get saved and WILL BE LOST so use it at our own risk (experimental feature)
NPC Encounters: We've added 4 new NPC encounters (Trevor, Jake, Rodrigo, and Lena) that explain game mechanics and tell stories from the past. Trevor, Jake, and Rodrigo can be found in Wasteland (main spawn location), and Lena can be found in Hub (main single-player map).
Lena
Trevor
Jake
Rodrigo
Muriel
Cinematic Dialogues: We've implemented a cinematic dialogue system that allows for custom camera movement and more immersive interaction with various NPCs. At the moment, it's very basic, but it will be expanded and improved later on.
Team Cities Now Get Attacked by Enemies Occasionally: Every now and then (the more time you spend at a team base in Wasteland), "Troopers" will attack your base with the goal of killing every remaining survivor.
New Enemy Models: As The Skeleton King is currently the main boss in the game, we've revamped existing enemy models with various new skeleton models.
Most Shops Are Now Voiced: We noticed that quite a few people enjoy playing games in single-player mode, so we took the time to make this experience a bit more pleasant by adding voiceovers to most of the shops. Try it out by walking to a shop in-game and talking to them!
Garrisons: Four new locations that have all the facilities and workbenches already built (seriously, it's like a top-tier goldmine compound, but much, much better!) and ready to be used. Garrisons also have Riftstones that can be built and used for fast traveling.
Fast Travel: Use /teleport to quickly travel between garrisons and team bases (unlocks after building and/or assigning a Riftstone).
Added Loading Screens When First Spawning: No more sneaky peaks of what happens before the game world is created (muhahahhahaha)!
Added Beds Provide Energy Upon Interaction: From now on, you don't have to rely only on energy potions, as you can build a bed which, upon interaction, will replenish your energy (has a cooldown).
NPC Aggro Timer: Most NPCs will now stop chasing you after some time. Skeletons, however, will still chase you until one of you dies (uh oh).
Added various tips to help you understand the game better (in loading screens).
c) Known Bugs
Quest Item does not get removed from inventory properly upoen completeing a quest.
When using the skeleton ring and going invisible, character material does not get applied correctly.
Game window does not regain focus after typing a message in chat (click left mouse button to refocus)
Items from shops override default player inventory slots
d) Future Plans
Continue improving overall performance and stability.
Find and fix all new bugs that came with new features.
Voice player characters (both male and female).
Finish voicing all shops and vendors.
Add additional NPC encounters that will explain the game and its lore further.
Add additional game maps and game modes.
Keep hosting LIVE Open House events (every other Saturday) for players to be able to talk to us directly in-game and learn the game as we play together. Make sure to follow the announcements channel in the Wicksitech Discord!
Allow our community members to create custom stories with custom maps using any of the mechanics that Riftbound: Legacy of The Surge has to offer.
More to follow...
We would like to take this chance to thank all of you, on behalf of the entire Wicksitech Team, for being so awesome, participating in all LIVE Open House events (which take place every other Saturday), and providing us with invaluable feedback so we can continue with our mission, our vision, growth, and development! You guys are awesome!
Sincerely, Wicksitech.