Major Updates and New Features
Since playtest 8, in addition to working on addressing all of the player feedback, I've redone a lot of the animations, added proximity voice chat, a friend system with cross server dms, and tons more.
Name Change
I decided to change the name of the game from Swordai to Swordeye. I picked the name years ago before generative AI was a big thing like it is today. I always wanted it to be pronounced "swor-die" similar to the martial arts ki-ai pronunciation as that is one of the core abilities in the game. I also wanted to be the first to bring really strong NPC combat behavior to the slasher genre (which I think I've successfully done) as I have always been drawn to games with NPCs that surprise you with their skill. I still remember playing F.E.A.R as a kid and being blown away and I believe that NPC behavior in games is an art form that a lot of developers neglect.
That said, things are really different now with "AI" showing up everywhere and its pretty common that people see the name and (very reasonably) think its "sword A.I." and based on gen AI in which isn't the case at all. It’s definitely a pain to change a name but I think it was the right thing to do.
Animation Updates
I decided to do a major update to pretty much all of the animations in the game. For some of them I worked with a contractor but for the core combat animations I decided to redo them by hand myself. I think the results are really good. This video was made about halfway through the process, the final version is live on the playtest build now.
Other additions
As I mentioned in the Short Term Roadmap on Discord a major focus this quarter will be adding more social features to the game. So far, I've added proximity voice, a market system, a friend system, and cross server direct messages. Parties are coming soon and will be ready for Playtest 9 in March.