5+ creatures to be in 2.3!
Fantastic news! A months work on writing a clean, recyclable and well design creature system has yielded wonders in the space of a single day. Today we have completed the following new creatures:
Zombie:
Hostile when you get close, deals a decent amount of damage. Zombies are extremely dangerous in groups. You will see them in v2.3
Status Update for v2.3
CraftWorld now has it’s first creatures: Chickens, Fire elementals and Mushies. Chickens drop feathers for fletching arrows, Fire elementals drop fire salts for Dynamite and Mushies drop magic mushrooms. There is collection of swords along with the different arrow types now implemented also. Here’s the catch, only the chicken is guaranteed to make it into 2.3 with the Bow. Each creature has different behaviour and represents a different family of wee beasties, so we are focusing on getting one ready at a time.
Patch Approved for CraftWorld Free
Just a quick status update, about the free version. The update passed earlier today, and should be availible for download now, or in a few hours. The update for the paid version has had a delay, and will be updated straight to 2.3. We have chickens, fire elementals and Mushies (Mushroom creatures) in the game at various stages of completion, and are focusing on poloshing the Bow into a completed state. The repair bench works great, look inversion is fixed in 2.3 and a handful of sprites have been updated.
We are also working a new texture pack to replace this programmer art, so during the next few updates it’s going to be patchy as it moves from what it is now, to the next one as we append it as we need to.
I need to get some videos up here sometime soon too. So much to do, so much is being added. We’re finally working on a game instead of engine.
Patch 2.2 Submitted
For the past two weeks, the Free Version has hung back at v1.3, while the paid version enjoyed version 2.0 while waiting for the approval of version 2.1. Version 2.2 has been submitted to the free version, which should approve a few days. Shortly after the approval of version 2.1, we will be submitting the same update to the paid version to get them back in sync again.
Patch 2.2 is a bug fix update, and also an Audio update:
- Jump and foot noises
- Pickup and inventory noises
- Material and pick noises
- Can no longer place on water
- Faster water propogation
- Improved performance due to better culling
- Can place blocks beneath, and directly in front of you
- Auto jump works properly. Was twitchy before
- Half damage is dealt to blocks when you are under water
- Death now results in a loss of inventory contents. You have 5 minutes to get them back.
- Icebergs now found in tundra biome again. Ice/Water graphical error fixed.
- Small hops crops no longer directly destroyable
- Broken tools and items can break down into what they are made of. eg. Picks, shovels and rakes drop a stick
- Ressurection stone works again. Spawn location was being overwritten. Dig it up and place it agian if you have an old save
- Block stacks increased to 64. Items are 32, ammunitions will be 16 due to needing a quiver or pouch later.
- Added splashing noises
- Split the free version to have different live messages to prevent confusion
- Updated update and tutorial book.
- Buy screen in paid version can now be quit, and returns to main menu. No relevent to free verion
- And a bunch of other little things we did not write down
As ever, we are close to a PC or Xbox release but will not set a time. Please keep an eye on this blog, or follow us on twitter.
Thankyou for reading!
Patch 2.0 Approved. Patch 2.1 Submitted.
The 2.0 patch has been approved a few hours ago, and should be availble within the next few hours, or maybe a day. That means we can submit version 2.1! So we did.
Biomes, the Plains
The 2.0 Update is still in review. Judging by our telemetry about 80 sessions have been played by the Microsoft Review team. So while we work away at version 2.1, I’d like to talk about the plains biome.
The plains are the most common biome in CraftWorld. This is because it is comprised of three biomes in total:
1) Wet Plains
2) Dry Plains
3) Temperate plains
The 2.0 Update Submitted!
The version 2.0 update has finally been submitted for CraftWorld on WP7.
This should not be considered an update. This should be considered a replacement for the current version of CraftWorld. The new feature list is massive, and the change log is incredible. Not a single system has been left unedited, replaced or tweaked.
Since CraftWorld’s release we have been collecting feedback and reports. This is what began the initial severe changes to the level generator and save system. As we worked, we began to redesign simple systems attached to these two larger systems. This included the object system that powers chests, books and blocks , the region streaming system and even the sky!
During all of this, CraftWorld needed a little something extra to set it apart from it’s competition, so we pushed up the Physics system up in the schedule. Implementing a fully-fledged Physics simulator on the WP7 was quite a challenge. Considering the 2,654,208 potential cubes that may be struck by a moving object in a medium sized world, this proved to be a bit of a hurdle.
However the Windows Phone devices running CraftWorld are limited not by their processor power, but are intensely limited by their graphics power, especially the first generation of WP7 devices. During the v0.65 and v1.3 updates, we greatly improved the CPU performance, granting just enough power to enable this after the v2.0 re-write. When you begin a new game in CraftWorld, you are now provided with a Beach Ball and a Dice that may be rolled, thrown and tumbled about the world without the impact being visible to you!
You can only imagine what we are considering for the other two platforms.
In a previous post, I talked about the new “MiddleEarth” level generator. Since then, it has been improved. Forests are placed evenly across the world, cactus can be found in hot deserts and patches of crops and shrubs can be found in the correct biomes. This includes grain, sugarcane, grasses and a few others. These will soon be a member of the farming system, and used in the cooking and alchemy systems which are soon to come.
Status update!
Today we squashed the last of the lighting bugs, letting us light regions nicely whether they come from file or from the generator. Dan’s been making the swamps look perfect, by making the plants and shrubs appear based upon the internal heat and rain maps. Meanwhile, I’ve been deep in the save system cleaning out old hacks and ensuring all the objects follow the proper object design. This update seems to incorporating all those things we intended to distribute throughout smaller updates. Mainly due to the interconnected nature of such a big game.
Fixing the way the block data is stored invalidated our (broken) lighting system, so it was more efficient to just fix and finish the lighting system than do a cursory update. This led to how objects were stored and effected by light and block types which then led to their own saving and eventually over to the character controller which is our next big job. We could break this down into the weekly updates like we had intended, but it is faster to just do everything, one task after another. Drops the time taken from around 7 weeks down to the 3 or 4 it has taken so far.
We apologize for the wait, and are working hard to get this complete ASAP.
The death of the Chapter system
CraftWorld was originally designed to have three chapters to its release schedule. The purpose of such chapters was as follows:
- Separate huge game changing features between releases.
- Allow game breaking changes (such as save file changes) to be saved for the next chapter.
- If CraftWorld was not going too well, we could bring to an acceptable state of completion (Unless one of us gets cancer, or combusts, this is simply not happening.)
- Easy method of separating price differences, and rewarding those that purchase early chapters
- Early releases of an incomplete game, in complete stages.
Whilst this chapter system was not a bad idea, it did have a few problems. Double or triple purchases, could be confusing and unfair, and made the game seem broken. Fears of the game changing so much, it is no longer what you had hoped for after one big fat update. Splitting the community up, as some people would inevitably stick around the older chapters or even skip one. The list goes on, and the concept ultimately undermined what we were setting out to do:
Make one, large cohesive game that is released before it is complete.
We are keeping with our original goals, of getting larger portions completed before moving on to others. So we are using the correct term for this, “Milestones”. CraftWorld will pass through 3 milestones on it’s way to being the complete game it is designed to be. The process will be relatively organic, with constant updates building upon what the game already is. At some point, enough features will coalesce together, and the game can be described as passing one of these milestones.
Milestone 1: The promise.
The completion of this milestone marks out the minimum of what CraftWorld is intended to be. Features may be cut down and simplified in an effort to have them complete, but they will all be there. From inventory management over to terrain generation and the RPG system, this milestone marks our what CraftWorld will be.
Milestone 2: Multiplayer.
This is a huge, and our most demanded features. But simply strapping two players to a world does not constitute a good multiplayer experience, so we are delaying it’s full development until we can comfortably focus on getting it done right. Be sure to check out this milestone for yourself, as the game will grow in other ways at this time as well. For example, the space and weight based inventory is the next big item on that list.
Milestone 3: Expansion
Loads more of what we already have. Plenty to kill, loads to build and huge amounts of new world to explore. You have CraftWorld, and have enjoyed it for what it is. Let us double what you already have, and sprinkle in a handful of new, complex features we have saved for this stage, or if you have held back, this final hoorah to tempt you in. And this is when the modding API will begin to emerge into existence. It is something we have considered, and has directed our development from day 1.
Payment and Updates:
Should you go ahead and purchase CraftWorld on any one given platform, then you are granted full rights and privileges to play CraftWorld forever. The milestones roll buy, and what you paid for will get better and better, without any need for additional purchases. Unless of course, you decide to take up playing CraftWorld on another platform, other than the one you started on. But then that one is locked in for all the updates in future. Our current price goals are as follows:
PC (at release): $9.95 //Currently not yet availible
Xbox (at release): 80-400 MS points //Currently not yet availible
WP7 (at release): $0.99 / Free
So at least, you are looking at less than $15 for CraftWorld on three platforms. It is impossible to offer a single purchase pack, for all three games, the infrastructure required on each seperate platform is both non existent, and out of our control.
Over time, the price will increase on each platform as the game grows. But of course, that means getting the game on the other two platforms first! And that 1.45 update out ASAP! We’ve solved the internal engine issues we were having, and have been working on another big core feature. Should have it up and ready for certification in a few days at worst.
Have a good one!
v1.45 Update.
After spending a while on the Windows Phone 7 marketplace, and reading our feedback (screenshots, emails, reviews, forums etc..) we have been able to find some areas of the CraftWorld engine that we can really improve. They are deep in the darkest, most complex code of the engine. This is one of the benefits of the release during development strategy. Should this have been a more traditional game, with release dates and the like, this issue may never have been found! So to all those sending in feedback, keep it up!
The region system is undergoing a re-write. From the way regions are kept in memory, down to the order by which they are loaded, it is being changed. Thousands of lines of code are simply being discarded, and being replaced by dozens of lines of code. We know exactly what needs to be done, and what exactly this engine requires. That’s what those old lines of code, and the act of writing them did for us. We know people are screaming for creatures, more materials and to finally get their hands on that juicy new level generator we wrote.
But this system lies at the beating heart of CraftWorld, and must be attended to as soon as possible. This puts us behind in terms of our weekly updates goal, which is rather upsetting for us. But once this is complete, we can get back on track and push out those quality, feature filled updates. It is possible to push out pointless, tiny updates that do little, but fuck that. I hate it when frequently updated apps provide nothing tangible, nothing you can see and especially when there is no change log for that phantom update you just installed. CraftWorld updates are good updates.
So we at 2.0 Studios, sincerely apologize for the delay, and will be back to work tomorrow morning getting this done for you. 
Note: If you wish to help out CraftWorld’s development, check out this page.
Recent Comments