Darkfall Rise of Agon es geht vorwärts
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Jem
BdW-Veteran
Developer Blog #4
Hi everyone,
It's Tuesday, and time for another update from our development and game design teams! We've made quite a lot of progress since our last development blog and are inching ever so closer to the ability to launch our Alpha. We hope you enjoy this week's Dev Blog and stay tuned for our Friday update!
Lead Game Developer - Austin
This past week the integration of the Lobby, Patcher, Login Server and Game was completed and bundled up into the installation executable. We have been testing this internally and are pleased to report that it is working well so far.
On a more important subject, we also made the decision to move to a more MMO appropriate hosting provider over the past week to secure the best gameplay experience possible. Things have moved very quickly on this front, and we are very pleased so far with the progress of this switch. Throughout the rest of this week I will be working on booting up the game on our new hosts and optimizing the layout for the upcoming Alpha!
Lead Game Developer - Chris
Continuing analysis on the components delivered has been the focus. A large array of tools have been vetted and some have been integrated. The main components have all been brought to life allowing complete operation of the game system. We are working to finalize any loose ends related to account management to allow the system to be fully restored.
The installer and all related client software is able to utilize the complete backbone all running on dedicated linux machines. This was not a great deal of fun and in fact server management is the first plan of attack for developing a new component to add to the system. Here we are developing a management tool allowing complete robust operation of the server components and deployment configurations.
In order to make maximum use of the servers allotted we need to continue monitoring each one as well as having this new tool to help move pieces around and try to level out the game. One of the issues faced is that the server components are hungry beasts; as you ramp up large amounts of any game content. As we all know, it isn’t exactly uncommon to see a group of monsters just not spawning.
Work has been underway on the tool chain which will allow us to utilize modern tools within the art chain. This will provide an enhanced toolkit capability to the art team for their use. Progress has also been made moving the server code to 64 bit but testing that support has been waylaid by the desire to provide the management system previously mentioned.
Studying the code base has brought to light many of the intricacies of how the relationships unfold within the pieces that make up the game platform. We intend to be able to provide a consistent development approach that will allow our team the flexibility we need. We are working on developing a strong team spirit and knowledge base between all the developers on the team and this will allow us to thrive as we continue to learn to lean on each other and utilize our strengths found within the team.
This game is truly a masterpiece.
Lead Game Designer - Brad (Dest Locke)
As promised, I said we would supply more information and reveal our first overarching focus, so here it is: Crafting. Simply put, Crafting needs a lot of work. In any MMO, a meaningful crafting system is paramount, one that is a positive factor to the economy as well as player interaction. Crafting as it stood was somewhat lacking in depth and purpose, and the ability for a player to derive value from crafting diminished as more and more players became a Jack of All Trades. This we feel was the system’s biggest flaw. We want to improve crafting and make it a playstyle that can be a viable and profitable profession, which as a result will have positive effects on the economy and interaction.
The first step to achieve these goals will be to expand the number of crafting masteries in the game to initially nine. This will be accomplished by splitting some crafting skills, reorganizing others, and expanding/adding recipes where it makes sense to do so. We will also increase the values of those crafting skills that had questionable value. This will effectively diversify the crafting choices for all players.
The second step will involve actually making players choose which crafting professions they want to specialize in by limiting the number of masteries any one character can have active to two. There will be a method in place to remove a mastery, but you will not retain the skill in the mastery you remove. This change will create diversity among players depending on what crafts they specialize in. This will also add value to all crafted goods, and as a result add value to the economy and a crafter playstyle in general.
The list of initial crafting masteries decided upon looks like this:
Lead Web Human - Neilk
This week we moved hosting providers because our initial host was having latency problems for certain ISP’s in the states causing a lot of instability. Most of my week was spent going back and forth with the new host to get everything we needed on our new servers. The rest of the time was then spent configuring the servers and trying make sure everything is ready for deploying the game again.
I also had some time to code so I spent it working on integrating the AMS with the game client. This was a simple process as we had most of the backend of the AMS working for some time, it was just a matter of sending the data to the game. I also spent some time working on our site security to make sure there were no exploits to do any harm to the web framework.
Web Developer - Temeez
I successfully created the email template for alpha invites, and it turned out pretty well even though It was my first foray into styled email template. Also needed for the process was a download page template which could support multiple download links and system requirement information which could be edited directly by the CMS (Content Management System).
A more difficult task that was needed was a donation system that worked with the existing store architecture, but in the end I was victorious and learned a lot about PayPal, and its strengths and weaknesses. Next on my list to tackle is the alpha activation flow which is still missing some pieces at the moment: that will be fun!
Game Developer - nYsKo
I've spent most of my time this week on the client side. The obfuscation needed to package a release version of the client has been completed. We were having licensing concerns regarding the original Darkfall installer (Advanced Installer), so I wrote a new installer using NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) with an updated Rise of Agon ToS and icon. Progress on the game’s loading screen has also been made, and format compatibility is no longer an issue as I was able to apply a simple Rise of Agon test loading screen! Next we need to decide on the final design of the loading screen so it can be implemented.
Network Volunteer - Mippins
This week we’ve been putting a lot of effort into the server environment and hosting in an effort to provide the desired experience for players. As part of this we’ve had to expand our capabilities for monitoring and detecting connection issues to our hosting providers. We’re using a multitude of various built in Operating System tools such as ping and traceroutes as well as more comprehensive tools to validate connections in preparation of an alpha release.
This work stemmed from the issues our original host had with routing that would have affected a good portion of the expected player base. As such, I headed up the team to gather, vet and compare all new potential hosting solutions to make sure we found one that can provide a good combination of performance and stability throughout the world. Naturally, geography will play a bit into the end connection latency but we’re looking to provide stable connectivity throughout our player base.
Thanks again for reading this week's Development Blog and join in on the discussion!
Hi everyone,
It's Tuesday, and time for another update from our development and game design teams! We've made quite a lot of progress since our last development blog and are inching ever so closer to the ability to launch our Alpha. We hope you enjoy this week's Dev Blog and stay tuned for our Friday update!
Lead Game Developer - Austin
This past week the integration of the Lobby, Patcher, Login Server and Game was completed and bundled up into the installation executable. We have been testing this internally and are pleased to report that it is working well so far.
On a more important subject, we also made the decision to move to a more MMO appropriate hosting provider over the past week to secure the best gameplay experience possible. Things have moved very quickly on this front, and we are very pleased so far with the progress of this switch. Throughout the rest of this week I will be working on booting up the game on our new hosts and optimizing the layout for the upcoming Alpha!
Lead Game Developer - Chris
Continuing analysis on the components delivered has been the focus. A large array of tools have been vetted and some have been integrated. The main components have all been brought to life allowing complete operation of the game system. We are working to finalize any loose ends related to account management to allow the system to be fully restored.
The installer and all related client software is able to utilize the complete backbone all running on dedicated linux machines. This was not a great deal of fun and in fact server management is the first plan of attack for developing a new component to add to the system. Here we are developing a management tool allowing complete robust operation of the server components and deployment configurations.
In order to make maximum use of the servers allotted we need to continue monitoring each one as well as having this new tool to help move pieces around and try to level out the game. One of the issues faced is that the server components are hungry beasts; as you ramp up large amounts of any game content. As we all know, it isn’t exactly uncommon to see a group of monsters just not spawning.
Work has been underway on the tool chain which will allow us to utilize modern tools within the art chain. This will provide an enhanced toolkit capability to the art team for their use. Progress has also been made moving the server code to 64 bit but testing that support has been waylaid by the desire to provide the management system previously mentioned.
Studying the code base has brought to light many of the intricacies of how the relationships unfold within the pieces that make up the game platform. We intend to be able to provide a consistent development approach that will allow our team the flexibility we need. We are working on developing a strong team spirit and knowledge base between all the developers on the team and this will allow us to thrive as we continue to learn to lean on each other and utilize our strengths found within the team.
This game is truly a masterpiece.
Lead Game Designer - Brad (Dest Locke)
As promised, I said we would supply more information and reveal our first overarching focus, so here it is: Crafting. Simply put, Crafting needs a lot of work. In any MMO, a meaningful crafting system is paramount, one that is a positive factor to the economy as well as player interaction. Crafting as it stood was somewhat lacking in depth and purpose, and the ability for a player to derive value from crafting diminished as more and more players became a Jack of All Trades. This we feel was the system’s biggest flaw. We want to improve crafting and make it a playstyle that can be a viable and profitable profession, which as a result will have positive effects on the economy and interaction.
The first step to achieve these goals will be to expand the number of crafting masteries in the game to initially nine. This will be accomplished by splitting some crafting skills, reorganizing others, and expanding/adding recipes where it makes sense to do so. We will also increase the values of those crafting skills that had questionable value. This will effectively diversify the crafting choices for all players.
The second step will involve actually making players choose which crafting professions they want to specialize in by limiting the number of masteries any one character can have active to two. There will be a method in place to remove a mastery, but you will not retain the skill in the mastery you remove. This change will create diversity among players depending on what crafts they specialize in. This will also add value to all crafted goods, and as a result add value to the economy and a crafter playstyle in general.
The list of initial crafting masteries decided upon looks like this:
- Weaponsmithing Mastery
- Armorsmithing Mastery
- Bowyer Mastery
- Cooking Mastery
- Alchemy Mastery
- Enchanting Mastery
- Shipbuilding Mastery
- Artillery Mastery
- Tailoring Mastery
Lead Web Human - Neilk
This week we moved hosting providers because our initial host was having latency problems for certain ISP’s in the states causing a lot of instability. Most of my week was spent going back and forth with the new host to get everything we needed on our new servers. The rest of the time was then spent configuring the servers and trying make sure everything is ready for deploying the game again.
I also had some time to code so I spent it working on integrating the AMS with the game client. This was a simple process as we had most of the backend of the AMS working for some time, it was just a matter of sending the data to the game. I also spent some time working on our site security to make sure there were no exploits to do any harm to the web framework.
Web Developer - Temeez
I successfully created the email template for alpha invites, and it turned out pretty well even though It was my first foray into styled email template. Also needed for the process was a download page template which could support multiple download links and system requirement information which could be edited directly by the CMS (Content Management System).
A more difficult task that was needed was a donation system that worked with the existing store architecture, but in the end I was victorious and learned a lot about PayPal, and its strengths and weaknesses. Next on my list to tackle is the alpha activation flow which is still missing some pieces at the moment: that will be fun!
Game Developer - nYsKo
I've spent most of my time this week on the client side. The obfuscation needed to package a release version of the client has been completed. We were having licensing concerns regarding the original Darkfall installer (Advanced Installer), so I wrote a new installer using NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) with an updated Rise of Agon ToS and icon. Progress on the game’s loading screen has also been made, and format compatibility is no longer an issue as I was able to apply a simple Rise of Agon test loading screen! Next we need to decide on the final design of the loading screen so it can be implemented.
Network Volunteer - Mippins
This week we’ve been putting a lot of effort into the server environment and hosting in an effort to provide the desired experience for players. As part of this we’ve had to expand our capabilities for monitoring and detecting connection issues to our hosting providers. We’re using a multitude of various built in Operating System tools such as ping and traceroutes as well as more comprehensive tools to validate connections in preparation of an alpha release.
This work stemmed from the issues our original host had with routing that would have affected a good portion of the expected player base. As such, I headed up the team to gather, vet and compare all new potential hosting solutions to make sure we found one that can provide a good combination of performance and stability throughout the world. Naturally, geography will play a bit into the end connection latency but we’re looking to provide stable connectivity throughout our player base.
Thanks again for reading this week's Development Blog and join in on the discussion!
Elios Minz
BdW-Veteran
Marty schrieb ja im Zagenda dass er schon einen bekommen hat, aber er trollte bestimmt oder?
Elios Minz
BdW-Veteran
Elios Minz
BdW-Veteran
Naja, gestern konnte man schon etwas spielen. Mussten aber die Server erstmal wieder runterfahren, irgendwas kritisches war los.
Die Server waren denn heute wohl nochmal wieder da, ich war aber weg. Und nun sind sie halt wieder offline die ganze Zeit :/
Mal gucken was die nächsten Tage so kommt.
Die Server waren denn heute wohl nochmal wieder da, ich war aber weg. Und nun sind sie halt wieder offline die ganze Zeit :/
Mal gucken was die nächsten Tage so kommt.
![:]](/styles/default/xenforo/vb4_smilies/pleased.gif "Freude :]")
KalVasFlam
BdW-Community
wo ihr alle die keys her habt hat er gefragt!
Jem
BdW-Veteran
Hm,hat wer gefragt?
Ich habe meinen per E-mail von RoA bekommen.
Du kannst dich dort schon seit Monaten für die Alpha eintragen.Ich hatte mich vor ca. 5 Monaten dort eingetragen.
https://darkfallriseofagon.com/