DEV DIARY #5

Hello all! It's been a whilte! It's time again to share with you what's been going on with AEGIS Kingdoms! If you don't like reading paragraphs, there's a TL;DR at the bottom of this post! Alternatively if you want to read this post on our website, you can do so here: https://aegisgamestudios.co.uk/aegis-kingdoms-dev-diary-5/ Likewise if you just want to watch a short 45 second video, here you go! [previewyoutube=5Nd4bjrvDXI;full][/previewyoutube] News on AEGIS Kingdoms has been very slow and that is entirely my fault, so let's get on with it shall we!

CURRENT STATE OF THE GAME

The new skilling features are now fully in the game. This is awesome, as it means open weekends (Alpha) will not simply be combat (which is what it was going to be previously - hence the delay!). So now you can do combat, gathering and crafting. This is very similar to old school games like RuneScape, so those of you familiar with this feature will be right at home. For those of you unaware with how this works - very simply you will need to complete actions in order to level up a skill. For example use a Greatsword will level up your greatsword skill, allowing you to equip better greatswords. The three areas of skilling go hand in hand, as you'll harvest resources to craft with and then use them in your adventures. The current maximum level for a skill is 99, with unlocks along the way. You can simply click on the appropriate skill to see what it unlocks at which level. So in terms of the game-ready state of the open weekends, feature wise we are there and ready. The final change is the updated art style which is currently being developed. This, in short, is simply moving away from stock assets and having bespoke art for the game.

NEW CHARACTERS AND ART STYLE

The new art style is for the characters first, as this is the biggest task with all the modular armours, as is taking the longest to turn around, however the results are coming out well and it's been great to work with our artists on this. These are some WIP screenshots of the new characters and armour:




As you can see, it retains the low-poly look, but there is a distinctive style for AEGIS Kingdoms, which I couldn't be happier with. As we progress there will be more armours, both that you can craft, as well as unlock through gameplay & MTX.

COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE

• In the next dev diary I'll talk about how the balance between horizontal and vertical progression is being done. This was a fun system to design and I think strikes a good blend between having good stats, and also being able to access armours that are cool looking without needing to have crazy amounts of gametime.
• Faction Reputation and Factions are coming to the game soon. This will be the Relic Hunters to begin with. This is pretty cool as you'll be able to earn a lot of unlocks through questing for the various factions, which will also incorporate your trade and combat skills.

These are currently on a little bit of a hold whilst waiting for the art to be implemented.

• [MOVED FROM LAST DIARY] Instances and how they are handled will be coming to AEGIS Kingdoms in the near future. This has some pretty big, but positive, rammifications. It means faster loading screens and we're closer to having instanced arenas, dungeons, minigames and player housing (by extension possibly guild halls). So this is exciting!
• [MOVED FROM LAST DIARY] Party-Mode PvP (Minigame) will make an entrance in the future. You will "register" with an NPC, and then be teleported to a Hub where you'll be waiting until the match starts. You'll then be teleported to an arena to fight. It will feature different game modes that rotate (hence "party mode"), as well as specific game modes only being available on specific days. I.e "Free For All Thursdays" etc. This will be a latter update post the various skill updates.
• [MOVED FROM LAST DIARY] Vanity pets to accompany you on your adventures are on their way. Look for the arrival of the pet store!
• [MOVED FROM LAST DIARY] Duelling is coming to AEGIS Kingdoms soon. Exclusively for challenging you friends outside of safezones.
• [MOVED FROM LAST DIARY] Player Titles are coming to AEGIS Kingdoms soon. More on this later.
• [MOVED FROM LAST DIARY] PK PvP Toggling is coming to AEGIS Kingdoms soon. Toggle on PvP to start rampaging against others who want to do the same!
• [MOVED FROM LAST DIARY] Player Shops are coming to AEGIS Kingdoms soon. More on this later.

NEXT UPDATE FOCUS

This is about getting the new characters in the game, and then moving onto launching the open weekends.

TIMELINE

[olist]

Get Mistral ready and AEGIS Kingdoms as bug free and playable as possible.

Implement Combat Skills (level up your proficiency using a specific weapon type).

Implement Gathering Skills (Mining, Woodcutting, Fishing etc).

Implement Crafting Skills (Blacksmithing, Woodworking, Cooking etc).

[WE ARE HERE]

Implement new art style.

Launch Open Weekends.

Implement Faction Reputation system.

Introduce Relic Hunter content (quest types), faction hub and Dungeons. [/olist] After we've implmented the Relic Hunters, we'll look to add the other factions and their content. We'll also be listening to community feedback, adding hotfixes and additional tweaks as we go.

TL;DR

Current State of the Game:

• Skilling features (combat, gathering, crafting) are fully implemented for open weekends (Alpha).
• Maximum skill level is 99 with unlocks along the way.
• Game-ready for open weekends, awaiting final changes in updated art style.

New Art Style:

• Characters' low-poly look with a distinctive style for AEGIS Kingdoms.
• Modular armours in progress, moving away from stock assets.
• More armours to be crafted and unlocked through gameplay and microtransactions.

Coming in the Near Future:

• Dev Diary to discuss the balance between horizontal and vertical progression.
• Faction Reputation and Factions, starting with Relic Hunters, with quests and skill incorporation.
• Instances system for faster loading screens, instanced arenas, dungeons, minigames, and player housing.
• Party-Mode PvP Minigame, vanity pets, dueling, player titles, PK PvP toggling, and player shops in development.

Next Update Focus:

• Implement new characters and launch open weekends.

Timeline:

• Mistral and AEGIS Kingdoms bug-free and playable -
• Implemented combat, gathering, and crafting skills -
• Current focus: Implement new art style.
• Future plans include faction reputation, Relic Hunter content, dungeons, and community-driven updates.

Join the Discord for more screenshots, insight into AEGIS Kingdoms and impromptu tests.

[ 2023-11-15 15:29:21 CET ] [ Original post ]