Dev Diary #62

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Hey there, fellow ylanders.

Last week we answered some of your questions regarding the game, and in the same thread there were some further (very valid) questions raised. Initially, I had some other topics in mind, but I feel that answering those is more important, so let’s do this today and move what was initially planned to the next Dev Diary.

Let’s go over the things you've suggested or asked (and how we are planning to tackle them):

Remove the HUGE number of options for new users joining servers -- too many options and people feel overwhelmed
We agree with you that it should be very easy to get into a MP game (or start a new one). Not only we’ve already made some changes to the Main menu, which you will get to see in 0.12, but we're also planning on removing or hiding some additional options that we believe no one actually uses or which are too confusing.

Have only 3-4 official servers where people start, one in each region
Again - we agree that it’s more important to have fewer interesting online places where people can hang out with each other instead of half-empty (at best) unsupervised servers. We are actually already working on something that we believe will help this a lot - something we now are internally calling Playground and which we hope to present with our other plans soon.

I think the emphasis on Gold Rush was a mistake
Gold Rush was a lesson we had to learn. For reasons that are not important here, it had to be created in a much shorter time than orignally expected. There is no proper introduction to the game, many features can feel confusing... that being said, I still believe that the game holds promise, but it needs more time to become intuitive and fun. However, I believe that it succeeded completely as a proof that we can create a Multiplayer game for a larger number of players just with the help of Visual Scripting - as everything, from the actual gameplay to the MP lobby, was created using the Editor. So for all intents and purposes, as a technical test, it was a success.

 

Ylands gameplay decisions are made in a room that looks almost like this one! (Executive Board Room courtesy of @Deadeye_Rob)

 

Start people on different islands to reduce chaos
This would be a problem. There are several plans that we have for Explore, and one of them is to make the ylands themselves more distinct - both when it comes to the resources they hold and with the enemies themselves (the further you go from your initial yland, the tougher and more rewarding will get).

Actually tell new users to seek out private servers that are a bit more well-moderated in loadings screens as a tip
There’s no denying that the community support makes or breaks a game, so having a community moderated servers is definitely a good approach and we have big plans to make sure this kind of cooperation between us is nurtured and highlighted.

The rest are nice suggestions, mostly to make sure that the players have easier access to quality Ylands content, and there’s really nothing that can be said against that. We’ll definitely discuss that in the future as well.

That’s it for today. Have a great weekend, ylanders, and as always - stay classy!

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

Thanks for all the replies  

Look forward to seeing all you have planned! Glad to see we are on the same page. 

Gold rush was not super fun but it was very stable. Hardly found any bugs. It really showed that with enough time and effort it can be done. 

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by RedEagle_P1.

[bojo2736 1016]

1 hour ago, Aleš Ulm said:

Start people on different islands to reduce chaos
This would be a problem. There are several plans that we have for Explore, and one of them is to make the ylands themselves more distinct - both when it comes to the resources they hold and with the enemies themselves (the further you go from your initial yland, the tougher and more rewarding will get).

This is interesting.  As a survival game, once you are well armed, it's not too hard.  I think there are adventure seekers who would appreciate this.

I don't agree that the gold rush game was a mistake.  I just think there are too many of them.  Cut them down to maybe two per region, you don't need 100 of them.  That was also a problem in the old style official explore maps.  Too many.  I would still like to see those make a comeback, but under some kind of control.  Mods to control griefing.  The ability to share Power Barriers for team play.

Thanks for the update!

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

Am I really just one of a few that really enjoyed the Gold Rush?  Even though I completely agree that that are too many official servers. 

[CdriXX 29]

mmmh yes ... it's all? ... You forgot to indicate the date of the next update !

[Indomitus 388]

52 minutes ago, Miguel Preguisa said:

Am I really just one of a few that really enjoyed the Gold Rush?  Even though I completely agree that that are too many official servers. 

I thought it was fun as well, maybe just incomplete, and definitely too many servers of it.  BI should consider more of a mixture of Gold Rush, explore maps, and possibly some other game modes that the community builds, if they're good enough.

[Deadeye_Rob 905]

I tried to get into Goldrush but I found it a little hard to pick up.

 

I think future official server games should adopt a 'drop-in drop-out' element where players can pop on for a short term game of some description, then leave without consequence. (Think Lego Starwars or GangBeasts).

 

Maybe a game featuring just a few plain old Gun Battles. Maybe some sort of trench warfare? I for one enjoy popping onto the Ylands Wild West map to take a few pot shots at people online!