Dev Diary #72

[Ane 1213]

Hey there fellow ylanders!

Let’s start with the most obvious question on your minds – the state of the update 0.12. The data has been locked, meaning that no further changes are being made and everything is being thoroughly tested. It’s possible that you will get to read one more Dev Diary before the update is released, but this beast of an update is getting so hard to get out that we won’t be able to hold it in any longer. Every update we release is bigger than the preceding one… and this one is definitely no exception

Because we’ve already covered most of the large features coming your way, I would l like to use this opportunity to name some smaller ones, that will make your time spent playing Ylands more pleasant.

Let's get into it!

Overall, in this update we're not only adding brand new features, but we’ve also adjusted A LOT of the existing ones, adding many QOL (quality of life) changes to the game. For instance, you can now pick up objects much quicker one after another, fly faster with a propeller pack, and spot and identify resource veins based on resource chunks lying around (no more looking for flint like crazy ). We also made a lot of changes based on your feedback, so focused objects are now easier to spot and objects on the ground are harder to miss.

In the past we’ve talked about the changes made to the 3^rd person camera. We were able to put in the game a new way how camera works with ships (it even supports zoom) and because of that, the movement feels more fluent. But on top of that, we managed to vastly improve the way characters move over smaller obstacles or walk up or down stairs. We can’t wait for you to let us know what you think!

While sailing, the camera shouldn't get in the way anymore. Sailing exploration realness by [5thSC(A)]Pvt Bushi Neko!

As you know, another aspect of the game that has been largely refined is the GUI. We took your comments into consideration, and based on that, in 0.12 you’ll see that your hotbar gets way less cluttered by useless resources and several buttons have been replaced. Also, with this new system in place, all the annoying issues from the past should be gone.

 

Due to all of these changes, there are a couple of things that you should take into account when it comes to this update:

• All old non-visual scripts will cease to work, so several official games/compositions will be taken down from the Workshop (bear it in mind also if you have games/compositions of your own)
• In order to play your locally created game outside the Editor, you will first have to export it so that it appears in the main menu
• As part of the optimization process and GUI overhaul, the last three slots in the inventory have been removed. If your character has any objects in those slots, as soon as the updated game starts, the items found in those no longer existing slots will be dropped next to the character (even if your character is offline in a MP game). So make sure you store these soon to be dropped items, to avoid losing them.

In any case, these things will be mentioned in the Changelog as well, but we wanted to give you a heads up

 

Now let's take a look at the questions you've posted during the week!

Are you devoting any real play testing time to discovering methods of griefing so that you avoid as much of it as possible before you "release" the game? In a lot of games this type of testing is fluffed over and left for the players to report and troubleshoot leaving some players frustrated for having to do the game companies job. 

No. What we do is that for every feature we put in the game, we try to think of possible scenarios where it could be exploited, and we try to fix those. It is, however, only during the real gaming sessions that most of the harmful behavior is found - we've already fixed a lot of those based on your feedback. We're planning to devote enough time to look specifically for these patterns before the game leaves Early Access.

Will the new, faster combat moves be also a bit preciser, as the moves, we are posessing now? Because my real problem with them was newer the speed, but always their lack of precision. If you only add the speed, i fear, it will make the situation only worse...

We've done some changes to what and how you focus things in combat. Please give it a try and let us know if things got better for you!

I love how much you can do with this game! I recently started learning Coding for C++ after being inspired from making codes inside this game. Are there any recommendations on where to learn? (Im right now doing an intro course on udemy but I'm almost done.

Learning to code in C++ can be somewhat difficult if you don't have any previous experience with "easier" languages like C# or with scripting languages like Lua or Python. If you find that it is too difficult to start with, I suggest you switch to C# and play around a bit with Unity.

With the update to making axes better at cutting trees, what will happen saws? I really like the idea of the saw being a more efficient tool for cutting trees. Maybe they can grant more wood when breaking down logs compared to using an axe? (So it becomes somewhat required for making boats or large structures)

That's a very good point. To be honest we're still thinking about what role should saws play after this update - it's quite likely that we will do something about them, but it will have to wait till 0.13.

Additionally, what is the plan regarding terrain depletion? Currently once you finish mining a vein of iron it's gone forever and as the game gets longer it becomes harder to get. How is this intended to be solved in the future?

Yes. We need to resolve this issue especially since in the future (post 1.0) players will need even more resources like iron in order to build more advanced machinery.

 

And that is all for today! We will see you again in a week – until then have a great time and stay classy!

[Igor Q. 519]

Thanks for the info!

Quick question. With the implementation for "explorer like maps". Will we be able to import logic, compositions and objects with scripts inside it?

I'd like to prepare for a pvp/pve server with update 0.12

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

With all this postponing, is it still imaginable to hit version 1.0 this year? As you said, every update is bigger and bigger but also slower and slower. This update was/is being developed five months. Which is quite a lot (in comparison to other Ylands updates, I myself don't know anything about developing games) and 1.0 will probably take even more time. So... is 2020 more probable? Is there a 0.14 on the roadmap ? 0.15? 

[CdriXX 29]

ahah ... like DayZ ... this game is dead ... unfortunately !!!

[bojo2736 1016]

EA isn't for everyone. This is the process when you signed up on Steam. Did you even read the agreement?

[CdriXX 29]

Nowadays ... all the game are in early access so ... ?

[Indomitus 388]

2 hours ago, Ane said:

I love how much you can do with this game! I recently started learning Coding for C++ after being inspired from making codes inside this game. Are there any recommendations on where to learn? (Im right now doing an intro course on udemy but I'm almost done.

Learning to code in C++ can be somewhat difficult if you don't have any previous experience with "easier" languages like C# or with scripting languages like Lua or Python. If you find that it is too difficult to start with, I suggest you switch to C# and play around a bit with Unity.

I'm finding this to be a great place to start, myself, so I agree with this.  C++ is a fairly advanced language, not really the best choice if you're just starting out.  Unity is relatively easy to learn to use and see some results very fast (that's a good thing to stay encouraged) especially with the enormous number of tutorials available online, and the large community of devs that can help you with it.

And I'm trying to learn it, too, so maybe we could trade notes.  ?

Edited April 5, 2019 by Indomitus

[Houp 237]

3 hours ago, Igor Q. said:

Thanks for the info!

Quick question. With the implementation for "explorer like maps". Will we be able to import logic, compositions and objects with scripts inside it?

I'd like to prepare for a pvp/pve server with update 0.12

Yes. You just start to create your game on a land created similar to explore. Consisting 9-12/13? ylands of different biomes with caves but without random encounters.

[Indomitus 388]

8 minutes ago, Houp said:

Yes. You just start to create your game on a land created similar to explore. Consisting 9-12/13? ylands of different biomes with caves but without random encounters. 

To be clear, I interpret this as a "yes" for maps created in the Editor (that will be very much like Explore maps) but still a "no" for maps started in Explore mode?

[ovring 2]

1 hour ago, Houp said:

Yes. You just start to create your game on a land created similar to explore. Consisting 9-12/13? ylands of different biomes with caves but without random encounters.

What are these "random encounters"?

[Houp 237]

10 hours ago, Indomitus said:

To be clear, I interpret this as a "yes" for maps created in the Editor (that will be very much like Explore maps) but still a "no" for maps started in Explore mode?

Yes (you will be unable to add/edit game logic in save games)

[Houp 237]

9 hours ago, ovring said:

What are these "random encounters"?

I think we call it "Sites of interest" in game. They are abandoned huts/vendors/hidden chests etc.

[ovring 2]

Hm, that's a pity:(

[Indian Chief 239]

How's the update coming along?

[Onedown 28]

Just a quick recommendation for the person asking about learning c++.  Any gamer interested in learning to program computers should look into autohotkey and use scite for autohotkey as the editor for your scripts (both are free).  Autohotkey was instrumental in my learning to program because it gave me the opportunity to make programs that interact with the games I play helping to make it easier for me to play the games in a way that isn't cheating (I have several disabilities that I was able to play past this way).  There is an extensive help file with examples of most everything and scite automatically checks syntax and helps a great deal with formatting the code so it is easier to read.  Whatever language you choose to begin with you'll have to get a beginners guide and read it and reread it and practice coding as many times as it takes to have a mastery of at the very least the basics.

[ErikaN 0]

HAHA... I only just saw this... That's me! Bushi Neko.

Edited April 12, 2019 by ErikaN