Dev Diary #86

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Hey there, fellow ylanders!

Today is the first Dev Diary dedicated to update 0.14, and we’re starting with something pleasing to the eye.

If you’ve been with us for a longer time you may have noticed how the avatars' visuals changed over the course of time – especially their heads. They’ve become more detailed and we added a lot of new ones.

While we are happy with the results, this created too big of a contrast between smoother-looking heads and still very low-poly bodies. In 0.14 we’re changing the bodies as well, so that they fit with the heads.

Also, we wanted the characters to stand out a bit more, to become somewhat more distinct within their environment. This is done by the combination of the avatar being slightly more detailed than their surroundings and also by a specific new shader applied to them.

 

Original avatar / new avatar with the new shader applied / new avatars with shader and new clothes

 

As you can see in the picture, the new character looks much more consistent. Also, in the right section of the image you can see the character wearing modern clothes. This is also something worth mentioning. While this won’t be present in 0.14, we do plan on adding a lot of modern-looking assets before update 1.0. This will give you even more creative freedom.

That’s it for now. Have a great week and until we talk again – stay classy!

[CdriXX 29]

avatar's visuals before huge bug ? strange ?

[bojo2736 1016]

I hear that one dude's head exploding now.

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

Thanks for the swift work on the boats  

 

I feel like we are progressing away from the low-poly feel to a smooth cartoony feel with the characters. Might be less of an adult-kid bridge this way. Bit worried, less appeal to adults? 

What do others think? New or old? 

Edited July 12, 2019 by RedEagle_P1.

[Oliver Hope 261]

9 minutes ago, RedEagle_P1. said:

Thanks for the swift work on the boats  

 

I feel like we are progressing away from the low-poly feel to a smooth cartoony feel with the characters. Might be less of an adult-kid bridge this way. Bit worried, less appeal to adults? 

What do others think? New or old? 

I personally still perfer the old, but i think something in between would work well, like 1.5 times the pollys of the old ones

I think the new ones stand out too much, almost like they are from a different game

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by Oliver Hope

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

Made a video to ask the community about it: 

 

 

[Igor Q. 519]

Hey ales

Great to see some visual updates. As a small suggestion, I think having the option between choosing head shape, eye shape, nose, mouth and hair style would be much more satisfying than choosing between "premade" looks.

 

Also...when are getting the Ylands demon skin? I really want it

Another suggestion, why not host small vote systems for features the team is working on but not sure which one to pursue? For example, if the Ylands team has to choose between prioritizing making Ylands monsters more diverse or creating flying vehicle's a poll that is world wide would be a great way to help prioritize features the entire community wants.

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

Well, it seems like we are going in this direction...

Can't say I'm happy about it. Ylands alway had "the feel" whereas the picture above seems like a very generic online game. I would prefer to stay classy then go jolly. 

 

Because this is the Ylands that grew on me. 

Not this. 

[FoxPater 12]

1. We’re changing the bodies as well, so that they fit with the heads.

2. We’re changing the game as well, so that they fit with the characters.

 it's time to stop !

Edited July 13, 2019 by FoxPater

[Pyelot 51]

We, both ( adult and child), are quite happy with this.  It's only a few more polys and as we interact with players, it makes for a nice balance of believability that the characters we interact with are supposed to be humanoid. I welcome it in the same way as the heads update.  Thumbs up from us. I'm not worried that BI will increase the environment whole game poly, I just don't see that happening.  With the exception of a truely fluid sea, waves, splashes,water flowing into holes to find sea level or gravity based rivers, waterfalls  etc.  that would be  a most welcome addition.

 

Edited July 13, 2019 by Pyelot

[Oliver Hope 261]

On 7/13/2019 at 3:01 AM, Miguel Preguisa said:

 

The colors in this picture are on point, is it photshopped? I dont really play survival ?

 

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

20 minutes ago, Oliver Hope said:

 

Not sure if photoshoped but I hope not. It's an old screen of the game from the developers. It was featured on one of the first roadmaps. 

[bojo2736 1016]

I liked the old look better. I can live with the current look. The TenCent look is awful.  Too different in feel from the rest of the game. But we will get what they give us.

I welcome new costumes and clothing styles.

Can you make all hairstyles available on all heads? Currently there are lots of hairstyles but the are only a few per head. It is very limiting.

[bojo2736 1016]

Also, can we choose the color of the underclothes? 

[kimbuck 746]

How  about the   females  undies being a two piece ?     ..

Regarding the changes.....  Look to where the money is.  They say if  all the Chinese wore their sleeves  one inch longer, the   demand for cloth would  outstrip  the  worlds  supply.  So it is  with  games  etc,  if Ylands  is a big  success in these Asian countries,  the  sales profits  etc  would  make the rest of the  world  pale  into insignificance.

I understand the changes..its to   attract the majority,   and   typical  business practices.   If you are going to sell  bikinis an  you  live in Antarctica, expect  your market  to be in tropical  warmer  countries and  cater for them ...and also  vary the styles to suit   conservative  and  also   more "liberal"  countries....    

Otherwise you lose  profitability,   Big  sales in China / Asia  will ensure  funds  to  hire  more developers  etc to  improve the  game.

 

Edited July 15, 2019 by kimbuck

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

There's no reason to "hide" it  The shift from more low-poly to higher-poly (but still quite low when compared to other games) character models was made because of feedback we got from various groups of players. We are making Ylands as a platform in the first place and as such it needs to attract large number of players to be able to compete with Roblox and similar titles. We need the game to be popular among kids and casual players to make sure Ylands creators (which is mostly folk like yourself) will have an access to as large player pool as possible - both to make sure that your creation get enjoyed by as many people as possible and also to make it worthwhile to ones of you who will decide to monetize their creations. For the "ecosystem" to work we need players and adjusting the character visuals makes it easier to attract them.

On the other hand we don't plan to do any other larger adjustments to game visuals or features so don't worry that this is a start of some trend. The upcoming update 0.14 will bring a ton of new stuff and then we'll do 100% polishing and fixing for a few months before we the fun begins  

[bojo2736 1016]

Hard to attract large numbers of players when your game limit is 8. 

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

7 hours ago, Aleš Ulm said:

There's no reason to "hide" it  The shift from more low-poly to higher-poly (but still quite low when compared to other games) character models was made because of feedback we got from various groups of players. We are making Ylands as a platform in the first place and as such it needs to attract large number of players to be able to compete with Roblox and similar titles. We need the game to be popular among kids and casual players to make sure Ylands creators (which is mostly folk like yourself) will have an access to as large player pool as possible - both to make sure that your creation get enjoyed by as many people as possible and also to make it worthwhile to ones of you who will decide to monetize their creations. For the "ecosystem" to work we need players and adjusting the character visuals makes it easier to attract them.

On the other hand we don't plan to do any other larger adjustments to game visuals or features so don't worry that this is a start of some trend. The upcoming update 0.14 will bring a ton of new stuff and then we'll do 100% polishing and fixing for a few months before we the fun begins  

I trust you guys will do the right thing. Please don't mind me giving honest feedback even if sometimes it comes down hard on what you have poured your heart and soul into. I know how it is as with P1 I get suggestions all the time but the view from the top is different and it's hard to implement. 

 

I do worry about launch though, how will you address the serious networking issues before we are live? There seems to be an enormous amount to do before you go live. Can you share your plan? 

Edited July 15, 2019 by RedEagle_P1.

[WijkagentAdrie 384]

I see an airship in the background there on that chinese edit, any updates on those?