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Author Topic: AoD April Update  (Read 18831 times)
Oscar
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« on: May 02, 2012, 01:12:30 pm »

First things first – here is a link to a vastly improved demo: http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php/topic,2488.0.html

We spent the last 5 weeks working on it, so it’s loaded with all kinda goodness:

- Tweaked THC (to hit chance) formula shifting the focus from defence to offense.
- Tweaked weapons damage ranges and added THC stats to differentiate similar weapons in the same class (a saber, for example, has a THC bonus (easier to wield), whereas a broadsword has more damage).
- Tweaked combat difficulty, balance, and starting positions.
- Tweaked stat bonuses (replaced STR bonus with %, limited INT bonus to quests only (not kills), etc).
- Changed skills thresholds from 50/75 to 50/70/90.
- Increased the amount of skill points you get at character generation.
- Added several alternative quest solutions.
- Tweaked skill checks to avoid min-maxing (now, we check the sum of several skills, so you won’t fail a check just because you are a few points short).
- Added partial success to many Critical Strikes checks and reduces the number of insta-kill outcomes (when you fail checks).
- Added more conversations with NPCs.
- Added starting slides, introducing your characters properly.
- Added an easy difficulty mode.
- Added a grappling hook for climbing enthusiasts.
- Added a looting menu when you have several bodies on one square.
- Increased the font size for higher resolutions.
- Reduced teleporting.
- Fixed a LOT of bugs and issues.

The list is fairly long – click here to read it, if you care. The gist of it is the new update is more than some minor fixes and it’s definitely worth playing.

Next stop – autosaves and reduced loading times. We didn’t want to delay the update anymore, but more fixes and tweaks are definitely coming, so stay tuned.

We’d like to thank everyone who has pre-ordered the game. We got 245 pre-orders to-date. It’s not Kickstarter-level of support, but every bit, every pre-order counts. We’ll put the money to good use and produce more content for the game.

Now our animator will be able to do what he simply didn’t have time for before, being too busy working full-time elsewhere. For example, those who follow the game know that we have “stone guardians” in the game. Originally, they were supposed to have 4 arms (anyone’s old enough to remember the Golden Voyage of Sinbad? Granted, the statue of Kali had 6 arms but the principle is the same), but it required a different skeleton and different animations and the part-time nature of the project didn’t leave much room, especially for characters you only run into twice. Now that we have some money to buy time (basically), we can breathe some life into the wasteland, making it a more memorable and interesting experience.

I don’t want to do the Kickstarter thing here and say “raise that much and we’ll add this or that”, but you can rest assured that every penny we get from the pre-orders will go toward making the game better.

I hope you’ll enjoy the demo. We’ll now start tweaking and adding more content to the other areas of the game. We’ll continue these monthly updates and will keep you informed of our progress (and yes, we will do a May one).
« Last Edit: May 02, 2012, 01:19:41 pm by Oscar » Logged

"Hasta la victoria, siempre."

"Who has time? But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have it?"
Anonxeuix
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« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2012, 01:45:41 pm »

DOWNLOADING!
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evilhyde
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« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2012, 03:40:51 pm »

Awesome Button.   lol   smug
Too damn funny.

I'm getting a 'Can't access procedural shaders directory" and "Can't access cached fonts directory" when I startup. Should I be concerned?
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evilhyde
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« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2012, 04:15:21 pm »

Tried a mercenary.... lived through the very first fight.
And I even forgot to equip my buckler.  Not so sure the awesome button is even needed.  Wink

Lots of nice changes here, can explore the Inn, buy & equip gear, and SAVE before the opening fight.  Nice!

I hate to be a whiny bitch (especially since I haven't pre-ordered yet) - I know Oscar pulled out his hair trying to please everyone with a new Candara font... but I'm finding it harder to read.

I compared the R2 with the screenshots of Candara in this thread and it appears smaller than those shots.

Anyway, a nitpick.  Still checking out everything else.  Great work as usual, guys!
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Vince
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« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2012, 04:20:22 pm »

"Recommend a better one and we'll consider it."
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Nick
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« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2012, 05:17:58 pm »

I'm getting a 'Can't access procedural shaders directory" and "Can't access cached fonts directory" when I startup. Should I be concerned?

It can cause problems. But it's a good thing I added a detection for this scenario =)
The folders are "shaders\" and "core\fonts\". Can you set a "modify" permission to them, for your windows profile?
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Oscar
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« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2012, 09:08:17 pm »

"- Added an easy difficulty mode."

haha. not funny.

 Angry
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tuluse
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« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2012, 09:57:55 pm »

"Recommend a better one and we'll consider it."

Can the font size be adjustable in options?

I'm finding the new font easier to read, but I'd like to be about 2 pts bigger.
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Oscar
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« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2012, 10:10:14 pm »

"Recommend a better one and we'll consider it."

Can the font size be adjustable in options?

No.

I'm finding the new font easier to read, but I'd like to be about 2 pts bigger.

Which resolution are you using?
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"Hasta la victoria, siempre."

"Who has time? But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have it?"
tuluse
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« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2012, 10:17:30 pm »

Which resolution are you using?

1680x1050

It is a lot better now.
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tuluse
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« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2012, 10:28:54 pm »

I just played through the demo as a merchant (I beat R1 as an assassin and a thief, but that's all I played). Either the new balancing made a huge difference, or I'm getting a much better hang of the system. I found this way easier, I still failed a few skill checks (which is good), but none were death causing.

The intro to Teron and not being sent right into a vignette are really nice touches, it makes it feel more like the beginning to something when before it felt like you were joining your character in the middle of something.

The sounds are a lot nicer too now.

All in all, I feel the presentation could pass for a commercial release in the 90s.
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evilhyde
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« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2012, 11:47:23 pm »

"Recommend a better one and we'll consider it."

I didn't mind the original one. I'm perfectly happy with Candara to, but I agree with tuluse it seems about 2 pts too small.  It appeared proportionally larger in the screenshots Oscar posted. If it matters, I'm running at 1280 x 1024.

UPDATE:  Cheated and made the font 2 pts bigger, looks perfect on my monitor now! ...and better than the original Charlemagne in readability (I cheated and re-tested that too)!   Approve

Anyway, the presentation now is very nice and professional. And you even fixed little things like the map and pressing Esc. And so far I don't see anyone complaining about combat. Time to go test out skill checks, but R2 is looking awesome so far.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2012, 05:57:19 am by evilhyde » Logged
evilhyde
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« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2012, 12:06:09 am »

Just noticed that skill tags are still in. Not complaining, just curious... change of heart?
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evilhyde
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« Reply #13 on: May 03, 2012, 12:58:59 am »

I'm getting a 'Can't access procedural shaders directory" and "Can't access cached fonts directory" when I startup. Should I be concerned?

It can cause problems. But it's a good thing I added a detection for this scenario =)
The folders are "shaders\" and "core\fonts\". Can you set a "modify" permission to them, for your windows profile?

Thanks Nick!  Now I tested and see that I can change the dialogue to any font and size I wish!  Or at least size based on what you provided, haven't tested further.   Evil
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Corvinus
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« Reply #14 on: May 03, 2012, 02:49:03 am »

Just got to say that I love the new lorica segmentata! Not that it was anything wrong with the old one, but the new one really looks awe-inspiring. And speaking of awesome, I'm not sure if I find it funny or sad that the brand new, collar-grabbingly-awesome character looks the same as my mercenary character did...  smug
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