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Roast cooking for NPCs, and also as companion command As we continue with focus on NPCs, which becomes the core content of next release, they have now been given wits to actively roast raw meat or fish in their possession.
This feat is mostly witnessed by player character when meeting wandering NPCs who can now actively cook the meat of the animals they've hunted and butchered.
It now becomes an actual game created scene possibility to meet a wandering woodsman sitting by the fire and roasting the meat of hare he just happened to hunt down.

Moreover, roast cooking is also added as a new companion command. Unlike player character, companions don't leave the meat by the fire and pick it up when it's done, but they stay put by the fire while roasting is being done. Companions roast ten pieces of meat at a time, and if not given another order they try to keep on cooking until everything is roasted.

These are future additions - not yet functional in current version 3.52.

May 03, 2019, 12:44:45 PM
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NPC hunters gone wild I've had amusing and laborous times with testing and tweaking how NPCs now behave in the wild with their newly added wits for example to actively hunt and process the downed animals. New blocks of AI always make things a bit crazy at first as unimaginable and unpredictable conditions harness the power of new algorithms.

I've witnessed NPC hunter running after a squirrel swinging a sword, and exhausting himself by circling around the tree with no better understanding of the target being out of his reach. After awhile my character decided to help the guy out and shot the squirrel down for him, after which he correctly proceeded to butcher and skin the carcass. Without manners of saying a proper thanks, though.

Another NPC came (or was actually forced to by the means of black debug magic) hunting at the site where I had just lost one of my party members. After he had succesfully shot the hare he was after he proceeded to approach the corpse of my passed companion. My character and his dog watched in confusion this guy just stand on the corpse with no intention to move anywhere. Later on I found out that the crazy NPC hunter had an unbearable craving to skin and cut the corpse of my dead companion, but the moral restrictions came in between and he ended up in endless "Should I? No, you must not." limbo.

On a brighter side of incidents I traded a loop snare from a wandering woodsman for a fresh salmon. Soon after, the woodsman decided to light a fire and roast the salmon. A simple little thing but it made a nice difference.

All in all, NPCs in the wild seem a bit more intelligent, but also bit more crazy at the moment. Craziness is surely refreshing, but tweaking and testing still need to be continued.

May 22, 2019, 05:11:50 PM
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Bark stuff, birch-bark stuff Many updates to peeling bark from trees, and utilizing birch-bark as well, are on their way.
Most fundamental addition of all the bark related stuff is to allow harvesting birch-bark and feature it as raw material which can be used in many different crafts.
Takes a while before we get into adding crafts, but bark harvesting changes and additions have been made already, and they can be summarized roughly as follows:

Birch-bark is peeled in long strips, which are wound to a ball for storage. (These kind of balls of birch-bark are called Sommelo  in finnish.)
Harvesting birch-bark in strips is slower compared to (already existing) ways of removing bark in sheets, but as a strip it's ready for weaving.
Moreover, time of the year now matters in harvesting any bark. It's best to be done in early summer, and gets more difficult (and eventually impossible) out of the proper period.
The bark yield (from a single tree) is also not constant but depends on the season and character's timbercraft skill.
And the biggest catch of this all that with adding birch-bark strips we'll be also adding unit of lenght to appropriate game items - that will eventually cover all the cords and ropes as well. So the requirements for birch-bark crafts are going to be eg. "16 feet of birch-bark strip" rather than some weight measure of bark. Many new possibilities open. But it's a hassle at first now to make conversions and routines understand the lenght. But that's my hassle, you just stay tuned...

These are future additions, not yet functional in current version 3.52.

May 29, 2019, 12:21:31 PM
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Breakthrough in the discovery of DNA in ancient skulls buried in water The unique archaeological Iron age site of Levänluhta in Western Finland is the most intriguing burial site in Finland:
Skulls of 98 individuals, mostly from women and children, have been buried in water.
A team of researchers from the University of Helsinki have used new DNA technology, including the analysis of strontium-isotype composition in tooth enamel to find significant information on the skulls.
The DNA matches present day Sámi people. The presence of the Sámi people so south in Finland has been verified for the first time.
Anna Wessman, Director of the Levänluhta project, Antti Sajantila, Professor of Forensic Medicine and Laura Arppe PhD Researcher of Stable Isotope Research, share their insights on the finding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_AcAyYmLuA

June 11, 2019, 06:34:24 PM
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Re: Craftable birch-bark items and associated ponderings Good points here and there, and we try keep things covered.
See...
as we can see with combat related wearing out it's so that clothes and armour do not come down in their quality upon wear. 
So masterwork boots will appear as masterwork boots, even if they are seriously worn out masterwork boots. The same principle applies to footwear wearing out in use.
With weapons and tools it's already so that higher quality items are more durable. Now quality based durability will be extended to cover armours and clothes as well.
As a result your fine boots will last longer than the rough ones. 
And while I'm at it, the quality of armours and clothes will be extended to cover their protective values as well. Finer furs are warmer furs, and so on.

When it comes to repairing clothes, it really should be made so that you shouldn't be able to repair things infinitely.
This could be easily achieved by lowering the quality on each repair, finally forbidding rough clothing to be repaired at all.
Just pondering for now, though, as there are these other things in line first.

June 19, 2019, 12:17:16 PM
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Summer Sale, Summer opportunities I'm a bit late to announce this but it is live now: Steam Summer Sale, and you can get UnReal World  for discounted price until 9th of July.

I want to bring this to your attention because it is likely that when next version is released the interval between Steam version and standalone (donation-based, free-of-charge) installers will be significantly longer. This is because the donation-based distribution has been receiving very marginal and insufficient support for years already, and I have to reason things out how to balance with the current distribution models. I'll be happy to answer possibly puzzled questions of relatively recent of near-future intending donors but that will have to await until next week - but don't hesitate to even e-mail if you feel like it.

Why this announcement is late then, is because while the sale was launching I was busy attending to 'science-art-forest' themed seminar and workshops at Koli in eastern Finland - a location famous of its hills and cliffs which are well-known national sceneries of Finland. 
In addition to presentation about working with the game I also performed an archery demonstration in the most awesome location I have ever shot a bow.
Summer is full of opportunities. Let's not hesitate. Cheers!


Archery demonstration, shooting with Japanese bow.


Giving a presentation about UnReal World and the related stuff..


The highest summit of Koli; "Ukko-Koli"

June 29, 2019, 07:39:39 PM
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Messing with measures So, the length property has been added for tying equipment, and I've been working on to update item conversions and crafting requirements to accept this brand new addition.
Adding measure of length is a perfect example of seemingly simple, yet fundamental addition which extends all around the code and has brought up numerous related features.
Here's where we are at now with tying equipment additions, and now I hope to be able to catch up with more NPC stuff - where I was before getting entwined by ropes and cords.

 - added: measure of length for tying equipment

         Appropriate items, such as ropes, now have a length property. The unit of length we use
         is foot (ft), and should an item have a length property it is displayed both in inventory menu
         and when looking at items on the ground. This addition foremostly affects to crafting material
         requirements which can now be length based.

  - added: new crafting category under [M]ake menu: "Tying quipment"

         This category contains the usual ropes and cords, which are now removed from their previous
         location in "Utility articles".

 - added: Join and shorten options to manipulate tying equipment lengths

         Under "Tying equipment" category within [M]ake menu there are options for joining and shorterning
         ropes and cords as sometimes specific length is desired. You may not want to spend full length
         rope on something that requires only a short piece, or you may need to join cords together to
         come up with long enough string for a specific craft.

 - changed: tying equipment requirements in crafting are now length based

         Instead of requiring certain number of cords and ropes all the tying equipment requirements
         are now length based.

 - reasoned: required tying equipment types in some crafting recipes

         For example:
         When making arrows, previously you could use any "tying equipment" in the process - including
         ropes. Now arrow making requires "cord", a little finer and more specific tying equipment.

 - added: tying equipment used in cookery do not disappear in the process anymore

         You can pick your ropes and cords back after the smoking and drying processes are done.   

These are future additions, not yet functional in current version 3.52.

July 10, 2019, 01:40:01 PM
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Summery summary in the midst of upcoming version hype Yes, yes. Yet another version is cooking up. That's not news. That's how it goes with UnReal World.

But what it will be about, and when to expect a release?
That would be more like news. And that's what this post is about.

Summer is always a busy season. There's so much happening that it's hard to even summarize what's happening. Many of the warm days and nightless nights get spent on recreational activities, but working hours in the development chambers have been also been busy and sweaty. Now lets take a look at what has happened, and to where all this is taking us. Some of this stuff may have been announced already, but it doesn't hurt to drool once again.

The main focus of upcoming version is laid on NPCs. This applies to both companions you can hire for yourself, and wandering woodsmen you may meet in the wild. But that's not all. I'll cover some of the upcoming new features in the chunks of text below. I won't add screenshots this time, but a few selected historical image sources from Finnish museums and archives. Some of these may not be era-accurate, but mood and theme suitable nevertheless.


Wandering NPCs will actively hunt animals, based on their cultural preferences, and also utilize the kills the best they can.

This opens up possibilities for numerous exciting incidents to take place as the woods with hunters and their game now becomes far more alive and complex than before.
The very act of NPCs hunting is propably rarely witnessed by the player character but traces and remains found in the woods can tell a story of another human hunter at the area.
Wandering woodsmen and adventurers may now also occasionally have dog companions with them. And just like the dogs owned by player characters these will also protect their masters.


"Hunter with his gear"
Photographer: Sirelius U.T. 1898
National Board of Antiquities / Suomalais-ugrilainen kuvakokoelma / SUK36:263
License: CC BY 4.0


Companion usefulness gets boosted with several new tasks they can do on demand

New companion commands are:
* butcher and skin carcasses
* roast meat or fish
* make logs and boards
Companions skills naturally affect to outcome of the tasks so their expertise can be sometimes used to obtain higher quality goods than what the player characters could produce by themselves.
That's cool, you might think. And you also might think of few other tasks companions could do. Indeed. Same here. We actually do have a few more things regarding companions still under construction. Currently we're working on mechanisms to allow unoccupied companions automatically to help you with laborous tasks (eg. building) thus shortening the working time.


Well, we haven't concentrated solely on living things. Here's a few of probably the most interesting additions and features regarding item galore;

Harvesting and utilizing birch-bark

It will be possible to harvest and utitilize birch-bark in crafting. Birch-bark is peeled and removed from a tree in long strips which are then wound to a ball for storage. (As a trivia, this kind of balls are called 'Sommelo' in Finnish.)
It will be possible for player character now to craft birch-bark shoes, caps, boxes, baskets - and also birch-bark ropes.


Ball of birch-bark, 'Sommelo'.
The National Museum of Finland / Yleisetnografiset kokoelmat / VK5354:11
License: CC BY 4.0



Measure of length for tying equipment

Tying equipment such as ropes and cords now have a length property, and tying equipment requirements in crafting are now length based. There will be also options for joining and shorterning ropes and cords as sometimes specific length is desired.


Armour and cloth quality having impact on their protective values

High quality armours and clothes now provide more protection, and the low quality ones provide less. In most cases this covers more than one coverage aspect, but always at least the most important aspect for the item in question.


Footwear wearing out in use

Shoes and boots now wear out in use ie. when walking or otherwise moving around by foot. Footwear material determines their durability.


Reindeer fur boots, 'Nutukkaat'.
The National Museum of Finland / Suomalais-ugrilaiset kokoelmat / SU4724:35
License: CC BY 4.0



Let this be enough for summery summary about what to expect. Now then there's that other question...

When we're done with those "few more things" still pending to be added it is time to start wrapping things up for a beta release. I'm quite reluctant to set or mention any deadlines as they usually don't keep, but if we think it out loud then...
It shouldn't take more than few weeks to finish the most urgent pending to-do's. Then a week of extensive testing and adjusting the latest additions, and then if everything goes fine it's time to start final packaging.
So...
...we could be seeing first beta of the brave new version in early september. And from there on, what has been laid in there will still be evolving and growing, stabilizing and multiplying.

It should be noted that the beta version will be released on Steam, and for lifetimers, and standalone (donation-based, free-of-charge) installers will follow after significantly longer time than what we have used to in the past. This is because the donation-based distribution has been receiving very marginal and insufficient support for years already, and I have to reason things out how to balance with the current distribution models. I'll be happy to answer possibly puzzled questions of relatively recent of near-future intending donors but that will have to await until next week - but don't hesitate to even e-mail if you feel like it.

August 05, 2019, 11:53:54 AM
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Re: Summery summary in the midst of upcoming version hype
Can we get a metal working skill and start integrating smithing into the vanilla game? It is Iron age Finland after all.

Umm, I don't really like to add things if they don't have real function in the game. When there will be metalworking skill, there will be metalworking featured as well.


September 01, 2019, 05:59:50 PM
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With a little help from companions. And the approaching release. It's september. It's release month. We're making final touches, tests and preparations to allow first beta of upcoming version 3.60 to go live in few weeks - on Steam and for lifetimers, that is. It is also likely that the first beta will be released for Windows only, and other platforms will follow later on. This is because our OSX and Linux maintainer is super busy this month, and aiming for synchronized release would delay things far onto October. When the rumble starts we'll be seeing several beta versions on our way towards stable tag as there's still stuff on 3.60 to-do list.

As mentioned, the main focus of upcoming version is laid on NPCs and companions. Several new NPC/companion features have been mentioned in previous posts, and we'll hereby highlight one more big addition.

- added: companions can help you with laborous tasks thus shortening the working time

         Unoccupied companions now spontaneously help you with many different tasks. Their labor input
         helps to finish the physical work in shorter time, but doesn't otherwise affect to result
         or quality of the task outcome. The help companions provide is imagined to be something they
         can do without specific tools, but the kind which makes it easier and faster to finish the work
         together.
         For example:
            When building a log wall it helps to have extra hands around for moving and setting the logs
         in place even if the player character would be the one who does the necessary carving.
            When softening the skin with beater as a final stage of tanning process it helps to have
         somebody around to check, adjust or tighten the skin if necessary.
            When setting and retrieving nets it helps to have somebody to row the watercraft.

         The tasks where companions can currently help you are as follows:

         * all the building tasks
         * building trap constructions
         * setting and retrieving nets
         * harvestring bark
         * tanning stages of cleaning, applying tanning material and final softening
         * crafting rafts
         * crafting leather ropes
         * crafting birch-bark containers and ropes
 
         The tasks are 10-20% faster to perform with a companion and in many cases having multiple helping
         pairs of hands shortens the time 5-10% more per companion. However, the benefits of helpers
         is gapped at three (3) companions, so having more than three helpers doesn't shorten the
         the working time any further. It depends on the task how many helpers is the optimal number, and
         this varies from one to three companions.
   
         Companions do help you with these tasks completely spontaneously, without any commands, if they
         are free from other chores and can reach the player character. You will be notified about companions
         helping you with specific messages displayed right after starting the task. These messages also
         tell if you are being assisted with the optimal maximum number of companions for the task in
         question. If you receive help from some companion(s), but the task would be even easier with more
         helping hands the message is, for example, as follows:
            "You get some help with this task from Ahti."
         And if you have the optimal maximum number of helpers the message is, for example, as follows:
            "Tapio, Korjus and Visa help you with this task."



Screenshot of upcoming version 3.60. Companion helps the character with setting the net.

It should be noted that the beta version will be released on Steam, and for lifetimers, and standalone (donation-based, free-of-charge) installers will follow after significantly longer time than what we have used to in the past. This is because the donation-based distribution has been receiving very marginal and insufficient support for years already, and I have to reason things out how to balance with the current distribution models. I'll be happy to answer possibly puzzled questions of relatively recent of near-future intending donors but that will have to await until next week - but don't hesitate to even e-mail if you feel like it.

September 04, 2019, 12:51:53 PM
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anything