Topics

121

Development News / Bark stuff, birch-bark stuff

« on: May 29, 2019, 12:21:31 PM »

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.

122

Development News / NPC hunters gone wild

« on: May 22, 2019, 05:11:50 PM »

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.

123

Development News / Roast cooking for NPCs, and also as companion command

« on: May 03, 2019, 12:44:45 PM »

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.

124

Development News / "Religion in digital games", lecture in finnish

« on: April 23, 2019, 09:46:08 AM »

This is mostly of interest to those who understand spoken finnish, but I'll brief it up in english.

University of Turku is hosting course of lectures titled "Katsomukset kartalla: Uskonto tieteessä, taiteessa ja populaarikulttuurissa" (fin) - which can be freely translated as "Views on the map: Religion in science, art and popular culture". All of these can be followed online.

The lecturers consist of Turku based religiologists and folklorists, and among them is Mr. Kyyrö who has paid interested in folk religion and worldview displayed in UnReal World. He did visit me - and also Erkka - earlier this spring. You might remember this post.

Now today, 23.4.2019, Mr. Kyyrö together with Tuomas Äystö are giving a lecture titled "Uskonto digitaalisissa peleissä." which translates as "Religion in digital games". The title is interesting in itself but what might be even more interesting to you is that UnReal World may possibly be referenced in the lecture.

You can follow the lectures remotely online, live or afterwards, via this link. Sign up isn't required either. Here's direct link to find the lectures:

https://echo360.org.uk/section/3f007f2d-1693-465d-bf56-de8bf57e12f5/public

And here's main page for the course of lectures:
https://katsomuksetkartalla.wordpress.com/katsomukset-kartalla-luentosarja/

125

Development News / Wits for wandering NPCs and companions - the future version focus

« on: April 21, 2019, 01:33:35 PM »

Things have been cooking and development has evolved up to such an extent where a sneak peek of what to expect in the future is in place. We don't have a deadline for the upcoming release, it's a work in progress, but we do know what the core content will be about.

The core content of the next release will focus on NPCs. The most important additions will concern the wandering woodsmen you may meet in the wild and the companions you can hire for yourself. They'll be given a bit more wits, tasks, and meaning for their existence in the game world as follows.

Actively hunting wandering NPCs

NPCs who roam the woods can now actively hunt animals. They seek the game based on their cultural preferences, and within their hunting possibilities. The very act of NPCs hunting, or running after a game, is probably rarely witnessed by the player character but bones and remains found in the woods can now tell a story of another human hunter at the area.
   As we know, the hunts can end in unimaginable ways, so many different scenarios may arise from the NPCs now taking their chances with the wildlife - and occasionally maybe even the very same wildlife that you were after.

Witnessing an NPC hunting scene. Seal-tribe woodsman has been met in the wild, and he's busy trying to shoot down a squirrel.



New companions commands

Companion usefulness gets boosted with some new tasks they will be able to do on demand. Currently it's been added:

* butcher and skin a carcass
* make logs
* make boards

...and the list is likely to grow with a few more crucial tasks. There's a great level of complexity to make companions proceed these tasks with similar detail than the player character so tasks to be added are prioritized with the quality over quantity.

The list of companion commands so far:



As companion skills naturally affect to outcome of the tasks their expertise can be sometimes used to obtain higher quality goods than what the player characters could produce by themselves. We also need to add an chat option to ask NPCs about their general skills and expertise so you know what kind of craftsman you've hired.

The companion was commanded to butcher and skin one of the reindeers we managed to hunt down. We got meat now, and a fine reindeer skin, which is way better hideworking result than what Jurks could have done in his current condition.


Exciting times ahead.
The work continues, more is to follow.

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

126

Development News / Legacy snakes issues fixed, some new snake love added

« on: April 13, 2019, 08:21:31 PM »

For quite a long time there's been a gutsy fistful of legacy issues related to snakes which are now fixed and balanced as follows:

- snakes now cause point type wounds. (Currently they cause tear wounds, which isn't quite right.)
 
- snakes now hibernate during the winter as they should. (Currently they are active all year around, which isn't quite right.)

- snakes are now slightly more common than previously

- snakes are now venomous, as they should be

 The snakes in the game are vipers. They are venomous species but the bites are usually not highly dangerous.
 If the venom is discharged upon a bite it will take several days for the snake to refill its venom glands.
 However, the snakes can naturally bite without venom too.

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

127

Development News / Colorful domestic animal summary

« on: April 10, 2019, 03:22:55 PM »

A little summary of the latest future additions with screenshots.

We'll be seeing wandering NPC woodsmen and adventurers occasionally having dog companions with them in the wild.

And we'll be seeing village dogs released out of their pens, to roam freely at the village area - in this fashion:


You may ask, is it just me or are the two dogs of different color?
Nothing wrong with your eyes, they are different color, and so are the cows in the pen also - if you look closely.

See, as another new addition all the domestic animals may have subtle varieties in their coat colors now. This adds some flavour to the game world, but also makes it easier to distinguish different colored pets from each others just by their looks.

Lets end the briefing with some pigs showing off their new varying coat colors.


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

128

Development News / New video greeting for supporters & lifetimers

« on: April 06, 2019, 12:56:20 PM »

After a little hiatus with video works there's now a fresh video greeting available for those who choose to do donate, and naturally lifetime members can find it at the designated forums section.

It must be noted that during the last few years donations have dried out to great extent, whereas downloads of the free-of-charge (ie. donation-based) version have constantly kept increasing. This occasionally makes me wonder about reasonableness of continuing my share of donation-based model, including the video rewards. But nevertheless, the fresh video work is now there. The game is there. And we continue to offer you a freedom of choice to support or not.

Cheers!

129

Development News / Who let the dogs into the wild...

« on: March 30, 2019, 05:57:50 PM »

Dog related additions now continue with dog companions for wandering NPCs.

Wandering woodsmen and adventurers you may encounter in the wild can now occasionally have dog companions with them. And just like the dogs owned by player characters these will also protect their masters.

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

130

Development News / Who let the dogs out...

« on: March 21, 2019, 02:53:06 PM »

Let's try to make a return with development news then. It's taken some browsing of the code and decoding hazy written notes to find the path which I was following prior to fracturing my arm, and the sick leave that followed. But now also my to-do memory has recovered to great extent and there are snippets of upcoming features to present.

Dogs... NPC dogs... Village dogs... Dogs to better protect the NPCs... that's what I had started to code, and that's what is now to be continued.

Village dogs are now released out of their pens, and they roam freely at the village area. This allows village dogs to truly protect the village from possible threats and intruders. Village dogs are also improved in their watch dog behavior, and unfamiliar visitors are now greeted with alarm barks and by coming close by to sniff and check them. Village dogs may seem intimidating for strangers but this behavior is gradually toned down when you become more familiar with the village.

...to be continued -- there are a few more dog things coming up..

131

Development News / [Diary entry] Talks with PhD about folk beliefs in UnReal World

« on: March 14, 2019, 11:11:53 AM »

The folklore, mythology and folk beliefs displayed in UnReal World have also arised academic interest.
Last weekend fresh Doctor of Philosophy, mr. Kyyrö, from Univerity of Turku School of History, Culture and Arts Studies paid a visit and came to talk about these themes for a project he is planning regarding computer games and religion.
Should there be some related publications or articles in the future, I'll keep you updated, but you gotta be patient as ambitious academic studies are proceeded slowly and carefully.
It's the same with ambitious iron-age inspired computer games too...

132

Development News / [Diary entry] Skiing and tracking

« on: March 07, 2019, 08:50:45 PM »

I guess we haven't seen any lynx related dev's diary entries here at the new forums. The old forums surely had some. So, how about a little picture story from the real world adventures of unreal world developer - with a lynx involved.

I went skiing the other day, and the ski trip then turned into a tracking exercise. Soon after entering the forest I spotted some lynx tracks, but our paths then departed as I went about my own trails.


Later, when returning home, strange curly tracks caught my attention - and sparkled my tracking instinct. I guessed that this might be the same lynx now dragging its kill, and had to confirm the theory.


I scouted the area, found lots of hare tracks, and then the lynx tracks which eventually turned into sneaking tracks as it approached the location.


The hare's last dance with the lynx went to many directions until finally the place where it ended was found, with some hair and (not too old) bloodscape.


There, the lynx had dragged its kill to a more peaceful location for eating it. That was some twenty meters away, among thick young spruce trees. Not much was left of the hare, but a few hairy bits on the snow.


Afterwards, I had to search for my backpack for half an hour as I had left it somewhere on the snow in excitement. I enjoyed the day and I hope you enjoyed this first, but hopefully not the last lynx related diary entry at these new forums.

133

Development News / Year 2018 now added to development history log

« on: February 24, 2019, 05:45:27 PM »

Briefing of year 2018 is now summarized up at "Development history of UnReal World" section at the homepage.
Mostly about fixing and balancing it was. And little bit about cats and Guinness World Records.

You can take a look at the Dev.news since 1992 page here:
https://www.unrealworld.fi/urw_devhist.html

134

Development News / 2019, here we come, slowly but steadily.

« on: January 28, 2019, 06:49:56 PM »

The time has come for me to start reaching back into the development chambers after the sick leave. My fractured shoulder is still far from fully healed, but computer work seems doable, so here we come development year 2019. Slowly but steadily that is, as the priority remains in exercising the injured arm a lot to increase mobility - rather than to get it stiff from the office work.

Oh boy, little did I know how slowly fractured shoulders heal. In the original injury topic somebody made a remark that this might be my hardcore first hand research on injuries and recovery. Well, yes, going through this actually got me thinking of going through game's recovery rules in case of fractured joints. I've been of the arm sling for five weeks now but it will still take months before I can shoot a bow again, and raising the injured arm above the shoulder level is a feat I have been doing reliably only for a week or two. And there's no way I can do it with carrying load of more than few pounds, so any hard work that requires both arms is out of the question.  It also takes time to learn to move the arm 'normally' again, as the early pain didn't allow all the proper muscles to be used with some arm trajectories. It is easy to understand how easily deformed body postures are born.

But here I am, dedicated to work on the arm and the game as much as possible during the 2019.
I've gone through the swamp of e-mails lately and hopefully answered to everything urgent - but if you miss a reply, please do re-send your e-mail.
Getting back on the track with the forums will take a bit longer, but soon enough you can expect replies to pop up here and there.

Luckily my physiotherapist has also given me permission to ski, just guaranteed that I do not fall on the injured arm in any circumstances.
2019, here we come.

135

Development News / Season's recovery greetings

« on: December 24, 2018, 12:34:53 PM »

There went the winter solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere, and we're heading towards the increasing daylight. I've also got my fractured shoulder off the sling by now, but the recovery continues. All the movements are painful, and I'm increasing the range of motion bit by bit. The official sick leave has been extended until January 2019, and my absence from the forums continues.
But you'll be fine, and I'll be back eventually. Thanks for all the warm words and understanding and wishes.

Winter Sale is going on at Steam so once again it's good time to grab UnReal World for yourself, or gift a friend into the Far North.

And lastly, huge big seasons greetings to each and everyone of you, from the tiny dev and the winter tree. Merry whatever, fellow adventurers!