Over the last few months so much has been going on! We got a dev server running, a quest system fully designed, implemented and functioning in the game, and we even got a new Alpha patch released! In this dev entry I will be going over what happened the last 4 months, let's begin!
Work Hours
- March: 26 hours streamed out of 107 hours worked
- April: 20 hours streamed out of 83 hours worked
- May: 31 hours streamed out of 62 hours worked
- June: 48 hours streamed out of 89 hours worked
The Road to Alpha 2
The goal has been to release a new Alpha update at least once a month. Each update has a lot of content that we would like to include and release. Sometimes its near impossible to fit all the planned content we want into the release window. When this happens we have to decide to either delay the release or to release the update with less content than planned. In this case for Alpha 2 we opted to delay the release.
Originally our goal was to just have Alpha 2 include two new maps and NPC's around the town you could interact and talk with. Then we decided to include some kind of quest or repeatable content with rewards that contribute towards the offical launch of the game. Plans changed and instead the goal was to add a fully functioning quest system. The reason we shifted plans was mainly why create a temporary, poorly thrown together, repeatable quest sytem that would only be used for one alpha release, when we could make a proper quest system that could be used as a core feature of the game.
New NPC's and Quest Givers can be found all over town!
I have written a stand alone blog post about The Quest System in AetherStory. Please check it out to learn more about the design and process involved in creating the Quest System.
Working on the new quest system greatly delayed the release of Alpha 2 by at least two months. But it was worth it. The quest system allows us to design a new quest and add it to the game in a matter of minutes. It was so easy to add quests to the game that Alpha 2 has been released with 6 quests that have multiple objective stages. If you have access to the Alpha be sure to tell me what you think of the new quest chains!
A lot more work was put into the Alpha 2 than just the Quest System. I also created new sprites, Mark created new maps, and Gregg created new music. And together we finally got the Alpha 2 launched.
Alpha 2 is now Live!
To read all the details about the Alpha 2 launch head on over to the blog post dedicated to it.
Quest objectives sparkle so you can't miss them!
What's next?
The first thing I need to do is get some bug fixes into the Alpha 2 release, I will be releasing a little patch in a couple days addressing some minor and major bug fixes. But once that is taken care of it will be time to start work on Alpha 3!
The plan for Alpha 3 is really one word: ITEMS. This means quests will soon reward you with items. Plus there will be treasure chests and hidden items scattered throughout the world allowing you to find items. And what's the point of having items if you can't sell them to merchants and manage your inventory in a menu. We also plan to add to Alpha 3 two new large maps and a few more quests.
To get Alpha 3 going I do have some game design things to sort out. These include designing the inventory system of the game, and making game editors to create and design items.
The plan is to have all this done in a few weeks, but we will see how it goes. And I will keep you guys updated on the day to day doings on Discord and of course on the live Twitch stream.
Speaking of streaming, I plan to stream more now that I have taken care of a lot of business I had to do off stream. Getting Alpha 2 launched required a lot of server configurations, database configurations and patching changes. All of those things I do not feel comfortable streaming. We also have been having a lot of meetings and creating plans for what is next and working together getting Alpha 2 ready for launch. These meetings also do not make a good stream. I assure you a lot of work has been put into the project over the past few months, and I do appologize for not updating you guys as often as I would like.
Let's move forward and get Alpha 3 done and I can't wait to tell you the plans for Alpha 4!
Thanks for reading and be sure to tell me what you think in the comments below!
Special Thank you
If you wish to support us and the development of AetherStory please consider donating or becoming our patron on Patreon. Either way your contributions unlock many great rewards including Alpha Access, Behind-the-Scenes access, and much more! Thank you all for your support.
A special thank you for the last three months of Patreons:
Parker, Grant, WolvesNation, Alessandro, Alexander and Vicente.
