First Update of 2017

Sometimes to move forward you have to go back. This past week we have been rewriting two major systems: inventory and map.

Map: Bigger, Better, Badder

Performance tuning is always done at the end because that is when you know best how the thing is to be used. Our map movement was fluctuating between 15-40 fps on our dev machines, and sometimes feeling really sluggish. Nic has now got it over 300fps with some more work to go.

The map feels much better already, but this leads to two improvements:

Runs Better on Low End Machines

Something we take seriously - we want Archmage to run well on older laptops.

Bigger Fuller Maps

For those that have played the pre-alpha that map is not the full game map size, just a small portion for testing. We're going to have a big full world for you to explore, conquer, and save.

2. The Definitive RPG Inventory System?

This is the 3rd version of the inventory system because we have some special requirements for this game that we just haven't seen in any other game:

Many types of inventory that behave differently: Personal items, equipment, quest items, trade goods, livestock, food, and more.
Multiple copies of items (also referred to as stacks), so you don't see 50 separate torches but torches x 50.
History of each item: where, when, and who made it, did they name it?, where you found/acquired it, and if you bought it how much you paid for it (very important for trading)
Quality of the item: Wood of quality 80 is different from quality 40, and cannot stack together without losing info. Important for crafting and trading.

I wish I could see how other RPGs wrote their inventory system before I embarked on this. So I'm willing to be the change I want to see. If you are a dev and are interested in a technical walkthrough of the inventory system I'll take the time to do it. If there is little interest, then I won't bother.

Oh, and paperdoll equipping is coming. Just need to get to designing it.

3. Fan Feedback

We read everything you say about Archmage Rises (eventually!). Some of it causes discussion (or debate) amongst the team.

Brindor wrote a very detailed feedback on Steam last week and while we did respond to it in detail on steam, we thought we'd talk about his wish list items in the update.

So yes Character Creation is coming and the ability to hire/boss around NPCs.

Hey Slayemin yer up next week!

Conclusion

This is our first week actually doing a short weekly update. What do you think?