Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[wolf.b]

WOLF

I've had a fairly light week here after the intense work I put into map research and designing the past few weeks. I've researched and catalogued data for the various US states concerning weather variables which I'm planning to use 2-fold. Primarily it'll affect seasonal economics, for example less addictive drugs will see lower sale numbers in freezing weather, and the opposite in hot weather. That's a very basic example mind you.

All of this data will also be used when we transfer to the QUANTUM LEAP system (codename for our RPG system once much of the strategy-simulation mechanics are complete). For example descriptions of the weather and the myriad of ways that'll affect the game. It's a fun passive system I'm just starting to explore designing, now that I have the data to play with.

In Nerdrage news, he was released from hospital after a 2 week quarantine having contracted COVID-19 whilst recovering from his leg infection. I still have contact with him but he is back in hospital again with a blood clot in the previously infected leg and is facing multiple surgeries. It's obviously an incredibly painful and worrying time for him and I hope you'll all join me in wishing him a swift recovery and good health.

[wolf.b]

WOLF

It looks like we'll be getting Nerd back next week as he is being released from hospital tomorrow. He's already feeling much better which is fantastic news and the doctors say he is responding well to the blood clot medication. Beyond this I have nothing to report this week as I took some time off to work on my manuscript. But I'll be back to work next week with more designing, hopefully Nerd will join me for a report too by then. Thanks for your faith and support everyone, it means the world.

[n9103]

Glad to hear the recovery is looking good.

[wolf.b]

NERDRAGE

I'm back once again! Third time's the charm, right? The work on 0.1.8 has already resumed, but due to limitation to how long I can stay seated it's not enough for an update despite my burning desire. I had plenty of time to think about things, just need to express them in code now. [In slick soulless corporate voice] “Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

[wolf.b]

WOLF
It's that time of the week again, hey everyone. I've spent the past week reviewing design documentation for the next four upcoming builds, and beginning asset architecture design for v0.1.9 which will introduce a delivery system to the game featuring mules. I'm also currently conceptualising our future UI design to be fleshed out once we move over to our own renderer for the code.

NERDRAGE
The coding of 0.1.8 is well under way, as my health situation looks stable, and my productivity is coming back. Since we had a big break anyway, I've added a few small refactoring tasks in preparation for the upcoming features. Nothing can stop this project, not even the new plague. Choo-choo!

[wolf.b]

NERDRAGE

Just confirming that 0.1.8 is about to be tested internally and will be coming soon™.

WOLF

This week I've completed asset architecture designs for the next few builds; I designed a new build focusing on gang wages as well as introducing debt (which will premiere as build v0.2.2) and I've begun designing a build that focuses on stash house raids by police and other gangs (slated for build v0.2.6).

I'm starting to approach the end of the Batch 2 design phase and once I've completed v0.2.9's design (which introduces role ticketing - thus removing much of the game's micromanagement tedium) I'll move onto Batch 3. Batch 3 will herald a monumental change in the game's design and development due to the QUANTUM LEAP project which transitions U$E from a turn-based strategy game into a RTS & RPG hybrid simulation.

I've begun mapping out the design and development path of the prototype in Batch 3 and I expect most of the builds to focus on this new direction, which is fundamentally central to U$E's future design goals.

[wolf.b]

NERDRAGE

After a brief detour for optimization to allow for testing of longer and bigger games 0.1.8 is upon us, the internal testing starts this week. Thanks to Wolf's intense planning, coding has become less exploratory and more focused, as I can see a few needed features ahead. With combat implemented, you can ultimately win or lose the game now (although it may take quite a bit of time), so a couple bits of AI were thrown in too.

WOLF

I've been working on stash house mechanics some more this week, it introduces the first of what I hope will be many production mechanics in the future. I've also begun work on batch 3's design, starting with the Quantum Leap injury system which has turned out better than I could have hoped. It's going to allow for an intuitively deep wound system which ultimately presents itself quite simplisticly, arguably much like many of the mechanics already making their way into the game. I've also mapped out the batch 3 design and development path we'll be taking.

[wolf.b]

NERDRAGE

I've delayed internal testing to rework some code parts which disappointed me during my own debugging. As a result simulation and AI code will no longer have order biases that became obvious with updated data layouts. Internal changes in this patch are vastly greater than it was originally planned, so some extra time has to be spent.

WOLF

Not too much to report on my end this week but I have been working on the Quantum Leap injury system further. I've scoped out Flesh and Bones now, so including Organs from last week I am halfway. I've got to research and layout Muscles as well as Circulatory and Nervous Systems to fully scope the design parameters then I can get to work on the injury mechanics.

It might all sound like overkill, but these are largely hidden mechanics that will manifest interesting injury results. It's also my drafting method. I tend to design something as complex as possible and then simplify it to achieve the same results with less development required (not always but sometimes). I'm also continuing my design of Batch 2 Stash House mechanics.

[wolf.b]

NERDRAGE
Introduction of the entity system (which is not a pure entity system, it's a hybrid, but I call it as such as I suspect that it's the direction we'll go as the number of moving parts keeps growing) is coming to its end, then it's some UI rewiring and testing if anything was broken in transition. It takes a bit longer as to avoid burnout I've taken a little break this week.

WOLF
I've spent the week dabbling in several systems: weather, injuries and game speed. It's been another light week for me with the project (the gift of being more than a year ahead with the design timetable). I've also been mulling over how we could implement and develop a basic syntax system as part of Batch 3's Quantum Leap project. I've also been thinking again about what direction we should take with graphics post-Batch 3. I'm about halfway through the conceptual process of that batch, and it's just a case of mapping those ideas out as designs now (as I am with injuries).

Movement ( v3.8 ) is one of the things I'm still not settled on, with regards to which direction it should take, though I have a fairly clear concept on how vehicular movement will work. Today I'm working on a little texas hold-em poker system for the game, which will be quite interesting as it will use character-based skill (v3.1) to help (or hinder) your poker game strategy hopefully in tandem with the players own skill (if they are actively playing).

[wolf.b]

WOLF
This week I've been planning out some ideas for the fear and reputation mechanics in Batch 4. I've also been continuing to flesh out Batch 3's injury system and some more of the poker mini-game mechanics. I've also done a little design restructuring for v0.2.4's Independent Drug Dealer mechanics to make it a smoother user experience as we roll out our first version of the protocol UI which will become a critical piece of the game's infrastructure eventually when we introduce role ticketing (v0.2.9).

Nerd and I have also had a few meetings this week concerning the administrative side of things and we've discussed some ideas about what we'd like to do with Valve's Steam platform and the array of tools it comes with, once we release there (post Batch 3). Since Nerd's return home a huge amount of work has gone into the architecture of the game's code in preparation of the changes to come. I can't tell you how excited I am for you all to begin getting a taste of that once we're finally ready to release v0.1.8's turf war system.

NERDRAGE
The new entity approach is already paying off as it allowed me to simplify several parts of the code. Discussing turn order issues with Wolf made me realize that randomness generation could use some extension. I'm also extending in-game debugging tools to save time for myself and our testers.

[wolf.b]

NERDRAGE
No more changes to the plan (to drive Wolf mad), just implementation marching forward.

Just to sum up what's coming on top of the original 0.1.8 features: new new memory management, new save system, fairer sales simulation, less random AI, countless little tweaks. It only took me rewriting most of the code and Wolf losing his faith in me and humanity.

[wolf.b]

WOLF

It's been a great week on the team. I've been designing a mini-game system so that players can play 'street craps' as the first gambling game in the Quantum Leap overhaul. It'll arrive in Batch 4 most likely. Nerd and I had fun playing with the mechanics using pen and paper and it's an enjoyable little experience (especially when side-betting is involved given how it changes the game).

We've also been scoping out the design and development of what we're calling Quantum Leap's TOKEN system. This is basically how dialogue and action function. It draws inspiration from the likes of NEO Scavenger, Disco Elysium and a host of classic text-adventure games all while still feeling like something quite unique; it's something I extremely excited about designing for Batch 3 (despite the daunting challenge it represents).

Lastly, we are officially going into internal testing with our small community of volunteers this week, we won't be rolling that announcement back like last time, I promise. As I write this Nerd's finishing off the preliminary development testing before we release it to them.

[wolf.b]

WOLF

Just me again this week, with just cause however. Nerdrage is getting some much needed sleep as he's been bugfixing all weekend right up till the last second. We've now released v0.1.8 into our internal testing group and we'll be polishing the build from here on out. It'll be in testing for at least one week so the rest of you will have a little longer to wait.

This is a HUGE milestone for us after the past four months of major medical difficulties Nerd's had to endure and we're both incredibly proud of the work we're going to be showing you. Thankfully you can expect our build cycles to be much shorter once we've released this build. I think I might have gotten a few grey hairs over this rocky spring from worrying, so I know I'm going to sleep peacefully tonight like Nerd. Thanks everyone, as always.

[wolf.b]

Wolf

BUILD v0.1.8.200802 HAS BEEN RELEASED!

Link: https://bit.ly/2PodZQo

Happy New Build Day everyone, today we're finally releasing v0.1.8 to the public. It introduces the concept of turf wars to the game's mechanics where you fight AI gangs for neighborhood corners and the potential customers that come with them across New York City. Along with this main focus we have lots of smaller complementary features, as well as some much needed love for the game's memory allocation and a facelift with more colour for the UI.

It's been a long build cycle and I'm personally incredibly grateful for all the support we've gotten from our community and beyond. But more importantly, I'm blown away by the passion, dedication and sheer hard-work Nerd has given this project after everything he's endured this year so far. I can't wait to see where we go from here as his health returns day by day.

We've already reviewed my designs for v0.1.9 and we begin the new build cycle on Monday. This will introduce the mechanics of deliveries between suppliers and your gang, allowing you to create mule-trains. It's a nice small build so it'll be a great change after the challenges of 1.8. Remember this is only our 4th ever build so despite it being early days, I hope you'll try out the new features and let us know what you think.

[EuchreJack]

Congrats, downloading now!