Monthly Devlog | September 2024 | No. 68

Over the past month, the dedicated teams at Depths of Erendorn have made remarkable advancements across multiple disciplines, each contributing to the overall evolution of the game. The 3D modelling team enhanced character customisation with new hairstyles and made significant progress on the imposing Minotaur character, while the Set Piece Design team enriched the game’s environments with detailed Viking-style tents and functional settlement carts. Simultaneously, the Client team focused on refining core gameplay systems, addressing movement and social features to enhance player experience. The Server team achieved critical backend improvements, streamlining login processes and implementing gameplay enhancements, while the Sound team refined audio elements to intensify the game’s immersive atmosphere. The Environment team dedicated its efforts to creating visually rich settlement areas, and the Animation team worked on enhancing fluidity in character and enemy animations. Finally, the VFX team optimised visual effects and improved gameplay clarity. Together, these efforts demonstrate a commitment to crafting an engaging and immersive world for players to explore in Depths of Erendorn. As always, join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit for daily updates on Depths of Erendorn. Alternatively, join our Discord for all the latest! – now let’s get into it!

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3D Modelling

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Over the past month, the 3D modelling team at Depths of Erendorn has made substantial progress on multiple fronts, enhancing both character customisation options and in-game creatures. A new ponytail hairstyle was completed, providing players with additional personalisation choices, which contributes to the diversity and uniqueness of avatars as they journey through the world of Erendorn. In parallel, work on the Minotaur character has been a significant focus, with the team using the Lionmen model as a base to streamline its creation. Collaborating closely with the concept team, the sculpt of the Minotaur’s face was refined, and its body proportions were meticulously adjusted, ensuring that the creature stands at an imposing height. The Minotaur’s design was further improved with attention to anatomical accuracy, addressing details in the chest and arms, and the initial block-out of its armour pieces has begun, setting the stage for more detailed equipment in the coming weeks. The Minotaur, with its powerful presence, is now ready to be integrated into the game engine, bringing a formidable new foe to the game’s bestiary. Examples of the work completed by the team can be seen below.

Set Piece Design

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Over the past month, the Set Piece Design team at Depths of Erendorn has made significant strides in enriching the game’s environments with a range of detailed assets. The team completed a series of Viking-style tents, each featuring unique designs, fabrics, and metal trimmings that reflect varying levels of wealth and status. These additions not only enhance the visual diversity within settlements but also contribute to the depth and storytelling of the game’s world. Alongside this, the team designed and modelled settlement carts, bringing a functional and aesthetic element to the bustling towns and villages of Erendorn. With the carts finalised, efforts have shifted to settlement set dressing, focusing on adding intricate environmental details that make each settlement feel distinct and immersive. These assets will play a crucial role in building a believable and engaging world for players to explore. Examples of the assets created by the team can be seen below.

Programming

Client

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Over the past month, the Client team at Depths of Erendorn has focused on refining several core systems to enhance gameplay functionality and improve the overall player experience. Significant progress was made in the dry testing environment, particularly in getting movement systems to function more smoothly. The team tackled multiple challenges, including addressing bugs within the movement manager and implementing necessary adjustments to ensure correct data input in movement logs. Additional efforts were directed toward refining level-up notifications, map panel functionality, and the introduction of NPC groups, allowing for the strategic placement and testing of enemy combinations in-game. Alongside these updates, the team implemented account-based features such as adding friends and blocking users, with the new Social Panel providing players the ability to manage their in-game relationships and party members. With these key improvements, the Client team continues to push forward in polishing critical systems that will provide a seamless and immersive experience in Depths of Erendorn. Additional work completed by the team can be seen below.

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• Added the ability to track interactables based on type, fast travel locations are now visible on the map when adventuring.
• Added UI for selecting/displaying members of different NPC groups.
• Added the cheat function for spawning specific NPC groups.
• Added the ability to use either the spawn location’s XP or override with a specific XP value to inform the size/difficulty of the group.
• Linked ping location to cheat command parameters.
• Added a Create Account Widget at login.
• Upgraded how HTTP request responses are formatted/parsed for login and account registration.
• Implemented the handling of HTTP error codes for a better troubleshooting experience for users.
• Began implementing a window for EULA and other agreements required for creating an account.
• Implemented the Agreement Subwidget for EULA and other agreements during account creation.
• Created a Social Panel widget for displaying party members, account friends and blocked users.
• Fixed a number of UX bugs regarding login, character creation and character selection.
• Worked through potential solutions to a crash originating from LODs.
• Finished creating the Social Panel and Subwidgets.
• Implemented the Social Data and Public Account Info data types and their handling.
• Added a number of ways to interact with users in the social panel.

                   – Adding/removing friends.                   

                   – Adding/removing blocked accounts.

                   – Sending messages to friends or party members.

                   – Inviting friends to your party.

                   – Kicking party members.

• Fixed a number of hit react and death animation loops for level 2 NPCs.
• Fixed a bug preventing projectile VFX from despawning after hitting it’s target.
• Updated timing options for custom projectile despawn delays allowing projectiles we do want persisting after hitting their targets.

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Server

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Throughout the past month, the Server team at Depths of Erendorn made substantial strides in improving the game’s backend functionality and stability. A key accomplishment was the refactoring of the login server, now integrated with a per-cluster segmented cache layout, which paves the way for queue skipping and smoother player reconnections. The team also made several gameplay enhancements, including increasing zone density to experiment with enemy group population, resulting in a more dynamic world exploration experience. Bug fixes were prioritised, such as resolving the post-adventure movement bug and addressing errors in the zone remapping process, ensuring smoother transitions across zones. Progress was also made on the critical server-client communication update, which aims to streamline command processing and session management for improved scalability. Balance changes were applied to classes like Parakaw and Druid, alongside combat functionality improvements, particularly in how layered effects interact with their parent abilities. Additionally, the re-enabling of dungeons in the open world brought new challenges, with ongoing work to resolve the associated bugs and crashes. These efforts represent a crucial step in the continued optimisation and enhancement of Depths of Erendorn’s server infrastructure, ensuring a more seamless and enjoyable experience for players.

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Sound Design

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Over the past month, the Sound team at Depths of Erendorn has been focused on refining key audio elements to enhance the immersive atmosphere of the game. Engine work continued in parallel with the testing of new sound effects for important abilities, including Cursed Ground and Summon Arcane Giant. While the sound design for the Summon Arcane Giant ability remains in its conceptual phase, various approaches are being explored to emphasise the creature’s immense size and power. Alongside these developments, the team updated the Undead Spawn sounds, delivering a more haunting and atmospheric experience that deepens the eerie nature of Erendorn’s undead enemies. These efforts are aimed at intensifying the audio landscape of combat encounters, heightening player immersion as they engage in the world’s increasingly dynamic battles. An example of the work completed by the team can be seen below.

Environment Art

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Throughout the past month, the Environment team at Depths of Erendorn has dedicated its efforts to enhancing the visual richness and exploratory appeal of the game’s settlement areas. A significant focus has been on set dressing, with clear concepts established to create immersive and engaging spaces that invite players to explore. Noteworthy advancements include the Rising Sun Tavern, which has been optimised to offer stunning sunrise views in Zone One following adjustments to the solar system. To further enrich the social atmosphere within the settlement, an outdoor seating area has been constructed, fostering community interaction. Additionally, improvements have been made to road textures and material logic, resulting in a more realistic infrastructure throughout Erendorn. The team also addressed the performance of emissive lights, reducing splotchiness when interacting with fog, though additional refinements are planned to ensure a seamless visual experience. These updates collectively contribute to a more vibrant and captivating environment for players as they journey through the world of Erendorn.

Animation

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Over the past month, the Animation team at Depths of Erendorn has made significant strides in enhancing the fluidity and responsiveness of character and enemy animations throughout the game. The team focused on updating player character animations, ensuring smoother movements that enhance the overall gameplay experience. In parallel, new spawn animations were developed for several enemies, bringing dynamic action and life to encounters within the game. Notable improvements were also made to enemy animations, with particular attention given to Skeleton spawning animations, which were refined to add more detail and vitality to their introduction. Additionally, Zombie attack animations received key updates, making their movements more dynamic and impactful, thus heightening the realism of combat interactions. These enhancements collectively contribute to a more immersive experience for players as they navigate the evolving environments of Erendorn.

Visual Effects

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Throughout the last month, the VFX team at Depths of Erendorn has focused on both optimising existing visual effects and enhancing gameplay clarity across various abilities. Key achievements include the finalisation of the Comet Calling ability and significant adjustments to Level 3 effects, where excess emitters were removed and overall efficiency improved, reducing performance load while maintaining visual quality. The team also revamped the Cursed Ground ability, transforming it into a 2×2 lingering ground AOE effect, complete with an OnRemove state for enhanced tactical utility. Furthermore, the Frost Missiles ability was reworked to directly hit targets, streamlining the effect for a more satisfying gameplay experience. The team made strides in refining the Cursed Ground area, resizing it to a 4×4 zone for better consistency with its intended design. Work began on the first draft of the Summon Arcane Giant spell, alongside the development of a new smoke material to replace an older version that struggled with rendering bright colours. Lastly, the team undertook a review of older VFX assets, optimising 4K textures to improve performance without sacrificing visual fidelity. These efforts collectively contribute to a smoother, more immersive gameplay experience in the expansive world of Erendorn. Completed work by the team can be seen below.

That’s it for this week’s devlog, but have you seen our monthly roundup of August yet?!