Day of Dragons News

Greeting Dragons,

As you know, we do not have a dev blog this month as we are all hands on deck working hard on the Open Beta release coming next month in July (confirmed). With the release of the Beta, it brings with it a new era for Day of Dragons, a completely new and different game than the Alpha, built on a different version of UE4, with many new features, optimizations, and feel. That said, when the Beta releases next month, the old Alpha will be deprecated and no longer available or playable. In it's place will be the new Beta version of Day of Dragons which we have spent the past 20 months since our very successful Kickstarter campaign building from the ground up. It's the reason the Alpha has not been updated in over a year, because we deprecated it, and replaced it with the Beta. I say that because there is a lot of confusion concerning the Alpha. The Alpha was a passion project, the work of one person trying to do it all himself with absolutely no funding, then pitched his idea on Kickstarter hoping to raise $12k to hire someone to make 3 simple models with the hope that after enough time, the game would self-fund itself to where more custom content could be made and added. But Kickstarter didn't raise $12k, it raised over $500k, which enabled us to make a much higher quality and custom game from the ground up than the Alpha was ever planned to be. The funding enabled us to make Day of Dragons the way it was dreamed to be! (Thank you Kickstarters!) Being that we had the funding, there was no reason to spend any more precious time on updating the Alpha, and so we put all of our time into building the Beta, which is so much better than the Alpha in every way. Once you play the Beta, you would never want to touch the Alpha again, the difference is like night and day.



The Day of Dragons Beta is the accumulation of 20 months of hard (funded) work by our small team of developers to bring to you all the promise we made during our Kickstarter campaign, a dragon survival game like no other. We have used the funding to design and create our own models, sounds, animations, mechanics, effects, music, UI, and code - just as we said we would - and have proven the naysayers on YouTube all wrong. We didn't do what they accused us of doing, we didn't do what they said we'd do, we did exactly what we promised we'd do, we made a dragon survival game from the ground up using the funding our backers supported us with - and we're just getting started! It's only been 20 months and we have made tremendous progress! Most games take over 5 years and millions of dollars to finish. We're by no means finished yet, we have A LOT MORE planned for Day of Dragons, just look at our new Roadmap on Trello. But we have come along ways from a Kickstarter demo to a fully functioning game in just 20 months, and I want to thank our dev team for working so hard these past 20 months to get us to the Beta stage.



Day of Dragons has the goal to bring you something truly special, a game where you literally feel like you are the dragon. A game where you can roleplay, a game where you can PvE or PvP, a game with quests, AI boss fights, alpha class progression, secret unlockables, exploration, clans, and the most amazing physics-based flight system you will have ever have experienced in any survival game! The flight is beawesome! We offer server communities the tools to host their own dedicated servers, with custom configuration options to help server admins create the environment they want with the rules they want for their world - and our servers are very stable, highly optimized with very little lag able to host up to 100 players with no issues. We also provide server owners an intuitive admin panel for server admins which makes managing your server communities very easy - and all of that will be available to you next month with the release of the Open Beta as you will be able to host your own Day of Dragons Beta servers. If you want to rent a server, we highly recommend Nodecraft and have been working closely with their team to ensure Day of Dragons server hosting is fully supported.

We have so much planned for Day of Dragons, our devs love our game and we love our community. I hope you are all as excited as we are for the Day of Dragons Open Beta scheduled for release in July (Kickstarters with Beta Access perk will get it a week early). We are passionate about our game, we have goals, we have plans, and we have the vision. Day of Dragons is the Dragon survival game you have all been waiting for - and we are going to prove it to you starting with the Open Beta as we introduce to you all our first flyable dragon (and first starter dragon) the Shadow Scale available to everyone with the Open Beta release in July!

We hope to fly with you all soon!

- Jonathan Slabaugh, Lead Developer for Day of Dragons

Day of Dragon's will be 20% off from June 24th to July 8th for Steam's Summer Sale! With Open Beta coming in the next few weeks, this is the perfect time to grab your copy of Day of Dragons. See you in the skies!





Don't want to miss out on updates? Follow us on our social media accounts or become a patron to get updates before they are released!


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Hello, everyone!



We know our Roadmap image has been out of date for some time and we have been working hard to create an updated and easier to use roadmap.


Well, we'd like to announce that our Trello Roadmap is now live! This new roadmap shows what's in the works all the way up to Update 1.7 and shows exactly what we are working on at any given time.


The Roadmap will be updated as development continues. Please note that things may be changed or moved around.


Thank you again for all of your support!

Day of Dragon's Development Team

Hello again!

We have a lot of exciting stuff to share with you! Our team has been working full speed to get Open Beta out as soon as possible. Testers have had a lot of fun with our new mechanics and we can't wait to show you what we have been working on. But first, a word from our Lead Developer.

[h2]Words from the Lead Developer[/h2]



I cannot believe another month has passed. Time flies when you work all the time. ːsteamfacepalmː We just put out a small update to the Exclusive Beta that is live on the beta branch currently which is an extension of the holiday free play event. The update included survival mechanics such as starvation and dehydration, animation tweaks, AI to kill and eat, and many other things. We're still working on bug fixes, polish and finishing the Shadow Scale, but everything is coming together nicely, including the new physics-based flight system. Parrot and I were playing on the server yesterday and nested in a few lucky players as Shadow Scales and they were able to learn to fly, which was very amusing for those of us watching. Flight does have a learning curve, but after about 10 minutes, you'll have the hang of it, though it will probably take hours before you master it. It's a unique and fun mechanic that I know you will all love. I spent a lot of time on it especially the networking part to make it as smooth as possible and those animations will make you feel like a dragon.

Open Beta is getting close, we have 2 more test branch updates to push out before we can update the beta branch. Once ready, we'll announce the update to everyone and if everything works well, we'll release the dedicated server to the public and server communities will be able to begin hosting their own servers. We have a lot of server options to choose from including PvP/PvE, Player Cap, Admin/Friends/Ban lists, Nametags, MOTD, and even Discord links. The full list of server config options can be found in our Discord and we'll post them to our Steam page as well once the server is released. Our friends at Nodecraft have already begun setting up their server panels so all the options will be available to you in the server host panel.

By the way, this is the Dragon game you have all been waiting for, you'll see ːsteammockingː

I look forward to watching you all fly in the upcoming Open Beta targeted for Summer 2021. I know I will be there flying as a Shadow Scale. ːsteamhappyː Be sure to hop in the beta server if you can, if you catch us online Parrot or I might take you for your first flight on a Dragon. \o/

- Jonathan Slabaugh
Lead Developer of Day of Dragons



Now its time for the rest of the blog!


[h2]Status Icons[/h2]



Status icons and the effects they represent are now in game on the Test Branch. Hunger and Thirst now show up as a meat (for carnivores) and water drop icons you reach 50% hunger/thirst. Reach 100% of either, and you will begin taking damage until the percentage is lowered.

Other effects are also currently being tested, including Bleed, Poison, and Decay. Bleed reduces your health as long as it is active. It is recommended to lay down or sleep when bleeding, as your healing will increase per tick. Decay, caused by the Acid Spitter's Decaying Bite, eats away at the dragon's stamina and armor. This can ground flying dragons and make them more vulnerable to the drake's attacks.

Poison is currently caused by eating Thornbacked Crawlers and increases your Sickness the more you eat. While the poison itself does no damage, you will want to keep a close eye on your Sickness level. You can sleep off the effects of Poison, or just wait it out.


[h3]Torpor to Sickness[/h3]

So what is Sickness? Well, after some testing, we decided that we did not like the Torpor mechanic and decided to replace it with Sickness, instead.



Now, instead of making you fall asleep, Sickness distorts your vision and can cause damage. The only way to decrease your sickness is to sleep it off or wait and hope for the best.



[h2]New Mechanics[/h2]

We have a bunch of new in-game mechanics this month, including the Status Effects! Jao has been hard at work coding and has created some beawesome new additions to the game, including the one most have been looking forward to...

[h3]Flight[/h3]



Flight v2.0 is now being tested on the Dev Branch! Our new flight system is physics based and unlike any other survival game at the moment. Players will have to manage their velocity and momentum to stay airborne, making AFK flying a thing of the past.



Players will also now be able to swoop close to the ground, but be careful. Crashing is another mechanic in the works and will cause a great deal of damage depending on your velocity.

We've also made a change to flight for babies. While they won't be able to achieve full flight, they will be able to glide if jumping from high places or being dropped in the air.

We still have a few more things to add, like a take-off and landing animation, before flight is ready for Open Beta. However, we are getting closer and soon we will be soaring the skies with you!


[h3]Hatchling Carry[/h3]



Probably the cutest mechanic yet, Hatchling Carry v2.0 is currently being tested in our Testing Branch. Unlike in the Alpha, any proper sized adult (group member or not) can pick up and carry a baby. However, babies will be able to break free from the adult's grasp by struggling. Struggling also reduces the adult's stamina, making it harder to chase after the baby again.

Hatchlings will automatically be dropped if they grow too large and can be carried while flying.



[h2]Models, VFX, and Animation[/h2]

Our team is working full speed to prepare for the Open Beta. Check out what our other departments have done this month.

[h3]VFX[/h3]

Flicker has been a busy bird this month. She has been working on several projects at once, including the Flame Stalker's Heat Sense, the Shimmer skin Texture, and the Shadow Scale's Cloaking ability.



The Flame Stalker's Heat Sense is getting some much needed love. The effect will now resemble real life infrared cameras and players can use foliage to hide themselves from a Stalker.



Exclusive skins, like the Kickstarter and Patreon skins, will have an extra effect to them, known as a Shimmer. This effect will give the dragon's scales an iridescent shine that can be passed down to the dragon's offspring.



The Shadow Scale's Cloaking ability will also get a fresh look in Genesis.

[h3]Model Work[/h3]

While Hao is continuing work at prepping some more models for future updates, Brigade is working on environmental assets for Genesis.



She is creating a generic drake carcass, which will be used for corpses that are nearly emptied. The carcass will have options for varying levels of gore for our squeamish and hardcore fans.

Brigade is also working on some undisclosed projects... but we will leave you guessing for now ;)

[h3]Animations[/h3]

Burt, our newest animator, has been working hard on the Magma Elemental. He is finishing up on all of the Elemental's attacks and then moving onto some more of his actions animations. Check out a few of the completed animations!

Magma Elemental Bile Attack

Magma Elemental Swipe Attack

Karly is continuing work on the Shadow Scale. She has created some new adult animations to polish the flight system as well as creating the baby and juvenile versions of all the current animations.

Shadow Scale Take Off

Baby Shadow Scale Hover




What a busy month and we aren't slowing down! We will see you at the end of next month for our next blog post. As always, thank for reading and for your support!



[h2]Dev Q&A Livestream[/h2]


Our next Q&A livestream has not yet scheduled. Stay tuned and watch for updates to find out when the next one will be!



[h2]From the Community[/h2]


Each blog post, we pick some of our favorite screenshots and artwork posted by the community to showcase here. Want a chance for your submission to be showcased on our next blog? Post it in the appropriate channels on our discord!

[h3]Some of our favorite recent screenshots...[/h3]

by Zenora#2649

by Synder#2521

by Neist_Sakimichi#1785



[h3]Some of our favorite artwork from the community...[/h3]

by ProwlerPaws#1414

by Draka#5202

by mickeyrose97#3400



~The Day of Dragons Development Team



Don't want to miss out on updates? Follow us on our social media accounts or become a patron to get updates before they are released!


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Day of Dragons will be on sale from May 27th to the 31st for Steam's Open World sale! Celebrate infinite exploration with a 10% discount on Day of Dragons and get ready to fly with us in the skies during our Genesis: Open Beta coming this summer!






Don't want to miss out on updates? Follow us on our social media accounts or become a patron to get updates before they are released!


Discord | Twitter | Youtube | Instagram