Dev blog - Keys, Factions, Performance Upgrades, Titles, and What’s Coming Next!

[p]Hello everyone[/p][p]We’ve got a big developer update to share, covering several major systems we’ve been working on. These are:[/p]

[p]Keys & Locked Loot Door gameplay[/p]
[p]NPC Life and Faction Reputation[/p]
[p]Performance and Graphics Improvements[/p]
[p]Titles & achievements[/p]
[p]Bow/Crossbow updates[/p]

[p]A lot of this work is focused on making the world feel more alive, improving performance on a wider range of PCs, and setting up stronger progression systems for the future. This dev blog is also a mix of completed, in the works and future ideas for Renown. We’ll be putting out a dedicated “What’s changed Since Launch” document covering all the changes that are in-game for our upcoming Free-to-Play Wipe.[/p][p]Keys & Doors System[/p][p]Doors have been placed across towns (with multiple doors in each town), and key interaction is already implemented in those locations.[/p][p]Three Key Types[/p][p]The current system uses three key tiers:[/p]

[p]Bronze[/p]
[p]Silver[/p]
[p]Gold[/p]

[p]

Two Types of Locked Rooms[/p][p]There are two categories of locked doors, and both require keys, but they serve different gameplay roles.[/p][p]Secured Rooms[/p][p]These are explicitly marked as secured and are designed to be reliable and consistent spaces. They have:[/p]

[p]Guaranteed loot inside[/p]
[p]Guaranteed to be empty/safe when entered (Camper Protected)[/p]

[p]Comes with a trap/timer mechanic to move the player on after a time. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Regular Locked Rooms[/p][p]These are standard locked rooms that still require keys, but with less certainty:[/p]

[p]Loot is not guaranteed (it may already be looted)[/p]
[p]Players may already be inside even if the door is closed[/p]

[p]However, the Regular Locked Rooms have a higher RNG value to them. This means while riskier, the player could see more rewards or none depending on how popular that specific POI is, how many players are actively doing keys, and their individual luck.[/p][p]Planned Expansions[/p][p]This system is also being designed to scale. Planned additions include:[/p]

[p]Town-specific keys (for example, keys that only work in a specific town like Yarlsford)[/p]
[p]More trap variety depending on room type such as incorporating the Crossbow and Spike Traps.[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]NPCs: Bringing Towns and the World to Life[/p][p]A major focus right now is using NPCs to better support the fantasy of being a known (or infamous) figure in a living world.[/p][p]Current NPC Behaviour:[/p][p]At the moment, NPCs are mostly ambient and local to their areas.
They currently:[/p]

[p]Walk around when locked onto a player[/p]
[p]Attack with very little logic or communication to the player[/p]

[p]This gives off a very artificial and robotic feel to all the NPCs[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Planned NPC Behaviour (Partially Built)[/p][p]The logic for deeper NPC behaviour already exists, but it hasn’t all been fully enabled yet because it still needs testing and tuning.[/p][p]Planned behaviour includes:[/p]

[p]NPCs roaming beyond town areas[/p]
[p]Players being able to follow NPCs as they work (e.g. chopping trees)[/p]
[p]Roaming NPCs are killable by players[/p]
[p]NPC resource gathering feeding into world systems over time[/p]

[p]In the future, we want NPC world activity to feed loot into secured rooms. In other words, what NPCs are doing in the world could directly affect what ends up behind locked doors in specific towns or cities.[/p][p]NPC Role Variety[/p][p]There’s also ongoing work around expanding NPC role types and making them feel more grounded in the medieval setting.[/p][p]That means more specific job roles (like mining vs woodcutting), and potentially more accurate naming conventions rather than overly generic labels.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Warrior vs Civilian AI[/p][p]One area we’re working on, is to split NPCs between being Fighters or Runners. For example, it’s a bit strange (if not a bit goated) that the monks in the Church in Dannamore immediately attack the player on sight.[/p][p]Instead, we’ve implemented a new class of AI to represent civilian AI that will prioritise running and hiding over directly attacking players. These AI can still be hunted down and killed, and will drop small amounts of loot.[/p][p]We’ll also still have our current combat AI type, which will continue as a warrior/defender style role for said civilian NPCs.[/p][p] [/p][p][/p][p]Factions & Reputation: A More Reactive World[/p][p]The long-term direction for factions is simple in principle:[/p][p]Everything the player does, either directly or indirectly effects the reputation system.[/p][p]This system is being built to make towns and settlements feel like they belong to real powers and to give some weight to player behaviour. Players will have the option to be “Sworn In” by their chosen town on the map. This kicks off the player into the reputation system. From there, actions that affect reputation are:[/p]

[p]Breaking crates in town (treated as pillaging)[/p]
[p]Stealing loot / opening secured doors[/p]
[p]Killing NPCs, especially guards, fighters, or knight-type NPCs[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We’re starting with very simple triggers for Reputation gains and losses, but this system gives us a ton to work with in the future. For example, it’s currently being designed to tie into the “Mission” system we’re prototyping.[/p][p]However, this begs the question: What happens if I have a low reputation with a town or city?[/p][p]If you are disliked / “unrenowned”, it’s planned that civilian NPCs may:[/p]

[p]Heckle you[/p]
[p]Throw tomatoes[/p]
[p]React with social hostility[/p]

[p]If you become feared (very negative standing) NPCs may:[/p]

[p]Run when they see you[/p]
[p]Scream warnings[/p]
[p]Trigger hostile knight responses[/p]
[p]Cause guards/knights to attack on sight[/p]

[p] [/p][p][/p][p]Crime Clarity (A Big UX Focus)[/p][p]One issue identified in testing is that players may not always realise when they’ve committed a crime or lost faction standing.[/p][p]To fix that, a few options are being considered:[/p]

[p]A clear on-screen alert (e.g. “You’ve stolen” + faction penalty)[/p]
[p]A grace threshold (for example, no lethal response until the player reaches around -5 standing)[/p]
[p]Potential witness logic (crime only counts if NPCs see it)[/p]

[p]The main goal of this is to make it clear when a player is actually affecting reputation as opposed to just looting something in the wild.[/p][p]The Faction Shop[/p][p]One of area we’re experimenting with at the moment is unlockable faction stores by progressing down the reputation system. The original idea of this was that specific shops would have specific items for cheap, such as components or kits.[/p][p]An alternative idea for the faction shop is that it could act as an individual boost for players. For example, as the player hits “level 1” reputation with a town or city, a limited selection is opened for the player, which they can return to as they level for small boosts as they increase rep. We’d be very keen to hear your thoughts on this one on Discord or Steam.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Graphics & Performance Upgrades (Unreal Engine Focus)[/p][p]This is one of the most important sections for many players, especially those dealing with poor FPS, stutters, or crashes. A ton of recent work has focused on identifying why performance was poor even on strong PCs and fixing the root causes.[/p][p]Why FPS Was So Low on Good Hardware[/p][p]The main issue wasn’t just “too much stuff” in the world. A major cause was an inefficient texture and streaming setup, causes severely high and unneeded VRAM usage.[/p][p]Texture Resolution Rework[/p][p]Previously, many assets were using:[/p]

[p]2K textures[/p]
[p]Sometimes even 4K textures[/p]

[p]For many players (especially on 1080p displays), this was simply more texture load than they would ever visually benefit from. Textures have now been reduced to a more appropriate range (roughly aligned to 1080p needs), which should significantly reduce unnecessary GPU workload. [/p][p]VRAM Streaming Fixes[/p][p]Another major issue was that textures were not always streaming in/out properly.[/p][p]That meant the GPU was still “considering” textures even when they were:[/p]

[p]Not on screen[/p]
[p]Not near the player[/p]
[p]Not relevant to the current view[/p]

[p]This has now been heavily improved so textures:[/p]

[p]Stream in properly when needed[/p]
[p]Degrade with distance[/p]
[p]Stop being considered entirely when far enough away[/p]

[p]While this is a fairly standard step for modern games, physically setting this up on Unreal Engine 5 was “impossible” by old standards and represented a big breakthrough for Moxie.[/p][p]CPU-Side FPS Improvements[/p][p]The survival map contains 20,000+ objects, and many of them were not being culled or despawned properly at a distance.[/p][p]That created a heavy CPU load, even on systems with strong GPUs. This, in turn, meant bad performance for folks with even very high-end PCs.[/p][p]The render view distance system has now been significantly improved, and view distance being limited should now have a much more meaningful impact on performance.[/p][p][/p][p]Graphics Settings Presets (and Better Defaults)[/p][p]One area we massively struggle with is professional User Interface (UI) work. We’ve never been able to find a proper UI programmer (someone who understands both UI design and implementation). As such, and to help players avoid accidentally wrecking performance by changing advanced settings due to the menu being very cluttered, the settings menu is being reorganised around clearer presets.[/p][p]Current / planned presets include:[/p]

[p]Performance mode (temporary ultra-low mode to squeeze out FPS)[/p]
[p]Low[/p]
[p]Medium[/p]
[p]High[/p]
[p]Epic[/p]

[p]The recommendation is that most players should use these presets rather than manually adjusting individual settings.[/p][p]There are also plans to collapse advanced settings behind an “Advanced” button, so new players aren’t immediately overwhelmed or misled by technical options, but is still easily accessible for folks who want it.[/p][p]Automatic Preset Detection on First Login[/p][p]One important quality-of-life change we’ve made is:[/p][p]On first login, the game now detects your GPU + VRAM and auto-assigns the most suitable preset.[/p][p]The goal is to prevent the classic bad first impression where a player launches for the first time and immediately gets unplayable FPS.[/p][p]Crash Reduction[/p][p]A lot of hard crashes were linked to VRAM overuse. These changes should reduce those significantly by preventing runaway memory pressure. There's also been specific work going into fixing the root causes of the worst crashing bugs on launch.[/p][p]We’ll be putting out a separate troubleshooting guide for players struggling with crashes, with tips for how to do clean reinstalls and which launch options to pick when crashing.[/p][p] [/p][p]Titles, Achievements, and Cosmetic Identity[/p][p]Titles are becoming a much bigger part of the player identity, and they’re being leaned into to reinforce the medieval/knightly fantasy vibe. This is also to honour our backers with their in game useable titles from Crowdfunding rewards.[/p][p]These are along the lines of:[/p]

[p]Seeker[/p]
[p]Fallen Founder[/p]
[p]and more progression-based or prestige titles[/p]

[p]How Titles Are Unlocked[/p][p]Titles are intended to be unlocked through achievements.[/p]

[p]The first Steam achievement is already in[/p]
[p]More achievements are planned[/p]
[p]Achievements will directly grant title unlocks[/p]

[p]Titles are also a main crowdfunding reward.[/p][p]If you’ve activated a Skins DLC pack, the Titles should also unlock for you for that tier and below.[/p][p]Where Titles Show Up[/p][p]Titles will appear in multiple places, including:[/p]

[p]Chat[/p]
[p]Hover/nameplate UI[/p]
[p]Above the health bar[/p]

[p]This should make them feel like a visible part of the player identity, not just something hidden in a menu.[/p][p]Title Auto-Equip Logic[/p][p]On login, the game can automatically equip what it considers your “best” title (typically highest rank).[/p][p]However, if you manually choose a title — or choose no title — the game will respect that and stop auto-switching.[/p][p][/p][p]Bows & Crossbow Update[/p][p]Ranged combat has also seen improvements, particularly with bow projectile handling.[/p][p]Bow Improvements Already Landed:[/p][p]The bow projectile system has already been updated and should now feel:[/p]

[p]More fluid[/p]
[p]More accurate[/p]
[p]Better overall to use[/p]

[p]Bow Tier Structure[/p][p]Regular bows now effectively cover Tier 0 through Tier 2, with only projectile speed improvements between tiers.[/p][p]Crossbow Returns as Tier 3[/p][p]The crossbow is back as the Tier 3 ranged option, with a distinct role:[/p]

[p]Not craftable[/p]
[p]Only obtainable through the Keys & Doors loot system[/p]

[p]The intended balance between crossbows and Bows are:[/p]

[p]Crossbow: slower reload, high damage, strong against shields and tier 3 armour[/p]
[p]Bow: faster fire rate, more flexible pressure, Weaker against Armour and shields[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Free to play Wipe update[/p][p]As a fairly constant topic of discussion on our Discord, we wanted to update folks on the latest regarding a free-to-play period.[/p][p]In this case, we’re planning to run a full wipe as free-to-play. Working with Steam, we’re not able to do a traditional “Steam Free Weekend” for that long, but we can host a “Demo” version of Renown. For the duration of the wipe, the “Demo” will give anyone who wants it full access to the game. [/p][p]After this is done, we plan to convert the demo into a free-to-play, single-player learning experience. One bit of feedback we received was that newer folks to the slasher genre didn't want to risk the 2-hour, 2-week refund window just to learn to fight. The idea here would be to let players access the tutorial and practice against NPCs without the monetary worry, given it's a pretty rough time all around the world at the moment. [/p][p]Our next dev blog will list in detail the exact additions and changes to Renown since our Early Access launch, alongside the detailed patch notes for the free-to-play build. We’ll also be sharing details on when the free-to-play period will start (currently, we’re aiming for next week or the one after).[/p][p]As always, folks, thank you so much for hanging with us, given how rough the launch has been. We’re not expecting this patch alone to fix all the issues, but we hope it represents a good bit of change, and we can promise it builds on to some much more exciting plans that we’ve got in the works. [/p][p][/p]