Virtualord, the virtual conqueror News

Special post as this is about the usual monthly dev log, but also to announce the second alpha build of Virtueror.

[h2]New alpha build available[/h2]

To be honest it's another pre-alpha build, but hopefully people who are going to try it will still appreciate the new features and improvements, which are all listed here and in the previous dev log.

Unfortunately there's no major update for the gameplay (hopefully that will come in the next build), but a lot of new minor features and improvements, hence the codename: "does it run better?".

As for the first build, if you want to try it join the Discord server of the game as that's where you can already find the links to download both the new Windows and Linux build.

[h2]Control areas[/h2]
Now colored lines on the map highlight the area you control, which is based on your connected structures. Obviously the more you expand your base the bigger this area will get.



I will probably change the graphics of the lines in the future, but for now the important thing is this new feature is implemented and working fine.

[h2]In-game settings[/h2]
Until last update it was only possible to access settings from the main menu, entering a dedicated screen. Now they are also accessible in game while playing a map.



[h2]News & updates dialog[/h2]
I created a dialog in the main menu that will list all changes in new builds and eventually any kind of relevant news.
This might seem a secondary feature, but it's very useful to make early testers aware of changes from previous builds, especially when a build spreads over more than 1 month of development, hence more than 1 dev log, like in this case.



[h2]Minor updates[/h2]
- Now all UI has some kind of sound effect associated to major actions like mouse over and clicks.
- Implemented new UI widgets: scrollbar and scrollarea.
- Video settings now allow to choose from 3 different video modes: borderless, fullscreen and window.
- Added map scrolling speed control in game settings.
- Fixed camera ending with an empty screen when scrolling diagonally.
- Several fixes and improvements in game library code
- Updated code of the open source repository on GitHub to the latest changes.

[h2]What's next[/h2]
For next month I want to go back to focus on gameplay and AI development, something which I couldn't manage to do in the last few weeks.

I also want to try to solve all the weird tech issue the game has on Windows because until I do that I won't be able to release a public alpha and to access a broader audience.

I wish I could be more specific when talking about my future plans, but as now I work on Virtueror on the side of a day job it's hard for me to offer a detailed roadmap.

Check out next month's dev log to find out what I will manage to achieve during the next 5 weeks of development.

[h2]Support this game, wishlist and follow![/h2]
If you enjoyed this update and if you want to support Virtueror make sure to wishlist and to follow it. Thanks and see you in a month with a new update!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1607580/Virtueror_The_Virtual_Conqueror/

Welcome to the first update of 2023. This is also a special update because it's the first one after I started closed alpha testing about 3 weeks ago, so let me tell you what happened with that and how things are going.

[h2]Closed alpha started[/h2]
On the 13th of January I released the first alpha build, for Linux and Windows, allowing all the people in the Discord server of the game to try Virtueror out.

So far almost 20 people downloaded the game, which is okay considering the very little gameplay which is fully implemented at the moment. Nonetheless I received some very useful feedback and I found out about some issues that I wasn't aware of.

That allowed me to focus my work for the rest of the month on annoying bugs and most wanted features. Also, because of that, I keep considering the community behind this game the most important asset I could have.

Closed Alpha testing will continue for at least 2-3 months and I am going to release a new build at the end of February.
If you want to be one of the first gamers to try Virtueror join the Discord server of the game as that's where I will share the links to download all the early builds.

[h2]Music and sound effects[/h2]
The main feature for this month is the brand new audio support in the game engine, which now allows me to add music and sound effects to the game.
Unfortunately having this feature fully implemented took more time than I expected, which means I could spend less time on other major features, but at least everything seems to work fine and now I can count on a solid base that should cover most of the game's needs.

At the time of writing I already added several tracks and a couple of sound effects to game, Everything is still to be considered a placeholder for now, but I will try to finalize things in the upcoming months.

I also implemented a first version of the audio settings dialog, which allows to control volumes and to disable music and sound effects.



[h2]Tooltips[/h2]
Another important new feature is support for tooltips in the GUI library of the game engine.
This is something that was suggested as key feature by a playtester and which will help me explain the game a little better before a tutorial is in place.



I will also use tooltips to extend the existing UI, for example showing more information when moving your mouse over the resource bar. That's a classic way of providing more detailed info without cluttering the screen too much.

[h2]New structure: Radar Tower[/h2]
I added a new structure: Radar Tower. It's like a smaller (and cheaper) radar station, but it offers a smaller visibility radius. It can be used to extend visible areas more easily.



[h2]New scene elements: Trees[/h2]
I also added a new scene elements to add more variety yo the maps: trees.
They are not static like other scene elements as they grow and change over time. That should help to make the maps more lively and real.



I am also planning to make the trees expand in the surrounding cells when they reach their last stage, but that's something I am going to implement in the upcoming weeks.

[h2]Minor updates[/h2]
- New exit dialog
- New dialog to create a new map in the map editor
- Game is paused when the window is minimized
- Fixed several crashes and bugs
- Minor changes in game UI
- Updated code of the open source repository on GitHub to the latest changes

[h2]What's next[/h2]
I am currently working on the second alpha build, which has the goal to be more stable and closer to the actual game, features-wise at least.

The week following the release of the first alpha build I posted a poll on the Discord server of the game, asking people to help me define the development roadmap and these are the top priorities according to their votes:

1. Audio support
2. AI
   
3. Tutorial
   
4. Gameplay
   
5. Map editor
   

The first feature is already implemented, so I will focus my work on the others, even if I am not planning to do anything for the tutorial yet as there's still a lot to do and to finalize before I can start with that.

[h2]Support this game, wishlist and follow![/h2]
If you enjoyed this update and if you want to support Virtueror make sure to wishlist and to follow it. Thanks and see you in a month with a new update!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1607580/Virtueror_The_Virtual_Conqueror/

I am happy to announce that the first alpha build of Virtueror is now available for testing!

To be part of the alpha testing you can join the Discord server of the game, where you will get access to a Windows and a Linux build.

People who will take part in alpha testing and will provide useful feedback will be rewarded with a Discord role and mentioned in credits.



The game is not fully playable yet, but you can already:

• play a mission
  
• create units and buildings
  
• conquer cells
  
• conquer buildings
  
• build walls
  
• shoot at anything you want
  

Please keep in mind that the game is far from finished and it can be pretty unstable at the moment, so bear with me until I manage to improve things over the next few months.



[h2]Support this game, wishlist and follow![/h2]
If you enjoyed this update and if you want to support Virtueror make sure to wishlist and to follow it. Thanks and see you in a month with a new update!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1607580/Virtueror_The_Virtual_Conqueror/

It's been 9 months since my last update and that's because the development has been on hold from April to November. Things are back to normal now and I worked hard all December to bring you plenty of news and updates in this new dev log.

[h2]Getting ready for the closed alpha[/h2]
The most important news is that I am going to release a first alpha build on the 13th of January.

Most of the work during December has been focused on completing all the features planned for this first release and I am happy to say that all the basic features are already implemented and the release date is confirmed.

If you want to be one of the first gamers to try Virtueror join the Discord server of the game as that's where I will share the links to download all the early Linux and Windows builds.

[h2]New mission screen[/h2]
I implemented a brand new screen to select the mission to play, but it brings much more than that.
This screen is far from finished, but it's already fully usable to select a mission to play and for some other gameplay actions.

This is how it looks for now:



As you can see, a planet is divided into 12 territories and you need to control the majority of them to control the planet.

Once your troops can reach a territory it's possible to interact with it in different ways:

• EXPLORE: will send a squad of scouts to find out more about the territory
  
• CONQUER: will start a playable mission
  
• SEND AI: will delegate the conquest to your AI generals
  

There's still a lot of work left to do for this screen as I am planning to add more panels and more actions. It will be a key screen for several grand strategy and RPG elements of the game, but I will show you more about it in the future.

[h2]The AI is alive![/h2]
It took a good amount of work, but at last the game has a basic AI and I have to admit that it's very rewarding to see it doing things on its own!

At the moment the AI can do the following things:

• Create a new unit
  
• Conquer a resource generator
  
• Connect a resource generator to its base to extract resources
  

You can see all these actions in the following GIF:



I am planning to add more actions soon, but it's hard to predict how things will work when everything is in place. For sure the AI will take a lot of work and balancing, so expect to see many updates about it for a long time.

[h2]Wall building based on waypoints[/h2]
Until now the game didn't offer much control when designing walls.
Basically you could only select a starting and an end point and an algorithm was deciding the layout of your wall. That was okay for something small, but it was making design quite frustrating and tedious most of the times.

Now it's possible to set waypoints with a single action click and start the construction with a double click.



This allows to define any kind of turns and corners and it's way more flexible and intuitive.

In the future I will improve the feature showing the waypoints during the design stage, but for now this works well enough.

[h2]Cell conquest based on waypoints[/h2]
The same design limits that were affecting wall design were also affecting the design of areas to conquer with your units.

As for the walls, it's now possible to set waypoints to better define the cells your units have to conquer.



This feature reflects the one implemented for wall building, hence I will work on the same improvements in the future.

[h2]New settings screen[/h2]
I started to implement the settings screen even if for now the only settings available are the video ones:



I will probably start to work on the audio settings next, especially if I add audio support to the game before the second alpha build as planned.

[h2]Minor updates[/h2]
- Now game uses data packages for all images
- Now units do not move along the conquest path while conquering cells. This is for consistency with wall construction.
- Fixes and improvements in game code
- Fixes and improvements in the GUI library
- Updated code of the open source repository on GitHub to the latest changes

[h2]What's next[/h2]
For the next 2 weeks I will keep focusing on the first alpha build. In particular I have to prepare the packages for Linux and Windows and make sure they work on other computers too.
I will also try to implement a couple of new features before the release, but I can't be sure of anything at the moment.

Then I will prepare a new roadmap for the second build that I will release in February. Obviously much depends on the feedback I will get from the early testers of the first build, but you'll find out more in the next update.

[h2]Support this game, wishlist and follow![/h2]
If you enjoyed this update and if you want to support Virtueror make sure to wishlist and to follow it. Thanks and see you in a month with a new update!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1607580/Virtueror_The_Virtual_Conqueror/

March has been the most productive month since I restarted to work on Virtueror last December and I am quite happy with the progress I achieved.

In my previous update I had anticipated that I was supposed to work only 3 weeks this month, but I managed to work the full month and that definitely helped doing more than I had originally planned.

[h2]New UI[/h2]
You might have seen old screenshots and updates where the game UI looks like this:



Well, it doesn't any more.

Early this month I worked on a second iteration of the UI and I designed a new, lighter and more colorful style. To be accurate the actual style hasn't changed at all, what changed is the color scheme, but for simplicity let's say it's a new style.

This is the result:



Before committing to this new version I asked on the Discord server what people preferred and the results were pretty clear:



I do believe that the new UI looks much better too, but let me know what you think in comments.

Another good thing is that now game and map editor share the same UI style and that will help making the whole experience more immersive and the development a little easier.

[h2]Minimap[/h2]
A good amount of work this month went into the creation of an important UI element: a minimap.
This is how it looks in game now:



These are its current features:
- 80x80 cells area
- Buttons to navigate bigger maps
- It can show structures and units of any faction, and scene objects (like mountains)
- Current camera view is highligted by 4 markers
- Clicking on minimap moves camera to corresponding location

Another important feature is that the minimap can be closed in order to minimize the area of the screen it covers. When closed it looks like this:



Obviously it's possible to reopen it with the button in the top-right corner or using a shortcut key.

[h2]New structure: gate[/h2]
I created a new structure that can be combined with defensive walls and towers: a gate.



Gates can be controlled with a single button/shortkey, but in the future they will also be automated for own units.

[h2]New structure: material extractor[/h2]
Another new structure will allow to produce basic material the same way solar panels do for energy.



In both cases the production is much lower than the one that can be obtained by mining generators, but at least they allow to get some resources in areas where they are scarce.

[h2]Attack range[/h2]
Now units and defensive towers show their attack range when selected and in attack mode (only units):



I will probably change the graphics of this indicator in the future, but this gets the job done for now.

[h2]Map editor progress[/h2]
This month the major change in the map editor is the new paint mode that makes it easier to set the tiles of a map.



As you might notice, another change is that now secondary tiles are automatically set while "painting".

Just yesterday I have also finished to implement the panel that allows to choose the objects to place on a map, but I will show you that in the next update as the editing part is not implemented yet.

[h2]Minor updates[/h2]
- From now on left mouse button selects objects and right button is for actions (move, attack, etc...).
- Implemented ComboBox widget in the GUI library.
- Several refactories, improvements and fixes for the GUI library.
- Source code updated on GitHub up to today's changes.

[h2]What's next[/h2]
As anticipated in the paragraph dedicated to the Map Editor, I will definitely implement some kind of basic object placement and maybe try to work on something more advanced like defensive walls or faction bases.
It would be nice to start to work on loading and saving of maps in the editor, but to be honest I doubt it will be done in the upcoming weeks.

The main reason is that during April I will only be able to work 2 full weeks (plus some spare days), so I am not going to make any further promise for now.

Make sure to check out the next update to find out what I manage to do next month.

[h2]Support this game, wishlist and follow![/h2]
If you enjoyed this update and if you want to support Virtueror make sure to wishlist and to follow it. Thanks and see you next month with a new update!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1607580/Virtueror_The_Virtual_Conqueror/