Xsyon - Prelude News

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I’ve patched the latest build with minor changes not including the upcoming graphics update. This build features the architecture snap feature that makes aligning similar construction parts to each other much easier.

In addition this patch is a preparation for the upcoming graphics update and War System. A lot of the code has been cleaned up with many functions prepared to be compatible with the DirectX 11 changes. These changes should not have any noticeable effects on the game.

If you do notice any issues with this patch, please report them on the Xsyon forums in the Developer Zone.

Enjoy!

Location and Time:

Saturday May 13th
Peace Server - The Hidden Realm
Event Time: Noon Pacific Time

War Server - Zone 767 X 418 Z 1008
Event Time: 2 PM Pacific Time

Event Particulars:

A message from Guide Elijah about this coming event:

For this event work on those Fishing and Taming skills to get ready. There is a hard to catch fish in the coastal waters here, the Tuichub.

Everyone who catches one will get to participate in the Animal Taming event. I will spawn in 5 Canis Armadillis pups, 3 male and 2 female. I will set their age to 1, so you can level them up, once you tame them. Once I get them all spawned in and their age set, I will then give the go ahead to start
trying to tame them.

Everyone who attends will get $5000 and of course you get to keep your new Canie Armadillis pup if you can tame one.

Come join the fun!

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

It's been a few months since my last update and I've been very busy working on the DirectX graphics update. As noted before, this is a full revision of the graphic engine and is the largest single task I've undertaken to the game. It's been a lot of work but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Here's what's been updated since my last announcement:

- Water rendering (expect for the waves caused by a player in water)
- Shadow rendering
- Distant terrain revised
- Terrain bump mapping
- Terrain textures updated
- Cloud rendering
- Tree rendering (this was the largest single graphics system that needed updating)
- Post processing system set up
- Clean up and optimization of systems and elements previously updated

What still needs to be done:
- Map panel
- Fires
- Improved lighting
- Further improved shadows
- Final ground texture selection
- Grass
- Waterfalls
- Minor fixes and improvements
- Optimizations

Most of these are relatively simple tasks. Once I feel the overall graphics update is polished enough for public view and I'm comfortable with the updated textures I will launch this new version on the Test Server.

In the meantime, the latest version with the War System and architecture snap functions (but without the graphics update) is running on the Test Server. Feel free to check the Xsyon forums for more info.

In addition we have a few events coming up and I will announce those in a separate post.

Thanks for your patience while I work on this major update. It's been a grind this year but the update is starting to really come together and I'm excited to release it hopefully before the end of summer.

Enjoy!

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've been quiet lately as I've been absorbed in coding and there's nothing new quite ready for public testing.

My focus is still upgrading the graphics engine from DirectX 9 to DirectX 11 and then DirectX 12. The update from 9 to 11 has been complex and time consuming while updating from 11 to 12 appears to be more straightforward.

So far the following graphic elements have been updated:
- Interface functions (panels, inventory, character creator, chat etc.)
- Font creation and rendering
- Sky rendering
- Terrain rendering
- Snow rendering on terrain
- Rendering players and creatures
- Rendering buildings and objects
- Selection and interaction
- Occlusion and depth rendering for special effects and optimizations
- Lighting functions

I'm currently working on:
- Shadow rendering
- Water rendering

What's left:
- Trees (I plan to update trees using the latest version of SpeedTree)
- Grass
- Effects (fire and rain)
- Clouds
- Waterfalls
- Mist
- Post processing effects (effects while teleporting, distance blur)

Shadow rendering is complicated but nearly done. The rest of the effects left to be updated I believe will not be too difficult. While working on this I've learned a lot about DirectX 11 and 12 and HLSL language in general. Going forward it will be easier for me to improve graphic capabilities like adding torches finally and more effects.

This major task is taking a long time. There was a lot of code that had to be completely rewritten and there were times I was stuck on some functions but I am progressing rapidly and smoothly at the moment.

In addition to the DirectX update, the War System and architecture snap functions are nearly ready to go. I have a short list of things to double check and plan to open up a final round of testing once I finish the shadow rendering code I'm currently focused on.

That's all for now!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Xsyon Citizens!

This year we will be distributing gifts through January 5th, while Xsyon is on sale.

To receive a gift, please open a help ticket and request one blueprint, pattern or scheme. You will receive that gift in addition to a Christmas outfit and some cash.

In your ticket, please note your character name, tribe name and the location of a basket that you leave in game (preferably at your tribe's totem).

I will post an in depth update on the status of the DirectX update and what's in the works after Christmas.

Enjoy!