Xsyon - Prelude News

One of our Guides will be running combat events on both servers this coming Saturday.
Let’s get ready to rumble!

Time:
War Server: 12 Noon PST August 6th, 2022
Peace Server: 2PM PST August 6th, 2022

15 minutes prior to the event, whisper GuideRaguel for a port or ask in global chat.

Details:
Two citizens enter, only one leaves alive. With the conquest update coming up, it is time to fight. Spar with your fellow survivors to see who has the edge. Depending on participation there may be time for rematches, challenges, or team fights for fun.

After the fights, we’ll have a short race just to see how fast you can get to those contested areas! Everyone is a winner. Food will be provided.

Come hang out and see your fellow players and enjoy an afternoon of sparring and fellowship!

Rules:
Single elimination bracket
Must keep it in the area
No mounts
Order of port request determines bracket order
Weapons allowed
Looting of opponent NOT allowed
Destruction of the arena highly discouraged
Don’t kill non-combatants!

Prizes:
1st gets a brand spanking new craftable weapon of their choice and a pick of material (within reason) or schematic.
2nd gets either a new weapon or pick of material (within reason)
3rd gets whatever 2nd did not choose.

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I'd like to update everyone on what is currently in the works.

My primary focus right now is to finish updating the game engine DirectX graphics. I started this task many months ago and kept interrupting it to work on other improvements such as the terrain expansion, War system and interface and interaction revisions.

For now I am spending most of my time working on this graphics update. It's a massive task as the more current versions of DirectX are very different from the antiquated version (DirectX 9.0c) currently used for Xsyon. Basically it's a rewrite of the entire graphics code but it's a necessary update that in the long run should be well worth the effort!

So far I've updated all core functions, loading functions and 2D interface elements. Rendering code for 3D basic objects (buildings etc.) is updated as well. Character and creatures are rendering but I haven't finished updating animations yet.

I'm currently working on updating the terrain rendering system which so far is relatively straightforward.

There is still a lot of work left to be done but it's coming along!

The next public update will be the War System. There are few minor features I need to complete or revise but I think it's almost ready to go. I will be reviewing the current feedback to see what's left and try to wrap things up as soon as possible.

I'm a bit behind schedule this summer as I caught Covid during the Summer Sale. Fortunately I didn't have any symptoms aside from being very lethargic and dizzy. (No cough, sore throat, loss of taste or other common symptoms). It did render me unable to concentrate and code but I caught more sleep than I've had in many years!

In summary: I will try to release the first version of the War System before September and I will be focused on the DirectX update until it's complete, however long it takes.

That's all for now!

Terrain Expansion Patch

- Terrain expanded to 7 times the original map.
-- Easy danger regional hubs are distributed around the map so that players of all levels can inhabit the expanded terrain.
-- The southernmost area of the full Xsyon terrain is still being finalized. The north and middle sections of the map extend to a mist filled ocean that surrounds the Xsyon island.
-- The full Xsyon terrain comprises 1600 1024x1024 meter zones, including zones in the surrounding ocean. Roughly 4/5 of this terrain is now currently open!
-- The terrain is divided into 182 regions for purposes of scavenging, resources and the upcoming War System. Each region is assigned a region type based on one of the 8 (7 currently in game) architectural styles.

- Scavenging revised
-- Resources are now more regionally distributed.
-- Scavenged materials can be found in each region based on its assigned style (Gadu, Pioneer, Mason, Scrapper etc.)

- Tree spawning revised
-- Trees spawn across the world to ensure regions maintain a decent population of each tree type.
-- Tree spawning distances improved to prevent close clusters of trees.
-- Tree distribution based on elevation, terrain surface and proximity to water.

- Creature migration revised
-- Creature migration revised to populate the expanded world and keep it populated.
-- Number of potential creatures in the world increased. This will be further increased over time.
-- Creature migration is tracked in a server side panel so that I can ensure that regions are properly inhabited.

- Large World Map
-- A large world map has been released! Use the M key by default to access the new map.
-- The map consists of various layers that can be turned on and off, including the zone grid and a regional overlay.
-- Additional features to this World Map will be forthcoming.

- Trading Post (Mist Trader) revised
-- The Mist Trader now updated once per game day (nine times per real day).
-- Items expire if now bought after 3 real days.
-- The number of total items available for purchase at one time varied based on tribe size, ranging from 15 to 60 items.
-- Trading Posts fill to their limit during each update.
-- The inventory available should be roughly 50% blueprints, 30% patterns and 20% tool and armor schemes.
-- These revisions should make it much easier for players to acquire the construction blueprints they are looking for or complete their armor or tool sets.

- Options panel improved
-- Options / settings divided into three tab groups: Graphics, Sound and Interface.
-- Screen resolution and Refresh setting separated for easier adjustments.
-- Sound settings now use sliders instead of arrows.
-- Combat Mode is now referred to as Active Mode.
-- Default Mode setting added. This allows players to set what mode they wish to enter the game in, Active or Passive. (Passive mode was the past default)
-- The Action Menu (the buttons for interaction with objects, creatures and other players) can be set to a Top Menu of buttons, a Right Side List of small buttons, a Radial Menu or the original Right Click list.
-- Actions in the Action Menu can be assigned key binds, which is particularly useful for interacting with objects in Active Mode.
-- Camera Field of View setting has been added to adjust the Field of View between 40 and 100 degrees.
-- Mouse Yaw and Pitch settings added to control the speed of the mouse control for camera and player rotations.
-- Report Gains settings added to display a message in the lower right of the screen each time a resource is acquired. This will be expanded to display XP gains as well.
-- The various standard Control Bars and Panels (Commands, Chat, Emotes, Combat, Packs, Skills and Resources) can be turned on and off in addition to being displayed vertically or horizontally.
-- The Mini Map can now be set to align to the left or right side of the screen.
-- The Radial Menu and Active Mode changes are in progress and will be further revised over the upcoming month.

- Key binds revised
-- Key binds for all object interactions added.
-- Key bind for the new World Map added.
-- Key binds to turn standard Action Bars on and off added.
-- Key bind panel rearranged.

- Optimizations and general improvements
-- Glitches with the Crafting Panel fixed.
-- Crafting properties check optimized.
-- Quality and Durability preview in the Crafting panel set to 2 decimal places.
-- Environmental sounds load now at the end of world loading.
-- Chance / luck removed from building construction.
-- Tribe panel revised with the Totems tab added for placing sub totems.
-- Font issues corrected.
-- Some gathering actions sped up.
-- Server side start up heavily optimized.
-- Many functions and systems have been further optimized for speed.
-- Minor bug fixes in addition to the above listed changes are noted in the Bug Report section of the Xsyon forums.

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The massive terrain expansion patch is live!

This patch increases the playable terrain by about 7 times, giving players a whole lot of world to build in and explore.

This patch focuses on a greatly expanded terrain and includes a lot of new and updated features. Here are some the changes in this patch:

1) World Map - A large world map with layers that you can turn on and off display the world in detail, the zone grid and region boundaries.

2) Scavenging - Scavenging had been revised so that items found are grouped by region and danger level of each region. Regions are categorized in the same groups as architecture parts and the Mist Traders (Gadu, Pioneer etc.) With the revised system, it should be easier to find what you are looking for.

3) Mist Traders - Mist Traders will sell a greater variety and number of schemes so that it will be much easier for players to collect the patterns and blueprints they seek.

4) Interface interactions - Options have been revised to include various menu styles, key binds and settings so that players can further customize their game experience to play either in the current older MMO fashion or more like a current sandbox survival game in 'active mode'.

5) Revised regions - With the terrain expansion, current regions have been reshaped and increased in size. This will become more important for the War Server when the War System is released as each conquerable region will be larger in size than the current small regions around the lake.

Some of these features (such as the map) are a work in progress and will be improved and completed over the upcoming weeks.

For all players: Please start by checking your Options and Key binds as some defaults have been changed. In the near future I will set up a panel that will allow players to choose from two basic default sets of options when they start the game.

Xsyon will be on sale starting through May 23rd and will be on sale again along with the War System update this summer.

As there are many updates to the code with this patch, I expect that there will be issues found. Please post any issues you encounter in the Developer Zone on the Xsyon Forums.

Enjoy!

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The massive terrain expansion patch is ready to go and will be patched this coming weekend! The servers will shut down Saturday, May 14th at 10:00 AM PST and should be back up between 12:00 Noon and 1:00 PM PST with the update.

This patch focuses on a greatly expanded terrain and includes a lot of new and updated features. Here are some the changes in this patch:

1) World Map - A large world map with layers that you can turn on and off display the world in detail, the zone grid and region boundaries.

2) Scavenging - Scavenging had been revised so that items found are grouped by region and danger level of each region. Regions are categorized in the same groups as architecture parts and the Mist Traders (Gadu, Pioneer etc.) With the revised system, it should be easier to find what you are looking for.

3) Mist Traders - Mist Traders will sell a greater variety and number of schemes so that it will be much easier for players to collect the patterns and blueprints they seek.

4) Interface interactions - Options have been revised to include various menu styles, key binds and settings so that players can further customize their game experience to play either in the current older MMO fashion or more like a current sandbox survival game in 'active mode'.

5) Revised regions - With the terrain expansion, current regions have been reshaped and increased in size. This will become more important for the War Server when the War System is released as each conquerable region will be larger in size than the current small regions around the lake.

I will continue working on some of these features and making adjustments based on feedback after the public release but they are currently in a state that is good enough for public play.

Xsyon will be on sale shortly after Saturday's update.

See you in game!