Dungeons & Kingdoms News

[p]New Full Game Build 0.599
New Demo Build 0.600[/p][p][/p][h2]NPC Pathing[/h2][p]NPC Pathing has had significant work done with many improvements and design changes. This should drastically reduce the chances of NPCs getting stuck.[/p][p]
Changes include[/p]

• [p]NPCs now prefer flat ground so they don't traverse over obstacles even though they can walk over things like boulders and felled trees[/p]
• [p]NPCs can now walk over some walls and most foundations as well as most other objects on the ground[/p]
• [p]Improve accuracy of tree shapes for navmesh pathing so NPCs are able to both walk over and around fallen trees and remaining sections more naturally[/p]

[p]NOTE since NPCs can't climb up or jump down yet you can still cause an agent to become stuck by building walls around them.[/p][p]If any still get stuck, the easiest recovery option is to have them follow you to the point they teleport to you, then stop them following and they will return to work. You can also try resetting their job or try building them a way out such as adding some stairs. [/p][p]Please report any new pathing issues so they can be fixed.[/p][p][/p][h2]Harvesting Trees[/h2][p]Harvesting Trees has had significant work done. The goal is to eliminate any chances of trees not falling properly or workers being unable to harvest them.[/p][p]
Changes include[/p]

• [p]Trees remain "live" all the time - previously trees would become locked in a position when they stopped moving. This is no longer the case. Tree physics remains active at all times. As the player you can push trees if needed[/p]
• [p]Workers will now harvest felled trees that they didn't create - this allows them to clean up felled trees that were chopped down by other workers or the player[/p]
• [p]Workers will help each other with bucking the same tree more often. A side effect of this is tree harvesters will end up working closer to each other which is useful in case of combat as they can fight off attackers together[/p]
• [p]If a tree moves out of range while a worker is bucking, they will pause and move back into position once the tree stops moving[/p]
• [p]Felled trees can now be broken up by chopping any individual section. Previously all workers could only start chopping a felled tree starting at the base and working their way to the top. This caused many issues if the base of the tree couldn't be reached. Now, workers can start chopping at any section along the tree. For the player, they can now target any section along the tree to begin bucking and will exit that task after completing that section.[/p]

[p][/p][p]NOTE - Since trees use real physics, they can still end up being unreachable for bucking. They may be stuck leaning against another tree or a building etc. This is expected behaviour. You can either try pushing the tree, breaking off branches, or in the case of it leaning against another tree cut that other tree down.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Other Changes[/h2]

• [p]Felling axes now gain weapon proficiency on each tree hit[/p]
• [p]Object targeting and UI no longer shown when in freecam mode[/p]
• [p]Fix saved character inventory from treating equipped weapons as if they were being carried[/p]
• [p]Fix tree branches with missing colliders[/p]
• [p]Improve player character ground detection, should float less often especially around trees[/p]
• [p]Fix audio clips that were not under the correct audio bus[/p]
• [p]Increase gravity cap on inventory objects when falling from 1 to 25m/sec to reduce how soft and floaty they were when dropped, yet still having a cap to reduce explosive repulsion when intersecting other objects[/p]
• [p]Add secondary weapon type for weapons to allow them to use their own category of combo chains while still belonging to a common weapon category, eg. two hand felling axe is considered a two hand axe for proficiency, but has it's own category for setting combo chains, same for pickaxes and other similar tools[/p]
• [p]Fix action stage interaction to respect objects not flagged for action stages, improves object interaction on complex objects with nested action stage targets such as trees[/p]
• [p]Fix character footsteps, was not triggering audio and was causing issues with physics interactions[/p]
• [p]Fix friction settings for character, was sliding down slopes when it shouldn't[/p]
• [p]Fix tree scaling, some were scaled too small[/p]
• [p]Improve tree billboard coloring[/p]
• [p]Add NPC movement recovery condition that may temporarily disable their local avoidance for a few seconds, may result in NPCs clipping through each other[/p]
• [p]Disable ability to push NPCs around[/p]
• [p]Add 7 new floor build pieces of stone and wood[/p]
• [p]Add new tools and resources to SPAWN STUFF prefab for DEV UI[/p]

[p]Note the demo has also been updated to include the latest changes.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Known Issues[/h2]

• [p]If the player tries to help a worker fell a tree the effort isn't registered so the worker or the player still need to finish chopping through the tree independently[/p]
• [p]Workers will choose to chop down fresh trees despite there being a felled tree in some cases[/p]
• [p]Workers are sometimes too impatient waiting for the tree they are chopping to stop moving after a section has been converted into a log[/p]
• [p]Felled trees in progress are not saved/loaded[/p]
• [p]Rock Boulder does not provide interaction options for the player so they can't harvest some items, use NPC stoneworker jobs as a workaround[/p]

[p]This is the first round of fixes to specifically address NPC pathing issues.[/p]

• [p]Major changes to NPC pathing - this is a work in progress and the first phase of major fixes and changes to cleanup NPC pathing. NPCs should get stuck much less often now. Focus is on the builder map pathing, combat will be cleaned up after. For any that still get stuck, the best recovery suggestion is to have them follow you to the point they teleport to you, then stop following.[/p]
• [p]Disable ability to push NPCs around[/p]
• [p]7 new floor build pieces of stone and wood[/p]
• [p]add new tools and resources to SPAWN STUFF prefab for DEV UI[/p]

[p][/p][h3]How to Access the public_beta build on Steam[/h3][p][/p][p]See the official instructions from Steam https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/application/branches[/p][p][/p][p]Summary[/p]

• [p]Find the game in your library[/p]
• [p]Right click and select Properties[/p]
• [p]Select Betas from the list on the left (under Installed Files)[/p]
• [p]Select public_beta from the dropdown for Beta Participation[/p]
• [p]Steam will now download the public_beta version of the game[/p]

[p][/p][p]The public_beta will be kept up to date as new builds come out so you don't have to switch back to the default full game version. Just note that builds under public_beta may contain other bugs and issues not found in the full game.

The public_beta branch is used to test and preview upcoming changes so we can get bug reports and feedback before updating the full game version.[/p]

[p][/p][p]It's been a busy first month in Early Access. Here's a recap on what's been completed.[/p][p][/p][h2]Roadmap Goal Reached[/h2][p]100+ Build Pieces - DONE![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]New Content[/h2][p][/p][h3]106 new build pieces for sandbox game mode[/h3]

• [p]Walls, roofs, and roof ends of wood, thatch, and stone for village buildings[/p]
• [p]Palisades and towers[/p]
• [p]Interior and exterior stairs[/p]
• [p]Dedicated storage for stone resources[/p]

[p][/p][h3]New resources and items[/h3]

• [p]Wild Einkorn (a grain product) that can be harvested for straw[/p]
• [p]Straw bunches to craft thatch bundles for construction[/p]
• [p]A variety of Rock formations that can be broken down into boulders and small stones, or carve out caves and tunnels for shelter[/p]
• [p]Boulders can be harvested into flat stone and stone blocks to be used in construction[/p]
• [p]Rockbreaker - a new tool for smashing rocks and foes[/p]
• [p]Straw Bed - simple bed made from straw you can sleep on which improves injury recovery and increases comfort[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New jobs and products[/h3]

• [p]Harvester - Wild Einkorn/straw[/p]
• [p]Handcrafter - Thatch Bundles[/p]
• [p]Stoneworker - Boulders, Flat Stone, Stone Blocks, Small Stones[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Other Notable Changes[/h2]

• [p]Moved the savegame data location including a data migration tool to preserve old save data[/p]
• [p]Reworked the Store page to better reflect the current game experience[/p]
• [p]Several improvements to the tree felling and bucking systems[/p]
• [p]Increase base speed for player actions and crafting[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Developer Blog Post - Behind the Scenes[/h2][p]For those interested in some of what goes on from my perspective, check out this Dev Blog Post going over some of the steps I take when setting up new rock formations for harvesting.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Bug Fixes and Quality of Life Improvements[/h2][p]Multiple hotfixes released, dozens of bugs fixed, QoL improvements, and some minor optimizations across multiple different systems and features. Bug fixes will remain an ongoing priority, please keep the feedback coming![/p][p][/p][h2]What's Next?[/h2][p]Trade and immigration, along with a heavy dose of bug fixes focused on villager pathing and jobs.[/p][p][/p][h3]Trade[/h3][p]This is about trading with the ship merchant, Tirk Grumman. This gets Tirk and his crew finally leaving the beach and going about their normal trade routes.[/p][p]Aboard his ship you can negotiate trade deals and place orders for various goods, as well as the type of new villagers you would like to attract or hire.. for a fee of course.[/p][p]This also adds trade between characters so you can finally speak with your villagers and access their inventory, as well as loot corpses.[/p][p][/p][h3]Immigration[/h3][p]New villagers will start to arrive by ship to grow your population. This gives you an opportunity to gain specialized skilled workers to open up new industries and production, or even new heroes to expand your adventure party options![/p][p][/p][h3]Bug Fixes and Polish[/h3][p]I'll be catching up on a backlog of bugs over the next month or so as well as adding some polish to several game mechanics.[/p][p][/p][p]Dungeons & Kingdoms is 15% off during the Steam Winter Sale. Get the game for a discount and join the community to help shape the game moving forward. We want your feedback![/p][p][/p][p]Full game build 0.592
Demo build 0.593[/p][h3]
Highlights[/h3]

• [p]Add new resources for breakable rock formations, several new rocks near beach[/p]
• [p]Add new simple tool - Rockbreaker (1053)[/p]
• [p]Add new resource Harvestable Boulder (5018), Flat Stone (5009), Stone Block (5008)[/p]
• [p]Add new job Stoneworker for simple stone harvesting[/p]
• [p]Add 30 stone build pieces[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Other Changes[/h3]

• [p]Reduce character radius for navmesh for better pathing accuracy[/p]
• [p]Add additional resources to Gatherer job to be able have more filter control[/p]
• [p]Improve rigidbody limiters to help with flyaway objects on collision[/p]
• [p]Add rough stone block (5008) as harvestable alternate resource from boulder (5018)[/p]
• [p]Add player actions for harvesting flat stone (5009) and stone blocks (5008) from boulders (5018)[/p]
• [p]Fix boulder (5018) having static child model causing placement issues[/p]
• [p]Reduce model size/scale for flat shaped stone (5009) so it fits better inside new harvestable rock volumes[/p]
• [p]Remove carry properties from harvestable reed and einkorn items (5016, 5017) as these are only for harvesting from wild resources, not picking up as products[/p]
• [p]Include resources layer as walkable ground[/p]
• [p]Add solid background image to equipped player hotbar slots to improve visibility[/p]
• [p]Fix and update some item and weapon icons and descriptions[/p]
• [p]Change handcrafting job order to have chisel first, add Rockbreaker to list[/p]
• [p]Fix issues with the cursor showing and/or causing player control to not work properly[/p]
• [p]Add new conditions to DEV UI player reset function to cover more scenarios[/p]
• [p]Configure small stone (5004) to always be excluded from navmesh cuts/updates[/p]
• [p]Autogenerate MoveTo workspot targets for all game units, helps with finding the best position for workers to harvest, handles reservations etc[/p]
• [p]Add gameunit setting to improve worker rotating to targets[/p]
• [p]Increase default NPC auto-recovery distance from 3 to 4[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Remaining stone content now added for public beta testing:[/p]

• [p]Stone boulder, flat stone, stone block crafting[/p]
• [p]30 new stone based build pieces[/p]
• [p]player stone actions now working correctly[/p]

[p]The next build is in the public_beta branch. This adds new harvestable resources for stone for the upcoming stone build pieces in sandbox mode.[/p][p][/p][h3]Highlights[/h3]

• [p] Add new simple tool - Rockbreaker[/p]
• [p] Add new resources for breakable rock formations, several new rocks near beach[/p]
• [p] Add new resource Harvestable Boulder (5018)[/p]
• [p] Add new job Stoneworker for simple stone harvesting[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Other Changes[/h3]

• [p] Reduce model size/scale for flat shaped stone (5009) so it fits better inside new harvestable rock volumes[/p]
• [p] Remove carry properties from harvestable reed and einkorn items (5016, 5017) as these are only for harvesting from wild resources, not picking up as products[/p]
• [p] Include resources layer as walkable ground[/p]
• [p] Add solid background image to equipped player hotbar slots to improve visibility[/p]
• [p] Fix and update some item and weapon icons and descriptions[/p]
• [p] Change handcrafting job order to have chisel first, add Rockbreaker to list after stone axe[/p]
• [p] Fix issues with the cursor showing and/or causing player control to not work properly[/p]
• [p] Add new conditions to DEV UI player reset function to cover more scenarios[/p]
• [p] Configure small stone (5004) to always be excluded from navmesh cuts/updates[/p]
• [p] Autogenerate MoveTo workspot targets for all game units, helps with finding the best position for workers to harvest, handles reservations etc[/p]
• [p] Add gameunit setting to improve worker rotating to targets[/p]
• [p] Increase default NPC auto-recovery distance from 3 to 4[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• [p]Pathing issues on some new rock formations for workers[/p]
• [p]Player cannot harvest flat shaped stone (missing player action)[/p]

[p][/p]