Rising World News

Hi folks! Today we want to share a few more screenshots with you.


The new version will provide much more realistic lights and shadows. In addition to that, lights no longer pass through walls.
In terms of modding, we've started working on the new Plugin API and decided to stick to Java for the API.


As mentioned in our previous announcement, we will see some major improvements regardings lights and shadows in the new version. In the current Rising World most lights were static (i.e. computed once by the CPU during chunk generation) - this provides good performance, but the visual results weren't that great. In the new version, all lights will be fully dynamic, resulting in a much more realistic lighting. In addition to that, lights are able to cast shadows now. To make sure performance doesn't suffer too much, we will use a deferred renderer (which can handle lots of lights fairly efficiently) and a smart shadow updater (which regenerates shadows only if the environment changed).

We've prepared a small comparision between the new lights (still work-in-progress) and the static lights in the old version of the game:




Shadows play a big role and can be a real game changer. When exploring dungeons, for example, or walking through forests at night (just equipped with a torch), shadows create a completely different atmosphere.




Another big improvement thanks to proper shadows: Lights no longer pass through walls in the new version!




Apart from lights and shadows, we also started working on the new Plugin API. We decided to stick to Java for the API, since this language provides a much better performance (and full multi-threading support) compared to scripting languages. This also means that large parts of the current API stay compatible, however, there are still a few changes to the API so existing plugins need to be updated for the new version. We will post more information about that soon.

Stay tuned for the next status update! If you want to get more information in the meantime, make sure to check out our development roadmap on Trello :)

Hey folks! We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope you enjoy the holidays and have a great time!

We would like to take the opportunity to give you a small status update of the new version. Right in time for Christmas we have a new screenshot for you:



The log cabin and fireplace were built with construction elements. As you can certainly see, lighting and shadows will improve considerably with the new version. In addition to that, we will use more detailed models (for the furniture, for example) and higher resolution textures.

Apart from that, we decided to stick to FMOD as audio engine. We've implemented a voice chat recently, with the ability to post-process the voice data (e.g. when the player uses a megaphone or walkie-talkie).

Unfortunately there will be no playable demo this year, because it's still too unfinished. However, we'll try to get a playable demo ready in early 2020.

As always, if you want to get more information about the development progress, you can check out our roadmap on Trello: https://trello.com/b/t5Leypcj/rising-world-development

Stay tuned for a thrilling year 2020!

Hi folks! Today we want to give you a status update of the ongoing changes (if you aren't aware of our plans to move to a new engine, please check out our previous announcement).



We've finalized the terrain generation (see some first screenshots below) and also implemented a few other interesting features. For example, the new version will be able to handle larger view distances and much higher mountains. In addition to that, we've added full gamepad support, we created a new UI from scratch (supporting various resolutions and aspect ratios), and also implemented a fast, UDP-based network system.
Btw, there is also a new update for the Java version available, you can find the changelog in our forums.




We've made a lot of progress in the past months, but of course there is still a lot of work to do. One of the biggest (and most time-consuming) features we're currently working on is the new world generation. When it comes to this feature, we have two main priorities: On the one hand, we want to create more interesting and appealing landscapes, and on the other hand, it's our intention to enable larger view distances (without killing the performance). In fact we've made some great progress in this regard and will be able to handle larger view distances as well as higher mountains. We can't give exact numbers yet (because we haven't implemented all world features yet), but our first results look very promising!

Here are some first screenshots of the new terrain generation. Please keep in mind that they use mostly placeholder-textures (and we don't have any vegetation or fancy shader effects yet), but they should give you a rough idea of the new terrain:








In addition to that, we've implemented a native bridge that allows us to write performance-critical code in C++. This made our terrain generation, for example, a lot faster compared to regular C#!
C++ also gives us more control over memory (no garbage collector involved) and allows us to use CPU features like SIMD.









Here is a small overview of the most important features we've implemented so far:

• New terrain generation: The new version features more appealing and realistic landscapes compared to the old version. It also enables much greater view distances and higher mountains (this also means you can create higher buildings accordingly).
  
  
• Better player physics: We tried to create a player controller similar to the current one (in the Java version), but we made some improvements. On the one hand, there is no more "jitter" when standing on slopes, on the other hand, the character is no longer able to walk up steep inclines like a mountain goat. However, we found out that we definitely need some climbing gear now ^^
  
  
• New UI: We're creating a new UI from scratch. We understand and agree that the old "wood" design wasn't really appealing, so we're focusing on a flat, modern design now. The new UI scales properly depending on the screen resolution and aspect ratio (so far we support 16:9, 21:9 and 32:9)
  
  
• Gamepad support: We've implemented full support for Xbox360/One, PS4 and common XInput controllers. You can use your mouse/keyboard and gamepad simultaneously, but if desired, the game is also fully playable without a keyboard
  
  
• UDP based networking: The new version will use "connection-less", UDP based networking. This should result in better performance compared to TCP, but most and foremost, this should help us to get rid of connection resets and other losses of connections
  
  
• C++ integration: Not necessarily a "feature", but we've implemented a bridge between C# and C++ - this allows us to write performance-critical code in C++, resulting in less overhead and better performance
  
  
• Localization: While we still don't have support for any other languages yet, we have at least support for chinese and cyrillic characters. The language files are easily accessible and modifiable, so community translations can be incorporated conveniently
  

There are of course many other things we've implemented so far. If you want to get a better overview of these features and if you also want to find out what we're currently working on, feel free to check out our development roadmap on Trello: https://trello.com/b/t5Leypcj/rising-world-development


We're still finalizing the world generation, but soon we will start working on more features which provide more "visual feedback" - e.g. animations, objects, vegetation etc. This enables us to share many more screenshots and videos at shorter intervals :)


There is also a new update for the Java version available by the way. You can find the full changelog in our forums

Dear Community!

It's about time to let you know what's currently going on, and what the future of Rising World will probably look like. Sorry for the wall of text!

Some of you may remember that we mentioned some traffic changes on Steam last October. Valve changed the algorithm that decides which games are promoted and which are not. There aren't many details known about how the algorithm works exactly, but it seems that the algorithm is mostly favoring top-sellers now - there are lots of other serious indie developers out there who were negatively affected by the algorithm change.

We lost a lot of our visibility "over night" and therefore our game sells a lot worse than before. Of course it's up to Valve to decide what's best for the store, but this change makes it much harder for us to survive - especially in combination with the introduction of Steam Direct in 2017.
The development of Rising World is not about making money, but of course we have running costs and have to pay bills just like everyone else. We will never abandon Rising World, no matter what happens, but if we're having trouble covering the costs, this will inevitable slow down development - to a point that becomes unacceptable. But even if we somehow make it to the 1.0, it would be a pity if the journey ends at this point (since there is still so much unused potential in this game).

It couldn't go on like this, so we had to find the best solution for the community and the game.

To cut a long story short, we decided to move Rising World to another engine. This allows us to bring Rising World to a new level (from a technological point of view). Graphics isn't everything, but it still plays a big role when it comes to the first impression of the game. But moving to a new engine also allows us to release the game on more platforms - for example consoles. Of course the PC will still be our main platform, but being able to bring the game to consoles (or maybe even something like Stadia) could ensure the future of the game.

We are sure that the vast majority of players will benefit from this measure in the end, since the result will be a much more polished game. The bad news is, that moving to another engine means a rewrite of the game. This sounds worse than it actually is, though. When implementing a new feature, most of the time is spent on the conceptual design - and there is no need to redo that now in this case. The actual implementation, i.e. the "programming part" is in fact the smallest part.

But apart from that there are several "core mechanics" that had to be reworked anyway, for example the world generation. It makes sense to use this opportunity to do that now.

Nevertheless, it will still take some time until the "new version" is ready. In order to speed things up, we have a new fulltime dev now (so we're two people focusing on the programming/implementation part). This wasn't really an option before, since the game already consists of more than 250k lines of code, and getting used to it would take a lot of time.
I'm still afraid that it will take up to 1 year until the current version of the game can be fully replaced by the new version (but at this stage, it will already feature the reworked core mechanics). But once we have a playable version, we will make it accessible (as "Beta" in Steam) - we're confident that this still happens this year.

We already have some preview screenshots we want to share with you. Please keep in mind that these are some very early screenshots, but they give at least a rough idea how the game could look like in the future:









Just to avoid any misunderstandings: If you already own the game, there is of course no need to buy it again. Once the new version is ready, it will replace the current version and you will be able to access it.
However, the Java version will still be available (as well as the according server files). Once the new version replaces the current one, the Java version will be moved to a separate Beta branch in Steam which will always be accessible. So if you don't like the changes and want to stick to the old version, that will be possible. We are still going to provide bugfixes for the Java version.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or if you think that it's a bad idea to move to a new engine, please let us know :) Either leave a comment here, or create a new post in the forums.

We've set up a small FAQ by the way which provides some more information: https://steamcommunity.com/app/324080/discussions/0/1642042464740355178/

Hey folks!

The new update is finally available! First of all, thank you very much for your patience!

This update introduces a lot of new features and changes, but our main focus was on reworking the NPC behaviour as well as adding new hostile NPCs. You will now find small groups of bandits roaming the forests during night, and underground dungeons are now populated with skeletons. In addition to that, spiders spawn randomly in deep caves.



When fighting with bandits or skeletons, you can use your sword to block their attacks (so you take less or even no damage, but keep an eye on your stamina). Obviously this only applies to melee attacks - so watch out for enemies equipped with bows and arrows!

Of course you can disable any NPC you want, and you can also change the spawn rates for both animals and enemies. So if you don't want to deal with bandits or monsters, you can simply turn them off.



But when talking about NPC related things, that doesn't mean that this update is only about enemies. We improved the NPC AI and collision detection with this update, so NPCs should no longer be able to walk through walls, fall through the ground or warp to the roof of your building. In case you still experience any of these issues, please let us know!

We also reworked the spawn behaviour of NPCs: they are able to respawn in chunks which haven't been modified, and animals mostly spawn in herds now. Alerting one herd animal also alerts all other herd animals.



There is also another important feature in this update: it's now possible to load custom items (e.g. tools or weapons) through the plugin API. This makes modding a lot easier. We will update the plugin API and also release a few example plugins in the next few days.

Apart from that, we implemented several other new features and changes. Blueprints can now store terrain data and water, there are some new items (weed whacker and venison), we added several new music tracks, we reworked the screenshot feature (it's much more powerful now) and last but not least we've fixed a lot of bugs. Check out the changelog to get an overview of all changes.

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• [New] New NPCs: bandits and skeletons with various equipment and outfits
  
• [New] Bandits spawn randomly in forests (during night), while skeletons spawn randomly in dungeons
  
• [New] Animals / NPCs can now respawn after a given amount of time
  
• [New] Animals usually spawn in small herds now
  
• [New] When a herd animal is alerted, other herd animals are also alerted
  
• [New] Spiders and rats spawn randomly in caves and abandoned cabins
  
• [New] When creating a new world, you can select a starting biome / area now
  
• [New] Custom / modded items can now be added via API
  
• [New] New tool: weed whacker
  
• [New] Added 7 new music tracks
  
• [New] Added settings for screenshots (resolution, quality, hud etc)
  
• [New] Added settings to change the animal and enemy spawn rate
  
• [New] Added venison, which is obtainable from wild animals
  
• [New] Terrain can now also be stored in blueprints
  
• [New] Added "Toggle Crouch" and "Toggle Walk" key bindings
  
• [New] Added gloss effect / environment mapping for some clothes (e.g. armor)
  
• [New] Added settings for grass view distance
  
• [New] Added support for DNS SRV Records (Multiplayer/"Connect to IP")
  
• [New] Added "continuous editing" for creative terrain tools (keep mouse button pressed to edit the terrain)
  
• [New] Creative mode terrain tools now have "water" as textur (i.e. the paint [3] and area tool [4] can now be used for water)
  
• [New] Added proper headshot detection for other players
  
• [New] Added new filter to server list to hide password-protected servers
  
• [New] Added command "disablenpc" to permanently disable an npc for the current world
  
• [New] Implemented GPU skinning to improve the performance regarding animations
  
• [Change] Player no longer gets "stuck" on walls when walking against walls
  
• [Change] Projectiles / Arrows despawn now after a given amount of time
  
• [Change] NPCs now also take damage from traps (with a few exceptions)
  
• [Change] Increased range for picking up items
  
• [Change] Increased range for "editconstruction" command
  
• [Change] Reduced height of player while riding a horse or donkey
  
• [Change] There is a small cooldown now when using tools by clicking the mouse button rapidly
  
• [Change] Deleting a custom image now removes all instances in the world
  
• [Change] Toggle aiming with a weapon is now disabled by default (can be changed in settings)
  
• [Change] Grenade / TNT cooking is now possible
  
• [Change] Water is now correctly rendered in front of a blueprint preview if it is opaque (press Return-key)
  
• [Change] The "flatten tool" in creative mode terrain tools (F5, press Return-key) now shows the current elevation
  
• [Change] Blueprints can now still be loaded if they were accidentally unzipped after downloading them
  
• [Change] Chainsaw is slightly more efficient now
  
• [Change] Reworked sword animations
  
• [Change] Player no longer takes damage from projectiles / arrows in creative mode
  
• [Change] Arrows and firework rockets can no longer be abused to climb walls (removed collision)
  
• [Change] If fly mode is disabled, double tapping F2 no longer teleports you to the surface
  
• [Change] Improved some sound effects
  
• [Change] Removed CPU load diagram, since it was causing performance issues on some operating systems
  
• [Change] Removed some unnecessary debug outputs from log
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issue that chunks sometimes became invisible while editing them
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issues with "undoblueprint" command (need feedback)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issues with modular construction element placement (need feedback)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed random native crash (need feedback)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issue that some objects became unusable sometimes for no reason
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed item stacks disappearing sometimes when moving them from chests to inventory
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issues when placing blocks or construction elements (weird collision behaviour)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issues when posters were referring to an already deleted custom image
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issues with projectile collision detection when standing close to a wall
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed extreme "z-fighting" (flickering) when walking against walls
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed wrong animation of dead animal corpses in some situations
  
• [Bugfix] If "Keep Inventory" is enabled, you no longer lose your inventory when quitting the game without respawning
  
• [Bugfix] Player should no longer fall through the ground in certain cases when teleporting (need feedback)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed problem that sometimes teleported the player to sky when using the "gotospawn" command
  
• [Bugfix] Headgear of dead players is no longer in the wrong position
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed wrong custom journal element position if "pivot=center" was set
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed memoryleak related to gun sounds
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issue with picking up items
  

• [Bugfix] Removed red debug square
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed crash related to plugins which modify npc positions
  

• [New] Command "givenpcitem" to give an item to an npc
  
• [New] You can now also get venison from giraffes
  
• [New] Stamina can now also be disabled server side
  
• [New] Added spawn protection setting to config.properties file (for SP)
  
• [New] Added separate "fly" permission for creative mode (to disable fly mode)
  
• [Change] Reduced respawn rate for npcs
  
• [Change] Blueprints no longer include air when placing terrain (can be changed in config)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed wrong spawn position when creating a new world
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed yellowish glow of items and player in inventory
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed a bug which was responsible for certain performance issue
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed water not being visible if placed via blueprint
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issues with grinder and spinning wheel
  

• [New] New item: Club, which is craftable from the very beginning
  
• [New] Added command "deleteallnpc" to remove all npcs from the world
  
• [Change] Furnaces now provide warmth to the player if he is nearby
  
• [Change] Changed mining drill sounds
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed performance issues related to npcs (need feedback)
  

• [New] NPCs won't see you if you sneak up on them from behind
  
• [New] Added setting to enable bandits to spawn during the day
  
• [New] Command "deleteallnpcs" now optionally accepts a type and range constraint
  
• [Change] Added separate spawn settings for bandits and skeletons
  
• [Change] Weed whacker now has a RMB functionality (cuts the grass half length)
  
• [Change] Weed whacker can no longer destroy trees
  
• [Change] Bandits have slightly more health points now
  
• [Change] Reduced run speed of bandits and skeletons
  
• [Change] Stamina is now only reduced when running forward
  
• [Change] Added new mining drill sounds for various materials
  
• [Change] Increased placement range for construction elements
  
• [Change] Terrain area tool (F5-4) only affects water if water material is selected
  
• [Change] Increased speed of most tools
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed horse sounds
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed bug which mixed up horse inventories with existing chests
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed hitbox of small animals
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed players not being able to damage other players in mp
  
• [Bugfix] Arrows shot by npcs now also cause damage if pvp is disabled
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed wrong scaffolding placement positions
  

• [New] Added console command "cleanup images" to delete all unused images
  
• [New] Added console command "enablenpc" to re-enable an npc to spawn in the world that has been disabled before
  
• [New] Added small icons to indicate if grid, modular snapping or manual positioning is active
  
• [New] Added permission "blueprint_placeterrain" to enable/disable placement of terrain via blueprints
  
• [Change] Removed unnecessary debug output
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed command "debugplayerbody" (for API)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed crash related to custom items
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed issues when moving items from inventory to chest and vice versa (need feedback)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed npc collision issues if multiple construction elements are placed in a row
  
• [Bugfix] Boats no longer move if the player is freezed (e.g. when outrunning world generation)
  

• [Bugfix] Fixed npcs sometimes being invisible in multiplayer
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed "goto" command
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed sitting position on some seats
  

• [Bugfix] Fixed disabled npcs not working properly
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed some smaller issues related to custom items
  

• [New] Snow, coal and hellstone is now available as block texture
  
• [New] Added setting to config file to disable "grain" on block textures
  
• [Change] "Grain" is disabled automatically for natural block textures (dirt, sand etc)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed inventory not being saved properly if it contained too many items
  
• [Bugfix] Players no longer spawn up in the sky when respawning after quitting the game
  

• [Bugfix] Fixed player inventory not always being saved correctly when disconnecting from a server
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed some desync issues with npcs in multiplayer
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed "black flicker" on dirt blocks