Age of Survival News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ0ozXhfPcQ

This video shows the game built and packaged running in windows. The player can start a server executable, and it will show up on the master server list if they have port 7777 forwarded. Any player can run a dedicated server.

Players can then run the client and connect to that server.

I am still working on a bug where it is displaying the default steam development project "spacewar", and you can see other people's development servers that have also used the "spacewar" project.

That's just a matter of renaming a few lines in a script, and totally rebuilding the project from visual studio. Easy fix.

Otherwise have been working on fixing a few more bugs in game that are essential to fix before playing. It is a lengthy process sometimes so please bear with me during these last development steps.

https://youtu.be/0oYLyzGvIcE

So far the project has been made using only what unreal engine provides, and using only free assets from quixel bridge, and only free assets from the unreal marketplace, besides some 3d models like the fish models and underwater assets.

The entire project has been coded using blueprints only, and it's taken me 6 months to work on every day after working my 9 - 5 full time.

I don't like to use third party assets when it comes to programming and blueprints, but this ocean shader is SWEET and functions just like the ocean shader provided in the unreal engine, but looks much better. Waves are supported, and it also supports physical water simulations, which would be awesome for lakes, and waterfalls.

It is the Fluid Flux water system, which can be used for a whole lot of things creatively in game if you guys want to check it out, and give me any ideas of how we could use this for real time water simulations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGAVnqhwJiY

Just a simple video to show the map from one end to the other, and how long it would take a level 1 character with no upgrades to walk across the fist map I will be releasing for the new Age of Survival update on steam.

You will notice there is also a new water system in place, I will be uploading a video about that as well. It adds MUCH more depth to the water system and overall feel of the project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPM29PaVNC4

This video shows the crop planting system working, as well as the swimming system!

I have started working on decorating the underwater areas as well, but much more work to go! There is a functional fish school that will swim within the bounds given, and avoid static mesh objects as they swim freely.

This video also shows the crop planting system working. The player is able to place out a crop plot buildable item, and then put fertilizer, and seeds into the crop plot.

Every 15 seconds the crop plot cycles through a stage of growth for the plants (but the time can be lengthened or shortened). There are three plant growth stages for each plant, and after the third stage the plant will produce an item the player can consume or use in other crafting recipes.


From this point on, I am just working on small details, and fixing a couple of major bugs that need to be fixed before the game is able to be tested.

I want to get this out soon for testing, but there are a couple of really perplexing bugs I need to fix before I can let it be tested. As a one person team, fixing big bugs can be daunting and can take more time than I want.

Please be advised I am working my hardest to make this a solid release. The game can have bugs on release, but there are two "deal breaker" bugs I need to fix beforehand.

Right now I am working on the "farming" functionality of the game, where one can plant plants in a plot, grow and harvest them over time.

After that, everything I have planned for this initial re- release of the game is done!

I will of course have to fix a few bugs here and there, and clean and tidy up some things before I release it on steam again, my goal is for this project to be released functional, and be a project that people enjoy playing.


The only other thing I have to think about is where to host the dedicated server. I currently will probably try AWS (amazon web services) to host the server, but it will cost money after a certain amount of use, and I don't have a lot of that these days.

Players WILL be able to host a dedicated server themselves if they want to as well of course, via your own computer, or if you want to rent a server space or have access to one.

I chose dedicated authoritative servers for this project instead of pier to pier multiplayer functionality for a lot of reasons............ security being top on the list, authoritative servers being harder to hack than pier to pier setups, and also the amount of players an authoritative, dedicated server can accept vs a pier to pier server setup.

It is a more expensive choice, but I want to make the best choice for the project.


Otherwise once I finish the farming functionality, it's go time guys!

I have agreed to let a twitch streamer have full authority of playing the release of the game before it is uploaded to steam, so there won't be a public beta before i upload it to steam.

The game will though have been tested by many people online, outside of a development environment before I upload it......... So I am trying to give you guys the most tested, bug free version of the initial release of the game that I can put out.


Cheers and it's getting to be very soon now, I will give you guys one last update with some video footage of the swimming and farming features before we go live.

Thank you all for the continued support.