Dev Journal #18: Dynasties in Beta 2

[p]For those of you just joining us, Elemental: Reforged is a remastering and reimagining of the previous Elemental games all rolled into a single game.[/p][p]Specifically: Elemental: War of Magic, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress and Elemental: Sorcerer King.[/p][p]We are using Fallen Enchantress as the starting point for Beta 1. We ported it to 64-bit and gave it a new graphics engine, updated visuals, the crafting system and global inventory from Sorcerer King, and a lot of new quests, spells, goodie huts, monsters, etc. that were in War of Magic but had to be taken out due to memory constraints.[/p][p]Now it’s time for Beta 2.[/p][p]Beta 2 revolves around 3 key features:[/p]

1. [p]Localization[/p]
2. [p]Modding[/p]
3. [p]Dynasties[/p]

[p]Today we are going to talk about Dynasties.[/p][p][/p][h2]Your Family of Monsters[/h2][p]The dynasty system of Elemental is another case where you can see how far (too far) ahead of its time it was. Trying to fit a full blown “breeding” program complete with generated textures and blended characters (ever wanted to know what a Dwarf and Orc pairing looks like? Well we had the game for you..) for the offspring.[/p][p]…With the benefit of hindsight, it is kind of obvious why the original Elemental was such a technical disaster trying to fit all this in 32-bit. For Fallen Enchantress, we removed this system entirely. But now it’s coming back.[/p][p]Unfortunately, putting it into Elemental: Reforged isn’t just a matter of bringing in the code. The UI for the system was designed with 1024x768 displays, so we’ve been needing to redesign the whole thing. We also want to bring over the entire Dynasty system and not just the bits that were in War of Magic…[/p][p]The original design of the Dynasty system involved 3 parts:[/p]

1. [p]The Family Tree (this made it into War of Magic)[/p]
2. [p]Traditions (this got cut)[/p]
3. [p]Legacies (this got cut)[/p]

[p]Mockups:[/p][p][/p][p]Beta 2 will have Traditions and Legacy disabled because these basically have to be made from scratch. They were designed, but not implemented in War of Magic. Some of you who were part of the early experience program for Elemental may recall these features discussed back in 2009.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Mechanics[/h2][p]Fame is the key currency for all this (I think we called it prestige in WOM). Arranging marriages and unlocking traditions all depend on fame. The Legacies, by contrast, are due to accomplishing various feats in a given game.[/p][p]Right now, the plan is to have BETA 2 out to everyone on December 16th, 2025. We plan to unlock Legacies and Traditions in early January when we get back from Christmas break.[/p][p]Let us know what you think in the comments below![/p]