SAVAGE: The Shard of Gosen News

Hail and Happy Thanksgiving, barbarian, to all who slay, eat, drink, and be merry today!

The battle rages on with porting Savage over to GMS2. I have encountered many pitfalls and speedbumps along the way, but the porting process is nearly complete, with only a few remaining locations left to fully re-tile and bring up to full GMS2-functional, as well as cleaning up some GMS1 to GMS2 compatibility scripts.



Along the way, I have taken the opportunity to do things like very basic room rebalance where the need strikes, like repositioning enemies, adding new ones, or taking away, as well as adding save rooms or NPC locations.

I have run into plenty of scenarios, also, where tiles are missing, or they were incorrectly placed - mistakes from the previous version of the game. In other words, I get to do some light polish as I hack and slash my way through this GMS2-porting nightmare.



I've also been leveling up my GMS2 skills, incorporating things like the tileset brush feature into my workflow (along with a ton of other quality of life features I've been picking up along the way), which will wind up being a MASSIVE time saver when creating the remaining locations from scratch.

Once the game is fully GMS2-compliant, it's off to the fast track with new content (including the (very) long awaited map system - the new GMS2 room cleaning is needed before I can release an update with the map system). I am most likely going to be cutting some planned content, reserving it for some post-release updates, and rearranging existing content (especially in dungeons and locations that are FAR TOO big, for pacing reasons) to reach a 1.0.

That's where I'm at with the game currently, and those are my plans immediately following completing what's left of the GMS2-ification.



Just wanted to check in with you, let you know what's going on, and wish you a Happy Autumn and Happy Thanksgiving!

BARBARIC THANKSGIVING TAVERN BRAWL

CHEERS!
-Matt

Hail and happy weekend, Barbarians! ⚔

The exodus from GMS1 to GMS2 goes on, and I wanted to be a bit further along with it before patching the game, but certain issues have come up (thanks for letting me know!) that I couldn't let go without another batch of fixes.



This patch includes those hotfixes, as well as some minor improvements, balancing, tweaks, and general spot cleaning to issues I noticed while testing.







During the room rebuilds from GMS1 to GMS2, I have noticed the game gain a bit of a spring in its step performance wise (at least on my machine) so I hope this continues to improve as I optimize the game for GMS2.



I also want to talk about my plans for release, as that is looming and this whole GMS2 situation has definitely thrown a wrench in the works. Once the game is properly GMS2-ified, I plan on finishing the Volunheim area, features that still need that nudge over the finish line, the final dungeon, and the final boss (as well as story wrap ups).

The game needs a 1.0, I need it, you've waited WAY too long (and I've been at this for way too long, ha!), and it is mega overdue. Any content that I have to cut (time will tell, especially concerning how long the rest of this GMS2 conversion will take) will come in the form of post release free updates (ocean encounters, the Southern continent, more enemies and bosses, more randomized scenarios, more gear, etc.).

That's my plan as it stands. Thank you for being so patient, and for all your support! The final sprint is upon us.

-Matt



IMPROVEMENTS

• MANY tilesets converted to GMS2
  
• Several rooms finalized and converted to the GMS2 layers/tile system
  
• Many rooms, as a result, have gotten minor tile fixes (tiles that were missing or placed in awkward/stupid spots), better seasonal background layers, etc.
  
• Updated gold vendor values on some weapons/gear
  
• Updated certain spawns and spawn points to reflect day/night changes
  
• Updated some enemies to do status ailment effects and corresponding damage
  
• Updated sections of the worldmap with biome information
  
• Added a state to the player on the overworld so that when you are entering or exiting a location, as long as there is a fade in/fade out, you cannot enter another, or collide with a wandering monster on the map
  
• Exiting water when "swimming" tuned to be a little snappier
  
• Remade dozens of tilesets so they now conform to GMS2
  
• Remade way, WAY too many sprites from old tilesets (background props) so they can now be placed in non-grid spots in rooms (GMS2 tile system does not allow off-grid placements)
  
• First batch of rooms properly remade and brought up to GMS2 systems (layer system, new tile system, etc.)
  
• Fixed those on the beta branch on Steam not able to launch the "normal" game (missing .exe / could only play the beta branch versions)
  

• New enemy (work in progress) added to Volunheim
  
• New testing section for Twinfang added to Volunheim (not complete dungeon, but some rooms to explore and items to find)
  

• Increased drowning damage
  
• Added an "ignore defense" mechanic to some very dangerous hazards and damage sources (like drowning)
  

• Kuchvek's Crossing screens still had solids before and after pulling the switch when they shouldn't
  
• Ghosts were lighting themselves on fire
  
• Some biome settings were not showing/hiding seasonal layers and assets
  
• Jailer attack was messed up during imprisoned story sequence
  
• If the main brute's feelings were hurt in imprisoned story sequence and you escaped before he leaves, he moonwalked back toward gate
  
• Fixed several crashes that could be triggered in the imprisoned story sequence (Thanks, TremorTheWolf!)
  
• Fixed several weird and janky issues that were triggering and occuring out of place in the imprisoned story event
  
• Fixed all issues of "new_item" appearing in text and dialogue found throughout the game
  
• Several fade in/out objects were spawning on the worldmap under certain conditions, causing issues
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur on the overworld map when entering a location that messed with the math on the overworld camera
  
• Fixed the Dogcatcher boss in the burning village intro falling through the floor, softlocking the game unless you quit and reload the game (this issue returned after moving to GMS2)
  
• Fixed pushing "Up" on left analog stick on a gamepad at the "level up" locations causing the level up menu to flash uncontrollably (this issue returned after moving to GMS2)
  

Very sorry to anyone having trouble playing the game!

There are now two launch options for Savage when you play the game, one for 32-bit Windows and one for 64-bit:



If you were having trouble launching the game, go with the first option.

The game will now no longer run the installer every time you want to play at startup.

I am also working on updating the free demo and the beta branch in a similar way.

Very sorry for the inconvenience and trouble, and thanks to everyone who let me know about these issues! ⚔

- Matt

⚔ HAIL Barbarians! ⚔

This update is a complicated one, and while it does not contain a massive amount of new content, it changes a massive amount of stuff under the hood thanks to a necessary move to GMS2 (I was developing on GMS 1.X).

Ticking Time Bomb
It recently came to my attention that games made with GMS 1.X were behaving strangely, ir not refusing to even load, thanks to the recent batch of Windows 10 updates. Some developers still using that version of GameMaker weren’t even able to open GameMaker due to said Windows 10 updates. This sort of made the decision to move to GMS2 for me, as it is now definitely a ticking time bomb!



This has been a bit of a frustrating move (like any leap to a new development environment), and has felt largely like a step backward, but I think I’ve got things relatively under control now. There are a handful of things that still need to be updated for Savage to fully play nice with GMS2, which are listed below. The new move brings some positive new things, too, like GMS2’s wicked fast/mega optimized tile system, and a much better compile using their “YYC” compiler to produce builds of the game. Sprites actually also now scale and look better and more “correct” on the 3D overworld map.

[h2]New Launch Options[/h2]
The game now uses a new installer, and I have tested saves from GMS 1 versions of the game with updated GMS2 builds, and I didn’t run into any issues. That doesn’t mean you won’t though – so, very sorry if you do, and it might mean you need to start a new game.

To test some of this, I added a Beta branch via Steam, so if you want to opt into it, you will be able to play some of the more wacky and unstable stuff before it’s cleaned up. To access this, go to your Steam library, right click on Savage. Find “Properties”, go to the “Betas” tab to the left in the new window that pops up, then select the “savagebetabranch” option from the dropdown menu. Enter the beta access code “goremonger17” in the field below, and click “Check Code”. From now on, you should have the option of running the beta branch when launching the game.



[h2]Other New Stuff[/h2]
I’ve managed to squeeze in a few other improvements, fixes, and new bits of content in this update as well. Highlights include several new weapons, new rooms and save locations in existing stages, and an update to combat related collisions, especially making parrying more forgiving (it behaves more like how I think it should) and generally feeling better.









It won’t be long now til I can get back on track with proper content updates. Until then, here are the patch notes, have a great weekend, and thanks very much for your support! ⚔

- Matt



[h2]SAVAGE 2.6.1 Patch Notes – First GMS2 Build[/h2]

BUG FIXES
· Dozens of fixes to things that were broken because of the move to GMS2, like:

o Crashes

o Visual issues

o Strange and incorrect timings across things like alarms and frame counts

o Incorrect math causing strange behavior

o Events now triggering in a different order

o Overworld map visual issues

o etc.

o Some of the above have a happy coincidence of improving or fixing things that I didn’t realize
were already janky/broken in some way

Changed certain item names and quest descriptions to be less confusing/more informative

· Fixed Hurlbats spawning when they should not be from containers and other breakables (AGAIN)

· Fixed player melee interacting with enemy shields strangely, especially when colliding with both an enemy shield and an enemy

· Fixed Kuchvek’s Crossing platforms not being destroyed when they should

· Fixed wrong armor sprite drawing on player when using certain types of consumables

· Fixed having X amount of Ore, then using a forge and your Ore dropping (or increasing) to 4

· Fixed snowfall drawing incorrectly on worldmap

· Fixed a very old floating coordinate problem for moveable/grabbable blocks and solids

· Fixed moveable solids not moving correctly when stacked

· Fixed several bad enemy corpse hitboxes across several enemy types that were incorrect

· Fixed and cleaned up a few sprite errors

· Fixed exiting water when swimming making it very difficult (sometimes impossible) to grab a nearby ledge

· Continued to fix certain items not respawning after they have been collected (treasure chests, Tribute Pieces, etc.)

NEW STUFF

· Added several new weapons

· New drop and treasure locations

· Updated loot tables for certain enemies

· Certain unique items will only drop from unique enemies

· New save rooms and save spots in certain locations

· New gear that can be “REFORGED”

· Started work on a “Gosen Wiki” which I will post soon, organizing locations, characters, enemies, gear, items, etc.



IMPROVEMENTS

· Savage now supports 64 bit OS

· Added a “Beta Branch” via Steam

· The game now compiles in the much more optimized and powerful “YoYo Compiler”

· Savage now uses a more stable Installer (with nice crispy Savage graphics)

· Light tuning to a few rooms as far as enemy locations and item locations



CATCHUP WORK FOR GMS2

· Rooms need to be rebuilt thanks to the change from old tile system to new tyle/sprite/asset system

· Remove old “depth” system and update to the new “layer” system

· Remove/change old instance creation code and update it to the new functions to play nice with the new GMS2 layer system

· Remove certain textures from old tilesets and make them their own sprites so they can be placed freely in rooms (GMS2 now only allows grid placement with tiles)

· 3D Worldmap transparency issues (objects and water not drawing if semi-transparent cloud is in front of them)

Hail, barbarians! 🗡️

Here's a quick hotfix to fix a few issues that have been recently reported. If you have run into these issues, sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for taking the time to let me know about them!

• Fixed the Femur 1 handed club weapon so it is NOT doing 10 million damage (I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted, lol)
  
• Fixed the way damage for weapons and shields was being read and stored, giving some wildly inaccurate displays on gear comparisons in the equipment view and vendor lists
  
• CRASH: Entering a particularly important screen in the Highland Cliffs would crash the game
  
• CRASH: Sometimes, when opening a chest, a particular sound wouldn't be declared, resulting in a crash
  
• Fixed the "level up" Essence screen stats flashing if you interacted with the Essence Vessel (save cup) using "up" on an analog stick via gamepad - stats on the screen will no longer flash and you can level up as normal
  
• Fixed certain items not spawning from containers
  
• Fixed some Death Tribute Pieces respawning after screen/room re-entry
  
• Fixed the hitbox on certain switches being much too big
  

Thanks for letting me know about these issues!
- Matt ⚔️