Shards of Azuria News

- Reduced the aggro radius of the Bear and also the rate of health regeneration

- Input validation added to prevent other actions while casting.

- Day/Night lighting has been tweaked so that it isn't as dark at night or in caves (light intensity also tweaked appropriately for day/night situations).

- The sound effect and mechanic of the NPC dialogue has been changed.

- When attacking with the cursor, the direction the character faces is now based on purely the position of the cursor and not the position of a selected block (at it's base).

- Prevented melee occuring when clicking on some GUI elements

- Experience gain from enemies has been adjusted so that it is no longer randomized and now always at the max of the range it was defined (Between 15-30 exp is now always 30).
This overall increases the experience gained from enemies and ensures that it feels consistent when gaining it.

- Melee cursor changed so that if you aren't precisely targeting an enemy, it will still attack in the direction of the cursor and detect any enemies in range.

- Spell casting has been changed to no longer be cancelled when hit.
Instead, the cast bar progress will be partially reduced and not completely halt the casting.
Mystic Bubble will now also nullify the effect of cast bar push-back.

- While casting a spell, you now automatically face the direction of the cursor.

Deadly Thrust has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.

Ice Shard has been changed:
- Removed the Stun (it was a bit too effective when combined with Deadly Thrust)
- Intellect to Damage coeffient increased
- Changed the appearance of the targeting
- Radius increased
- Mana cost increased

Shard Blade has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.
- Strength to Damage coeffient increased

Freight Train has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.
- Strength to Damage coeffient increased
- The speed of the charge has been reduced

Infernal Misery has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.
- The projectile fired no longer collides with your pet item

Mystishock has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.

Arc of Pain has been changed:
- Projectile visual has been changed
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.
- The projectiles no longer disappear on first impact, but continue to damage any enemies in it's path.
- Now also bounces off blocks

Flash Attack has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.



- Fixed item looting so that you can now pick up stackable items if all of the the inventory slots are occupied, but there are still unfilled stacks of the item type.

- Fixed the Ability: Unseen recipe requirements

- Fixed timer issues that occured due to the game timer not functioning correctly.
Once example of this was the shruiken trap blocks that continued to spawn objects while gameplay was paused.

- Fixed crashes occuring when teleporting with a Wooden Chest open. Also properly exits the GUI during.

- Fixed issues with automatic crafting that was caused by the chosen number of items to craft exceeding the max stack of items involved.
The amount selectable when auto crafting is now limited by the lowest max stack of the item requirements.
Credit to OnsenManju for providing detailed examples.

- Fixed an issue with cursor object selection, which was causing crashing with the eggs in the Sentientpede room.

- Fixed cooldown timers on the action bar that were still animating while paused

- Reduced the aggro radius of the Bear and also the rate of health regeneration

- Input validation added to prevent other actions while casting.

- Day/Night lighting has been tweaked so that it isn't as dark at night or in caves (light intensity also tweaked appropriately for day/night situations).

- The sound effect and mechanic of the NPC dialogue has been changed.

- When attacking with the cursor, the direction the character faces is now based on purely the position of the cursor and not the position of a selected block (at it's base).

- Prevented melee occuring when clicking on some GUI elements

- Experience gain from enemies has been adjusted so that it is no longer randomized and now always at the max of the range it was defined (Between 15-30 exp is now always 30).
This overall increases the experience gained from enemies and ensures that it feels consistent when gaining it.

- Melee cursor changed so that if you aren't precisely targeting an enemy, it will still attack in the direction of the cursor and detect any enemies in range.

- Spell casting has been changed to no longer be cancelled when hit.
Instead, the cast bar progress will be partially reduced and not completely halt the casting.
Mystic Bubble will now also nullify the effect of cast bar push-back.

- While casting a spell, you now automatically face the direction of the cursor.

Deadly Thrust has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.

Ice Shard has been changed:
- Removed the Stun (it was a bit too effective when combined with Deadly Thrust)
- Intellect to Damage coeffient increased
- Changed the appearance of the targeting
- Radius increased
- Mana cost increased

Shard Blade has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.
- Strength to Damage coeffient increased

Freight Train has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.
- Strength to Damage coeffient increased
- The speed of the charge has been reduced

Infernal Misery has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.
- The projectile fired no longer collides with your pet item

Mystishock has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.

Arc of Pain has been changed:
- Projectile visual has been changed
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.
- The projectiles no longer disappear on first impact, but continue to damage any enemies in it's path.
- Now also bounces off blocks

Flash Attack has been changed:
- Aiming and targeting has been changed to be based on the position of the cursor.
- Functions in all directions, instead of just 4 way.



- Fixed item looting so that you can now pick up stackable items if all of the the inventory slots are occupied, but there are still unfilled stacks of the item type.

- Fixed the Ability: Unseen recipe requirements

- Fixed timer issues that occured due to the game timer not functioning correctly.
Once example of this was the shruiken trap blocks that continued to spawn objects while gameplay was paused.

- Fixed crashes occuring when teleporting with a Wooden Chest open. Also properly exits the GUI during.

- Fixed issues with automatic crafting that was caused by the chosen number of items to craft exceeding the max stack of items involved.
The amount selectable when auto crafting is now limited by the lowest max stack of the item requirements.
Credit to OnsenManju for providing detailed examples.

- Fixed an issue with cursor object selection, which was causing crashing with the eggs in the Sentientpede room.

- Fixed cooldown timers on the action bar that were still animating while paused

It’s taken longer than expected with these changes, as I think there was a bit too much taken on for a single update. But here we are at last! Now to try and summarise all of the changes…

One thing to note first, is that for these changes you will have to create a new world. You can use the same character, but you will not be able to experience the new map unless you do so.



In my last post, I shared my thoughts on wanting to switch to using custom design for maps over generating them. The feedback on this topic was interesting as it shows a desire to still retain an element of generation. Basically I want to reassure you all that the world creation will continue to use a mix of both custom and generated areas.

However, one distinctive difference with this build is the addition of rivers and other custom designed areas. For the Woodland, the way this is constructed is by first generating a random “base” of the area, then a custom/static layer is printed on top to produce the mix of the two.



One thing to note here is that I had to create a developer-only map edit mode to facilitate much faster editing of large areas. It’s good that this exists now for future use.





There are now rivers running throughout the Woodlands, with small and large fish lurking in the waters. You will need to craft a Fishing Rod and to carefully cast your float out next to a fish. Any fish caught can then be sold to a vendor for a generous price. Four rods are currently available and each increases your chance of catching more valuable fish.

Fishing Rods and Crafting Requirements:

Wooden Fishing Rod (Branch, Branch, Reed Grass)

Iron Fishing Rod (Wooden Fishing Rod, 10x Iron Ore)

Ruby Fishing Rod (Iron Fishing Rod, 10x Ruby Gems)

Gold Fishing Rod (Ruby Fishing Rod, 10x Gold Ore)

As for the fish – You will catch different ones depending on where you are in the Woodland. Below are the fish that are available:

Gully

Perch

Trout

Salmon

Golden Gob

Moon Speck

Crab

Shrimp

Yopper

Carp

Pike

Azure Toad

Runed Skipper



Four new abilities have been added. Orb of Light is a non class specific ability to simply help add a bit more light when you want it. The other 3 are more defensive options for each of the class types. On a related note, the crafting requirements for some abilities have been adjusted to make some more readily available.

Orb of Light
Summons a mystical Orb of Light that orbits the caster and illuminates the surroundings. Lasts 30 seconds. 1 min cooldown.

Unseen
Briefly go out of sight. For 4 seconds, you are completely invisible and will not be detected by monsters. 20 sec cooldown.

Mystic Bubble
Envelops the caster in a bubble of mystical energy. Prevents knockback and transfers 20% of damage taken into consuming mana instead. Lasts 8 sec. 30 sec cooldown.

Brace For Impact
You prepare for impact, reducing damage taken for the next 1 second by 80%. 14 sec cooldown.



There is now a mysteriously large hive in the Woodland. Proceed with caution if you don’t like large flying insects.


There are however two new items to craft if you manage to pluck up the courage to vanquish it.

Stinger Staff

Chitin Crest



One of the sore areas for feedback has been around the movement and melee systems. Changes have already been made to allow for full directional movement by holding down RMB. However there were still issues with the melee system being difficult to aim/position for new players.

With this update, the melee system for both players and enemies has changed to be range based. That is, enemies will now also move in any direction and once in range, will directly attack the player.

More importantly, you can now melee attack enemies and objects by using RMB. The cursor now accurately selects/highlights enemies, blocks, doors or NPCs to either attack or interact with.



There have been so many small tweaks/changes, but here are more notable ones:

• Added a Sort Inventory button
  
• The character’s position is now shown on Alris’s Map
  
• Fixed an issue with the collision on the edge of the map
  
• Hand cursor for object interaction no longer shows in menu
  
• Blocks that are out of sight of the player (FoV) will now appear more transparent in order to allow for other closer blocks to be seen.
  

It’s taken longer than expected with these changes, as I think there was a bit too much taken on for a single update. But here we are at last! Now to try and summarise all of the changes…

One thing to note first, is that for these changes you will have to create a new world. You can use the same character, but you will not be able to experience the new map unless you do so.



In my last post, I shared my thoughts on wanting to switch to using custom design for maps over generating them. The feedback on this topic was interesting as it shows a desire to still retain an element of generation. Basically I want to reassure you all that the world creation will continue to use a mix of both custom and generated areas.

However, one distinctive difference with this build is the addition of rivers and other custom designed areas. For the Woodland, the way this is constructed is by first generating a random “base” of the area, then a custom/static layer is printed on top to produce the mix of the two.



One thing to note here is that I had to create a developer-only map edit mode to facilitate much faster editing of large areas. It’s good that this exists now for future use.





There are now rivers running throughout the Woodlands, with small and large fish lurking in the waters. You will need to craft a Fishing Rod and to carefully cast your float out next to a fish. Any fish caught can then be sold to a vendor for a generous price. Four rods are currently available and each increases your chance of catching more valuable fish.

Fishing Rods and Crafting Requirements:

Wooden Fishing Rod (Branch, Branch, Reed Grass)

Iron Fishing Rod (Wooden Fishing Rod, 10x Iron Ore)

Ruby Fishing Rod (Iron Fishing Rod, 10x Ruby Gems)

Gold Fishing Rod (Ruby Fishing Rod, 10x Gold Ore)

As for the fish – You will catch different ones depending on where you are in the Woodland. Below are the fish that are available:

Gully

Perch

Trout

Salmon

Golden Gob

Moon Speck

Crab

Shrimp

Yopper

Carp

Pike

Azure Toad

Runed Skipper



Four new abilities have been added. Orb of Light is a non class specific ability to simply help add a bit more light when you want it. The other 3 are more defensive options for each of the class types. On a related note, the crafting requirements for some abilities have been adjusted to make some more readily available.

Orb of Light
Summons a mystical Orb of Light that orbits the caster and illuminates the surroundings. Lasts 30 seconds. 1 min cooldown.

Unseen
Briefly go out of sight. For 4 seconds, you are completely invisible and will not be detected by monsters. 20 sec cooldown.

Mystic Bubble
Envelops the caster in a bubble of mystical energy. Prevents knockback and transfers 20% of damage taken into consuming mana instead. Lasts 8 sec. 30 sec cooldown.

Brace For Impact
You prepare for impact, reducing damage taken for the next 1 second by 80%. 14 sec cooldown.



There is now a mysteriously large hive in the Woodland. Proceed with caution if you don’t like large flying insects.


There are however two new items to craft if you manage to pluck up the courage to vanquish it.

Stinger Staff

Chitin Crest



One of the sore areas for feedback has been around the movement and melee systems. Changes have already been made to allow for full directional movement by holding down RMB. However there were still issues with the melee system being difficult to aim/position for new players.

With this update, the melee system for both players and enemies has changed to be range based. That is, enemies will now also move in any direction and once in range, will directly attack the player.

More importantly, you can now melee attack enemies and objects by using RMB. The cursor now accurately selects/highlights enemies, blocks, doors or NPCs to either attack or interact with.



There have been so many small tweaks/changes, but here are more notable ones:

• Added a Sort Inventory button
  
• The character’s position is now shown on Alris’s Map
  
• Fixed an issue with the collision on the edge of the map
  
• Hand cursor for object interaction no longer shows in menu
  
• Blocks that are out of sight of the player (FoV) will now appear more transparent in order to allow for other closer blocks to be seen.
  

(ノ°∀°)ノ⌒･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

Happy New Year everyone!

For many reasons, 2016 was a turbulent year, full of shock and bewilderment.
I hope that for all of us, 2017 turns out to be a better year.
A year full of positive changes without any regrets.

2016 was still an incredibly significant year for Shards of Azuria and the two of us at Blue Potion Games. It has been massively rewarding to see it first successfully go on Steam Greenlight and then be released on Early Access. The reception has been very humbling and reaffirming. It confirms that doing this is worth it. Play testing, youtube videos, streaming, reviews and discussions have made it all an amazing experience.

THANK YOU to everyone that has contributed. We will make sure that Shards of Azuria continues to improve as 2017 goes on.


Planned Update – Build 6

It’s been a while since my last post, so I wanted to take the time to give some details on what to expect with a future update.
I am expecting the update to be ready sometime during February, but it could extend if more work is required first.

So what is expected to be in the update?..

– Custom Design Revamp
I mentioned this in my last post. This is not a decision to take lightly, but I feel is the right one.
Procedural generation of map areas is being phased out in favour of custom designing the map areas.
So while the world won’t look any different each time you create a new one, it should be a higher quality than before.
Doing this has meant there have been various development related things need, like a dev only map edit mode.
With this change, the current maps are also being revamped in their layout and appearance.

– Water, Rivers & Fishing

– Crop Growing

– New Abilities (Unseen, Mystic Bubble, Brace for Impact, Orb of Light)

– Queen Bee Boss

– More equipment/weapons

– Inventory Sort Button

This is merely a summary for now, the rest of the changes will be detailed within the full patch notes when the update comes.

I hope you have enjoyed the Christmas break and I wish you all the best this year!