This is probably going to be one of the last entries before we will start our first alpha testing session. Exciting!
It was about 2am last night when we finally finished the script that handles synchronizing of Orb-status. Throughout the night, we must have been certain that the code was perfect and free of bugs, only to have our optimism shattered by cruel reality. An added bonus: Since we had to read through the texts ingame so often, there is now a text-skip-feature. Otherwise, one of us might have gone insane.
Additionally, there's now a news system. In the screenshot for this news-piece, you can see an early version of it (that might just make it to the first alpha, not sure if we redesign it before). Depending on which team you're on - red or blue - you see news directly from King Red or Queen Blue.
King Red is kind of a troublesome character: Everyone we've asked preferred Queen Blue. And, if we're honest, we do, too. Since we're not artists, we'll probably have to give King Red more character through writing. We haven't really decided on a theme for him yet, though. Not really sure how different one now perceives him with this text. Do you have any comments, or ideas for him?
The news system also shows you who visited your dungeon and how their journey ended. System-wide messages are shown in yellow, and are missing an icon currently, but we'll add one, no worries.
There are a few more features we want to add to the news system, but that most likely won't make it in the first alpha.
A player's dungeon exploration can end in three distinct ways: They might die, actually finish it successfully (find the huge treasure chest) or exit the dungeon via the entrance. When you finish a dungeon successfully, you get all the money you've collected and steal an orb from the dungeon owner. Should you die, you will lose most of the money you've collected and the owner of the dungeon gets what you've lost. In case you exit the dungeon again, you keep your money, but you won’t steal an orb.
Money, by the way, isn't stolen in this game: It appears in dungeon by magic.
So that’s basically what we've done yesterday. We will now start work on the room editor. Make it a little more comfortable and include a few more features. That’s the last big thing we want to implement on the homepage before we start testing.
Events, which would theoretically allow you to create the most interesting puzzles, probably won't make it, though. For the alpha, you'll have to stick to simpler ones.
We really need a few more test players who can afford to spend a few hours next week (probably :)) to test the game and report bugs. If you are interested, head over our forums: Forum.dungeondeities.com and register and/or post in the testing session. We'd be happy to see you!
