All posts by utilitron

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Server testing

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I put some time in to getting a test server up and running this weekend. I was hoping to have something up and running, however there seems to be some issues with dropping connections randomly and the connection locking up after so many disconnects that needs immediate attention.

This process is sort of trial by fire, if you will. I have never set up a custom game server before, and it is a long ways from running a cs 1.6 server. I initially set up a VPS with dreamhost.com, unfortunately they informed me I would not be able to upload my server and run it. So I have moved over to a nfoservers.com VPS and am working on getting everything up and running.

Once I have worked out some of the kinks with connection losses and the server locking up, I really hope to allow people to start trying out the game!

Server Test 2016-01-30(server test on NFO VPS)

Erik: refresh and try again
Devin: ok
Erik: now i see you
Erik: dropped again
Devin: yah
Devin: and it sent me to the main menu and i cant click join again
Erik: I know, there is an issue with the mouse pointer not showing. refresh and it should let you again
Devin: ok
Devin: shit kicked me again
Devin: lol
Devin: you need to get the problems out first so you wont get bombarded with hey the thing kicks me
Erik: yea

Design, Update

Big Change Coming…

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The past 3 months or so have been real slow in getting work done. Mostly because I am swamped at work and have some family matters that needed my full attention. Things are starting to die down and I have so much to catch up on in the game. I apologize.

I have been wanting to have a way to allow people to start to play the game and get some feedback. After a bit of looking for the best way to provide a “pre-alpha” copy for people to try, I decided to look into WebGL.  I will be looking into a hosting solution to allow people to join a server and play around with the spell casting system ASAP.

Design, Gameplay

Spooky Scary Skeletons

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skeleton

I worked quite a bit this weekend on the champ spawn AI and spawner. Right now it is just a basic spawner that spawns in endless waves of skeletons (placeholder), but I am working on making it act more like the UO conter part where it will have levels.

The idea behind the champ spawn will be to distribute items such as cloths, hats, wands, and staffs, all cosmetic.

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Update 10/06/2015

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I really appreciate all the feedback I have been given regarding the presentation of the site,  I have been working hard at getting some stuff together. I made the site, hopefully, more accessible. I am looking at getting more screen shots and better quality videos.

I plan of having some really amazing content. I have been working on the interactive start screen, as well as some new effects for spells, and sounds for spells.

I am also looking into DRM solutions so I can get some testers into the game!

Design, Gameplay, Update

Update 9/25/2015

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One major issue I have been dealing with in using Unity3d is Linux support. I am running Linux, so I have had to run unity though wine. The issue with that is it limits me to 32bit. Recently Unity released a native Linux solution. For the past week, I have been working on getting that to work. There are a lot of issues and crashes at the moment, so I will still be doing the majority of the work on MageDuels in 32bit wine version, and playing around with the native Linux version on the side. When it is stable, I will make the switch.

I had an interesting conversation on twitter yesterday. I have been looking for UO PvP veterans to help give me some feedback on how the game should “feel”. I wasn’t expecting the response “That sounds really, really weird…”

I have been sort of developing this in a bubble, essentially. Is the concept really that weird? He made some good points, but I stand behind the concept being more about competition than full loot. However, this made me think quite a bit of how to increase the risk vs reward in the champ spawn game mode.

Design, Gameplay, Update

Update 9/16/2015

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I know it has been a while since I have posted, but I have been busy.

A big part of the spell casting redesign was an issue with Unity3d’s matchmaking system. There is a limit to how much bandwidth that can be used, and I was hitting that limit due to the nature of the spell prefabs I was using. Now instead of a prefab for each spell there is a prefab for each spell type and the effects get assigned when the spell is cast. This brings the amount of data that needs to be sent to the server/clients down by a lot.

The second part of the redesign is a scripting system. I have been looking into several ways of doing this, but I haven’t committed a lot of actual code yet. There is quite a bit to consider with this, and I want to get it right.

Lastly I have also been looking into some AI for the champion servers. These will be large battle fields with a boss creature. When these events run, the groups that take down the champion will receive weighted loot drops. As of right now all items are cosmetic for either your player or your house.

The menu for the game is going to be a small mini game that allows you to go to a market, use a magical portal to join servers, has a house for you to decorate and display any awards you may have earned, and use a chest in your house to customize your mage.

Design, Gameplay, Update

Spellcast System Redesign

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Right now the spell casting system works as such: A script waits for a key to be pressed. When one is, it loops through the spells for a spell with a matching assigned key.  If a match is found, it begins waiting for the cast delay before turning on the targeting system. It works great. But it is wrong.

I am working on a new system that will allow you to assign a sequence of tasks to a key.

  1. Cast regenerate
  2. Wait for spell ready
  3. Target self
Design

I Broke Everything: Update 9/8/2015

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Change log:

  • I broke everything

So… It turns out there is some sort of bandwidth limit on unity’s matchmaker service. Apparently I was hitting that limit and causing issues with people connecting while testing. So for right now I am rebuilding the spell system to hopefully quell a big portion of the bandwidth that was being used. This is a blessing in disguise because it gives me an opportunity to look over some of the code I wrote and maybe do it in a better way.

Due to the holiday weekend (and it also being my birthday) I didn’t get around to doing a ton of the work I wanted. But I have a plan of attack for this week, and I should have it all back up and running by the weekend.

Currently working on:

  • Rebuilding everything
  • Refactoring the spell system to not be a bandwidth hog.