Oct 14, 2015

Folk Tale - Games Foundry

ALPHA 23e (0.3.4.0)

This is a update to the experimental opt-in build.

The primary changes are an overhaul to resource harvesting, a replacement of the needs system, an overhaul of building research, and the addition of the terrain sculpting tool to the editor.

Where can I get it?
Experimental Build:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/224440/discussions/0/541906348034355622/

What's new?
Player: Trees are now felled on the first visit, dropping logs
Player: Fields are segmented into quadrants and individually cleared, dropping baskets and bushels depending on worker’s experience
Player: Needs system replaced by happiness, civics dialog tab updated
Player: Rationing, Taxation and Happiness tab added to the civics dialog
Player: If you promise villagers extra rations, then don’t deliver, they’ll become unhappy
Player: Outlining system (mouseover hover on interactable objects) improved to be better defined and less blurred
Player: Campaign extended, adding Desecrated Cathedral and access to Mordrich’s Sandal Factory
Player: Collectables including dropped logs and baskets of crops can be collected manually
Player: Heroes and City Watch can now wear armor below their best type
Player: Added visual warning (glowing civics button) when happiness is negative
Player: Dampening on WASD/Arrow keys increased so camera comes to a stop almost immediately
Assets: Added portraits for boar, bear, beetle, giant snail, rabbit, warpig
Campaign: Shirebrook: Added Beastman encounter
Campaign: Shirebrook: Added Beastman wave attacks
Campaign: Shirebrook: Added Withering Dead wave attacks
Campaign: Shirebrook: Added Spiders
Campaign: Shirebrook: Added Desecrated Cathedral (first pass)
Campaign: Shirebrook: Connected Desecrated Cathedral dungeon
Stats: Spider Queen marked as boss and given +15 vitality
Stats: Bear given +5 vitality
Stats: Removed common weapons from crafting options since units get them by default
Editor: Terrain sculpting tool added (please watch https://youtu.be/D8fGhMPslUQ?t=37m52s)
Editor: Cemetery kit overhauled for better snapping support and improved aesthetics
Editor: Props->Items kit added, providing access to all weapons and shields for placement in world as static props
Editor: Classic Dungeon receives diagonal trim pieces and walls, door portals, various others
Editor: Radius of portal entry point has been reduced from 25 units to 15
Workbench: PersistentAnimation node added for saving animation state across saves
Fix: Older DirectX 9 version now works
Fix: Maps created with terrain generator can now be saved
Fix: Icons on world map that have no corresponding zip file are now properly deleted when using Backspace
Fix: Editor objects with Workbench scripts are showing cogs once more
Fix: 1/2 unit snapping in editor inspector now fixed
Fix: Flowers are now removed when constructing buildings, reducing chance of z-flicker
Fix: Character height was jittering on uneven surfaces like puddles and stairs
Fix: Props accidently marked for pooling and static batching were ending up in odd locations, causing maps to look corrupted

Known Issues
There is a suspected engine memory leak causing the game memory footprint to grow at around 1GB per hour. Please save more often to avoid losing progress.
Resource harvesting and economy have not yet been balanced.
Some monsters (e.g. bandits) are dropping incorrect loot.
Bonefinger does no damage.
Torches LOD1 model will show as pink.
Cutscene fade transitions are not working smoothly on Windows.
Quests do not carry over to other maps. For now, you can cheat by recreating them in eat map and testing with GetGlobalBool.

Oct 14, 2015

Experimental Build (0.3.4.0)

Folk Tale - GF

ALPHA 23e (0.3.4.0)

Sep 21, 2015

Experimental Build (0.3.3.4)

Folk Tale - Games Foundry

ALPHA 23d (0.3.3.4)

This is a update to the experimental opt-in build.

The primary changes are the addition of the world editor and support for portals to travel between maps.

Where can I get it?
Experimental Build:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/224440/discussions/0/541906348034355622/

What's new?
Player: Abilities can now be targeted at party members by clicking on their profiles of pressing F1..F4
Player: New healthbars added (heroes’ have significantly changed)
Player: Reduced aggro ranges significantly
Player: Camera field of view reduced
Player: Tweaked colliders on all monsters for easier targeting
Player: Increased distance that characters will stand apart
Player: Added wet cave ambient background track
Player: Added lots more character portraits (so they’ll appear in conversation dialogs)
Player: Added wolf, bear, boar, skeleton and zombie sound effects
Player: Ability points now have a greater effect on critical/evade chance (1 vit = 20hp, previously 10hp)
Player: Villagers and (some) monsters will now voice idle phrases
Player: Several monster loot profiles added
Player: If characters/monsters cannot surround a target, they should choose another target
Editor: World Editor added
Editor: Added Map Entry and Exit Points To World Kit
Editor: Folder Structure Changed, location maps are now filed under a world folder
Editor: Added Skeleton Elite and Champion tests (blue and yellow rim shading)
Editor: Added Glade Kit
Editor: Starting Map Designer Will Load Into World Editor, Then You Select Map To Edit
Editor: Added Kindle (Hero, No Abilities Or Attacks Atm)
Editor: Added Tool Button To Topbar To Access World Editor
Editor: Modular Waterfall Pieces added to Water FX Kit
Workbench: Added SetFaction; Cutscene useful for preventing characters doing tasks during cutscene
Workbench: Added Notification node for adding icons/events into Events Notification system
Workbench: Health bars will no longer be shown when NPC has faction set to cutscene
Workbench: Added GetGlobalBool and StoreGlobalBool nodes; values persist across maps
Workbench: Added GetGlobalNumber and StoreGlobalNumber nodes; values persist across maps
Workbench: CameraPath node can use just a single camera position now for simple framing
Workbench: Added Move node for immediate relocation
Fix: Tile batching was broken a few weeks back
Fix: Start screen menu more responsive
Fix: Characters marked as ‘dead’ no longer count towards killed statistics, and don’t agro
Fix: Negative Scaling Props For Mirroring Now Works On Props With Navmesh Cuts
Fix: Fixed Cave Tile Alignments That Were Causing Some Small Thin Gaps
Fix: Peasants no longer lose their names when trained as workers
Fix: Characters marked as ‘dead’ now have permanent corpses
Fix: Event notifications no longer happen in non-village maps
Fix: Using Workbench node to change faction/allegiance during combat is now more reliable
Fix: Characters no longer play their hit animation if it’s already playing
Fix: Characters no longer move/glide if their hit animation is playing
Fix: Herb fields were too bright
Fix: Herbalists no longer carry surplus herbs to the storehouse
Fix: Hid some UI clutter that was showing in between screens loading
Fix: Workbench: Sound field in Conversation can now be cleared
Fix: Heroes that are out of range for ability use now run into range before activating
Fix: Hovering over corpses no longer causes mouse cursor to change to target mode
Fix: Rivers would sometimes turn an ugly green with no reflections

Note: to create a new map in a world, use the Location Pin prop in the World Editor kit. To import (copy) a map from another world, use the Location Importer prop in the World Editor kit.

Note: to mark worlds as sandbox (so a player can choose any map in the world to play, edit the world.zip file meta.json and remove the “startingLocation” entry (and everything between { }).

Known issue: Quests do not currently carry over between maps.

World Editor Guide
Following the patch release, we've added a World Editor guide to the website:
http://www.gamesfoundry.com/worldeditorguide.aspx

Sep 21, 2015

Experimental Build (0.3.3.4)

Folk Tale - GF

ALPHA 23d (0.3.3.4)

Aug 20, 2015

Folk Tale Dev Blog 37

Folk Tale - Games Foundry

RPG gameplay, a new camera system, cutscene creation tools, and a host of new monsters

Camera System: Orbit And Follow

It's been discussed for a while in the forums, and in Alpha 23 we've overhauled the camera system to orbit around a central point. This is especially important when adventuring with a hero party, where the new camera will follow a selected hero in the center of the screen when in adventuring in dungeons. Hopefully you'll find it more intuitive, and consistent with other games in both RPG and Citybuilding genres. Following community feedback, we've removed hero following when in village maps as the need for free movement is paramount.

Hero System

Our focus for now is firmly on RPG gameplay because it impacts a number of tasks in the coming months. The addition of the hero party UI in the top left of the screen will be instantly familiar to RPG players. Clicking a hero portrait will select that hero, causing the camera to pan to place them in the middle of the screen, and continue to follow them. Placeholder icons to the right of the portraits will soon be replaced with both positive and negative buffs.

Below the portraits are toggle buttons for selection mode and follow. In single hero selection mode, you're commanding that hero alone. Other party members will use their AI to react to what your selected hero is doing. With party selection, you're commanding all four heroes at once. The follow toggle determines whether non-selected heroes will follow your lead hero, or stand still. This is important when working with a thief where you want to scout ahead.

Editor Enhancement: Cutscene Camera

In order to deliver an engaging RPG experience, we first need to enhance the content creation tools. Today, we're adding cutscene creation nodes to Workbench, our visual scripting engine, and camera path tools for creating camera motion. Level designers now have directoral control over how NPC interactions are presented, right from within the Editor.

Editor Enhancement: Quest Givers

Prior to triggering a cutscene, it's likely you'll want to mark an NPC as a quest giver so that a yellow exclamation mark appears over their heads. When used in conjunction with a trigger, the AddQuestGiver node will show the marker, while the RemoveQuestGiver node will, unsurprisingly, hide it.

In time we need to work out a system for interacting with moving NPCs, but for now the first pass implementation is very usable.

Somewhat related, we've modified the Conversation node so that level designers can now optionally specify the character who's portrait should be displayed, an animation to be played (more info on this will follow at a later date), and any loot items to be displayed for example as quest rewards.

Editor Enhancement: Prefabs

Productivity in content creation is important, with many of the Editor enhancements focusing on improving the speed at which new levels can be created. A few months ago we added the terrain generation tool for exterior locations, and marquee selection for quickly selecting multiple objects. This month we're rolling out the prefabs system. A prefab is a combination of props, such as a statue on a mount with a camera collider, or a locked door with a trigger and Workbench script attached. To create one, select your pieces and hit H, naming your prefab. An entry will be created in the prefabs tab of the kit inspector. You can then use it like a normal kit piece, clicking it to insert into your map scene. Prefabs are saved to disk, and so survive across multiple editing sessions.

Editor Enhancement: Workbench Scripts On Objects

If you've used Workbench, our visual scripting tool, historically you've had to work on a single worksheet, and performance would start to drop with lots of nodes and wires on screen. In Alpha 23, scripts can now be attached to any object in the map by clicked the 'Add Script' button in the object's inspector window. A cog icon will be added to the object, and a new worksheet created.

Editor Enhancement: Visual Helpers Toggle

In complex maps, clutter in the form of colliders, triggers, and light icons can start to build up and hinder productivity. So we've added a new toggle button to the toolbar so you can show and hide them.

New Assets: Weapons

For a while now a small mountain of assets has been building up and marked as queued for implementation in the roadmap. Equipping weapons onto characters often resulted in the same placeholder weapon being displayed. We've now imported and configured all the outstanding weapons and stats.

New Assets: Characters

A host of new monsters have been added, and all characters now have base stats. Some have become a lot tougher, so we've introduced Willow The Healer. While she's not yet fully configured, her heal is functional and will help your hero party survive.

In time we'll add in monster special abilities (requires animation, particle fx and sound fx) but for now they provide some additional flavour.

A lot of characters now have reaction animations, including hit and dazed. Shocked, feared, and knockdown will come into play as we add in new heroes and abilities.

Experimental vs Public Build

In Alpha 22 we introduced the experimental build, an opt-in beta that active community members can join to help us test early release candidates. It's potentially less stable and more buggy than the public build, but it provides access to the very latest builds with the specific goal of routing out bugs before we publish an update to the main public build.

Some have asked why bother? Well, even though we're in Early Access and bugs are to be expected, the reality is that releasing buggy updates to the entire community can actually cause harm. Having the buffer of an experimental build means better quality stable updates for casual and new players; engages active community members in more of a testing role; and provides level designers with a chance to update their maps ready for the next public release. Everyone benefits.

Aug 20, 2015

Folk Tale Dev Blog 37

Folk Tale - GF

RPG gameplay, a new camera system, cutscene creation tools, and a host of new monsters

Camera System: Orbit And Follow

Hero System

Editor Enhancement: Cutscene Camera

Editor Enhancement: Quest Givers

Editor Enhancement: Prefabs

Editor Enhancement: Workbench Scripts On Objects

Editor Enhancement: Visual Helpers Toggle

New Assets: Weapons

New Assets: Characters

Experimental vs Public Build

Aug 15, 2015

Experimental Build (0.3.3.2)

Folk Tale - Games Foundry

ALPHA 23b (0.3.3.2)

This is a update to the experimental opt-in build. Following a period of community testing, it will be rolled out to the public build.

The primary change is unlocking the camera on heroes in village maps. We've also made a few tweaks to improve the play experience in response to feedback.

For level designers, there are new Workbench nodes to help with implementing questing, and some changes to existing nodes aimed at providing expanded functionality and removing superfluous nodes. We've also added some requested mob spawn points, and expanded the list of mobs that can be wave spawned.

Where can I get it?
Experimental Build:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/224440/discussions/0/541906348034355622/

What's new?
Camera no longer auto-locks and follows heroes in village maps
‘F’ key functionality restored
Tab now cycles through units in control groups, including when character sheet is open
Ser Gregory given +7 vitality, giving +70 health
Conversation dialog no longer closes and re-opens if there are no blocking nodes between
Added portraits to numerous monsters
Added spawn point versions of some Grublins (formerly Goblins)
Increased priority for planting saplings slightly
Updated some editor kit piece icons
Saturation control added to Ambience zone system
More props added to Mordrich’s Factory kit
More props added to Grassland kit (bridge connection and middle)
Workbench: Conversation nodes can now have the portrait set to a spawn point
Workbench: Conversation nodes can now play an animation on the character assigned to the portrait
Workbench: ForEachCharacter can now take a ListWorldObject populated with spawn points as an input
Workbench: CharacterDamage node is now deprecated (please remove)
Workbench: Added StopAnimation node to stop all animations above base layer
Workbench: Animation, Destroy and Damage nodes now allow you to set target character directly by targeting the spawn point, removing need for input nodes. Level designers will need to edit their maps to set the target as previous wire connectors will have been terminated.
Workbench: Destroy node now supports object pooling (only tall torches use pooling atm)
Workbench: SetAllegience can now set buildings too
Workbench: Added AddQuestGiver and RemoveQuestGiver nodes; simply assign a character
Updated Mayor Pootenbury/Advisor’s texture
Workbench: Marked some outputs as required (mostly on loops)
Editor: Migrated terrain generator dialogs to latest UI style
Editor: Bandits, skeletons, ogres and goblins now available via wave spawn points
Editor: Terrain Generator: Reduced amount props can be sunk into terrain (some rocks were completely hidden)
Editor: Enabled spawn placement of Arbalist, City Watch, Engineers and Grublins
Fix: Updated grassland kit bush icons as they weren’t matching
Fix: Grassland caves kit had a ½ height tile that was misaligned
Fix: Grid and world bounds no longer appear when entering player via Editor ‘play’ button
Fix: Refactored character name generator to prevent freeze
Fix: Ser Gregory flickers white
Fix: Ser Gregory partially invisible when looking at horizon
Fix: Global Fog now renders before transparent objects
Fix: Title of conversation dialog is now set to the character
Fix: Needs now correctly set when loading from an old save game
Fix: Neutral characters no longer affected visually by Ser Gregory’s taunt
Fix: Neutral characters no longer targetable, triggering battlecry
Fix: Characters now check if current workpoint is still valid after they change faction via Workbench
Fix: Delayed work scheduler to run after Workbench scripts to avoid sending orders to characters right before they change faction/allegiance
Fix: Prefabs would sometimes not save scripts
Fix: Crossbow and Bow impacts are now relative to target, and not the shooter

Known Issues
The camera is a bit funky for the first 10 seconds of playing the crypts map, but then corrects itself. This will be fixed in a future patch.

Interactable doors in dungeons can be a PITA to open. Click near the top of the doors. A hero should say 'Opening door' above their portrait when you've hit the sweet spot.

Aug 15, 2015

Experimental Build (0.3.3.2)

Folk Tale - GF

ALPHA 23b (0.3.3.2)