Greetings citizens of Mercia and welcome to Dev Blog #57!

We’ve got a mini Dev Update, info on our Wiki Revival & our Beta Patch notes for both the current build and our next build.


This week we will be having a look at our new graphical updates and a teaser on trees!

Graphical Updates

These graphical updates include changes to our lighting and fog effects as well as our new post processing. Below are some before and after shots of our new post process, lighting and fog effects.

We have been adjusting ambient occlusion and appling a volumentric fog technique to get distance shots to give a more immersive weather condition, this is especially effective on forests.



Contrast now gives a more realistic result where before the darkest parts of the image were too dark.



Update On Trees

We are working on the ability to cut down every tree in Mercia and give a realistic result when they fall which varies greatly depending on the tree type and size.


We are currently setting up our Wiki for the Community to kickstart a Wiki Revival! We will have more details on this in a future post.

We want to work with you, the Community to make The Black Death Wiki a place where players can find information, contribute and discuss ideas and to help grow the Wiki into a rich and informative hub. To see our past Steam Forum sticky post on our Wiki check it out here: The Black Death Wiki – Mercia Needs You! The Black Death Wiki – Mercia Needs You!


These are the updates from our last Dev Blog that made it into the Beta build along with some more up to date notes:

• Made the player model look more sickly when they are infected
  
• Updated/fixes to recipes to do with the quantity crafting and stacking
  
• Working on sick beggar AI type movement and animations
  
• Updated/balanced thirst rate
  
• Fixed naming error with milk procedural pickup
  
• Fixed naming error with Wooden Duck procedural pickup
  
• Updated shopkeeper item tooltip to stop it covering up the items in the shop

Fixed

• Fix to make AI have death sounds
  
• Fixed a bug which stopped you using a bandage while you are poisoned
  
• Fixed naming error with milk procedural pickup
  
• Fixed naming error with Wooden Duck procedural pickup
  
• Fixed a server crash
  
• Fixed a Fatal error when using a house built campfire
  
• Fixed a bug where resources wouldn’t get used up when you created something
  
• Fixed bug which stopped you being able to block the new AI types
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you being able to rotate the camera around with the “Alt” button
  
• Fixed bug where AI when killed by a projectile would instantly disappear without animation/physics
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you equipping shields (Cannot currently equip a weapon and a shield though)
  
• Fixed bug that stopped thirst being affected by running
  
• Fixed a bug where AI, would only agro on one person
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you jumping after using a tool as a weapon
  
• Fixed bug that meant if you got thrown up on twice it would make you healthy again

Updated

• Updated shopkeeper item tooltip to help stop it covering the items in the shop
  
• Made the player model look more sickly when they are infected
  
• Updated/fixes to recipes to do with the quantity crafting and stacking
  
• Updated/balanced thirst rate
  
• Updated the UI infected screen effect so it moves and is no longer static
  
• Added more contrast into the post effect
  
• Removed wood, iron and stone house upkeep costs, now only Wheat and Gold
  
• Adjusted skinning on sick beggar mesh
  
• Updated sick beggar AI movement, animations, sounds, VFX
  
• Punching now has its own unique impact sounds that are more realistic
  
• Icons update to put in line with paper UI
  
• AI move more smoothly around (they path less regularly)
  
• Beggars don’t throw weapons when they are in punching distance from you

New

• New AI types now have Health bars and names
  
• New wolf AI type added to the test map
  
• New cow AI type added to the test map
  
• New boar AI type added to the test map
  
• New rat AI type added to the test map
  
• New deer AI type added to the test map
  
• Added a glow on resources that you can use/interact with
  
• New books added “Plague Medical Notes For Apprentice Doctors – I” and “Plague Medical Notes For Apprentice Doctors – II”
  
• New AI type sick bandit
  
• New AI type monk crossbowman
  
• New AI type spear man
  
• New AI Type Bandit Miner

Balanced

• Balanced the cost of the basic blacksmith iron ingots
  
• Adjusted loot that new AI types drop to sometimes include rope

Optimised

• Optimised sounds cues
  
• Sound concurrency limits
  
• Reduced loaded assets total by removing hard links between blueprints
  
• Optimised AI weapons

These are fixes that we have been working on that will be in the next Beta build:

• Main character movement and animations
  
• Throwing weapons (for the player)
  
• Trees that you can chop down
  
• Optimised camera manager tick rates
  
• Optimisations, continued removing blueprint hard references
  
• Fix for AI having human names
  
• Fixed errors that were slowing down the cooking process

As always, if you do find any bugs or issues when playing on our Beta Test Server please fill in a Bug Report over on our Google Bug Form , every bug counts! When submitting bugs make sure to select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”.



For details on how to get onto our Beta branch check out this Steam post here.



There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.



That’s all for now, thanks for reading and see you next time!

// The SIG Team

Greetings citizens of Mercia and welcome to Dev Blog #57!

We’ve got a mini Dev Update, info on our Wiki Revival & our Beta Patch notes for both the current build and our next build.


This week we will be having a look at our new graphical updates and a teaser on trees!

Graphical Updates

These graphical updates include changes to our lighting and fog effects as well as our new post processing. Below are some before and after shots of our new post process, lighting and fog effects.

We have been adjusting ambient occlusion and appling a volumentric fog technique to get distance shots to give a more immersive weather condition, this is especially effective on forests.



Contrast now gives a more realistic result where before the darkest parts of the image were too dark.



Update On Trees

We are working on the ability to cut down every tree in Mercia and give a realistic result when they fall which varies greatly depending on the tree type and size.


We are currently setting up our Wiki for the Community to kickstart a Wiki Revival! We will have more details on this in a future post.

We want to work with you, the Community to make The Black Death Wiki a place where players can find information, contribute and discuss ideas and to help grow the Wiki into a rich and informative hub. To see our past Steam Forum sticky post on our Wiki check it out here: The Black Death Wiki – Mercia Needs You! The Black Death Wiki – Mercia Needs You!


These are the updates from our last Dev Blog that made it into the Beta build along with some more up to date notes:

• Made the player model look more sickly when they are infected
  
• Updated/fixes to recipes to do with the quantity crafting and stacking
  
• Working on sick beggar AI type movement and animations
  
• Updated/balanced thirst rate
  
• Fixed naming error with milk procedural pickup
  
• Fixed naming error with Wooden Duck procedural pickup
  
• Updated shopkeeper item tooltip to stop it covering up the items in the shop

Fixed

• Fix to make AI have death sounds
  
• Fixed a bug which stopped you using a bandage while you are poisoned
  
• Fixed naming error with milk procedural pickup
  
• Fixed naming error with Wooden Duck procedural pickup
  
• Fixed a server crash
  
• Fixed a Fatal error when using a house built campfire
  
• Fixed a bug where resources wouldn’t get used up when you created something
  
• Fixed bug which stopped you being able to block the new AI types
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you being able to rotate the camera around with the “Alt” button
  
• Fixed bug where AI when killed by a projectile would instantly disappear without animation/physics
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you equipping shields (Cannot currently equip a weapon and a shield though)
  
• Fixed bug that stopped thirst being affected by running
  
• Fixed a bug where AI, would only agro on one person
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you jumping after using a tool as a weapon
  
• Fixed bug that meant if you got thrown up on twice it would make you healthy again

Updated

• Updated shopkeeper item tooltip to help stop it covering the items in the shop
  
• Made the player model look more sickly when they are infected
  
• Updated/fixes to recipes to do with the quantity crafting and stacking
  
• Updated/balanced thirst rate
  
• Updated the UI infected screen effect so it moves and is no longer static
  
• Added more contrast into the post effect
  
• Removed wood, iron and stone house upkeep costs, now only Wheat and Gold
  
• Adjusted skinning on sick beggar mesh
  
• Updated sick beggar AI movement, animations, sounds, VFX
  
• Punching now has its own unique impact sounds that are more realistic
  
• Icons update to put in line with paper UI
  
• AI move more smoothly around (they path less regularly)
  
• Beggars don’t throw weapons when they are in punching distance from you

New

• New AI types now have Health bars and names
  
• New wolf AI type added to the test map
  
• New cow AI type added to the test map
  
• New boar AI type added to the test map
  
• New rat AI type added to the test map
  
• New deer AI type added to the test map
  
• Added a glow on resources that you can use/interact with
  
• New books added “Plague Medical Notes For Apprentice Doctors – I” and “Plague Medical Notes For Apprentice Doctors – II”
  
• New AI type sick bandit
  
• New AI type monk crossbowman
  
• New AI type spear man
  
• New AI Type Bandit Miner

Balanced

• Balanced the cost of the basic blacksmith iron ingots
  
• Adjusted loot that new AI types drop to sometimes include rope

Optimised

• Optimised sounds cues
  
• Sound concurrency limits
  
• Reduced loaded assets total by removing hard links between blueprints
  
• Optimised AI weapons

These are fixes that we have been working on that will be in the next Beta build:

• Main character movement and animations
  
• Throwing weapons (for the player)
  
• Trees that you can chop down
  
• Optimised camera manager tick rates
  
• Optimisations, continued removing blueprint hard references
  
• Fix for AI having human names
  
• Fixed errors that were slowing down the cooking process

As always, if you do find any bugs or issues when playing on our Beta Test Server please fill in a Bug Report over on our Google Bug Form , every bug counts! When submitting bugs make sure to select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”.



For details on how to get onto our Beta branch check out this Steam post here.



There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.



That’s all for now, thanks for reading and see you next time!

// The SIG Team

Hello adventurers,

Here are the Beta Patch Notes for our Beta update on the 28th January 2018 on our Test_Beta Server.

Getting On The Black Death Beta
For details on how to get onto our Beta branch check out this Steam post here. Switching To/From Beta Builds in Steam

Send A Bug Report
If you do find any bugs or issues when playing on our Beta Test Server please fill in a Bug Report over on our Black Death Bug Form , every bug counts! When submitting bugs make sure to select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”.

Beta Server Feedback
There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.


Fixed

• Fix to make AI have death sounds
  
• Fixed a bug which stopped you using a bandage while you are poisoned
  
• Fixed naming error with milk procedural pickup
  
• Fixed naming error with Wooden Duck procedural pickup
  
• Fixed a server crash
  
• Fixed a Fatal error when using a house built campfire
  
• Fixed a bug where resources wouldn't get used up when you created something
  
• Fixed bug which stopped you being able to block the new AI types
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you being able to rotate the camera around with the “Alt” button
  
• Fixed bug where AI when killed by a projectile would instantly disappear without animation/physics
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you equipping shields (Cannot currently equip a weapon and a shield though)
  
• Fixed bug that stopped thirst being affected by running
  
• Fixed a bug where AI, would only agro on one person
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you jumping after using a tool as a weapon
  
• Fixed bug that meant if you got thrown up on twice it would make you healthy again

Updated

• Updated shopkeeper item tooltip to help stop it covering the items in the shop
  
• Made the player model look more sickly when they are infected
  
• Updated/fixes to recipes to do with the quantity crafting and stacking
  
• Updated/balanced thirst rate
  
• Updated the UI infected screen effect so it moves and is no longer static
  
• Added more contrast into the post effect
  
• Removed wood, iron and stone house upkeep costs, now only Wheat and Gold
  
• Adjusted skinning on sick beggar mesh
  
• Updated sick beggar AI movement, animations, sounds, VFX
  
• Punching now has its own unique impact sounds that are more realistic
  
• Icons update to put in line with paper UI
  
• AI move more smoothly around (they path less regularly)
  
• Beggars don't throw weapons when they are in punching distance from you

New

• new AI types now have Health bars and names
  
• New wolf AI type added to the test map
  
• New cow AI type added to the test map
  
• New boar AI type added to the test map
  
• New rat AI type added to the test map
  
• New deer AI type added to the test map
  
• Added a glow on resources that you can use/interact with
  
• New books added “Plague Medical Notes For Apprentice Doctors – I” and “Plague Medical Notes For Apprentice Doctors – II”
  
• New AI type sick bandit
  
• New AI type monk crossbowman
  
• New AI type spear man
  
• New AI Type Bandit Miner

Balanced

• Balanced the cost of the basic blacksmith iron ingots
  
• Adjusted loot that new AI types drop to sometimes include rope

Optimised

• Optimised sounds cues
  
• Sound concurrency limits
  
• Reduced loaded assets total by removing hard links between blueprints
  
• Optimised AI weapons

As always, thanks for playing and for your support!

// The SIG Team

Hello adventurers,

Here are the Beta Patch Notes for our Beta update on the 28th January 2018 on our Test_Beta Server.

Getting On The Black Death Beta
For details on how to get onto our Beta branch check out this Steam post here. Switching To/From Beta Builds in Steam

Send A Bug Report
If you do find any bugs or issues when playing on our Beta Test Server please fill in a Bug Report over on our Black Death Bug Form , every bug counts! When submitting bugs make sure to select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”.

Beta Server Feedback
There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.


Fixed

• Fix to make AI have death sounds
  
• Fixed a bug which stopped you using a bandage while you are poisoned
  
• Fixed naming error with milk procedural pickup
  
• Fixed naming error with Wooden Duck procedural pickup
  
• Fixed a server crash
  
• Fixed a Fatal error when using a house built campfire
  
• Fixed a bug where resources wouldn't get used up when you created something
  
• Fixed bug which stopped you being able to block the new AI types
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you being able to rotate the camera around with the “Alt” button
  
• Fixed bug where AI when killed by a projectile would instantly disappear without animation/physics
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you equipping shields (Cannot currently equip a weapon and a shield though)
  
• Fixed bug that stopped thirst being affected by running
  
• Fixed a bug where AI, would only agro on one person
  
• Fixed bug that stopped you jumping after using a tool as a weapon
  
• Fixed bug that meant if you got thrown up on twice it would make you healthy again

Updated

• Updated shopkeeper item tooltip to help stop it covering the items in the shop
  
• Made the player model look more sickly when they are infected
  
• Updated/fixes to recipes to do with the quantity crafting and stacking
  
• Updated/balanced thirst rate
  
• Updated the UI infected screen effect so it moves and is no longer static
  
• Added more contrast into the post effect
  
• Removed wood, iron and stone house upkeep costs, now only Wheat and Gold
  
• Adjusted skinning on sick beggar mesh
  
• Updated sick beggar AI movement, animations, sounds, VFX
  
• Punching now has its own unique impact sounds that are more realistic
  
• Icons update to put in line with paper UI
  
• AI move more smoothly around (they path less regularly)
  
• Beggars don't throw weapons when they are in punching distance from you

New

• new AI types now have Health bars and names
  
• New wolf AI type added to the test map
  
• New cow AI type added to the test map
  
• New boar AI type added to the test map
  
• New rat AI type added to the test map
  
• New deer AI type added to the test map
  
• Added a glow on resources that you can use/interact with
  
• New books added “Plague Medical Notes For Apprentice Doctors – I” and “Plague Medical Notes For Apprentice Doctors – II”
  
• New AI type sick bandit
  
• New AI type monk crossbowman
  
• New AI type spear man
  
• New AI Type Bandit Miner

Balanced

• Balanced the cost of the basic blacksmith iron ingots
  
• Adjusted loot that new AI types drop to sometimes include rope

Optimised

• Optimised sounds cues
  
• Sound concurrency limits
  
• Reduced loaded assets total by removing hard links between blueprints
  
• Optimised AI weapons

As always, thanks for playing and for your support!

// The SIG Team

Greetings citizens of Mercia and welcome to Dev Blog #56!

Today’s Dev Blog will be smaller than our last as we had our extra issue on Monday in the form of Dev Blog #55, if you missed it check it out here.

To view all of our screenshots and images in full check out our full blog version over on our website: Dev Blog #56: Dev Updates, Ongoing Beta Features & Beta Patch Notes

To keep up to date with our Beta Patch Notes be sure to follow our Steam thread over here: V0.24 Beta Patch Notes Thread

We’ve got a mini Beta update, our Beta Patch notes for both the current build and our next build.


Here is a mini Dev Update in the form of our Item Icons! We have given our item icons a more rustic-ish look to them (312 icons updated in total). For both columns, the images on the left are the previous versions and the images on the right are our new versions.

1. Bread Roll
2. Thread
3. Garlic
4. Wooden Animal Trap
5. Royal Tunic
6. Decorated Sallet Helmet
7. Book
8. Round Shield




New Enemy Areas

Just as a little something here are a few examples of what some of our new enemy NPC locations will look like in our upcoming update. As these screenshots were taken from our Beta Test Map over on our Beta_Test server these layouts may change for the final versions.

As we mentioned in our previous Dev Blog #55 there will be more loot for players to find in our upcoming update. These new enemy areas will be dotted around the world of Mercia and will feature our new AI types, they won’t be giving up their loot easily!



This first screenshot shows an old farmyard barn that has been claimed by the Outlaws and Bandits of Mercia. The doorway to these barns will be barricaded up, these are comprised of three separate wooden planks that need to be smashed individually to break into these places rather than a door. As there are gaps between the planks you will be able to have a peek at what enemies are camped inside as well as their loot.



Down in the caves be sure to take a torch and a good weapon. Here lies rotting corpses, wooden crates, tables of loot and of course Bandits or deadly Beggars waiting to ambush you in the depths below.



Some areas such as these enemy Beggar houses have a new type of barricade, much like the Bandit barn hideouts, they even have their own farmland plots. If you venture on their land they will not hesitate to start a brawl with you.



These areas are more fortified featuring high fences and many enemies camping inside. These places have many buildings to explore, but as the Beggars and Bandits call it their home do not expect a warm welcome when stepping foot in these areas!



Lastly you may recognise these burnt out shells of buildings and houses. Monk Fanatics may be found lurking around here. These Monks wield maces that pack quite the hit, run away and you will be pelted with rocks they loot from the ground!

Increasing the Chat Box Text Size

As mentioned in our previous Dev Blog #55 , we have added a new option for Players that may be using larger resolution monitors when playing The Black Death, or for Players who may find it hard to read the default chat box text size.

We have also changed the way that the chat text appears in the chat box. Players will no longer look as though they are shouting! We have changed the font we use for text chat and Players can now optionally use the caps lock key when chatting.

If you do test this out on our Beta Test server and find that you are still having issues with the Chat box with your resolution, please send us a Bug Report here .



This setting can be changed in game by pressing the Esc key, then going to “Settings” and then the “Gameplay” tab. The option for “x1.25” and back to “x1” (default) are now available on our Beta server to test out!



This is what our x1.25 text size setting looks like for the Chat Box in game. This screenshot is from a monitor that has the resolution of 1920 x 1080. If you right click on this image and select “View Image…” it should load full size so you can see how large the text looks like. Or you could use “Set As Desktop Wallpaper…” to see a preview.



This is what our x1 text size setting looks like for the Chat Box in game. This screenshot is from a monitor that has the resolution of 1920 x 1080. If you right click on this image and select “View Image…” it should load full size so you can see how large the text looks like. Or you could use “Set As Desktop Wallpaper…” to see a preview.

New Player Written Book

A big thank you to Turev Schrodinger for sending in a Player written book! This is being added in game to our upcoming update. Keep an eye out for this one on your travels!

Turev Schrodinger – Plague Medical Notes For The Apprentice Doctor – Volume 1

Turev Schrodinger – Plague Medical Notes For The Apprentice Doctor – Volume 2

To send us your stories of Mercia please contact SIG_Emily by email at this address: Emily@small-impact.com. We look forward to reading your entries!

For the full terms of entry check out our Steam forum sticky post here:
Stories Of Mercia: Write A Story For A Book In The Black Death!

Thank you in advance for your submissions!


These are the updates from our last Dev Blog that made it into the Beta build:

Updated

• HUD fades in after loading screen has finished to be more fluid
  Lowered the opacity of the chat when it is not active so that it doesn’t draw the players attention away from gameplay.

New

• Poison now effects the player over time (similarly to how bandages do), updated UI to show the effects.

Fixed

• Fixed visual bug in UI when entering exiting an area, also reduced volume of sound effect that plays
  
• Fixed bug which caused items to be already partly damaged when you pick them up/craft them
  
• Fixes to the AI spawning

These are fixes that we have been working on that will be in the next Beta build:

• Made the player model look more sickly when they are infected
  
• Updated/fixes to recipes to do with the quantity crafting and stacking
  
• Working on sick beggar AI type movement and animations
  
• Updated/balanced thirst rate
  
• Fixed naming error with milk procedural pickup
  
• Fixed naming error with Wooden Duck procedural pickup
  
• Updated shopkeeper item tooltip to stop it covering up the items in the shop

As always, if you do find any bugs or issues when playing on our Beta Test Server please fill in a Bug Report over on our Google Bug Form , every bug counts! When submitting bugs make sure to select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”.



For details on how to get onto our Beta branch check out this Steam post here.



There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.



That’s all for now, thanks for reading and see you next time!

// The SIG Team

Greetings citizens of Mercia and welcome to Dev Blog #56!

Today’s Dev Blog will be smaller than our last as we had our extra issue on Monday in the form of Dev Blog #55, if you missed it check it out here.

To view all of our screenshots and images in full check out our full blog version over on our website: Dev Blog #56: Dev Updates, Ongoing Beta Features & Beta Patch Notes

To keep up to date with our Beta Patch Notes be sure to follow our Steam thread over here: V0.24 Beta Patch Notes Thread

We’ve got a mini Beta update, our Beta Patch notes for both the current build and our next build.


Here is a mini Dev Update in the form of our Item Icons! We have given our item icons a more rustic-ish look to them (312 icons updated in total). For both columns, the images on the left are the previous versions and the images on the right are our new versions.

1. Bread Roll
2. Thread
3. Garlic
4. Wooden Animal Trap
5. Royal Tunic
6. Decorated Sallet Helmet
7. Book
8. Round Shield




New Enemy Areas

Just as a little something here are a few examples of what some of our new enemy NPC locations will look like in our upcoming update. As these screenshots were taken from our Beta Test Map over on our Beta_Test server these layouts may change for the final versions.

As we mentioned in our previous Dev Blog #55 there will be more loot for players to find in our upcoming update. These new enemy areas will be dotted around the world of Mercia and will feature our new AI types, they won’t be giving up their loot easily!



This first screenshot shows an old farmyard barn that has been claimed by the Outlaws and Bandits of Mercia. The doorway to these barns will be barricaded up, these are comprised of three separate wooden planks that need to be smashed individually to break into these places rather than a door. As there are gaps between the planks you will be able to have a peek at what enemies are camped inside as well as their loot.



Down in the caves be sure to take a torch and a good weapon. Here lies rotting corpses, wooden crates, tables of loot and of course Bandits or deadly Beggars waiting to ambush you in the depths below.



Some areas such as these enemy Beggar houses have a new type of barricade, much like the Bandit barn hideouts, they even have their own farmland plots. If you venture on their land they will not hesitate to start a brawl with you.



These areas are more fortified featuring high fences and many enemies camping inside. These places have many buildings to explore, but as the Beggars and Bandits call it their home do not expect a warm welcome when stepping foot in these areas!



Lastly you may recognise these burnt out shells of buildings and houses. Monk Fanatics may be found lurking around here. These Monks wield maces that pack quite the hit, run away and you will be pelted with rocks they loot from the ground!

Increasing the Chat Box Text Size

As mentioned in our previous Dev Blog #55 , we have added a new option for Players that may be using larger resolution monitors when playing The Black Death, or for Players who may find it hard to read the default chat box text size.

We have also changed the way that the chat text appears in the chat box. Players will no longer look as though they are shouting! We have changed the font we use for text chat and Players can now optionally use the caps lock key when chatting.

If you do test this out on our Beta Test server and find that you are still having issues with the Chat box with your resolution, please send us a Bug Report here .



This setting can be changed in game by pressing the Esc key, then going to “Settings” and then the “Gameplay” tab. The option for “x1.25” and back to “x1” (default) are now available on our Beta server to test out!



This is what our x1.25 text size setting looks like for the Chat Box in game. This screenshot is from a monitor that has the resolution of 1920 x 1080. If you right click on this image and select “View Image…” it should load full size so you can see how large the text looks like. Or you could use “Set As Desktop Wallpaper…” to see a preview.



This is what our x1 text size setting looks like for the Chat Box in game. This screenshot is from a monitor that has the resolution of 1920 x 1080. If you right click on this image and select “View Image…” it should load full size so you can see how large the text looks like. Or you could use “Set As Desktop Wallpaper…” to see a preview.

New Player Written Book

A big thank you to Turev Schrodinger for sending in a Player written book! This is being added in game to our upcoming update. Keep an eye out for this one on your travels!

Turev Schrodinger – Plague Medical Notes For The Apprentice Doctor – Volume 1

Turev Schrodinger – Plague Medical Notes For The Apprentice Doctor – Volume 2

To send us your stories of Mercia please contact SIG_Emily by email at this address: Emily@small-impact.com. We look forward to reading your entries!

For the full terms of entry check out our Steam forum sticky post here:
Stories Of Mercia: Write A Story For A Book In The Black Death!

Thank you in advance for your submissions!


These are the updates from our last Dev Blog that made it into the Beta build:

Updated

• HUD fades in after loading screen has finished to be more fluid
  Lowered the opacity of the chat when it is not active so that it doesn’t draw the players attention away from gameplay.

New

• Poison now effects the player over time (similarly to how bandages do), updated UI to show the effects.

Fixed

• Fixed visual bug in UI when entering exiting an area, also reduced volume of sound effect that plays
  
• Fixed bug which caused items to be already partly damaged when you pick them up/craft them
  
• Fixes to the AI spawning

These are fixes that we have been working on that will be in the next Beta build:

• Made the player model look more sickly when they are infected
  
• Updated/fixes to recipes to do with the quantity crafting and stacking
  
• Working on sick beggar AI type movement and animations
  
• Updated/balanced thirst rate
  
• Fixed naming error with milk procedural pickup
  
• Fixed naming error with Wooden Duck procedural pickup
  
• Updated shopkeeper item tooltip to stop it covering up the items in the shop

As always, if you do find any bugs or issues when playing on our Beta Test Server please fill in a Bug Report over on our Google Bug Form , every bug counts! When submitting bugs make sure to select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”.



For details on how to get onto our Beta branch check out this Steam post here.



There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.



That’s all for now, thanks for reading and see you next time!

// The SIG Team

Greetings citizens of Mercia and welcome to Dev Blog #55!

This is a bonus Dev Blog issue for you all that will be focusing on our Beta branch and what we are working on with our upcoming update. We've got our ongoing Beta features section with what we have been working on and adding to the Beta, our current development build notes and some recent Beta updates in the form of patch notes too.

In today's Dev Blog we will be covering: Item Rarity, Equipment Slots, AI Types, Resources, Comparing UI from Live to Beta, Updates in the current Beta build, Updates for the next Beta build, How to download our Beta branch & Submitting Beta bugs to the team.



New AI Improvements

Large A.I. improvements made with their logic and large increases in population including a new wide variety such as:

• Groups of Infected Beggars that spread infection and hound you for much needed gold but will retreat with fear if attacked.
  
  
• Deadly Beggars that will kill in sheer desperation, only with fists they will punch their way out of any fight.
  
  
• Bandit Spearman that deal large amounts of damage and flank violently.
  
  
• Outlaw Crossbowman that tactically seek distance and cover between them and their targets.
  
  
• Shielded Templars that push forward with shield in hand putting pressure on even the most advanced player
  
  
• Templar Knights that wield giant two handed weapons dealing large amounts of damage but are slower and more calculative.
  
  Need a good amount of building materials? track down the new bandit woodsman that carry copious amounts of wood.

Our high quality GIFs are too large for Steam's upload limit! To see them in their full glory simply click on the links below to jump to the GIFs from our Dev Blog on our website.

Or alternatively click the link here to head over to our website version of this Dev Blog: Dev Blog #55: Ongoing Beta Features, Current Beta Build Notes & Future Fixes

V0.24 (Beta) - Outlaw Crossbowman GIF

Here are a couple of new GIFs showing off more of our new AI types, that’s right ranged enemies are back in business! Here is our new Outlaw Crossbowman, those bolts pack a punch.

V0.24 (Beta) - Bandit Archer GIF

Here is our improved and reworked Bandit Archer!

Extra Info On Resources

V0.24 (Beta) - Chamomile Resource GIF

Resources are now fully procedural to ensure no matter where you are in the map there will have plenty to find, this also allows us to tweak how rare or even how common a certain resource is making sure there is always enough. Lots of tweaks have been made to make sure they don't spawn in unreachable or unrealistic places. However don't fret, our procedural spawning system also allows some resources to spawn more likely in certain areas such as ore near a mine.

Item Rarity

We have decided to change up how our item Rarities work in The Black Death. Crafted and purchased items, weapons and armour will now have set rarities, this also includes harvested resources in the wild.

The item quality system was causing problems which we wanted to address. The core being:

• The underlying system meant that we weren't able to stack items
  
• Balancing items was complex as we had to balance the same item 5 times (the values for each quality)
  
• There was no clear order as to what item was better than another (e.g. was a rare stick better than an awful sword?)
  
• Having multiple durability bars, colours and names was convoluting the UI

After much discussion in the office we decided to pivot the design into item rarity instead. With item rarity we only have to balance an item once. This allowed us to create a clear order of what item is better than what. We assigned each item a specific rarity; Common (Grey), Uncommon (Green), Rare (Blue), Epic (Purple) and Mythic (Yellow). This relates to how good the item is and allows people to quickly read in the UI its value. The other important outcome of this is adjustment was that it allowed us to implement item stacking, which has improved the flow of the game and helped to make the UI easier to read.

Our new system:

• Common (Grey)
  
• Uncommon (Green)
  
• Rare (Blue)
  
• Epic (Purple)
  
• Mythic (Yellow)

Equipment Slots



Our new equipment slots now free up your visual Inventory space by having your armour in it's own tab. Armour values are also now show correctly on items in your Inventory. The Epic Kettle Helmet and Mythic Lamellar show off our new colour tabs on items too for a quick glance on item qualities.

It is also now possible to right click on items to drop, split and use them.

Speaking of loot, there is more loot in the world for Players to find, use, craft with or sell too! Make sure you get out there and explore the world of Mercia.

Here is a quick GIF showing how easy it is to click and drag your armour to the equipment slots at the top of your Inventory panel!

V0.24 (Beta) - Equipment Slot GIF

Screenshot Sliders – Comparing Live to Beta

Here are some screenshots of our current Live build (V0.23) compared with our Beta (V0.24), using our sliders you can see the differences between our old and new HUD.

[/i] Note: The Screenshot Sliders are only functional over on our website! To view these check out the link below, otherwise you can view them here and simply scroll down! The top images are V0.23 (Live) and the bottom images are V0.24 (Beta). [/i]

Dev Blog #55: Ongoing Beta Features, Current Beta Build Notes & Beta Build Progress





Starting things off, this is our main HUD in game. We have took our old HUD and given it the theming and style of our Inventory and recipe UI. With the addition of our new Quick Slot Bar and tidy information surrounding it we feel this makes it much cleaner. The green bar in the centre of the Quick Slot Bar is your XP bar! This is now more visible and can also be seen at the top of the Journal tab for classes too.





Moving on to our Shopkeeper window, notice how the items feel more separate in the new layout, along with item qualities now being displayed by coloured tags on their item icons.





To show some of our smaller changes here is our Camp Fire utility. You now have the ability to craft more than one of an item if you have the required resources to do so.





Here is a comparison of our old Plague Doctor recipe window. The new UI is much sharper than the previous one, with some of the dirt effects on the journal cleared up for text clarity.





Our last slider is a smaller change. This one simply shows when you enter and exit an area the pop-up tab at the centre top of the screen now matches with our new UI theme and also features an audio effect when these appear.

V0.24 (Beta) - Days Survived GIF

Here is a quick GIF showing our new Days Survived pop up. This version is more compact and tidy with it’s information and does not cover your Health and wellness any more. It is now situated above our new Quick Slot Bar.


New

• Made it so you can upscale the chat window size for people with bigger resolutions, see in game settings under “gameplay”
  
• Items now stack in inventory (apart from tools, clothes and weapons)
  
• Added a survey on game close, when on beta branch, to help us identify key problems/areas
  
• Money is now an item and not a separate system. E.g. money can be taken from a lootable when you click loot all rather than being a separate thing you have to click at the top. Money can be split dropped and split added to chests.
  
• Inventory items/shop items/lootable items can now be right clicked to bring up contextual options such as, use, drop, split etc
  
• Inventory now has a tooltip, when hovering over items and recipes so that you can learn more about the item.
  
• There is no longer a combat mode when you draw a weapon, this is to help the flow of player based combat.
  
• Damage is effected by the material being hit and the material being used to strike with. E.g. wood against metal is not very effective but metal against wood is effective.
  
• It is now possible to craft more than one of an item if you have enough materials in your Inventory
  
• Being stunned by projectile weapons now stuns you and slows you for a brief moment
  
• There is now lots more loot in the world for players to find, use, craft with or sell.

Updated

• update – centre the mouse out when enter the inventory, Exit Menu, House menu, to be more fluid
  
• Removed timer for holding E to bring up context wheel. now instant, only shows if object has more than 2 interact options
  
• You can now move while picking stuff up, instead of pausing for a full body animation
  
• Doors that you own can now be open/closed quickly with just a press of E (No context wheel)
  
• Removed use, equip and un-equip from the context wheel now that we have quickslots
  
• Removed background from the inventory and house workbench menus so you can see through
  
• Infection system updated, now the player only has one stage to infection and the timer for being infected has been reduced. Instead of instantly taking away health it drains your food and hunger which when they hit 0% it causes you to take damage.
  
• Tweaked size of text on the main menu initial message
  
• Made layout tweaks to the house ui to help make it easier to read
  
• Made it so you can now see your xp bar and how many points you have to spend in your HUD, so you can see how close you are to leveling up. Also made it so you can see the number of xp you get when you do a task
  [8] Moved around hud elements, now pickup item info is in the centerplace in the screen so its easier to see.
  
• Updated the UI of the inventory to be cleaner and easier to read.
  
• Added small camera shakes to the player when hit in combat, making strikes and landing from jumps
  
• Updated the bow mechanics to make more smooth and include more audio feedback
  
• Now show Arrow count throughout the UI
  
• Adjusted the rate at which the stamina drains and regens during combat
  
• Did a quick update for the stick club striking anims

Optimisation

• Optimised the tick rate of the main menu level blueprint
  
• Optimised the UI (Exit Menu, )
  
• Optimised Traps tick rate
  
• Optimising textures
  
• Streaming audio changes
  
• Compressed animations
  
• Deleted old resources blueprints
  
• Deleted old AI blueprints

Balanced

• Adjusted player speeds

Fixes

• Fixed up a bug which would cause the camera to freeze if you brought up the interaction menu while in the exit menu
  
• Fixed errors that slowed the game down when it is being cooked off
  
• Fixed using well water pickup sound and vfx not playing
  
• Fixed emote wheel so it opens up.
  
• Fixed problem that stopped you moving when using the bow

We are hoping to have a Beta build today (22/01/2018) on our Test Beta Server. These are fixes that we have done today that will be in the new build:

Updated

• HUD fades in after loading screen has finished to be more fluid
  
• Lowered the opacity of the chat when it is not active so that it doesn’t draw the players attention away from gameplay.

New

• Poison now effects the player over time (similarly to how bandages do), updated UI to show the effects.

Fixed

• Fixed visual bug in UI when entering exiting an area, also reduced volume of sound effect that plays
  
• Fixed bug which caused items to be already partly damaged when you pick them up/craft them
  
• Fixes to the AI spawning

As always, if you do find any bugs or issues when playing on our Beta Test Server please fill in a Bug Report over on our Google Bug Form , every bug counts! When submitting bugs make sure to select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”.



For details on how to get onto our Beta branch check out this Steam post here.



There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.



That’s all for now, thanks for reading and see you next time!

// The SIG Team

Greetings citizens of Mercia and welcome to Dev Blog #55!

This is a bonus Dev Blog issue for you all that will be focusing on our Beta branch and what we are working on with our upcoming update. We've got our ongoing Beta features section with what we have been working on and adding to the Beta, our current development build notes and some recent Beta updates in the form of patch notes too.

In today's Dev Blog we will be covering: Item Rarity, Equipment Slots, AI Types, Resources, Comparing UI from Live to Beta, Updates in the current Beta build, Updates for the next Beta build, How to download our Beta branch & Submitting Beta bugs to the team.



New AI Improvements

Large A.I. improvements made with their logic and large increases in population including a new wide variety such as:

• Groups of Infected Beggars that spread infection and hound you for much needed gold but will retreat with fear if attacked.
  
  
• Deadly Beggars that will kill in sheer desperation, only with fists they will punch their way out of any fight.
  
  
• Bandit Spearman that deal large amounts of damage and flank violently.
  
  
• Outlaw Crossbowman that tactically seek distance and cover between them and their targets.
  
  
• Shielded Templars that push forward with shield in hand putting pressure on even the most advanced player
  
  
• Templar Knights that wield giant two handed weapons dealing large amounts of damage but are slower and more calculative.
  
  Need a good amount of building materials? track down the new bandit woodsman that carry copious amounts of wood.

Our high quality GIFs are too large for Steam's upload limit! To see them in their full glory simply click on the links below to jump to the GIFs from our Dev Blog on our website.

Or alternatively click the link here to head over to our website version of this Dev Blog: Dev Blog #55: Ongoing Beta Features, Current Beta Build Notes & Future Fixes

V0.24 (Beta) - Outlaw Crossbowman GIF

Here are a couple of new GIFs showing off more of our new AI types, that’s right ranged enemies are back in business! Here is our new Outlaw Crossbowman, those bolts pack a punch.

V0.24 (Beta) - Bandit Archer GIF

Here is our improved and reworked Bandit Archer!

Extra Info On Resources

V0.24 (Beta) - Chamomile Resource GIF

Resources are now fully procedural to ensure no matter where you are in the map there will have plenty to find, this also allows us to tweak how rare or even how common a certain resource is making sure there is always enough. Lots of tweaks have been made to make sure they don't spawn in unreachable or unrealistic places. However don't fret, our procedural spawning system also allows some resources to spawn more likely in certain areas such as ore near a mine.

Item Rarity

We have decided to change up how our item Rarities work in The Black Death. Crafted and purchased items, weapons and armour will now have set rarities, this also includes harvested resources in the wild.

The item quality system was causing problems which we wanted to address. The core being:

• The underlying system meant that we weren't able to stack items
  
• Balancing items was complex as we had to balance the same item 5 times (the values for each quality)
  
• There was no clear order as to what item was better than another (e.g. was a rare stick better than an awful sword?)
  
• Having multiple durability bars, colours and names was convoluting the UI

After much discussion in the office we decided to pivot the design into item rarity instead. With item rarity we only have to balance an item once. This allowed us to create a clear order of what item is better than what. We assigned each item a specific rarity; Common (Grey), Uncommon (Green), Rare (Blue), Epic (Purple) and Mythic (Yellow). This relates to how good the item is and allows people to quickly read in the UI its value. The other important outcome of this is adjustment was that it allowed us to implement item stacking, which has improved the flow of the game and helped to make the UI easier to read.

Our new system:

• Common (Grey)
  
• Uncommon (Green)
  
• Rare (Blue)
  
• Epic (Purple)
  
• Mythic (Yellow)

Equipment Slots



Our new equipment slots now free up your visual Inventory space by having your armour in it's own tab. Armour values are also now show correctly on items in your Inventory. The Epic Kettle Helmet and Mythic Lamellar show off our new colour tabs on items too for a quick glance on item qualities.

It is also now possible to right click on items to drop, split and use them.

Speaking of loot, there is more loot in the world for Players to find, use, craft with or sell too! Make sure you get out there and explore the world of Mercia.

Here is a quick GIF showing how easy it is to click and drag your armour to the equipment slots at the top of your Inventory panel!

V0.24 (Beta) - Equipment Slot GIF

Screenshot Sliders – Comparing Live to Beta

Here are some screenshots of our current Live build (V0.23) compared with our Beta (V0.24), using our sliders you can see the differences between our old and new HUD.

[/i] Note: The Screenshot Sliders are only functional over on our website! To view these check out the link below, otherwise you can view them here and simply scroll down! The top images are V0.23 (Live) and the bottom images are V0.24 (Beta). [/i]

Dev Blog #55: Ongoing Beta Features, Current Beta Build Notes & Beta Build Progress





Starting things off, this is our main HUD in game. We have took our old HUD and given it the theming and style of our Inventory and recipe UI. With the addition of our new Quick Slot Bar and tidy information surrounding it we feel this makes it much cleaner. The green bar in the centre of the Quick Slot Bar is your XP bar! This is now more visible and can also be seen at the top of the Journal tab for classes too.





Moving on to our Shopkeeper window, notice how the items feel more separate in the new layout, along with item qualities now being displayed by coloured tags on their item icons.





To show some of our smaller changes here is our Camp Fire utility. You now have the ability to craft more than one of an item if you have the required resources to do so.





Here is a comparison of our old Plague Doctor recipe window. The new UI is much sharper than the previous one, with some of the dirt effects on the journal cleared up for text clarity.





Our last slider is a smaller change. This one simply shows when you enter and exit an area the pop-up tab at the centre top of the screen now matches with our new UI theme and also features an audio effect when these appear.

V0.24 (Beta) - Days Survived GIF

Here is a quick GIF showing our new Days Survived pop up. This version is more compact and tidy with it’s information and does not cover your Health and wellness any more. It is now situated above our new Quick Slot Bar.


New

• Made it so you can upscale the chat window size for people with bigger resolutions, see in game settings under “gameplay”
  
• Items now stack in inventory (apart from tools, clothes and weapons)
  
• Added a survey on game close, when on beta branch, to help us identify key problems/areas
  
• Money is now an item and not a separate system. E.g. money can be taken from a lootable when you click loot all rather than being a separate thing you have to click at the top. Money can be split dropped and split added to chests.
  
• Inventory items/shop items/lootable items can now be right clicked to bring up contextual options such as, use, drop, split etc
  
• Inventory now has a tooltip, when hovering over items and recipes so that you can learn more about the item.
  
• There is no longer a combat mode when you draw a weapon, this is to help the flow of player based combat.
  
• Damage is effected by the material being hit and the material being used to strike with. E.g. wood against metal is not very effective but metal against wood is effective.
  
• It is now possible to craft more than one of an item if you have enough materials in your Inventory
  
• Being stunned by projectile weapons now stuns you and slows you for a brief moment
  
• There is now lots more loot in the world for players to find, use, craft with or sell.

Updated

• update – centre the mouse out when enter the inventory, Exit Menu, House menu, to be more fluid
  
• Removed timer for holding E to bring up context wheel. now instant, only shows if object has more than 2 interact options
  
• You can now move while picking stuff up, instead of pausing for a full body animation
  
• Doors that you own can now be open/closed quickly with just a press of E (No context wheel)
  
• Removed use, equip and un-equip from the context wheel now that we have quickslots
  
• Removed background from the inventory and house workbench menus so you can see through
  
• Infection system updated, now the player only has one stage to infection and the timer for being infected has been reduced. Instead of instantly taking away health it drains your food and hunger which when they hit 0% it causes you to take damage.
  
• Tweaked size of text on the main menu initial message
  
• Made layout tweaks to the house ui to help make it easier to read
  
• Made it so you can now see your xp bar and how many points you have to spend in your HUD, so you can see how close you are to leveling up. Also made it so you can see the number of xp you get when you do a task
  [8] Moved around hud elements, now pickup item info is in the centerplace in the screen so its easier to see.
  
• Updated the UI of the inventory to be cleaner and easier to read.
  
• Added small camera shakes to the player when hit in combat, making strikes and landing from jumps
  
• Updated the bow mechanics to make more smooth and include more audio feedback
  
• Now show Arrow count throughout the UI
  
• Adjusted the rate at which the stamina drains and regens during combat
  
• Did a quick update for the stick club striking anims

Optimisation

• Optimised the tick rate of the main menu level blueprint
  
• Optimised the UI (Exit Menu, )
  
• Optimised Traps tick rate
  
• Optimising textures
  
• Streaming audio changes
  
• Compressed animations
  
• Deleted old resources blueprints
  
• Deleted old AI blueprints

Balanced

• Adjusted player speeds

Fixes

• Fixed up a bug which would cause the camera to freeze if you brought up the interaction menu while in the exit menu
  
• Fixed errors that slowed the game down when it is being cooked off
  
• Fixed using well water pickup sound and vfx not playing
  
• Fixed emote wheel so it opens up.
  
• Fixed problem that stopped you moving when using the bow

We are hoping to have a Beta build today (22/01/2018) on our Test Beta Server. These are fixes that we have done today that will be in the new build:

Updated

• HUD fades in after loading screen has finished to be more fluid
  
• Lowered the opacity of the chat when it is not active so that it doesn’t draw the players attention away from gameplay.

New

• Poison now effects the player over time (similarly to how bandages do), updated UI to show the effects.

Fixed

• Fixed visual bug in UI when entering exiting an area, also reduced volume of sound effect that plays
  
• Fixed bug which caused items to be already partly damaged when you pick them up/craft them
  
• Fixes to the AI spawning

As always, if you do find any bugs or issues when playing on our Beta Test Server please fill in a Bug Report over on our Google Bug Form , every bug counts! When submitting bugs make sure to select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”.



For details on how to get onto our Beta branch check out this Steam post here.



There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.



That’s all for now, thanks for reading and see you next time!

// The SIG Team

Greetings citizens of Mercia and welcome to Dev Blog #54!

We’ve got a Dev Update, a reminder on our Beta Test server and also a Steam Guide for those of you having issues with getting the Console Command window to appear in game for using Admin controls on private/LAN servers.


We are currently working on a range of things for The Black Death. These include: Resource balancing, more fluid gameplay, AI changes/additions, UI/HUD changes, Quick Slot Bar, Revamped Rarity system and more!

In the next Dev Blog we hope to show you more information on how our revamped item rarity system works and also our new Equipment Slots in the Inventory. Today’s teasers are a few GIFs showing the new animations for gathered resources and lootables too.

All of our resources including lootable crates, barrels and chests in our upcoming update are now procedurally placed in the world of Mercia. This means that if you find a Berry or Cotton Bush in one place chances are something different will spawn in its place when you return, or there might be no resource in that spot at all! This also includes Wood Logs and Mining Nodes.

This is to encourage exploration around Mercia and make gameplay feel more fluid so players are not returning to the same exact spots for materials and loot. Along with our big AI revamp we feel this will make for some great gameplay sessions and experiences.

Resources

To show off the way resources look when gathered here are a few GIFs to show just that. We hope players will find it clearer to see when a resource has been harvested before getting close for an inspection.

In our full Patch Notes for our upcoming update we will be featuring comparisons in the form of GIFs and screenshot sliders to show changes such as resources and our HUD.

Please note that as these are taken from our Beta Test server some elements of what we show may be changed/tweaked in the final versions.

Our high quality GIFs are too large for Steam's upload limit! To see them in their full glory simply click on the links below to jump to the GIFs from our Dev Blog on our website.

Or alternatively click the link here to head over to our website version of this Dev Blog: Dev Blog #54: Dev Update, Beta Test Server Reminder & Steam Guide

V0.24 (Beta) - Berry Bush GIF

First off here is our signature Berry Bush resource. Notice how it now collapses into a pile rather than just the actual berries themselves being removed. We wanted to give the resources a makeover with them feeling more like you had actually harvested them.

V0.24 (Beta) - Chamomile GIF

Our Chamomile bushes now fall in several piles of stems. Again it is more visible that the resource has been harvested than our previous version.

V0.24 (Beta) - Iron Ore Node GIF

The Ore node in this GIF is Iron Ore. These are also procedural in their placement around the world. Instead of the node magically shrinking with each strike of your pickaxe, the node will now fall apart and crumble on the ground. You can now only harvest an ore node once before it crumbles, this is for balancing and to make some materials more valuable.

V0.24 (Beta) - Wood Log GIF

Lastly for our resource teasers here is the Wood Log. When struck with your woodaxe these logs will now split into 3 sections instead of having missing pieces of wood. Wood Logs along with Ore nodes now feature physics on them, see how the logs roll down the hill!

Lootables

As mentioned above, all of our resources including lootable crates, barrels and chests in our upcoming update are now procedurally placed in the world of Mercia. This means that if you found a sweet spot with a few crates, these may be barrels next time or they may not spawn at that spot at all!

To make gameplay feel more fluid and for a different kind of play session loot should now feel more rewarding when you stumble across something good. We have also added new loot items that can be found around the world and Player written books should now appear more often!

V0.24 (Beta) - Paintings GIF

Do you recognise either of these paintings? These can be found hanging on the walls of abandoned houses in Mercia or for example on the walls of The Black Goat Tavern in Raven’s Reach! Eagle eyed adventurers may remember that paintings used to spawn in the wooden crates scattered around the coastal areas. We have now brought them back as physical items that you can loot and sell for some extra Gold!

V0.24 (Beta) - Wooden Crate GIF

Much like our resource nodes, our lootable containers have been given a revival too. When you loot one of these you instantly receive the goodies inside without the need of an extra loot menu. After looting these crates they will collapse in on themselves, barrels will lose their lids too. When approaching one of these in the world it should be clear if they have be claimed or if the loot is ripe for the taking!


We hope to bring you a new Beta build on our Test_Beta server again soon. When we have uploaded a new Beta build to our test server we hope to provide you all with some form of patch notes to inform you of the additions and changes to the Beta build.

When we do have updates to our Beta server we hope that you will all understand if there are issues present. This is of course intended as a testing ground for updates and patches. If you do find anything be sure to report it over on our Google Bug Form , and make sure you select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”

There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.






As a little extra [SIG]_Emily has created a Steam Guide on getting the Console Command Window working for players who are not using an English (United Kingdom) layout keyboard.

Steam Guide – How To Use The Console Command Window Without A UK English Keyboard

This guide should allow players who are not using a UK English layout keyboard to use the Windows Console Command when playing The Black Death. This unlocks the ability to use Admin commands when playing on a private server, LAN server or player owned/hosted/rented server.

I understand that this guide is written in UK English and this may not be easy for some players to read and understand, apologies in advance! I did not want to run this guide through a tool such as Google Translate as the translation may not have been accurate.

If you have any questions or feel any information in this guide is incorrect, or needs updating please do not hesitate to drop me an email at: Emily@small-impact.com.

That’s all for this week, see you next time!

// The SIG Team

Greetings citizens of Mercia and welcome to Dev Blog #54!

We’ve got a Dev Update, a reminder on our Beta Test server and also a Steam Guide for those of you having issues with getting the Console Command window to appear in game for using Admin controls on private/LAN servers.


We are currently working on a range of things for The Black Death. These include: Resource balancing, more fluid gameplay, AI changes/additions, UI/HUD changes, Quick Slot Bar, Revamped Rarity system and more!

In the next Dev Blog we hope to show you more information on how our revamped item rarity system works and also our new Equipment Slots in the Inventory. Today’s teasers are a few GIFs showing the new animations for gathered resources and lootables too.

All of our resources including lootable crates, barrels and chests in our upcoming update are now procedurally placed in the world of Mercia. This means that if you find a Berry or Cotton Bush in one place chances are something different will spawn in its place when you return, or there might be no resource in that spot at all! This also includes Wood Logs and Mining Nodes.

This is to encourage exploration around Mercia and make gameplay feel more fluid so players are not returning to the same exact spots for materials and loot. Along with our big AI revamp we feel this will make for some great gameplay sessions and experiences.

Resources

To show off the way resources look when gathered here are a few GIFs to show just that. We hope players will find it clearer to see when a resource has been harvested before getting close for an inspection.

In our full Patch Notes for our upcoming update we will be featuring comparisons in the form of GIFs and screenshot sliders to show changes such as resources and our HUD.

Please note that as these are taken from our Beta Test server some elements of what we show may be changed/tweaked in the final versions.

Our high quality GIFs are too large for Steam's upload limit! To see them in their full glory simply click on the links below to jump to the GIFs from our Dev Blog on our website.

Or alternatively click the link here to head over to our website version of this Dev Blog: Dev Blog #54: Dev Update, Beta Test Server Reminder & Steam Guide

V0.24 (Beta) - Berry Bush GIF

First off here is our signature Berry Bush resource. Notice how it now collapses into a pile rather than just the actual berries themselves being removed. We wanted to give the resources a makeover with them feeling more like you had actually harvested them.

V0.24 (Beta) - Chamomile GIF

Our Chamomile bushes now fall in several piles of stems. Again it is more visible that the resource has been harvested than our previous version.

V0.24 (Beta) - Iron Ore Node GIF

The Ore node in this GIF is Iron Ore. These are also procedural in their placement around the world. Instead of the node magically shrinking with each strike of your pickaxe, the node will now fall apart and crumble on the ground. You can now only harvest an ore node once before it crumbles, this is for balancing and to make some materials more valuable.

V0.24 (Beta) - Wood Log GIF

Lastly for our resource teasers here is the Wood Log. When struck with your woodaxe these logs will now split into 3 sections instead of having missing pieces of wood. Wood Logs along with Ore nodes now feature physics on them, see how the logs roll down the hill!

Lootables

As mentioned above, all of our resources including lootable crates, barrels and chests in our upcoming update are now procedurally placed in the world of Mercia. This means that if you found a sweet spot with a few crates, these may be barrels next time or they may not spawn at that spot at all!

To make gameplay feel more fluid and for a different kind of play session loot should now feel more rewarding when you stumble across something good. We have also added new loot items that can be found around the world and Player written books should now appear more often!

V0.24 (Beta) - Paintings GIF

Do you recognise either of these paintings? These can be found hanging on the walls of abandoned houses in Mercia or for example on the walls of The Black Goat Tavern in Raven’s Reach! Eagle eyed adventurers may remember that paintings used to spawn in the wooden crates scattered around the coastal areas. We have now brought them back as physical items that you can loot and sell for some extra Gold!

V0.24 (Beta) - Wooden Crate GIF

Much like our resource nodes, our lootable containers have been given a revival too. When you loot one of these you instantly receive the goodies inside without the need of an extra loot menu. After looting these crates they will collapse in on themselves, barrels will lose their lids too. When approaching one of these in the world it should be clear if they have be claimed or if the loot is ripe for the taking!


We hope to bring you a new Beta build on our Test_Beta server again soon. When we have uploaded a new Beta build to our test server we hope to provide you all with some form of patch notes to inform you of the additions and changes to the Beta build.

When we do have updates to our Beta server we hope that you will all understand if there are issues present. This is of course intended as a testing ground for updates and patches. If you do find anything be sure to report it over on our Google Bug Form , and make sure you select “Version V0.xx (Beta)”

There is now a Google Form that will appear in your web browser once The black Death has been closed after playing. This form will only load in your browser if you have been playing on the Beta branch. It is designed to help us gather feedback whilst it is still fresh in your thoughts after playing so we can get a clear impression on Player thoughts. We greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thank you in advance for your submissions.






As a little extra [SIG]_Emily has created a Steam Guide on getting the Console Command Window working for players who are not using an English (United Kingdom) layout keyboard.

Steam Guide – How To Use The Console Command Window Without A UK English Keyboard

This guide should allow players who are not using a UK English layout keyboard to use the Windows Console Command when playing The Black Death. This unlocks the ability to use Admin commands when playing on a private server, LAN server or player owned/hosted/rented server.

I understand that this guide is written in UK English and this may not be easy for some players to read and understand, apologies in advance! I did not want to run this guide through a tool such as Google Translate as the translation may not have been accurate.

If you have any questions or feel any information in this guide is incorrect, or needs updating please do not hesitate to drop me an email at: Emily@small-impact.com.

That’s all for this week, see you next time!

// The SIG Team