Nov 28, 2017

Weekly community newsletter – War paint and bed bugs

Conan Exiles - Community Manager (Jens Erik)

Welcome back! Hope you had a good weekend!

Winter has come at last over here in Norway, and it's been snowing off and on for the past couple of weeks. Hopefully global warming hasn't screwed us over too much and we'll get a white Christmas this year.

We'll be celebrating barbarian style, of course: eating with our hands and making a mess so we can know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on our palates.

Current state of PC

We hotfixed PC last week to take care of some issues that remained after Update 31 was released. You should now be able to harvest crystals and have building pieces attach to your foundations again. Foundations are still known to disappear from time to time, but this is due to a bug that might occur if you log off away from your base. We believe we have a fix for this already, it just needs additional testing.

Now that update 31 is out we've started looking at what to patch during the time leading up to Christmas. We want the game to be at a satisfying level of stability and polish during the Christmas break, after all. As always, we will keep you informed of how we move forward.

Current state of Xbox

The next PC/Xbox parity patch is going through and we want roll it out this week. This patch will bring all the PC changes to the Xbox, which includes repair kits, new building pieces and thrall inventories. Once that (and eventual hotfixes) are out of the way we'll start looking at the next patch for Xbox.

We also did some quick server-side maintenance on the official Xbox One servers on Friday, which seems to have greatly improved server stability. This does not mean we are done with our work to improve upon client and server stability, both on PC and on Xbox. Please let us know if things aren't working for you and provide us with as much information as you can.

What the teams have been working on in the past week:

Every Friday, the development team meets up to highlight and talk about what they’ve been working on recently: New content and features, bugs that have been fixed, and things to come down the pipeline. In this newsletter wee're sticking to the highlights. Things are still being worked on "behind the scenes", and we'll mention these when they're relevant.

Vanguard

We have an update from the Vanguard team this week! It's been a while. Since the last time we heard from the Vanguard they have gained a new addition to the team: Paul, who's joining Funcom as a junior gameplay programmer.

Paul's been working on improving the way swimming works in the game. Currently, you sink immediately when you enter any body of water. Under the new system you'll automatically remain on the surface until you press crouch, which will cause you to sink into the depths. You hold down space to surface again, and you'll stay on the surface again once your head breaks water. The new method is more in line with conventions on how swimming in games is often done. The problem we are solving is that you can't reliably keep your head above water without constantly jumping out of the water like a dolphin. Making diving look better is next on the list.

Two more of our Vanguard coders have been giving the chat system some love, smoothing out bugs and issues. Once we roll out these changes you should be able to scroll properly using the up and down keys, and the text will format correctly to fit long usernames.

Basically, it used to look like this:

Once we're done it'll look more like this:

The colors are based on the channel you're broadcasting to and aren't just randomly assigned anymore.

Over on the bug side of things some extensive work has been done on the bed and bedroll bugs. We've patched in fixes for bedrolls for PC (coming soon to Xbox) to make them more consistent when respawning, and there's a similar fix coming to beds as well. Beds will get an additional check when you're placing them to prevent you from putting somewhere you'd invalidate the spawn point. Please note that this is still something that needs extensive testing and it won't be rolled out immediately.

Finally, Vanguard has been helping out in with the backend implementation of war paint, which is coming down the line. You'll find more information about that from the Terraformers section.

Berserkers (Combat revamp and movement)

We did a Q&A heavy stream on Friday with lead designer Oscar Lopez Lacalle joining Joel Bylos and myself on the stream. Oscar is the head of the Berserkers team, in charge of revamping the combat system. On the Friday afternoon stream Oscar talked a lot of about the changes that are coming to combat and how this will impact the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ92px8OJc8

If you'd rather read a quick summary of the stream, you'll find a write-up over on the Steam Community Hub.

Terraformers (New areas and content)

I promised another look at the volcano and another look you shall receive. After that, some juicy bits about war paint!

Let's talk about war paint. You learn about war paint through the Feats window, like most other crafting recipes. You craft war paint using Papyrus, which creates a special pattern you then apply to your character.

There are two kinds of war paint. One is purely visual, with 7 different kinds of cultural styles and patterns you can apply. The other gives you a +3 bonus to one of your attributes. When we revamp the attributes system to include perks, war paint can be used to give you those extra stat points you'll need to unlock a particular perk or give you an edge in PvP. You can only have one pattern on at a time, so remember to choose wisely.

Cultural style war paint will last about a week in real time, but stat boosting war paint will fade after an hour. So, it could be a good idea to pack extra patterns. War paint will also be fully moddable by mod makers.

Wrapping up

Aaaand that's it for this week! Tune in next week for another update from the Exiled Lands. Maybe some more goodies from the art team? Maybe I'll finally find a decent way to wrap up these newsletters? Only time will tell.

Sincerely,

Funcom

Nov 28, 2017

Weekly community newsletter – War paint and bed bugs

Conan Exiles - Jens Erik (Community Manager)

Current state of PC

Current state of Xbox

What the teams have been working on in the past week:

Vanguard

Once we're done it'll look more like this:

Berserkers (Combat revamp and movement)

Terraformers (New areas and content)

I promised another look at the volcano and another look you shall receive. After that, some juicy bits about war paint!

Wrapping up

Nov 27, 2017

Friday, November 24th Q&A Stream Summary

Conan Exiles - Community Manager (Nicole V)

玩家们好啊！上周五的直播答疑活动算是圆满结束了，但是在直播的过程中我们意识到并不是所有人都能挤出时间来观看我们的直播的。所以我们总结了本次答疑活动的主要内容，当然为了方便广大玩家群体我们也已经把此次直播的录像上传到了“油管（Youtube）”上了。以下就是本次直播录像的网址，敬请参阅！

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ92px8OJc8

以后我们还会举办这样的直播活动，并且会实时在线解答玩家们的各种问题。所以请感兴趣的玩家们尽量在百忙中抽出时间来与我们互动，这样我们才能及时的为玩家们带来更舒适的游戏体验！本次直播是由我们的玩家社区经理Jens Erik Vaaler；我们游戏的创意总监Joel Bylos；以及特约嘉宾游戏首席设计师Oscar Lopez Lacalle主持。

直播总结

游戏中的装备展示架正在开发中，而玩家们届时可以将自己钟爱的武器及盾牌放于墙上供陈列展示用。这也意味着展示架在某种程度上有着与仓库相同的作用，不过只能用来放置武器及盾牌。
装备改装套件：玩家们可以用这些套件自定义改装自己的武器及防具。通过这种套件玩家们可以为自身武器提供多种优化，比如降低装备重量；提高装备耐久度；增加武器伤害值等。
有关战争彩绘（warpaint）的相关细节将会很快在社区中公布。
一旦目前我们对整个游戏的打磨工作完工，坐骑将会成为我们日程表中下一个优先事项；紧接着的就是魔法系统的创作工作……而目前的打磨阶段我们主要还是在修复游戏中出现的bug以及调整游戏中各项物品、生物的数据。
游戏工具镰刀已经提交我们的开发部门进行完善了，而它的作用正式帮助玩家更有效率的从草丛中采集植物纤维。
玩家们届时将不能在游戏中举着火把跑步了，但创意总监Joel宣布届时玩家们将能够获得一种能够带在身上的发光物品跑起来。
采集工具会在未来的更新中添加等级划分机制，例如刚镰刀、坚硬的镰刀、星金属镰刀等。
我们正在设计创作更多的陷阱道具。
目前我们有意加入望远镜这一道具，但由于目前技术原因（问题主要集中在dynamic space loading这一块）该物品仍然处于开发阶段。
我们计划升级游戏中的聊天系统，并且我们的开发部门现在已经在做了。
Weapon masters have come in for mocap references. There are people in the Oslo office who participate in martial arts! But we look at all sorts of fighting styles.
我们计划推出装备钝箭头的箭支用以撂倒奴隶。
农作物以及务农这两项生活物品及技能已经在我们的计划清单当中了。
在将来更新的新天气系统中雨雪飘进屋子的问题将会得到解决。
队友伤害机制将暂时不会考虑添加进游戏里。
游戏目前允许玩家以管理员模式复活骆驼了。
一条能见到柯南他本人的故事线正在创作之中触发，而不是被攻击后才会触发。

战斗方面

在将来的更新中我们将会添加轻击与重击键位，并且由此会发展出一套连招系统。
These will look different and have different shapes and timings as well as apply status effects to them.
轻击与重击将会在以后的攻击模式中混合使用。
每一把武器都会有其对应的连招系统，甚至当两把种类相同的武器之间的连击系统都会有差别。
在将来的更新中我们会为游戏中的战斗系统加入不同的攻击动作。
连续跳跃是可以做到的，但在某些特定环境中并不推荐使用。
目前我们对弓这种远程武器进行了调整，玩家在拉弓时将会加入一个瞄准动作已达到更有效的控制箭矢的走向和精度。
以后的更新中我们会添加不同部位被击中后所出现的损伤效果。
游戏对战系统将会有踢击和徒手战斗这两项新的内容。
有关游戏中战斗系统的核心机制系统将会于今年年末完成，并进行内部测试。而这套更加完善的战斗系统我们计划会于明年第一季度正式推出。
武器类别双手剑目前已经被列入了开发清单，而鞭子则不会早于双手剑推出。
我们并没有打算添加边拿着武器边跑的机制，但我们有计划开发跳击和突近/闪避攻击（向前突进）的机制。另外如果玩家在游戏里正在追逐某人时，攻击可以使其眩晕或致残。

另注：这篇简讯时本次直播的主要内容概要，而不是某个更新补丁包说明。

Nov 27, 2017

Friday, November 24th Q&A Stream Summary

Conan Exiles - Nicole V(Community Manager)

Hey all! I've written the highlights and important notes that were made in the Q&A stream. I realize there are some people who may not have the time to watch it (live or later) or may be hearing-impaired and are unable to watch since the video doesn't have subtitles. I'd like to do this for future Conan Exile streams. Otherwise, feel free to see it all here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ92px8OJc8

We answer all kinds of questions from chat though so please do watch it live when possible! Stream was hosted by community manager Jens Erik Vaaler, creative director Joel Bylos, and special guest Lead Designer Oscar Lopez Lacalle.

Stream Notes

Display racks are coming! You can place weapons and shields onto displays placed on the wall. The display can also be used as storage, but will always display the weapon/shield placed in the first slot.
Weapon mod kit: You can modify weapons and armor using certain kits. These include decreasing weight, increasing durability, increasing damage, and so on!
More information on warpaints coming in the community letter soon.
Once we're done with the polish phase, mounts will be the next big thing on the list. Then sorcery, and so on. We're currently fixing bugs and tweaking features in the game.
The sickle is on the developer branch. It specializes in harvesting plant fiber from bushes.
You won't be able to run with a torch. But Joel mentioned you will be running, "with a lighted object on your body".
Harvesting tools will have different tiers: Steel Sickle, Hardened Sickle, and Star Metal Sickle.
More traps are coming in.
We would like to add in a spyglass, but due to technical limitations (dynamic space loading) we are unable to right now.
Chat system changes are also coming in that are currently in the development build.
Weapon masters have come in for mocap references. There are people in the Oslo office who participate in martial arts! But we look at all sorts of fighting styles.
Blunt arrows for knocking out thralls from afar are planned.
Crops and farming is on the "would like to do" list.
Snow and rain inside your house will be fixed along with the new weather system.
Knocking out friends isn't high on the priority list.
Camels can be spawned if you're an admin.
A storyline is being written that includes Conan himself.
The "cry for help" implementation will cause AI to call for others when they spot you. Not when you hit them.

Combat

You will have a light attack button and heavy attack button which will involve combo chains.
These will look different and have different shapes and timings as well as apply status effects to them.
Mix and match light/heavy attacks
Every weapon has its own chain. Even weapons of the same type will have different chains.
Animation updates will be a part of the combat system.
Comboskipping is possible, but may not be a smart strategy in some instances.
Bows are included in this animation change. An accuracy component is being added so you'll have more control of where the arrow goes.
Body part targeting will also be implemented.
Kicking and bare hand combat is planned.
Core mechanics should be completed by the end of the year internally. Internal testing and tweaking will then need to be completed. So currently this new combat is set for Q1, 2018.
Two handed swords are on the list to complete. Whips will not be in the game before launch.
No plans to make you run with weapons. But there are plans to make jumping attacks and dodging attacks (dodging forward). If you're chasing someone, you can stun or cripple them to stop them from running.

REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A STREAM SUMMARY, NOT PATCH NOTES