Introduction: Welcome to the first devlog for the production of our game, the "Medieval Farmer Simulator" with insights into the production process, the switch to Unreal Engine 5, the game design and the detailed building system.
1. Switch to Unreal Engine 5: The switch to Unreal Engine 5 was one of the biggest decisions in the development of our game. The impressive graphics quality, improved lighting and realistic material rendering provide a solid foundation for the immersive world of Medieval Peasant Simulator. However, the transition also brought challenges, as many systems had to be adapted. Fortunately, the powerful engine allowed us to integrate smoothly and opened up new possibilities for creative implementations.
2. Game design and detailed building system: The heart of our game is the detailed building system that allows players to customize their medieval farm to their liking. We attach great importance to ensuring that the buildings are not only functional, but also aesthetically pleasing. Through game design, we aim to provide a realistic yet entertaining farming experience.
3. Manage resources: A key element in Medieval Farmer Simulator is the efficient management of raw materials. Players must acquire resources such as wood, stone and food to expand their farm. Cutting down trees becomes an important skill to obtain building materials for the construction of buildings. The addition of workbenches as central elements for the processing of raw materials helps to ensure that players are actively involved in the production process. Every step, from logging to the production of building materials, has a direct impact on the progress and development of the farm.
4. Beautiful, aesthetic and fun: The beauty of the game world is important to us. Our artists work hard to create an authentic medieval environment that transports players to a bygone era. The aesthetic design of the buildings and environments not only contributes to the atmosphere, but also ensures that playing the game is a visual pleasure. The fun factor is at the heart of our game. By combining challenging resource management, creative building systems and the ability to create a thriving city, we want to ensure that every player has a fun and fulfilling gaming experience.
5. Experience ressources visibly in the world: Another important feature is the visibility of ressources in the game world. Every item crafted or found by players is visibly placed in the world. This visual representation creates a direct link between the player's actions and the world, which enhances the feeling of immersion.
Thank you very much for your attention. Don't forget to wishlist Medieval Farmer Simulator, so you don't miss out on any updates and news! And join us on Discord, if you want to ask questions and just talk about the game!
We are now two days away from release and still hard at work on the game! These last updates on the road to 1.0 will focus on visual polish, balancing and bug fixes.
Balancing
You now start mission 2 with a bit more money.
Villagers talk a bit more about prices (lowered too much in the last update)
Visual improvements
End credits are looking better than ever with cute animations.
Added animations to Karaoke and Ramen Shop lanterns, fixed animation on Konbini flag.
Buildings now have shadows.
Vilagers shadows don't go out of the pavement anymore.
Ramen and Boba recipe visual assets adjusted slightly.
Better cloud colors.
Villagers have a bit less Z-Fighting.
Bugs and fixes
Fix Mission 3 optional objectives counting trash as cats.
Fix Mission 2 first objective progress bar not filling properly.
Fix sorting of villagers thought bubble (no more stuff in front that messes with the text).
Fix HUD animations getting stuck when coming back from Photo Mode.
Fix hidden objects sometimes entirely hidden (could happen if you build an upgrade 1 Modern house just after a boba café).
Fix text of cat satisfaction in daily report of Mission 1 and 2.
Fix wrong text on bottom left corner at mission start.
- Currency you collect or spend is now visible in the HUD - Waves of enemies attack you during the Extraction mission - Loot is now sent from the Mech Bay to the Cargo Bay in the player Home Ship after returning from a mission. - Added a bunch of new Science/Armory/Bridge specific Filler Objects - New "Swarmling" Enemy! Don't let them get too close...or BOOM! - Added the "Flame Lock" Ability - Laying the foundation for SFX and Music with FMOD Integration - Glass is now beautiful
Two new little things: * You can now wishlist Early Days, the Inspector Waffles' prequel, in game * Game should adapt better to uncommon resolution
And a couple of bugs fixed: * Pepper was a dog in one dialog, a cat in another. Thanks Broomcolate for that, he is now fully a dog. * Just a couple of little changes in dialogs that nobody will notice, but will help better to link to Early Days story ;) * A couple of typos in french, as usual.
Soon, your army will become larger by one squad, so potentially you will be able to earn more experience and Silver in battles without sacrificing combat effectiveness.
We're increasing the maximum number of squads you can take into battle by adding one extra slot - exclusive to Premium Squads.
Once bought, always useful
In Enlisted, we have quite a lot of squads of different classes. Throughout the development of the game, we've tried to impress you with premium units that stand out visually or with their weapons, and also give you double experience and Silver.
But the longer you supported the development of the game by purchasing these squads, the more often you encountered situations when it was tactically more favorable to take a more powerful regular squad into battle than an interesting, but weaker premium squad.
This new slot will not give combat advantages to players who support the development. All premium squads added to the game have roughly similar effectiveness as their upgradable equivalents, but stand out with their interesting appearance and rare weapons and equipment.
With their participation in battles, Enlisted will become even more diverse for all players.
Please note! We are still working on this feature and it might come out in a separate update after the major, if we can’t finish it in time.
Development on the next patch is progressing smoothly here at Xeno Bits HQ, and we’re confident we’ll have it in your hands very soon.
Last time we looked at the new kinds of Sqarb invaders you can expect to see in your base; but of course, with new invaders come new defenses to light them up!
New Weapons
Exogate branded and ready to rock
Pistols now replace Assault Rifles as the core weapon for your soldiers, with rifles becoming an upgrade in the tech tree - alongside two brand-new weapons: the Plasma Launcher and the Railgun!
Your full loadout now looks like this:
Pistol: Basic sidearm, favored when assault rifles are unavailable
Assault Rifle: Powerful automatic rifle, favored over pistols
Plasma Launcher: Deals damage over a large area by launching a deadly plasma shell - useful for dealing with crowds of enemies
Railgun: Deals massive damage but takes time to reload, due to its high-velocity firing mechanism - useful against shielded enemies
You can also now enhance weapons with two types of upgrade: Smart, which add AI-assisted targeting systems, and Heavy, which use tougher materials and higher-grade ammunition. Expect damage dealing and firing rates to increase with each upgrade.
And that’s not all: Did we mention automated Turrets, which can be upgraded in the same way? Place them at strategic locations, station your soldiers safely behind the front line, then watch them turn those empty corridors into shooting galleries!
There’s no need to stay frosty with automated sentries on the lookout
And There’s More!
We’re also adding Security Blast Doors and Shielded Guard Posts to the build menu. The gate room already has a blast door of course, but now you can build them anywhere in the base! They’re more heavily armored than regular doors, and will automatically lock out non-authorized personnel.
Shielded Guard Posts do exactly what you’d expect, providing cover so your soldiers can snipe those pesky Sqarbs as they go past.
There are a few small surprises we haven’t told you about yet, but we’ll save those for the Patch 0.8.7 launch day post - which is coming very soon!
Thank you for your continued support of the Initiative. We’ll see you soon through the Exogate!
Safe travels, Maxime MILLET Creative Director, Xeno Bits
