I returned from a family vacation earlier this month, but needed more rest and relaxation. During this time off, I was mercilessly burned by the Texas sun and avoided contact with technology. I have provided a brief summary of what occurred while I was away.
If anything slipped past my radar, please notify me at: zajenmail [at] gmail [dot] com. More information (and a bunch of links!) after the break.
Engine Announcements and Tidbits
NetGore version 0.2.2 — Made available in early June, the latest release of NetGore is minor and includes fixes for critical bugs and a few improvements to the engine’s editors. For a complete list of changes, read the changelog.
Malachite Beta 2 — The first beta of Malachite allowed access only to the client and users were encouraged to break the code and report any errors. The second release includes the server and a set-up guide is available with tutorials coming soon.
Genesis2D — Development is still ongoing for version 2.3, although donors were given an early access build to play with. Once all known bugs are exterminated and all rough edges ironed out, expect an official public release. In the meantime, the generous can donate $1.50 to purchase a ticket in the first ever Genesis2D lottery. Every forum member participant will win a free copy of G2Dx8 if 50 tickets are sold. 23 spots are left.
XtremeWorlds — Version 1.0.4 of the engine is still in development, but a recent build of 1.0.3 is available. Like most beta releases, users are enlisted to find and report errors. Upcoming features include dynamic sprites, paper doll, scrolling maps, in-game mail, and support for Flash menus. As soon as everything is given the green light, the next version of XtremeWorlds should hit the digital market.
MORPG Updates and Whatnot
Merrimint — Featuring modified Breeze graphics and chibi-style sprites, development of Merrimint has resumed after an extended hiatus. Engine of choice is Eclipse Origins, a variant of Eclipse Stable. Hikaru, project lead and pixel artist, helms a team determined to create a unique gaming experience. Merrimint will not rely on a leveling system or character classes, instead focusing on player enjoyment rather than tiresome grinding.
Seyerdin — The loss of a dear friend and fellow developer put a stopper to the open beta of Seyerdin. Development did not continue until April of this year and since then things have gone quite swimmingly. The MORPG utilizes the same engine as Odyssey Online Classic, albeit with changes and many additions to the source code.
Silverdale — The successor of Silverdale is currently in development. Zamin, keeper of the old version, is looking for dedicated mappers.
Saturn Valley Online — Fan-game featuring the characters and environments of the beloved Super Nintendo classic, EarthBound. A new version using the NetGore engine as its base is in alpha stages of development. Recently, the Chosen Four have joined Twitter and are updating followers on their quest to defeat the evil Giygas. Presented by SVO developer Team Skyon, this event is cleverly called TwitterBound, and is a playthrough of the game in real time.
Paxtenus — Although not yet ready for prime time, the next game client download for Paxtenus will be available when developer _person_ finishes adding planned features. A heavily modified vbGORE engine powers the MORPG. Help is welcome and suggestions or questions concerning the game can be posted on the forums.
Update: (Genesis2D) Just been alerted of an impending change of plans. If 50 tickets are not sold, ticket holders will be invited to join a closed beta team currently being round up. Oh, seamless scrolling is complete. Rejoice!
Update 2: (Genesis2D) Success! [link] Forum registration may be required for viewing.
zajenmail@gmail.com
Hi Zajen, sounds like you are pretty up to date. Just wanted to add that the conditions of our lottery werenot that every forum member recieve a copy of G2Dx8, it was everyone who participated in the lottery – just wanted to clear that up in case of any disgruntled members getting confused. Since it looks like we may not reach the lottery target, I have offered all that participated a position on the closed Beta testing team which we are assembling at the moment. The Seamless scrolling is pretty much finished, that was the easy part – getting 10,000 + particles, items, npcs etc to constantly show on the maps surrounding was a challenge, but we got there eventually.
Thanks for the heads-up! Shame you may not reach your goal. You know, a video of those 10,000 particles and stuff would be real nifty. *wink, wink. nudge, nudge*
Lol in the time this was posted, a very generous member jumped in at the last minute and bought all the remaining tickets!
Oh and the particles are coming along well, i’ll have a nice preview video very soon. The important thing we have retained is the ease of use, adding particles to your map now is just the same as adding any tile attribute and we have a great particle editor thats been completed.
Waterfalls made easy:
http://www.devogeninteractive.com/downloads/g2dx8_particle_waterfall.wmv
And heres a screenshot of what we have tried to make a ‘fun’ editor
GUI’s have been condensed, streamlined.
http://www.devogeninteractive.com/downloads/partic3.jpg_thumb.png
Argh how embarrasing, I gave you a thumbnail link.. ::)
http://www.devogeninteractive.com/downloads/partic3.jpg
Congratulations, Devogen!
Those particles do indeed look nifty. Heh, change the color to green and prepare for poot nation. I foresee some comical uses for such a system.
hehe yes well, I can’t deny creating a giant 200x200pixel NPC and making him pee giant yellow particles from his nether regions..
The applications are endless, burning houses, wormholes.. and the map intergration is seamless for it.