Haven't posted these for a while, but I'm going to get back into it.
Talad(Leader/Founder)
Eonwind(Rules)
Zunna (Rules/Settings)
Mordaan (Settings)
Venalan (Settings Lead)
Uadjet(GM Lead)
Emaline (GM Team)
Zweith (Art)
Uadjet says: Hello and welcome to the Developer Q&A!
Dralgur says: Thank you! I am happy I could make it
Dralgur smiles
Uadjet says: Here you can ask any questions you might have about the game and hear about what the team is working on.
Uadjet says: If you do have any questions, just line up at the podium. Where Dralgur is.
Damola says: Excuse the delay, but RP took a bit longer.
>Damola Etedi bows to Waesed Waesech.
Dralgur says: How is the progress going with the Unreal Engine version of the game? I watched quite a lot of youtube videos, but I am not sure if it gave me a indication as to when the server will be ready - a few weeks, a few months or a year or more.
Gonger says: Bottoms up, brodr!
Dralgur says: So what is your best estimate?
Dralgur is trying to find a place to sit
Waesed says: Always good
Mordaan says: I think the idea was to have something this year. But it's one of those things...it will be ready when it's ready.
Uadjet says: I think it's been a little slow in recent weeks, due to one person being busy at work and another moving house. But if you want to see how things are going, look in the forums at the Amdeneir city project. That's how awesome the game will look when we move over.
Dralgur says: Ok, thank you for your answer. I am really looking forward to the release.
Uadjet says: There is also a page on the wiki...let me find it.
Damola curiously opens the forums
Dralgur says: I forgot: will it be Linux compatible?
Uadjet says: Ah, the UE Roadmap.
Uadjet says: That has a list of all things that need to be done and the progress on each one.
Gonger says: Dralgur, all releases are made available for PC, Mac, Linux.
Uadjet says: As for linux, I did a quick google and found instructions on how to build and run it on Linux, so it should be compatible.
Gonger says: Unless something extraordinary happens.
Dralgur says: That sounds perfect. Thank you!
Damola rummages around in the forum "Where is that Amdeneir thread?"
Uadjet says: Oh, it's in Fan Art.
Uadjet says: The Official Phase Two City Contest.
Damola says: ah, nice. the one thread with… 41 (!) pages
Dralgur says: It will make a good read then
Mordaan says: I sometimes forget, Amdeneir is a totally community driven project.
Waesed says: It looks awesome
Uadjet says: Page 40 is the more recent posts.
Damola says: those images on page 41 are awesome
Uadjet says: The Amdeneir we see is really only like 25% of the city, as the other two sections seem large. Then there's the elevated bit on the Dome wall itself, and the ptero training grounds on the stalactites.
Damola looks excited at the mention of "Ptero training ground"
Damola mutters "Cute Pteros."
Diuren says: Imagine them hanging head-over-heels like giant bats?!...
Damola says: Whoa.
Diuren says: No clue if they can.
Uadjet says: Yes, the city has a lot of landing platforms on towers that I think they use for pteros and magaras. They even have netting around them just in case.
Gova says: Klyros can.
Gova hangs overhead like a giant bat.
Damola chuckles as she sees Gova in that way
Uadjet says: Amdneir isnt' the only city getting any love. I think they're pretty well done cutting out the buildings in Oja, so they'll be able to modify and use that art to expand the city.
Dralgur says: When will the next dev video be released on youtube?
Uadjet says: No idea.
Mordaan says: Whenever Talad has the time and motivation to do one. It will happen eventually.
Damola says: Are there images of Oja in Unreal yet?
Uadjet says: That's Talad's thing, and he does it when he's got the time so it can't really be predicted by anyone else. Not even by him, too far in advance.
>Dralgur Taxianir lets out a hearty laugh!
Dralgur says: Ok, thank you for the answer
Uadjet says: I don't think we have any PSUnreal shots of Ojaveda. Maybe we can pester Zwei for some once he's got some spare time.
Uadjet says: Yes, Mairon?
Mairon says: Hello. So far the only aspect of PSUnreal that has left me wondering is the lighting in the screenshots. It is WAY too intense. Can it be fixed somehow eventually? It really spoils the impression of the overall cool Unreal game version.
Uadjet says: Oh, it will be.
Uadjet says: They're using default development lighting or something like that so that they can see all of the details. Once they got things ready they can change the lighting to something more realistic.
Mordaan says: Yep, just what I was typing..
Mairon says: Ok, thank you. And what about the missing char models? How long does it usually take to make, say, one?
Mairon says: Like, from scratch
Mairon says: As far as I know, Zwei can do them
Mairon says: I may be mistaken though
Mordaan says: And as far as I know, he's been working on them.
Mairon says: Wow
Mairon says: That is good to hear
Uadjet says: Yes, I think he's prioritizing the missing models first (ylian female, for example), and then moving on to things like Diaboli.
Rykia says: yay!
Mairon says: Wait, there will be Diaboli?
Mordaan says: To answer your first question, I would say depends on the relentlessness of the artist. I can tell it's a terribly painstaiking process.
Mordaan says: Takes a long time to get all the details just right. Then there's the animation, armour, etc.
Mairon says: Ok, I understand.
Uadjet says: I think animations should be easy, as they've not got universal animations for all races. For most things, I think. I'm pretty sure races will keep their unique casting/greeting animations, for one thing.
Uadjet says: Hopefully that long series of events didn't sour anyone on the Diaboli.
Uadjet says: So the female nolthrir will finally get a swimming animation!
Damola makes "Yippie!"
Mairon says: Ok. And the last one
Uadjet says: Yes?
Damola takes a step away from Dralgur "Do not pierce me with your swords."
Mairon says: Can there be made playable Diaboli chars that would start in the DR and have their own cities there?
Mairon says: Or it was something else about the Diaboli that was planned
Silak says: Very ambitious !
Damola says: A city in the Death Realm. Interesting idea.
Uadjet says: That would be amazing, though it would be a lot of work.
Mordaan says: I know there are plans for a DR expansion that would include cities. Longer range stuff, though.
Rykia says: That thought was brought up years ago if I remember correctly.
Silak says: The path to it would be amazing, I expect !
Uadjet says: That might draw in a few devs who like the art of the death realm.
Damola imagines cities in frightening heights with lots of opportunities to fall to death, no pun intended
Mairon says: Oh, great. Since according to the lore, the DR is actually bigger than maybe even the cave Yliakum is in.
Uadjet says: One great thing about PS is that the style varies so much. I've seen the sketches of different species' villages, and they're nothing alike.
Gonger says: Just remember that there never will be a final version of PS, so in the years to come, many things will happen.
Silak says: Maybe more like the original Lemur Cavern, perhaps
Mairon says: Don't even get me started about Kadaikos
That would be a dream joirney
Mairon says: *journey
Silak says: It was described as dwarfing our own
Mairon says: Speaking a a player, of course.
Mairon says: *as
Mairon says: Anyway, thanks.
Dralgur says: 1) When you say that you want to release something this year, what does that then mean? A alpha test of a minor part of the game or? 2) What kind of version control are you guys using (TFS, Git, SVN.. other)? 3) Would it be possible to join the DEV team with a C# background instead of a C++ background? (And would experience with Unity help out at all?)
Uadjet says: Yeah, the ten cities of Kadaikos would be amazing, but not likely to appear any time soon.
Uadjet says: I think they're focused on the Dome level first, and that gives every species at least a town or two, if not a full city.
Silak says: Might be nice to at least have some actual concept art for the lower levels as well... sigh
Silak says: More than just the "cone" pic
Uadjet says: Ah, it is ten towns of Kadaikos. Wasn't sure about the number.
Damola says: What about the questions from Dralgur? I bet a developer would need to answer most of those. Isn't PlaneShift in Subversion? That much I know I think.
Uadjet says: The levels that really sound visually distinct are the lower ones. The Shore, with its marshy mangrove forests, and the Lower Field. Well, and the Deep but that's basically a big sea.
Damola likes to be able to access the level Nolthrirs are home at some point
Uadjet says: I can try to answer that, but as a GM you'll have to take my answers with a grain of salt.
Damola says: Which would be the Lower Field as far as I got.
Dralgur says: Fair enough
Uadjet says: When they talk about release, they typically mean that the game world is ready to go in PSUnreal and that pretty well everything works as it does in the current version. There might be a few things that are still being worked on, but it's not like the first version of PSUnreal will have no crafting and only Hydlaa.
Mordaan says: Something this year is kind of a goal Talad had at the end of last year. How realistic that is remains to be seen.
Damola nods "I bet its important to have it not loose any of the character data… some of us spent quite some time with their characters… and would not be so nice if the guild house suddently disappeared cause it would be in a not yet ready city."
Uadjet says: I did overhear Talad and Zwei talking about SVN, so I'm thinking that's the answer to the second part of your question. I'd google it and try to pretend I know what it is, but I don't think people would fall for it. They know me too well.
Mordaan says: I know we currently use SVN, but not sure about UE. I know git was lobbied for but I'm not sure of the inner workings.
Damola says: I am pretty sure its SVN.
Dralgur says: Ok
Dralgur says: Thank you for your answers
Dralgur takes a sit again
Damola smiles "I have a few ones as well, but first asking the first one and see from there."
Mordaan says: As for the final part of your question...
Damola nods "I will prepare my first q during that time you answer the final part."
Mordaan says: Not sure of the differences with unity but I guess dev experience is dev experience. Any help is appreciated.
Dralgur says: Ok, that is nice to hear. I guess I should simply get in contact and see what happens.
Uadjet says: That's what I'd suggest.
Uadjet says: Damola?
Mordaan says: You can join discord and have a few of those conversations.
Damola says: 1) I really enjoy the GM events Uadjet hosts with such consistency. Here and there I got the feeling that they expand a bit on the lore of the game. Once Unreal is released I'd love if some of the stories from events could make it into the game… like for example in last event Uadjet decided there would be butterflies in PlaneShift."
Damola says: My vision would be that experiences from events could inspire future developments.
Mordaan says: Damola says: Oh, well the whole story about glyphs growing in nature in the Glyphhunter series of events
Mordaan says: Yeah, gotta write this stuff down so it doesn't get forgotten.
Damola says: I can make some notes in an in game book as well… maybe time to revive Damola's diary a bit
Uadjet says: Well, the glyphs appearing in nature is existing game lore.
Mordaan says: yes
Damola blushes "Ah, that again shows how oblivious I am about game lore still… I know some… but not nearly as much as other players I bet"
Damola says: Still… would be a nice skill to add… glyph harvesting
Uadjet says: They mostly appear on stone, but I try to put in some artistic flourishes of my own. Like the quartz that resembles glasswing butterfly wings.
Damola says: So that works not only with a GM behind around who drops them.
Damola says: Of course the barriers for such a skill would need to be high and the probability of success quite low and all of that.
Uadjet says: It would certainly be possible to add glyph spawns in UE4, though.
Uadjet says: Not too different from plant spawns.
Uadjet says: Might be hard to spot, though.
Uadjet says: I don't recall reading how large glyphs are...
Damola smiles "Well, that is the idea I had. Okay, I type in my next q unless there is someone else… does not seem to be so I just start"
Uadjet says: Sure, go ahead.
Damola says: Well, about those quarterstaves again… I am not so much into combat, but shouldn't they have an ability to block attacks with them, similarly to a shield?
Damola says: I do not see anything about that in their stats.
Damola says: At least with good enough skill I'd bed one could use such a staff to block an attack at least partly
Mordaan says: You would think.
Damola says: Would also come in hand for magic staves.
Uadjet says: Good point. Perhaps a modifier to defence, or whatever causes you to block an attack.
Damola nods and giggles "Now, I do not remember the third q... well if its important, it will come up again."
Uadjet says: Got a couple quarterstaves on the way, actually. I had to redo a bunch of Blender tutorials as I'd forgotten what I knew, but right now I'm working on using materials instead of textures for the metal and wood parts.
Damola says: Nice.
Damola says: Would be nice to be able to enchant them as well.
Uadjet says: I'm doing a standard shaft as the base for most things, and then adding on the spearhead or the tail spike as needed.
Uadjet says: Most spears will use that one standard 2.2m shaft, though (and there's no way to say this without it sounding dirty) the Stonehammers will have a thicker shaft.
>Waesed Waesech lets out a hearty laugh!
Damola says: Nice that you work on some variety there.
Uadjet says: Yeah, and the spike on the end is called a 'butt spike". Crafting is naughtier than I'd expected.
Uadjet says: I'm trying to add in little embellishments, which could take some time. The existing items have things like wear and tear in the textures, plus inset gems or bits or flair that make them unique. I don't want my stuff to look dull in comparison.
Uadjet says: So the dermorian spear has a leafy appearance, and the stonehammer one will have some stonehammer runes on it. That sort of thing.
Mairon says: Well, any magic staff should be able to be used in combat, indeed.
Damola says: For shields there are Targeted Block, Untargeted Block and Counter Block, "of Defender" shields have an defence modifier as well, maybe possible to use something like that for Quarterstaffs. Of course adapted to them.
Damola is curious to see a Nolthrir quarterstaff then
Uadjet says: Very Poseidon-ey.
Damola giggles "It could even have some enchantment with blue way magic to spill water… lol…"
Uadjet says: But weapons don't scale in PS right now. A staff is the same size when carried by a Kran as when carried by a Stonehammer.
Uadjet says: Someone asked that last meeting.
Damola says: Could probably be changed in Unreal, I bet.
Uadjet says: Will make a Stonehammer with a pike somewhat amusing.
Damola says: Or a Kran with a Dagger.
Damola giggles
Uadjet says: I'm just picturing a dwarf carrying a 7.5m (25') spear.
Damola smiles
Diuren says: I always said, a dwarf wielding two claymores looks like a clacker
Damola says: Anyway, I believe we are overtime already.
Damola says: Diuren, don't tell that to a dwarf
Uadjet says: But that's been most of my last two weeks. Not a lot of quest work done, but I think I've solved one little problem that could result in infinite treasure for the player. Pretty sure the Devs would object to that.
Gonger says: This is why I prefer shortswords.
Waesed says: sabres, here
Uadjet says: But yeah, we're a bit over time so unless anyone has a final question...?
Damola says: Hmm… Damola knows other ways too make tria real fast.
Gova says: Galkards!
Damola says: Hear, hear, the hanging bat has something to say again
Damola looks cheekily towards Gova
Damola does not remember third q, so if important in one of next dev q&a
Gova grins.
Uadjet says: In that case, thank you all for coming!
Damola says: Thank you for being here with us.
Dralgur says: Thank you for allowing us to meet you!
Dralgur smiles
Mairon says: Thank you.
Uadjet says: We'll keep things coming on our end, as long as you lot are around to enjoy the game!
Damola says: And again thank you for Saturday evening events!
Uadjet says: Okay, sure.
>Waesed Waesech claps.
Damola says: They are an instituion for me already.
>Damola Etedi claps.
>Dralgur Taxianir claps for Small Table.
Diuren waves goodbye.
>Diuren Dietey waves.
Chaon says: Thanks for the meeting
>Rykia Mewmeat waves.
Mordaan says: Thanks for coming!
>Mairon Aulendil waves.
Silak says: Thanks for the meeting!!
