DaggerXL Progress news

Character Creation

Version 0.190 Introduced the Character Creation System. It is not 100% complete, but it is enough to start working on different skills and character types. It is complete enough that it is easier to tell you what it doesn’t have rather then what it does.

Things missing, but only for now:

*Generate you class by answering 10 questions. This is probably the least important thing missing since you can still select your class from the list. So this isn’t really limiting.

*Custom Class. For now you must select from one of the pre-created classes.In addition, I need to work on the item system some more before many of the items that you’d normally get from the Background questions get added. The system is there, right up to the Item Manager itself. Basically I need to organize the item database a little differently before I can enable everything. So your initial item layout will not match vanilla Daggerfall at this point, but that will be fixed soon – I plan on doing this in the next build.Also not all skills are useful right now, but every skill, advantage, disadvantage and other character property is now stored, saved and accessible by the game. This means that all the data is there for me to continue implementing all the abilities. This also means that it will be difficult to play through Privateer’s Hold with a non-melee class right now. But this will become easier as more abilities are implemented.

Skill Advancement

The next and current release, version 0.195, introduced several improvements - including skill advancement.

The first thing is the upgraded save system that I talked about in the blog. The environment data is now serialized – at least for dungeons – so that the current state of the immediate world is now saved. This includes animation states, AI states, loot data (what loot is out there, what has been collected), dead bodies and their loot, object states – including switch states and movement/animation states, door states and more. In addition the player’s orientation is now saved as well as whether they have a weapon sheathed or not. Finally not only stats are saved but the starting stats used for leveling, the current usage tallies for each stat, the time since the last skill increase and all the data needed for skill advancement and leveling.

Next resting has been partially implemented. “Rest Until Healed” works completely (finally!), including skill advancement checks (see below). “Rest for a while” and “Loiter” are not implemented yet, they will be in the next build. “Rest for a while” just does the same thing as “Rest Until Healed” and Loiter doesn’t do anything. Also random encounters are missing, they will be in version 0.20.

Finally skill advancement has been implemented. It is now possible to raise implemented skills just as you would in Daggerfall, and this happens during resting – assuming enough time has elapsed since the last skill increase. The difficulty of increasing your skill is based on how high it currently is as well as your classes’ advancement multiplier. Skill uses are added to skills whenever a skill check is performed, whether the skill use succeeds or not. Continous effect skills – such as running – are checked at regular intervals, whereas other skills are only checked on use. As skills are implemented, the advancement phase will work automatically with no other changes to the advancement, rest or save systems. Right now not all skills are implemented, though many are including: Running, Climbing, Dodging, Critical Strike and various weapon skills.

Upcoming Features and Builds

Version 0.20 will include features that will go a long way to rounding out the Dungeon exploring experience, including:

• Leveling (right now skills go up, but the character can’t advance in levels). This is simply adding the UI – everything else is done.
• “Rest for a While” and “Loitering”
• Proper loot tables and Helmets (meaning location and level are taken into account).
• Random Encounters and more monster types.
• Item interaction on the character “doll.”

Finally I will put out another interim build in the upcoming week that will make most, if not all, the dungeons available for exploration. Not all features will be implemented, such as dungeon water and teleporters, but those details will be filled in after version 0.20 comes out.

You can download version 0.195 now, uploaded for me by AlexanderSig. :)