MILESTONE 4: WIRING is COMPLETE!

WHAT WAS IN THIS MILESTONE

I foolishly labeled this Cleanup. When in fact, what this really was was a Wiring and Continuity Pass build. I've played a LOT of Elder Scrolls Games, and I was an MMO QA tester for the birth of instancing as a concept. I have a really solid grasp of what it means to create content which responds to the Player's choice, and how challenging that can be to normalize.

•  WoW and AION use this form of instancing that says, "This is a container. It has a default state. When a variable changes, this appears differently for the Player in question." This method has led to some interesting 'Phased Content' issues.
• Dark Age of Camelot used the Random Spawn system, as do a lot of the Generative RPGs currently on the Market.
• Elder Scrolls Games use the 'Time is passing, Spawn then Despawn' system. Which has led to some interesting glitches where objects instantiate themselves  or fail to. Especially when the player stands next to the content, and makes time pass.

To avoid some of these pitfalls from our brethren I've chosen to code the timeframes as LOCATIONS. Meaning, that much like Majora's Mask, when you reach the end of a timeframe, the game freezes the scene, and transitions you to new zones, identical in nature, but with a different skybox. For the purposes of Unity, and not making things more complex than they needed to be, These 304 Base scenes, all load the '99' scene underneath. The 99's contain the actual terrain and any items which cross ALL timeframes. 

Then in the level itself for that timeframe (i.e. F3:10 Heavensreach Daytime) you have versions of the items, people, places, and things which are specific to that timeframe. Additionally, all of the base events coding is 'Check Time Variable' then 'Check Progression Variables' on load. Which means that if you change something in another timeframe, and then load another timeframe, all of the content is instantiated on load. 

What this means is that when you perform a game action, it will likely 'Load the Scene' at the end of the cutscene, in order to reset the content based on a major change. Rather than creating a temporary version.

50% of the changes you make are in a table which never gets reset (like dungeon progression, quests, and skills unlocks) whereas when you restart time, the other 50% are in tables which reset from '1' (On) to '0' (Off), to create the illusion that time is beginning again. This should provide you with a Majora's Mask experience which isn't as stressful, but still uses the time mechanics. Whereas the Dark Cloud esque world unlocks are in the 'Never Reset This' tables.

In this milestone, not only did we have to build the Time Versions of each level, but then Wire the Teleport Events to Respect Location, Relative Exits, and Time of Day by way of code. So that I didn't have to build 1400 teleporters, but rather, one line of smart code which can be called and asks Where are you? Where are you Existing? What Time of Day is it? 

It may sound small, bit this was a HUGE undertaking. Which has to work every single time.

The first Word on Every Page for the locations still need to be configured. I need to add the 'Shout' to each button, with a wheel turn event. So that the player can use the Book and Unlocks to fast travel to the locations in the game.

There are Words on the Words of Power page which allow you to travel through time. But for the moment, those words are hooked up to the [ESC] menu,

For this build, these words will remain as buttons which the Beta Testers can use.

BETA TESTING

So we've Uploaded the first QA Build to Steam! And though I'm still figuring out how to set permissions on the Depot, and share keys with other team members, I know that gamer hands will be on my creation for the first time in the next 24 hours. Which is a big deal.

Fortunately, there's a Coordinate System built into the Beta Client. Which allows a tester to say, E2:10 X41.4414 Z262.344 Y: 1.17732 on the bugs. Which tells me that I need to head to those coordinates on the Desolace Map, on Day 3's Day in order to find the issue. And for the quest designers, they can use the same instructions in their designs to help me create the right thing in the right place. Between that and the 'Hub' which allows you to see every NPC and has a gate that goes directly to each date and time creation and testing of content doesn't require linear play. I've made it so that things can be designed and tested directly, and in any order.

STORY AND CONTENT MATH

I have Epilepsy which is something which prevented me from becoming a full fledged Developer with an AAA company. I've had several chances. So for me, creation of the game is very life-affirming. What that means is that I spend as LITTLE time in front of the Screen as I possibly can. 

So I use a ReMarkable 2 tablet to take notes, capture bugs, etc. Which syncs with my PC. And I have an Electric Typewriter which I do Story and Script first passes on (a 99' Brother Electric).

But part of this Milestone was figuring out How Many things would be in each zone, to create the outline for Story and Quest design.

TRYING TO AVOID CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

I've taken great strides to make up every race in the game. And though there are parallels to Earth Races each race in the game is meant to be 'Borne of the Tales and Tomes of those from Another World'. Years prior I began, and never completed, a SMILE Game Builder title called Tales of Grimm. Which was meant to be a JRPG which entered worlds of fiction, in a large library. We'll I've held up that concept through the creation of Mad King's Lair: Tome of Destruction. 

I'm using Fairy Tales from 20 peoples ranging from Sumeria into the Modern Day (Yay Masters in English Lit!). The worlds are based, not on the PEOPLE of that world, but on the characters in their fables. So that I achieve more of a 'Pagemaster' vibe than I do a culturally accurate one.  

I'll be running the Stories by colleagues from the nations and backgrounds in question to make sure that it's respectful derivative fiction, and avoids mishandling elements of lore which are important to the race in question, but are still familiar and comfortable. Additionally, I've undergone the initial search for Voice Talent from those parts of the world so that the 8 or 9 worlds which are directly derivative of Japan, China, Polinesia, New Zealand's Maori, Africa, etc. are voiced by talent who have the appropriate accents. I'm taking the 'Calling All Dawns' approach to creation. In that, it will be something unique, but should respect and acknowledge the derivative ideas in the Zone's design. Will it take longer? Yes. Is it 100% worth it in 2023? Yes. I can't let years of work be dismissed under decries of Racism and Appropriation. So I want those credits riddled with names of those who contributed as advisors and talent to make the game's world kind and safe.

MOVING INTO MILESTONE 5

From now until July, the goal is to get A1: Skylise Meadows to the place the 1999 Demo of Ocarina of Time which used to sit in the Game Stores was. I want to have an End-to-End demo which takes you through the opening Cinematic, and leads you through the first dungeon, introducing the core mechanics of the game, and cuts out before you leave the Zone for the next tier of content. And I want to have a completed Temple, and several dungeons in the zone to explore as well. 

This will give us a sample of how everything has been created, to be used in creating the vastness of the rest of the game consistently. And it will give my content designers a chance to get to work playing in the Zones while I write the main story.

For now, that's the next open door for us! Thank you as always for reading!

-Game on Friends!