Zan the Bonebreaker

Assets

Another update until I have something cooler to show. I'm making static props in TrenchBroom (the Quake level editor) and they look like a mess, but I actually really like the in-engine result.

While Papy has been working on programing the inventory and item system, I've been making various textures and assets that will be common throughout the game. I definitely want to double down on cool underground flora, especially mushrooms :^)

I also want to double down on the "handmade" ...

Map Sketch Preview

And the finished product (check previous post for a short video preview). Of course, zoomed out to avoid spoiling you guys :^)

Sketching Another Map

Something I've been working these days :^)

(Video) Baby Steps

Papy has been hard at work programing and I'm glad to finally show some of his progress - we now have player movement! Complete with mantling and swimming!

Expect more such updates in the future, until then, we keep on making baby steps :^)

More Visual Progress

More experimenting with the visuals and map decoration, still got plenty of stuff to implement but we're getting there!

Situation Update

I won't be posting very often for a while, not because of lack of work and progress with the project, but because we're currently trying to sort out boring-yet-difficult issues. We're having another go at trying to settle on how the visuals of the game will look, and how to achieve them technically. Right now what's giving us the most trouble is the lighting system, as it appears that static/baked light will not work out as well as I thought initially.

This whole process has been prett...

Meet the Main Characters

Here's the bulk of the named characters that will appear in game, currently attending the T posing dwarf convention.

Treasurer Semet

Another vid of me modelling and texturing a character for Haggard, featuring Semet, the Treasurer. As I have mentioned in the previous post, I've released a few more sneak peeks at the main cast characters on Discord, so make sure to check the Haggard Dev Updates channel!

Noble Uli + Discord Content

Another modelling + texturing video of Noble Uli, one of the main characters.
Also note that I have been posting some updates exclusively on Discord, so make sure to check the dev updates channel!

The Guildmaster

Another main character. I'll probably make more recordings of me creating characters since I think the process is interesting to watch.

Main Characters

With the story being mostly settled, I figured it would be a good time to flesh out some of the main characters. Here's Pegleg, or "Tavernkeep" as I named him in my notes until deciding upon his name last week.

I've documented my character making process with this video and I'm definitely planning to make more, but probably less comprehensive/much more sped up considering how long they can go for :^)

Putting Together a Story

I have nothing fancy to show you (because I'd have to give spoilers), but I figured I'd give you an update on what I've been working on nowadays:

Haggard's story writing has begun a long time ago, while I was still developing Bloodrite. It came together along the years in the form of many bullet point ideas stored in a notepad and it has grown to a point where I have to cut things to avoid bloat issues.
Since I finally felt like I reached a point where I have enough information to wo...

Menu Designs 2

Finally came up with a style I'm happy with. There's a lot more to this design phase that I'm willing to share now, but here's a sneak peek at one of the option menus :^)

If you have any feedback or suggestions, now's the best time to share them!

Menu Designs

Continuing the HUD/UI work with some menu designs. Here's a look at the stat screen at the end of each mission. And here's a video of me painting the background image:
https://youtu.be/oQHt-p79y_Y

Font Design

I vividly remember working on Hedon's menu font a few years ago. This has more or less been the same experience, except I had to put a lot more thought into the shapes.
I wanted it to look like proper dwarven epic, but also... haggard. So here's a sneak peek of the result!

HUD Design - Journal

An essential tool. Aside from the objectives, the Journal will have tabs for map, notes and recipes.

If you guys have suggestions for a font to use in-game (must be compatible with non-English language symbols), we're open for suggestions :^)

HUD Design

The HUD is an essential part of the experience and it was about time we worked on it. You can probably notice the Arx style inventory and the Thief style light gem. :^)
Also note that this preview is intended to make sure the HUD will work on 4:3 aspect ratios just as well as widescreen. 

Sword First Person Animations

I can safely see that I perceive all first person animations with different eyes now that I finished this, and I learned a lot in the process. Here's a preview!

First Person Animations

A sneak peak at the animations I'm working on, and the horrors outside the camera frame that the player will never see :^)

Hunting Crossbow Rigged

And here's the other crossbow! It took me a while to figure out how to properly rig it, but I did it eventually :^)

Now that the entire arsenal is modelled and rigged, I can finally go ahead with the animation process.

Arming Crossbow Rigged

First weapon I've ever rigged! Took me a while, especially figuring out the moving string part, but I'm pretty happy with the result. 

Player's Arsenal - Sculptor's Hammer

I'm actually almost done modelling/texturing the entire arsenal, but until I'm ready to show you the full result, here's another process video! This one focuses on the texturing process of the weapon.

Player's Arsenal - The Battle Axe

A while ago I showed you a sketch design of the player's arsenal in Haggard. I also mentioned that from this year on, I want to be more diligent about documenting my work process. 

So here's a video to get you up to speed - featuring Durna's Battle Axe. 

Hedon 2.4.2 is out! Come see me play it!

Full release article HERE 

Full changelog is HERE

As some of you have already noticed, I played a 'Fists Only' challenge run and streamed it on Discord a couple days ago. Finished the first part of Crystal Heart (Nithriel turned out ...

2023 was a Year.

Not great, not terrible. I designed, wrote, modelled and animated (and most importantly - learned how to do so to an acceptable level). Most of the work done this year went into the bones of Haggard, and for 2024 I'm hoping to start putting the meat on that framework and finally have some sort of playable prototype for feedback.
In terms of releases, Hedon has received a few improvement updates (like the one addressing the slippery Doom movement) with update 2.4.2 being just around the co...

Test Models and Hedon Patch

We should have enough models to test and implement Haggard's inventory system and object interaction for now! Here's a brief overview. Those who dropped by the stream in Discord also got to see me texture some of these :^)
I've also been working on a new Hedon patch, prompted by the fact that Memich over on Discord has been working on a voxel weapon mod for Hedon to be playable with in VR. He said he wants to release it around this time, so I might release the patch shortly after.
Have...

Chair Work

Currently working on a batch of furniture models :^)

Breakable Objects - Designing a Visual Language

Here's a sneak peak of what I've been working on lately. With Haggard's design allowing for certain objects to be destroyed, I felt the need to rely on visual language (texture, color, association) to help the player differentiate what's what on the spot. This will be one of the main benefits of picking the Axe out of the three weapons when embarking on a mission.

Basically low quality wood or fungwood objects can be hacked down, but sturdy wood/stone/metal ones will not be destruct...

Call to Arms - Steam Awards 2023

Hedon can be nominated for Labor of Love this year, so if any of you want to give it your vote, you can do so here! - https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1072150/view/3886105482779601348

Thanks for all the support, I hope I can keep releasing updates and improvements for it even though it's no longer the main project to work on.  In other words - I hope I can keep H...

Inventory Work

Here's another Haggard update, this time from Papy's work on the code end. He's been working hard on the inventory system, which does pose quite a few challenges and weird cases to sort out, but we're getting there!