As you can see from the (rough prototype) image above, we've already started work with the new levels we so carefully planned, and the work is going well! Since you can't make a docks type level without having a few piers and bridges, I took the opportunity to add some new features to make them work. In addition to the improved floor lighting, we can now have bridges! All you need to make a bridge/stair/platform is click one little button in the editor.
Having played the excellent Return to Valmor mod for a while, I noticed that Chuck had used terrain type objects as floors. Usually they're used as walls, but if you make the flat and remove their physics, you can easily use them as floors as well. They make excellent floors for buildings, because they have sharp edges, but they lack in one major aspect - lights only affect their edges. That is, if you are standing in the middle of the floor, your torch wouldn't light anything at all, because only the terrain edges could have lights. And I've just fixed that!
I've added a new button to the editor for terrain objects that allows turning on polygon subdivisioning, which makes the terrain objects have lighting points inside them as well. They are a little bit slower to draw, so use the effect sparingly. I will update Driftmoon with the new code as soon as I can finish another new thing I'm making... Stairs!
With such an intriguing description you can't go wrong! Today I want to highlight the Driftmoon mod Return to Valmor by ChuckV. The mod already hosts a good hour's worth of adventure, with more to come, I hear.
From my short playtesting, I loved it! I already found a secret trap door that led to a nifty treasure cache.
You can play Return to Valmor simply by firing up Driftmoon, and using our famous one click installer. Don't forget to give Chuck some feedback by using the feedback button, I know for a fact that a single good idea can make a world of difference.
Ps. Don't forget the Driftmoon Modding Wiki, your one stop source for modding questions!
For the last couple of weeks we have been finalizing our plans for the rest of the game, and it'll certainly surprise you in many ways! It's a little hard for me to talk about the plot without spoiling it, so I won't. Instead I'll post this, can you guess who he is?
In memory of my old canine friend, we've added Belinda the Wolf Mother to Northrop. Be kind to her. Another highlight from the new version is that you can now configure the keys used in the game. Using the keyboard is of course optional in Driftmoon, you can fully play Driftmoon with just your mouse hand (and I know of a few Driftmoon players who actually don't have the use of both hands). But this might help you if you're used to having the inventory open with the caps lock for instance.
Also we've tackled a few cheaters who have been escaping to other maps and even to the world map to escape fights. Others have been fooling our poor shopkeepers by buying cheap ingredients, then using the blueprints to make new items which can be sold back at a profit! Actually I find that highly amusing, but the item prices have been tuned all the same. Driftmoon is not a trade simulator!
Update: It looks like I was a bit overzealous in reducing the download size, and most of items in containers got lost. I've just released a quick update, fixing this.