BorderStrain

2015-03-30: First Post!

Welcome to BorderStrain Development Blog! Here you will find videos, screenshot, development reports and whatever concerning BorderStrain

So, what is BorderStrain? BorderStrain is an single/multiplayer indie ARPG/Crafting/Sandbox game in development. Its developed by, well, me ;)

The main motivation for developing the game is simply to try to see If I could develop a game I would enjoy playing and (hopefully!) others will enjoy as well

Its still in alpha as there is a lot of ironing out left still but at least I'm confident enough now to start showing some early videos, screenshot at to start asking for some general feedback.

Graphics/sprites is still in an early stage as it is somewhat timeconsuming and I'm primarily focusing on getting the mechanics in place right now

Gametesting is right now limited to a selected few to start get some general feedback but I'm aiming at starting inviting more alpha-testers once I have the multiplayer functionality ironed out (it is being developed/coded with multiplayer in mind but it is not yet fully implemented).

Stay tuned for updates! ;)

BG109

Update 2018-02-28: Playtesting & Improvements
Borderstrain is now being playtested quite a bit and in-between sessions I try to sort out bugs found as well as balancing and adding some features which I got feedback on. All in all its a great way to make progress. I've also improved the graphics of the games turrets. To the left is a raw picture before being scaled down to better fit the drawsize in-game.

Update 2018-02-05: Alpha Patch 0.4
I've put up a new video for alpha patch 0.4. The main focus on this update has been on gameplay. Aside from numerous bug and network fixes I've added the possibility to join in-game parties with friends as well as major improvements on gameplay, loot and graphics.

BorderStrain 0.4 Changes

Dynamic colored lighting

Multiplayer in-game parties with other players

Completely new loot graphics and effects

New loot items

Built in quest editor

Major stability & performance enhancements

Update 2018-01-01: Happy Loot Year!
This year kicks of with a final touch on the games loot! I spent a large amount of time making the final graphics for all loot in the game. Making it from scratch myself and considering there is roughly 300 unique graphics for the different loot items it took some time but its finally done! With this update the loot and item system is now finished apart for some expected item balancing

This update includes:

Loot Updates

New fancy graphics!
Melee Items
Melee Power-Stones which adds abilities and can be leveled
Different Inventory size of loot items

Update 2017-11-19: Random Dialogs
I have updated the support for random dialogs with NPCs. NPCs in cities can now be interfaced with and they will provide some various information and rumors as well the occasional quest!

There was an old random dialog system impmelented but the new one is now integrated with the standard new dialog system which allows for much easier modifications/tuning of this function. One step back and two steps forward...

Update 2017-11-12: Questing!
So third times a charm i guess. Although I had already added support for quests the old system was bulky and relied on hardcoded quests. In order to provide a tool which together with the mapmaker and dialog generator provides a tools for complete sub-quest as well as main story I spent the last month putting in a lot of effort in making a dynamic quest generator integrated in the mapmaker.

The new system allows quests to be linked to dialogs and vice versa as well as creating chained quests. Together with a simple GUI I hope this will be enough to allow both myself and other players to easily create custom quests and stories which is now saved and integrated into the single expansion-file which contains both maps and dialogs as well.

Everything is now integrated in the game and the only thing that remains is a bit more playtesting to make sure all the functionality is bug free.

Update 2017-10-02: Dungeon Lightning Update
After starting to be a bit annoyed by the fact that the outdoor world environment had sort of ran away in terms of graphics compared to the dungeon environments I have now made same large additions to the dungeon graphics/lightning. They main changes are

Dungeon Lightning Updates

Dungeon-blocks now has shadows for better depth feeling
Added specular effects for block lightning
Added 19 new animated lightsources
Added dynamic/animated light-effects from sources
Improved the mapmakers ability to preview lightning

Overall it turned out very well, I also added a small micro-update video to show the current dungeon graphics

Update 2017-09-18: Alpha Patch 0.3
I've put up a new video for alpha patch 0.3. I've spent a large amount of time doing a complete overhaul of the game GUI. The new version will be much easier to maintain as well as much better looking. I have also overhauled the skill system which is now fully implemented. Apart from that the patch includes the other changes listed below which has been presented in prior entries.

BorderStrain 0.3 Changes

Complete GUI overhaul (in-game and menu)

New skill-tree with 32 active and 12 passive skills

Mapmaker now supports custom dungeons and dialog chains

New rain & snow effects

Throw flares to light up dark areas

Various graphic improvements

Various bug-fixes

Update 2017-07-15: Dialog Editor
Another milestone completed! I have now added a dialog editor to the mapmaker. The dialog editors allows to easily construct multi-selection dialogs which are added to the expansion. I also added placeable NPC's which can then be linked to play different dialog trees when approach by a player. I have also added support for special pre-conditions and events which can be set for a dialog although those parts are as of yet not fully integrated.

Update 2017-06-30: A rainy day
I have update the rain rendering with new graphics which looks way better than the old ones, the rains now also adds a feeling of depth both by perspective of the drops falling as well as the water-splashes showing the height of the blocks they hit!

Update 2017-06-27: Custom Dungeons
A fair amount of work has now been put into enabling custom dungeons to be designed and added through the mapmaker. Dungeons work the same way as compound areas allowing players to create custom dungeons which can appear in the game with semi-random properties. Multiple dungeon levels can also be chained together to create very deep dungeons.

I will be using this for the Standard expansion to create dungeons as part of the main quest

Also, I designed multiple dungeon entrance and exit sprites which are much nicer looking than the old ones

Update 2017-05-31: Music & Effects Update
A few additions have now been added of the last few days. I have now included ambient music for both menu and different biomes/dungeons/city's. I also added a dynamic lens-flare effect to make the player flares a bit better looking as well ass some reflection effect in water areas to make it a bit more apparent that is water and not ground

New Additions

Dynamic Lens-Flares

Ambient Music

Water Reflection

Update 2017-05-21: Flares!
Since nighttime is a considerable part of the gametime I decided to make it a bit more playable by adding player flares. The player can now throw flares that light up the environment at the cost of risking attracting more enemies!

Update 2017-05-11: Updated Menu
The main game menu has now been updated to a final'ish version and is now better/cleaner organized as well as better looking ;)

Update 2017-04-26: Alpha Patch 0.223
I've put up a new video for alpha patch 0.223. This patch focuses mainly on the added mapmaker as well as some graphics improvements

BorderStrain 0.223 Changes

MapMaker

Design custom semi random areas

Design compound areas, which are automatically spawned in game according to set design patterns

Compile all custom areas into single expansion file easy to share!

New particle sprites for textures particles

New light glow effects on particle systems

Smoother/better projectile movement

Update 2017-04-12: Compound Map Objects
After creating a LOT of new sprite contents I have now added an additional type of map design object. It is now possible to place compound map objects, which uses random or fixed locations in the map maker to create semi-procedual locations which automatically uses any new design objects. For example, if a House is placed on the map, it will be generated from the list of designed houses. If more Houses are designed this are can be spawned as well, making it easy to expand upon existing environments.

Update 2017-03-07: New Ceiling Blocks
Added some better support for different ceiling blocks, I now need to update the old ceiling blocks with different versions, my hope is that wthis will help making the roofs on buildings a bit more obvious!

Update 2017-03-05: Filling The World
So, after some pause during the christmas time I have been back to work but unfortunately been bad on doing blog-updates, will improve this!

Anyhow, a lot of work has been done. First and foremost I completely revised the code for making in-game GUI. This took quite some time but I now have a framework to quickly setup and reuse GUI elements.

Once this was done I tackled a big question regarding world content. Up until now all content is procedual generated. However, after a lot of pondering I have decided to have manual content for buildings/sites etc. This is simply due to the fact that I can produce much more quality work this way. Although the way sub-designs are put togheter may be procedual I feel this is the right decision.

In order to quickly be able to create content I put effort in making an in-game map-maker. This is now complete and it is now possible to create and save sub-areas which will be placed in game. Each map has a number of set parameters which decide when and where the area spawns in the game world.

Right now I will be expanding on game tiles/graphics and put these to use by designing different areas and start populating the world with different areas for the player to discover and explore!

Update 2016-10-31: Alpha Patch 0.222
I've put up a new video for alpha patch 0.222. This patch focuses mainly on some graphic improvements as well as some new gameplay elements

BorderStrain 0.222 Changes

Greater & Mythical Creatures

16 Type of Traps

Map traps trigger by damage or proximity and provides various unique effects

New Pop-Ups for Ladder Notifications

Improved Ground & Shadow Textures

Various Graphical Improvements

Player Map Scan Function

Scanning the map provides further information about blocks and items

Update 2016-10-09: Ladder Notifications
A fair bit of work has gone into adding ladder notifications. These popus shows when progress are made towards gaining different titles and were added to make the player get a bit more feedback on the actual progress they make towards new ladder titles!

Update 2016-09-21: Shadows & Ground
Continuing on with the ground and ambience looks I have added shadowmaps for bushes and trees as well as some "noise" overlay on the ground to improve the general looks. Overall it is a quite good improvement I would say!

Update 2016-08-23: Ground Texture & Better Ground
I'm hard at work making the game ground texture look better. So far I've added more sprite variation to ground tiles, colored lightning and gradients to foilage and working on cloud shadows moving across the ground. I think it might pan out quite nicely!

Ground Updates

More Ground Tile Variation

Foilage Lightning & Gradients

Cloud Shadows

Update 2016-08-17: Greater & Mythical Creatures
So vacation is over and I'm back to adding content. I've added support for two difficulties of elite creatures "Greater" and "Mythical". These are rare but possesses a range of different abilities which makes them more of a challenge to fight!

Boss Creature Update

Greater & Mythical Creature

18 Different Active Boss Abilities

Higher level Areas Spawn Bosses With More Abilities

Update 2016-07-22: Alpha Patch 0.221
I've put up a new video for alpha patch 0.221. A fair amount has gone in since the last alpha patch and the major changes are listed below!

BorderStrain 0.221 Changes

Improved Graphics

Further improved various graphics both for creatures, players, gui, world and ambience

Improved World Ambience

World Map & Fast-Travel

Player Abilities & Dynamics

Camera Dynamics

Particle Systems

Main Quest

Basic support and first quests, not yet finalized

Area Specific Abilities for Creatures

Different regions has monsters spawn with specific traits

Stores For Item Purchase/Selling

Update 2016-07-05: World Map Addition
I decided that seeing the whole world map takes away a bit to much of the joy of exploring. As a solution certain map locations are unexplored by default.

This means that in order to investigate these the player/players must travel there and as a bonus incentive to explore these locations I plan to give these world locations some bonuses in some regard. I have not decided exactly what kind of reward yet but it could be bonus xp, better loot drops, bonus bosses or something similar

Update 2016-07-02: Waypoints & Fast-travel
The latest addition is a waypoint system with world maps (of closest area) and fast-travel. I am in general against fast-travel in games as it (imho) removes the scope of the gameworld a bit but given that the world is so huge (more or less infinite) and players might want to travel between different difficulty locations and biomes i've added a limited fast travel system.

Upon accessing a waypoint (located in the heart of each village/town) a map of the surrounding area is displayed. From here the player has an option to, against a heafty fee, travel to any adjacent city within range. Hopefully this provides a good tradeoff between always available fast-travel and no fast-travel although it might require a bit tuning

Adding the actual map generation took it's fair time. I did use some purchased assets to start with for the tiles but I still had to do a lot of modifications and additions to have enough tiles to represent all the different biomes and city types. The current system uses a grand total of 76 different hex tiles to construct the map.

Apart from the graphics I had to do a fair share of map generation work and rework to support client-side map generation as well as a global hex-grid biome overlay that acts on the large and fine scale biome generation functions

Waypoint Updates

New world map system
City to city fast travel

Update 2016-06-19: Grounded!
Aaah to hell with it, I'm gonna use all the cheesy headlines I want! So, I've added a grand total of 25 new ground textures, these really helped in differentiating environments further and seems to have added a fair amount of variability to the game world. I have posted a few screenshots to the left to illustrate a few of the different locations generated in the game

Next I am very much considering adding a few more trees as with the current number they do limit the variability a bit so some more types would also help a lot

Ground Textures Updates

25 New Ground Textures Added

Update 2016-06-15: Updated Player Dynamics!
I have finished a large overhaul on the player dynamics and graphics, new sprites as well as 4 specific abilities which improved the gameplay quite a lot! The video is up and is available to the left

Player Dynamics Updates

Brand new player sprites
Player quick-dodging
Player shield stance to reflect projectiles
Player grenades
Player heavy-weapon stance, heavy damage boost

I'm pleased and think the changes helped a lot in getting a much more dynamic and engaging play of the game!

Update 2016-05-20: Camera Dynamics
Although the addition of the physics engine helped make everything feel a bit more real and not so "light" I made some additional modifications today to add an even more dynamic feel to the game. This came in the form of camera dynamics. Two simple tricks gave a lot more dynamic feel to the game! The parts I added were:

Camera Dynamics Updates

Camera now dynamically "leads" player
Camerashake from explosions and projectiles

These added a lot! Also, I made highlights around interactable/special blocks grow and fade a bit when close so they don't obstruct the view so much

Update 2016-05-19: Stores!
So I added something to be game which has been on the backburner for quite some time, stores!

Players can now buy and sell items in stores

which are now fully implemented!

As a side note I had to take care of a stupid bug of my own making, since early stages before I divided client/server side of the game into seperate threads several procedual functions ran on the same lousy rand() function (not world generation though). This came back to haunt me as the standard c++ rand() is NOT thread safe, which meant that I could no longer reliably use known seed for this function to generate shop items. It has now been replaced with a threadsafe rand function so that everything is nicely randomly predictable ;)

Update 2016-05-15: Adding the Main Quest
The current work is going into adding the support for the games main quest. I've added menus to display the quest status as well as the first couple of initial quests. As I progress with the main quest I will have to add a few bits and pieces along the way

Each quest which belong to the main quest has a few different subquests which the player will have to finish before moving on

Ah, and the players trusted AI guides him along the mainquest!

Update 2016-05-01: Ambience Update #2
I'm m now with this iteration of the ambience update. A few more things have been added since the last ambience lightning update, this includes:

Ambience Updates

Animated sunrays in certain wether
Adjustments to ambient lightning
Over 20 bird species which can appear depending on biome type and ambience wildlife level
Butterflies, Buzzers & Lightningbugs
Lightningbugs light up the night!

I will conclude the work on the outdoor ambience for now and focus on other gameplay aspects next!

I post a example video of a single sped-up cycle to showcase the current state of the day/night cycle. Most of the ambience effects are more prominent during the dusk, night & dawn part of the cycle

Update 2016-04-17: Ambient Lightning #1
I'm currently trying to improve ambient lightning effects to compensate for the lack of a skybox which comes due to the top-down perspective

I have a few points to add yet but here's whats been done so far

Ambient Lightning Updates

Colored Shadows depending on time
Sun Coloration depending on time
Moon Cycles
Adjustments to clouds
Stars during night

Next step will be to try to add further dynamic effects to improve the ambient feeling

Update 2016-04-08: Alpha Patch 0.220
So after a number of updates I've bundled them togheter in the latest alpha update patch 0.220. Here's a quick rundown of the features

BorderStrain 0.220 Changes

Improved Graphics
Various graphics updates, although in no way the final graphics I'm quite pleased with the new changes
Dynamic Foilage
Foliage (Trees/Bushes) now moves in the wind, have parallax effect and also responds to impact with weapons and creatures
Lakes & Rivers
Improved generation of lakes & rivers
Rivers have animated textures & exert force on player & creatures
Tar & Lava
Tar & Lava is slow to move in and deals damage
Map Event Support
Added map events like weather to be used for future content
Map Item Description
Items dropped on map now shows name, quality and potential
Improved Lightning
Smoother and nicer lightningeffects and shadow casting
Various Bug Fixed and Minor Improvements

Update 2016-03-30: River Addition
I added some finishing tuches to the rivers, rivers now exert force on player and creatures causing them to be swept along the rivers. This turned out quite well and rivers could be used for transportation and it adds a more dynamic feel as well!

I also added some wake effects when swimming to make it more apperent, I'm going to add slitghly different effects when moving through thick wet mud or lava

Update 2016-03-28: Feel the flow!!!
Ok so I really gotta stop with the cheesy headlines...

Anyhow, some big updates for world generations this time, some of the tools i implemented took quite some time but I will be able to put them for good use for future world generation features. Heres a quick rundown on the latests additions

World Generation Updates

A new tool for generating custom areas
Not accessable for the players excpect for new nifty areas to find and to make my life simpler
Area lakes
Different regions have lakes of various sizes and shaped, completely procedual and seed based
Area Rivers
Rivers connect most lakes with animated waterflow and based on the lake's size, height and distance
Animated blocks
First stepping stones for block animations, currently used to animated the flow and direction of water along rivers

Update 2016-03-18: Map Events & Cubes
So, map event (global, such as for example weather events and others) has now been added as well as full functionallity of cubes. Cubes are powerful one-use-only items that are sometimes found, there are 9 different cube types in total each providing powerful and useful abilities for the player

Oh and a bunch of bug-fixes as well!

Update 2016-02-22: Map-Loot Update
I've updated how loot on the map is indicated, each item close to player is now drawn with a name and color indicating type and the quality of the loot as well as three color indicators. These three indicators shows how the item compares with the players current equipped item.

The three indicators stand for Offensive, Defensive and Misc (skill bonuses etc...) While the color indicates if it is better and worse than the current item used.

The player no longer auto-pickup items (with the exception of resources) instead the player chooses wether or not to pickup the item

In the example picture the player has found a weapon, by the color indicators it can be seen that the weapon has much worse damage potential (Offensive), provides better Defensive advantages and is roughly equal in providing Miscellaneous bonuses

Update 2016-02-20: Graphics Update
I am finished for now with the last graphics updates! A larger version of the image is in the screenshot section to give a rough idea of the current state

I do not consider this the final graphics but its a small improvement at least

I also finished the new lightning effects inside dungeons which panned out quite good, the cost of the was have to reimplement the use of FBO in OpenGL. In short this may cause issues (as in the game won't run) on some older laptops but I guess it's the price to pay, on any gaming laptops or most every standard desktop it should still run fine

Next step now is to start working on some various game element additions

Update 2016-02-19: Foilage Update Progress
Continuing on updating the foilage graphics, work is a bit slow but its improving at least, sort of...

I've added a small picture to show the stages i've iterated the graphics through so far, I'm nearly through all different tree textures

Update 2016-02-14: Graphics Update in Progress
I'm currently working in trying to improve the overall graphics in the game. I've posted a few screenshot under the screenshot sections. Right now I'm focusing on replacing a lot of the graphics assets as well as adding the FBO back for better lightning efffects

I will update on the progress as it advances

Update 2016-01-30: Foilage Motion #2
Further revised foilage collision

Foilage Updates

Wind Affects Foilage Motion
Diffferent Trees Have Stiffness Affecting Motion
Affected Trees Link To Nearby Foilage
Height and Size of Foilage Affects Motion

Next step will be to have foilage motion spawn particles effects in certain cases, as metion in post below!

Update 2016-01-28: Foilage Motion
A small update on foilage motion. I now added so foilage (Trees/Bushed etc...) move when impacted by a projectile or by a creature.

My idea is to make the enivronment a bit more dynamic as well as providing a tell to players when a creature is approaching beneath the canopys

I will fine tune the graphics a bit more over the coming days, my idea is to have, for example, moving snowy trees release snowflakes and also have foilage moving in the wind. Lets see how it pans out...

Update 2016-01-22: Alpha Patch 0.210
So a new video released for Alpha patch 0.210. A lot of what i bundled under this has already been mentioned below but I will still list
all items here, and some special mentioning about some details

BorderStrain 0.210 Changes

Server Ladder Capabilities
Player can earn titles by performing feats such as visiting high enough areas, reaching certain level, kills, collect resources and so on
Titles are visable to other players and also gives distinct advantages depending on type of title. Some gives bonus loot, other bonus stats, bonus xp etc
The most powerful titles are called Grand Titles and can only be held by one player per server which means players have to compete for these
One example of a grand title: The Seer, gives bonus xp gain and bonus to all passive skills. Obtained by completing the highest number of quests.
New GUI
More user friendly GUI
More Evolved Melee Attacks
Se older post for details

NPC Character Support
I've added support to easily add NPC interactions by, for example, the players onboard AI to be able to add and drive the main story forward
Outdoor Rocks
Various rocks added to outdoor environments, see post below
"Real" Physics Engine
Added a physics engine for creature movement
New Creature Factions
Added several new creature factions to improve variability
Turret Update
Imroved graphics and behaviour of turrets
Various Other Small Fixes

Update 2015-11-29: Melee Update
I have done some updates for melee attacks in the game, the current changes include

BorderStrain Melee Updates

Multiple new graphic effects for different melee attacks
Player can now do combos of up to 5 sequential attacks, each more powerful
Player now takes a leap forward on each melee attack
Each attackcommand is automatically directed towards mouse cursor to give a better melee flow and aiming

Apart from som direct effect and better flow of melee attacks in the game this is actually though as a precursor for adding melee weapons in the game which players can loot. This is on the backburner so far though but with the new updates it should fit nicely when I come around to it

Update 2015-11-25: Physics Galore!
Well, I finally took and made a implementation which was long postponed, a proper physics engine!

I got some feedback that things felt a little "paperly" in motion and had no real weight feel, which was apsolutely true! I previously only had fixed velocity motion and rough collision handling, now the game properly handles mass, velocity, forces and acceleration which turned out quite good I would say, feels much more "real" now!

As an added bonus I am now free to add a lot uf fun physics effects into the game very easily, something I will definately try to take advantage of!

Update 2015-11-10: Rockin it
I'm currently in the work of adding some outdoor rock structures to create more dynamic outdoor landscapes. I have included the rock generation texture selection in such a way that the "raw" map only contains normal square rock blocks but the renderengine then picks textures in such a way that corners etc are drawn smoother, then iterates a few additional layers for height and also add shadows for depth feel. The only thing left right now is to speed up the code a bit (it's already quite efficient though) and finalize the rock texture palette a bit and add texture for different types of rock!

Update 2015-11-07: Interactable Highlighting
After some feedback I have added highlighting of interactable objects. Hopefully this should help the player seeing different interactable objects nearby. The different colors indicate what kind of object it is, directly interactable, like doors for example, shows up as blue whilst barrels containing loot show up as yellow. As the players draws close to the object they light up

Update 2015-11-05: Alpha Patch 0.200 MULTIPLAYER
Its finally done! After lots and lots of hard work I ripped the code in two and it is now structured into client and server-side parts. Im still ironing out some bugs but its mostly all in place now, check the video at top of the page for a preview!

Phuh... Lot of hard work, Im gonna log off now and leave you with the video and I'll be back with some more information shortly!

BorderStrain 0.200 Changes

Multiplayer Client/Server Fully Working
Currently supports up to 5 players
Item Crafting
Gives more use for gathered resources except building
EndGame Device Added
If you have enough resources, active and survives all progressive waves to, well, end the game. However, as the name states this is no easy or fast task!

More graphic effects for shields, stationary things etc

Update 2015-09-07: Pre-Alpha Patch 0.116
Released a trailer on the 0.116 pre-alpha patch, updates are as listed in last post plus some goodies! Please feel free to check the new trailer at the top of the page!

Update 2015-08-16: Work on version 0.116

Some exiting work going on for the next version, 0.116. I'm trying to add quite a bit of new content and mechanics here and it progressing nicely. Items in the form of Artifacts, a limited charge, slow recharge type items are being added. These items can be added to a seperate quickuse bar and provides some powerful passive and active effects. Graphics are generated for the items in a semi random manner to get a uniqe feeling of each. So far all the graphics, item generation and item recharge/use mechanisms are in place, I'm now working on adding all active effects and all should be ready

The GUI has gotten a major overhaul to be less obstructive and a more clear perspective, I've tried to keep a similar approach to dota/lol with items, abilities and info nicely divided, there is also two quick craft slots which can be used to craft items the player wants to have readily available

A new form of dungeon generation is also being added, so apart from caves, new structured dungeons are being added to explore. The basic layout generator has been completed and added to the game, further work will be on content in the dungeons as well as varying the dungeon for more random dungeons!

BorderStrain 0.116 Upcoming Changes

Revised GUI
New item type, Artifacts!
Passive and Active abilites
Active abilities are powerful but have limited charges and slow recharge
Brand new type of dungeon structures
Some other surprises!

Update 2015-07-10: 0.115 New Major Update

So,some time since last post but I've been busting my ass trying to get a whole new projectile system into the game! All the artworks is finally in place togheter with a totaly revised code for projectiles in the game! Enjoy the list below and the fancy new trailer in top and logo!

BorderStrain 0.115 Changes

Completely revised projectile system, MASSIVE!!!
Each weapon has a unique blueprint which describes it:
This means every weapon has a unique attack!
A lot of fancy graphics has been made for all the projectile effects in order to give all the different weapons more variation
Since I make all the graphics myself this took some time...

Loot has been rebalanced to better suit projectiles
New logo!

Update 2015-05-18: Long Weekend, lots of stuff!

Been a long weekend which allowed me to add quite a lot of content and changes, so heres me listing some of the progress!

Updates

Draw artwork for and implemented 40 new creatures
Includes several factions, zombies, rifters, vined, robots and more!
Different area types have different monster factions
Added a cloud layer for bad (and good! )outdoor weather
Added area dependant ambient sounds for more creepy nights
Implemented Assess skill (allows to get info about enemies)
Added creature flock behaviour, still needs tweeking though
Added a smooth difficulty ramper which allows for better game progression

Update 2015-05-10: 0.114 Major Update!!!

So, after some absence, mainly due to taking part of the diablo 3 season opening and some other unrelated stuff the next major update is here! Here are some of the main things that been added

BorderStrain 0.114 Changes

Turrets completely implemented
Melee attack for player added
Completely revised biome generation, new terrain includes:
x6 more trees, now 24 types vs previous 4!
4 different styled areas: Good, Neutral, Hostile, Evil
Trees and vegetation reflects area alignment
Terrain is also affected by soil type, plants have favored types
A lot more ground types
Completely new sprite system for ground allows for smoother non edges transitions between ground blocks
Enemies now drop loot!
Credits (gold/money) has been added to the game

Update 2015-04-07: Turrets Update #2

Short update for today, so I have gotten my turret AI targeting checked, now Im working on actually making other creatures also attack turrets

Since the turrets are embedded in the map blocks they are not automatically targeted by creatures so I'm most likely gonna add a list of loaded turrets which is derived in the server when going through and updating loaded blocks. We'll se how it pans out!

Update 2015-04-06: Turrets Update
Easter holidays are over so its back to coding, sorry about the delay in updates, was away over the holidays ;)

The work on turrets are progressing, I have embedded turret data as part of the standard block structure and they can now be crafted and placed by the player with stats taken from whatever has been assigned to the turret slots

There are some minor thigns left on the drawing code for the turrets but it is mostly complete, the turret style is dependant on the parts it is constructed from so should be some nice variation to different turrets now

The turret stats have been implemented, the final thing todo now is to make it target and attack, I will be reusing code for the targeting AI for creatures so should be fairly strightforward to get the final pieces into place!

Update 2015-04-01: Working on turrets
So, right now I'm working on implementing turrets into the game. The basic loot components are already in along with some crafting page, the main thing remaining is the graphics and some coding. Meanwhile I'd like to give some info about turrets and the basic philsophy of how I would like them to work in the game

1) Crafted from standard items, including weapons. So players can craft custom weapons as is implemented and mount them on their turrets

2) Right now I'm leaning towards making turrets consume all included parts when placed, I would like them to be a quite powerful addition when defending spot locations so they have to be somewhat costly

3) The graphics for the turret will be based on the type of components used to construct them, this means the player can also get a hint of the turret capabilities by looking on the style of a turret on the map

Update 2015-04-01: Soft Bumpmap Implemented
Following up on yesterdays update I took a similar approach and added some smoothing to the heightmap, a bit of adjusting but I'm finally quite pleased with the results!

Update 2015-03-31: Soft Lights Implemented
So, todays achievement was including an option for soft lights, done consume to much more process power but makes a significant difference! Im quite satisfied with the results although I'll keep it as an option that can be enabled/disabled on will

BorderStrain Development Blog

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