Sanctimonia: Player State Saves, Snow, Sand, and Object Interaction
Kevin Fishburne has posted another status update for his Ultima-inspired online RPG, Sanctimonia. In it, he discusses improvements made to the networking technology of the game, noting increased transaction efficiency and better error handling and redundancy in transactions proper. Various gameplay improvements have likewise been made, and basic object interaction has been implemented:
Previously gameplay elements had been limited to movement, orientation changes, landscape excavation and shooting fireballs (the latter for testing purposes only). I added the ability for the player to pick up and drop world objects with their left and right hands independently. There is currently no limitation on which objects may be picked up, as I have not yet implemented robust object type definitions, object weight and girth or player attributes such as strength, fatigue, etc. Consequently the player may pick up trees and large rocks, carrying them in their left and right hands simultaneously.
Naturally, there’s a video:
Zooming works too.
Vegetation trampling and resultant path formation has likewise been implemented, which we already knew, but there is now a video demonstrating that technology as well:
Trample ALL the plants!
On the graphics side, Kevin has implemented additional terrain layers for snow and sand, and has added additional features to how the game handles multiple layers of terrain textures. He has also made improvements on the server side, the most significant of which is probably the implementation of save states:
Previously when the server was exited all data for any connected players was lost. Now a player data file, “player”, is loaded on server startup and saved regularly (10 second intervals currently). This is the first implementation of player persistence, which is integral to an MMO. The only other example of world persistence that has been implemented is the scale of flora objects (plant growth), which are saved the moment they are modified. Next I will be implementing landscape modification (excavation) and object movement (translation) persistence.
In other words, Kevin is keeping up his typically impressive pace of progress in developing Sanctimonia.
Wow! I love that panning effect on the trees!
Thanks. If by panning you mean rotation, thank Chris Roberts and Wing Commander for that.
Sand one and two are in there:
http://www.eightvirtues.com/sanctimonia/misc/
FYI on this month’s progress (October). I’m evicting my roommate (not Maria, my wife, who I still love), and she’s turned out to be a bit crazy and vicious (my roommate). I’m under a bit of stress and am in the process of consulting and possibly hiring an attorney. I’ve already filed papers with the Magistrate court, which my roommate answered with a statement defaming my character, so I’ll be going to trial soon to argue for her removal. I have civilization on my side but still have to live in the same house ’til then (DarthNo).
If progress on Sanctimonia is a bit less spectacular for this month I apologize in advance. I am still working on it (mostly on textures since it’s simpler), but it’s very difficult to really focus on proper things when under this kind of stress. I’ll make it a point to work on something awesome (combat or conversation) when this is over.
This is not a cessation of development, but a heads-up that I’m dealing with some seriously weird stuff that I’m not used to dealing with. Fortunately the rule of law still prevails here (hopefully).
Sanctimonia:
Sorry to hear that. But really…nine cats, man. That she should turn out to be a big ball of crazy is unsurprising.