Annual Reviewing
Published: 2013-12-25
Author: Teddi
It’s that time of year that requires a glorious(?) lookback upon the past activities, so lets dive in!
Life + BBase
Life is still in the works with code re-factoring ongoing. With Killermon working on both we’ve actually done long overdue updates to BBase that improves workflow, however with Life some critical changes have been made, particularly pertaining to the skills / attributes system which has officially been completed and is working. With this the game is now at the stage where it’s a big grindfest (albeit with stats you can’t see!). With this being done, especially with database optimizations we’re now in the process of overhauling the entire item, crafting and inventory system. Upon reviewing the code we found multiple flaws that wouldn’t really work well with the future and as a result we’ve decided to scrap the current code we have for it, and start with completely new abstraction.
This new design allows for dynamic inventories and a slightly more efficient method of allowing for stacks in the database. The key thing worth mentioning here (and I’ll go into this in another post) is that the inventory is now 95% controlled by the database. With the new SQL changes introduced to BBase about ~2 months ago, we’ve (Killermon) successfully done some initial stress testing to see how the database would cope with constant transactions with items and we can say we have a success on our hands. To quickly sum up what this means - should the server ever crash, your items (and money!) should never, ever be lost. Of course this requires further testing which we foresee coming at a later date. To clarify, this means we are working to get the item / inventory / crafting / resources system online and working. With these ready we will be able to launch a playable gamemode.
I know it has been previously stated that it would be out and so on, however the project has pretty much turned into a MMORPG. As Shigeru Miyamoto has stated -
A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.
We’re aware many are desperate to play and the jokes are totally hilarious, but we want this done right and we will get there. There’ll be more news posted RE Life soon.
Surf
Surf has seen some recent success and as a result updates are coming for it to make it slightly easier for newcomers and more fun for the elitists. These changes include -
- Staging system that allows players to teleport to complete stages.
- Spectate system with Keyboard viewing (ie see what keys that person is pressing!)
- Time trial system complete with weekly / monthly / all time leaderboards. This is map specific
- Cubes rewarded depending on speed of completing maps.
Deathrun
Feelings on deathrun are currently mixed as it does technically work, however there seems to be a lack of interest unless multiple groups are on it. We want to hear feedback on what people believe will make this more entertaining.
Trouble in Terrorist Town
We’re currently also exploring possible extensions to TTT, including adding features such as finale deathmatch rounds. However TTT is a gamemode we feel that we can’t do much more apart from constantly adding extra weapons / items to the gamemode which doesn’t really change the fundamentals as such. The only other issue is that if we change too much, the gamemode stops being vanilla and frankly, annoying as fuck. Catch 22 situation, so for now it’s being put to the side.
Privateer
We recently sacrificed BBuild for Privateer for a trial run and whilst it appears to be enjoyed, the learning curve for it is a bit steep for new players. This is a gamemode we would like to extend upon (especially with the return of BBuild in the near-future), however we believe keeping Privateer / BBuild on the sidelines temporarily whilst Life / Surf / BBase receive the majority of updates is a better idea.
Prop Hunt(?!)
Prop Hunt is a gamemode that people have suggested be added. Is this something that people actually want, or is it the latest yt fad? Please supply feedback kthx.
And now, a little something from you -
If you believe you can be any form of help - ie monetary, skillwise (programming, artwork, modelling) or something we haven’t thought of, feel free to post and show us some form of portfolio. At the core of development we’re a three man band trying to play an entire symphony that has never been heard before, so it’s always nice to see if we can get support in some shape or form. I will add that when it comes to “LUA PORGAMMING”, it’s pretty much a requirement to have indepth knowledge of the Lua API, with additional (ideal) knowledge to the C Interface for Lua and also some knowledge behind metamethods / metatables. This doesn’t mean you need to be simply the best at everything, but we do want some quality behind this.
Overall we wish you a prospective new year and with this year, we shall gallop forwards with new releases and get (we hope) Life out! (Forum Thread: http://bbservers.co.uk/forums/index.php?threads/annual-reviewing.8299/ )