Potential RPG Alpha Playtesters (PRAPs) will find the Alpha v0.7 client and server have been deployed. Upon entering the world, enjoy the new terrain edging. You’ll soon notice the lack of much else in the world. I’ve disabled several components for pending gameplay improvements. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been so busy improving the game world that I haven’t even taken time to write about it lately. There are several significant improvements that are almost ready for Alpha testing. For the moment, here is a glimpse at a new rendering capability: Terrain Edging.
The world surface is composed of hexagonal terrain tiles, which, despite the elevation in complexity they incur, I’m quite pleased with in general. In practice, they do tend to create rather pointy, unattractive edges. The purpose of terrain edging is to provide visually appealing (see artistic disclaimer below) transitions between terrain.
Inspired by the article Handling Terrain Transitions, the world now automatically computes where to place edge tiles where terrain types meet. The system can support general-purpose edging for each terrain type, as well as special-purpose transitions from one terrain type to another. For example, grass edging may include general-purpose crinkly edges, but provide an embankment when next to a lake.
To make this work, each terrain type must include a set of edge tiles. More to the point, all the terrain and edge tiles must be drawn, preferably by someone with more artistic capability than myself. The screenshot shows the potential for terrain edging, but Alpha testers will have to tolerate my graphics until I can procure better art. (Note: Trees not drawn by me.)
