02/23/99 11:25 PM Central |
We'll, I have good news and some bad news. May as well hit the good first.
The maps are looking like they play with an un-noticable amount of map related
lag. This is great considering the size of the two maps we are using to
test out the code.They ARE FRIGGIN HUGE!!!!. Everything appears to be functioning
as anticipated and the end sequence is working pretty smoothly and looks
so sweet. We have found 3 major show stoppers. 2 of them that crash the
servers. One of those was a problem with playerclass selection, and has
been eliminated already so it is now working properly. The second is a freakish
bug with one of the traps, we can easily fix this by replacing the entity
with the other trap that is similiar to it, but we would like to figure
it out and keep this particular mayhem inducing obstacle.(server crash from
this bug is actually infrequent and quite random) The third is a GL problem
that results from the GL user selecting the troll as his/her next playerclass.The
GL user gets a GPF in win95 and drops. (I think we are narrowing down the
possibilities rather quickly and feel like we should resolve this one pretty
soon.) There are a few bugs on the maps, but those are actually moot points
cause the maps are not 100% complete yet and some tweaking was to be expected.
You remember ****Gol'am the Troll****, a new playerclass? Well he is a positive
blast to play and I cant wait for you guys to get the chance to play them.
You can expect ( depending on how many other bugs we turn up ) to be stomping
around causing mayhem and chaos in the Rival Kingdoms Open Beta within a
few short weeks. It looks as if you will see 4 maps in the Beta and possibly
a 5th if we can get it done quickly (without rushing it). Are you still
reading this? Hmmm want to know a secret?? Hope you didn't miss her...
-Kain§ter
02/20/99 13:59 PM Central |
I am putting the final touches on the beta version of the Jungle map, Dark Ravager is polishing his Romeric map and Sin is getting his Castles built stone by stone. The code is ready to be put to the test, and Gol'am is itching to bash some heads. We are getting set to go. I should be compiling the closed beta installer late tonight or first thing tomorrow morning, and closed beta testing will commence tomorrow evening. The closed testing is expected to officially go on until sometime between wednessday and friday, when the servers come down and official testing ends. We will take a week or two to prep the next set of maps and correct and finish these 3, then when a few special somethings are added, the open beta test will commence. After suffiecent testing has been completed, I will announce the closing of the open testing, and end of the bug reporting period. Once all bugs are dealt with and the final elements are in place and operating correctly, the final version will be released and i will take some time to put together with Kor Skarn a small txt file explaining all the new stuff available to mappers and some special flags for older entities. See you on the burning battlefields. -Kain§ter
01/24/99 17:16 PM Eastern |
Wow, I just realized that I haven't really posted any Earth Shattering News in a long while. So, I guess I should throw you guys a bone and tell you one of our closely guarded secrets. Are you sitting down? Good, Careful that you don't fall out of your chair. Rival Kingdoms SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!! RK will be featuring a NEW Playerclass for you to chose to Bash your enemies with. INTRODUCING ******The Troll******He hasn't as of yet been named, but he is in there and all is functioning well. We have already been playing as him for a while and he still has some more things to finish squaring away, but he is in there and he is playable. Is he alone? Guess you will just have to wait and see. As to our schedule, we are quickly approaching a closed beta testing period which should last about a week and a bug smashing stage that is also believed to take less than a week. We should start closed testing in about 2 weeks ( I am moving in a couple days ). If you do the math, you should be trashing thy enemies in about 3-4 weeks in the public beta version. I am also glad to let you know that we are in the process of getting permission to use one of the best installation makers I have found, so installing and playing RK should be as simple as a few double-clicks. As of right now the installation d/l is expected to be about 8-10 megs. Thats not much when you look at the uncompressed size. We are still standing by to deliver 3 maps and lotsa goodies for you all to see and play in the initial release and the beta should have all 3 of the initial maps in it as well. I will post up some pics of the New Playerclass as soon as his real skins are finished. I want to take a Second to say thanks to those of you contributing to this little venture...you know who you are. RK also features some all new graphics in the console as well as several other areas that recieved some special touches. Playerclass selection has been reworked to make it even easier to chose class's thanks to Kor Skarn for all his awsome creativity in the coding department. There are also several new traps to make your quest even more dangerous. Stay tuned for more info as we inch closer to real testing with 12+ people running around trying to figure out what to do next. Okay one last hint at something we have added to the game. Ever look up at a ledge or something and wish you hade a rope to throw up there so you could climb up? We have and now we might just do that, if we are lucky enough 8) -Kain
12/27/98 07:30 AM Eastern |
Sorry, that I haven't posted up much news in the last few weeks but several
events have transpired that has kept me busy. Don't worry we are still on track
with RK and are still looking to have a beta version ready for testing in January.
I know we were trying for around Christmas but we are taking a few more weeks
to put some more polish on RK and to get the maps closer to complete. Speaking
of maps, Please welcome SIN to the RK team, his talents will be providing you
with a new medieval themed map to play on which makes the count a definate 4
maps at release and possible 5 ( we are considering doing the tibetian themed
map as a patch a few weeks after the initial public release based on how well
the beta test goes and how big our bug list gets to be on the four main maps.
Now let me take a second to fill you in on some of the new stuff that is being
coded and some that has been coded so far. RK will see the introduction of several
new traps to thrill and ultimatly frag yo'ass as well as several new spells
and weapons enhancements. Also the transition between maps is definatly something
you won't want to miss, cause it's just to frigg'in cool to describe (on top
of the fact we are keeping it a secret) Also you will use the same start room
for each game regardless of what map the server is on.(we may change this but
for now the start rooms are basicly the same) Also another surprise, some maps
may contain a new item and some won't have it available ( Gaf'rs and ctf fiends
will be pleased, courtesy of Our Friend Phoeb ) Head over to the screenshots
pages later today cause I am reorganizing the pages so they will load faster
and I will be adding some screen shots from the other maps. ****Remember these
maps are still under construction******
Don't worry it's well worth the wait. -Kain
12/13/98 15:50 AM Eastern |
Another day, ANOTHER BREAKTHROUGH!!!! Behold Pheonominal Cosmic POWER!!! oh-hey sorry got carried away. Let me spin you a little yarn about a lowly necromancer that wanted to fly. There's your hint, and here's another look for the Tribute to Kain§ter's favorite software company in the form of a new spell! I got some ideas and advice from Bludbath (ctf) and started working on a new spell, well we sorta got it working yesturday. This morning I scrapped that code and wrote new code from scratch using what he helped write and some new stuff, and what do you think happened? It works-albeit needs some fine tuning but its functional. Also in case you haven't heard Dark Ravager has joined the RK Team to bring another map into the initial release of R.K. scheduled for some time between X-Mas and end of January. He's working on the design of a Romeric map which will bring the total up to four RK maps at release. See you in a crown room. -Kain