Dinolords Monthly - March

It is once again time for a new edition of Dinolords Monthly where we check in with development of the game and what has been going on behind the scenes since last time.

This time round, we are having a look at the new and updated T-rex, we are frolicking in the forest, and we are looking at some of the new stuff that is currently being worked on so strap in, arms and legs inside the ride at all times, and let's go!

Glow-up for the T-rex

This has been on our to-do list for a long while now. Our old T-rex was made in a different suite of 3D software than we use now, so to be able to do some of the new cool things we want to do, it had to be redone. It could also do wit ha bit of a visual update to bring it further in-line with the rest of the newer units in the game, so without further ado, here is the new T-rex with british barding:

Is that a seat? IS THAT A SEAT?!?!

So that probably also answers a question we have seen asked a lot; yes, you will be able to ride a T-rex. And not only that, it also comes with some super cool abilities for combat! Being able to eat and throw enemy units, hurling them towards an untimely demise. Viking bowling, anyone?

Strike! I wonder if they had those deranged bowling alley animations in medieval times and how would they look..?

Just when I thought it couldn't get any cooler, a lord riding a T-rex shows up!

Seeing the forest for the trees

Until now, trees have been just that, trees. Barely in your way, a resource to be felled and used to expand your position. But that is soon coming to an end, or at least it's going to change slightly, because we are introducing more trees to the trees, turning it into an actual forest!

And that probably needs some explanation as to why that is exciting, so I will first explain what has changed, and then try to elaborate a little on how that affects gameplay.

Impassable forest with undergrowth and different ground texture.

Trees are part of a system that checks how close trees are standing. And if they are close enough, undergrowth is added and they act like a blockade you can't run through. Very similar to how other RTS games have done before, with the added exception that any tree that stands too far away from other trees will continue to behave just like it has up until now.

Now, this might sound like a minor change, but the implications are much bigger than that. Suddenly, forests effectively acts like dynamic barriers that will change over the course of a level. As you cut down trees, you are opening up new points of attack, but this also go the other way; you are able to carve a way through the forest into enemy territory where they might have thought they were safe.

Additionally, this helped with another factor with was navigating a level. Paths, rivers and mountains only do so much, and becoming disoriented can cost critical time when the enemy is knocking down your gates. Somehow, having these areas of dense forest helps provide some navigational points of reference, and it is now much more intuitive to move around a level.

Show & Tell

In case you havn't seen them yet, my colleague Jesper is posting a summary of highlights from our weekly