Release Update (April) + Other notes

Guess I should probably have something here.

I have a private playtest version of Wizards and Warlocks I've been using on my desktop and laptop to test functionality via real Steam servers, and with friends, to replicate the real player experience.

Had some issues with specific spells and others with Proximity Chat, but I think I've fixed them all. I don't run into any issues testing with my desktop and laptop combo.

Most of my buddies don't play games, so most of my testing has been alone, but server connections work and the game plays, at least across states in the United States. I think it's ready for release, so early-mid April is the goal. Initially, it was February, but then I ran into those bugs when testing FOR REAL via Steam.

I'm making a trailer now because Steam requires it to release - I'd like to have fun moments captured, but I don't have anyone to test with, and definitely not 4-24 other people to have full team battles to fully push the game to its max current settings (max game size is 50 players, 2 teams of 25).

It'd be nice to make a cool trailer like other games I'm inspired by (R.E.P.O. and Mage Arena), but it is what it is. Probably just going to be some text on screen as I quickly show the 4 different levels, then 30s of raw gameplay because I dislike trailers and prefer raw gameplay because... it's gameplay and not marketing productions that don't reflect the product.

Dev notes/intro (ignore, just had to type this somewhere):

This is the first of 3 games I'll make before applying to gamedev jobs worldwide. I need to convert my 9hrs/day at an unrelated-to-gaming office job to +9hrs/day working on games. After work/cooking/sleeping, I only have 4-5hrs/day, too few.

Endgoal is a quest-based monter hunter game, ideally simulated in your mind or whatever VR tech would convince your mind that "yes, I actually can't walk through this wall", stopping your body from walking into walls. Exoskeleton apparently isn't the answer.

Think Dark and Darker, Goblin Slayer, and Hai to Gensou no Grimgar (Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash) combined. Go to guild. Accept quest to hunt down monsters. Go to the location. Kill them and try not to die. The monsters are more real, intelligent, and depending on the monster, perhaps more difficult than anything you've fought in any video game, but because they feel real and are intelligent, not because they're stupid health sponges with 1-shot attacks. It's because they ganged up on you at the right time after slicing your achilles.

After this game, I'll make a C++-only text-based game (maybe a text version of Liar's Bar?), then a VR game like Dark and Darker. 2 levels, 10 unique enemies and 1 unique boss on each. Difficult and intelligent enemies. Dark. Explore the dark, kill enemies, then escape, or go to the deeper level and try to escape after getting even more loot. I really want to make it in VR, though it wouldn't be crazy hard to make it on flatscreen PC then pivot to VR, but I'm not sure. I want to make a game like those that inspired me, but also with difficult, real-feeling, intelligent enemies like no other game (Lethal Company's Bracken is the closest to a "real" enemy I've experienced), and VR is the endgoal.

I want to work with VR/neuro researchers and let them use my game as a guinea pig so we can advance VR ASAP, because the only VR games out that have good combat are Cytech's Battle Talent, and

噢必游戏's Sword Trip. Not enough people moving the needle. VR needs to be #1. We should be able to sit in our chairs and experience whatever game we can envision.

I have an Unreal Engine sandbox where entering locations turns on a scent device I made (from various components, my laptop, and an Arduino). Scent is possible to put into VR and I think you can do it well. Touch is the hard part; tricking your body that it can't actually walk right through the ice wall that an enemy cast in front of you, even though IRL there's nothing there. Whatever I'm just rambling right now but that's the goal. This game was the first thing that popped into my head that felt fun. Voice spellcasting is awesome and only in a few games (Mage Arena, Cursed Compansions, and YapYap). Mage Arena introduced it to me and made me want to attempt a multiplayer game because they're more difficult than singleplayer. Honestly, I'm excited for my future games to be singleplayer because 80% of my work has been on the multiplayer aspect, ensuring everything appears and works correctly for ALL players. Singleplayer is easy mode. Doesn't matter how you achieve something, as long as the ONE player playing experiences it right. Go look at Cyberpunk in third person. The animations only exist for first person, so you pull your sword out of your left cheek/shoulder so it looks right in the camera, even though irl you wouldn't see your sword until it's almost out of the sheathe.

Okay done rambling ignore this bye