Development Update, Dec 1st 2022
Welcome members of the congregation!
Today we bring forth our second edition of the Evolving Forest Development Updates, an ongoing series that you can expect to come out at the middle of every month and at the end of every month, with exceptions of slight delays. If you’re new here be sure to check out Edition #1 of the series which was released about two weeks ago.
Now then, the development team at Evolving Forest have been working on various different updates to the game, while also hunting down bugs with the current alpha testers to fix. The community has been a great help in providing feedback, for that we thank you.
Lets begin:
1. Vaccai Updates
2. Dryari Updates
3. Master Gardener Challenge
4. General Updates/Planned Activities
Vaccai Updates:
The team recently pushed forward a heap of updates towards the visual layout of the Vaccai guild. From adding pscillion canisters, to the slight hint of greenery the Vaccai nursery is looking more and more of a scientific playground where those who dwell within it are able to enjoy the fruits of its technology.
Adding subtle details such as the mats around the main center piece where you grow seeds adds a more fuller and more welcoming vibe to the environment. As for the lighting, it isn’t finalized yet, but in due time it will look much more fitting to what we have going on here.
If you’re familiar with the Crimson Guard nursery, it’s almost the same placement structure as that; the blue screen you see in the image above is the information board, the center piece is where you’ll be tending to your plants, you can also see your watering can is hanging on the wall ready to assist you in your daily plant care needs.
The Vaccai workshop has undergone a visual upgrade as well. Similar to the nursery, there is some foliage in the background in addition to some pscillion canisters. The team really wants you to feel immersed within the Evolving Forest universe and adding these details, as small as they might seem, really help with putting you within the game.
Dryari Updates:
At first glance, you might think we overhauled everything for the Dryari nursery; in fact we did. Not only did the team polish up the lighting, adding incredible texturing to the wood and stone, but also added a slight glow to the pscillion you see placed around the nursery. As I stated with the Vaccai, our team wants you to feel as if you’re part of the guild you choose and by adding these details in it only helps accomplish that goal.
Community is everything, as you might notice the Dryari watering can hanging by the information board; this too was voted by the community to be a place within Evolving Forest. Again, the nursery will play the same way as the other two guilds where you’ll have your information board, plant pedestals, and the watering can.
There’s always room for improvement, so don’t be surprised if you see anything changed up or improvised before you actually step foot into the Vaccai/Dryari guilds. We want to make sure everything is easy to understand while also being visually appealing to the player. So far, I’d say we’re doing an excellent job at doing so. Wouldn’t you say so yourself?
Master Gardener Challenge:
Soon we will be announcing our most recent in-game competition, one where you’ll be required to use your materials wisely and gain as many crafting levels as possible. Maybe even reaching the majestic role of Master Gardener if you get to level 20. This challenge will test even the best of gardeners, so take the time now to strategize your approach and always; may the Ancient One smile upon your success.
General Updates/Planned Activities:
Finally, we’ve reached the part where we share our general updates and planned activities for the team. This is where I go over some of the accomplishments the team has done in the past few weeks.
Key accomplishments:
-Continuing building the desktop client for downloading desktop builds. You’re going to be able to download the game client and play it through there instead of using the website. The team also came up with some UI layout designs for the launcher as well.
- There’s a new Evolving Forest user account setup.
- Fixed some bugs with planting.
- Finished Vaccai Watering can and its animations.
- Reported bugs being fixed.
- Finalized the last updates for the Dryari Room.
- Updating the Evolving Forest Gitbook, pretty much a whitepaper explaining, and showcasing all aspects of Evolving Forest.
- Designs for the plant beauty contest have been conjured up.
- Animating the Vaccai workshop machine.
- Art designs for the Critter Battler UI have been completed.
- Received the test animations for the critters; they also have been tested in Unity as well.
- There were a few bugs within the crafting levels which were patched up.
- Created both Battler UI and Attack framework for the Critter Battler. In addition to that, the team also reworked the battle phase; this was to account for critters deaths.
- [REDACTED] optimizing and texturing.
- Added standalone technical specs for desktop app.
- Website fixes.
- Added gameplay definitions and details.
- Refined the leveling curve for the crafting experience.
- Setting up Dryari Nursery and Workshop to be fully functional.
- Finished economy doc and sent to [REDACTED] for review.
Activities Planned:
- Audio updates.
- Desktop launcher.
- Finish [REDACTED] textures.
- Designing the “Plant Show” (Name pending)
- Get redesign guild functionality.
- Economy updates
- Plant minding system.
- Critter battler.
The Send Off
As the days pass by, the team here at Evolving Forest continues to surprise the community with its constant development. The greater vision of the game is slowly coming to fruition, thanks to you, the community. Your constant support and feedback is what drives us to put out a top quality game that will be accessible to the masses.
If you’re interested in joining the alpha testers, you can sign up here: Alpha Submission Form.
We post many of our updates and sneak peeks on our twitter; this includes events and challenges. You can find our twitter by searching EvolvingForest or by clicking here: EvolvingForest.
The team here are grateful to everyone of you that have chosen to follow us on this journey, with that I leave you with this: let the pscillion glow guide you to the sanctuary you have always wanted to be a part of.
