Devlog #1: a first tour of the build

This is the first devlog of R831, an open world survival action RPG I have worked on for about six months. It is inspired by World of Warcraft, ARK, No Man's Sky and Warframe.

Building and planets

You can dig, fill, level and smooth the terrain, and clear foliage. In build mode you place foundations, walls, doors and beds. Walls snap to the foundation, and sleeping in a bed skips the night.

Each planet is a ball you can walk all the way round. You take off in a ship, steered with the keyboard, leave the sky for space, and the next planet generates its surface as you approach. The planets and the things on them are generated, but controlled, so you won't get oddly shaped plants or creatures. It still lags, and a slow-loading planet slows the ship down. I need to fix that.

Abilities and gear

You drag elements and forms onto the hotbar and declare them in order. Fire plus nova bursts around you; fire plus radial sends fireballs outward. Two elements in one sequence fuse into a new one, such as steam.

Each element puts its own status on the target: fire burns, frost chills and slows, air staggers. A weave changes a declaration: one makes it cheaper and weaker. A link symbol joins two declarations.

Linking works, but its animation isn't right yet. I want a short global cooldown, probably about 300 ms, so co-op stays feasible to synchronise, and damage over time as its own symbol, so fire isn't always the pick.

New weapons roll within a range, come in rarities, and can roll above 100%. The older weapons in the build aren't rolled yet.

The character creator is one of my latest additions, and you can recolour a whole armour set. Many models are still old and need updating.

Missions and battles

From the beacon you pick a mission: free a stronghold by destroying three antennas, killing twenty soldiers and lighting its beacon. The dungeons are generated, and their rooms are voxels, part of the terrain. I want players to dig their own way in, but slower later, so it is a choice.

The big battles aim at 100,000 soldiers, and you can join as one of them. For now I think it runs only on my home planet, and the frame rate isn't there yet: I slow each soldier's animation to keep it up. Balance is still to do.

The long night is a tower defence: over one night, NPCs keep attacking your haven, more and stronger. Every five minutes you may leave. If the haven is overrun, I plan for you to lose resources and coin.