Author: TrueKam

Today’s update is a bit of a bad one. There was an update to UE5.4 today that caused issues with the project. I was forced to update the Ascent tools as well but the project would no longer run after building. By the end of the update process everything works again, but I have to fix a couple models to get things working again. I’ll do what I can to get back to where the project was before next weekend, but if I don’t have time throughout the week I’ll have to spend next weekend’s development time just getting things back to where they were.

On the other hand, there were several bug fix updates that were put into the Ascent tools, so that gets moved along into my project. Plus, I can try to take this as a learning experience and make sure that from here on out every blueprint I use is a child instead of the ones that ship with Ascent. To be honest, that’s entirely what the issue was with the update. The changes that have to get made are due to the original blueprints being put into place again and overwriting my changes. If I had just used child blueprints instead, I would have saved myself the trouble. Well, lesson learned and moving on.

Next weekend will be some forward progress again. Until then everyone, thanks for sticking around. Keep on gaming!

Hello everyone. First off, I want to offer a short apology about missing last week’s update. I wasn’t in a very good place mentally and took the weekend off. I know that this is perfectly acceptable, but I shouldn’t have done it with accompanying radio silence. I’ll try to be better in the future.

Cursed Crown Updates:

• Addressed Issue #22 Create Teleporter Prototype
  • I created a functional teleporter for the player to use. It’s not a “teleport at will” kind of usable item in this case; it’s a “step into this static spot to go somewhere else instantly” type of teleporter.
  • The teleporter functions properly and moves the player to a new point, but ignores any other entities including random items on the ground, ragdolls, physics objects, and enemies.
  • A second blueprint specifically for the destination is used to control where the player ends up after teleporting.
  • I created a follow-up issue (#23 Update Teleporter for Beta) for logging work related to removing the developer art and making the teleporter look more like what the end result should be in the game.
  • I added the teleporter to the Overgrown Ruins tech demo map.

Due to the simple changes that were made this week, I haven’t built a new test version. There isn’t much to test really. There are only a few issues standing in the way of the tech demo being released. It’s going slowly sometimes, but it’s always moving forward. I’m looking forward to being able to let everyone know about it!

Until next time, everyone! Keep on gaming!

Hello everyone! I’ve got another update for you all.

Cursed Crown Updates:

• Addressed issue #7 Update Loadout Inventory
  • I removed the player’s starting inventory and replaced it with a more appropriate set of gear. The player starts with a sword and a couple health potions.
  • A chest to the right of the path at the start contains a bow, some arrows, and a couple more health potions.
• Addressed issue #13 Create Basic Controls Documentation
  • There’s a new document created and stored with the design document that details the current tech demo controls. The defaults provided by ACF might need some updating before release, but what exists right now is documented. This document needs to be handed out to testers when the receive their builds.

There was an issue with the assets included in the pack I imported for the Burke model. I couldn’t get the assets to properly compile so a build could be completed for testing. For the time being, I’ve removed those assets. For Burke to exist, obviously I’ll have to re-import and fix issues with those assets, but that’s an issue for another day.

If I get the chance, I’d like to work some more tomorrow, but I can’t make that guarantee, so I’ve gone ahead and published the newest build (0.1.5) on the downloads page. If you’re a member of the testing team, you can download it right now. For the time being, though, keep on gaming, everyone!

Hello again everyone! I have a lot going on this week, so the updates were more investigative and experimental than normal. I still wanted to make progress, though, so I ensured that at least something was done.

Cursed Crown Updates:

• Addressed issue #17 Replace Prototype Chests with Working Blueprint.
  • I found a basic interactive chest blueprint that was included with the ACF tools I have. I created a child class off of this and did some editing to it.
  • The mesh, that initially used an asset from Infinity Blade, was replaced with a more suitable mesh from the Lordenfel set. I chose to use a chest mesh that had a base and a separate lid.
  • I modified the interaction routine in the blueprint so the chest lid opens when the player interacts with it. It currently just “pops” to the right rotation so it could likely use some tweaking later to make the transition smoother. I’ll probably be adding some sort of animation for the player when these sorts of interactions happen and I’ll have to sync the chest animation to that, so I didn’t want to spend too much time on crafting a solution that was going to be replaced later anyway.
  • I had to experiment and investigate some to figure out how ACF was handling the chest contents. I was able to identify an additional component that was added to the chest (I was digging into the blueprint itself initially with no luck.) that handled the contents. (It’s ACFProceduralStorage if anyone else ever needs to find it.) This component handles random generation of loot, dropping of specific loot, and dropping of money +/- a variable amount.
• I found the model that I think suits Burke, another of the NPC survivors of the shipwreck! The image below looks low resolution, but it’s due to low LOD when viewed in the blueprint editor. Don’t worry, he’s much more handsome in-game!

It might not seem like much for now, but that’s all I’ve got for you. I’m making progress, and that’s satisfying enough for me. Look forward to more info as it’s made available!

Good morning, everyone! It’s time for another update.

This week I don’t have demo updates to show off. There have been some heavy storms in my region for about a week (thanks Debby!) and one of the servers I keep in my basement went kaput after a power failure. It wasn’t any sort of hardware failure; just some corruption on the boot drive. Unfortunately, while I can install and do a bunch of admin stuff on a Linux CLI server, I don’t really have experience fixing issues like this. I had to spend yesterday and this morning reinstalling and configuring software on the system.

What I have gotten done with the project is a series up updates on the design document. I’ve detailed a couple characters and filled out some more world info. This is info that can’t be shared publicly, of course, lest spoilers be released before the game itself has even materialized, but those in the team who can access the design document can view current updates right now.

In other news, I just wanted to let everyone know that due to scheduling changes in my household, I’ll probably be doing these weekly updates on Saturday or Sunday instead of Friday. I don’t know which I’ll tend toward, but I’ll get into a groove as time progresses and keep things rolling there. Thanks for understanding!

I apologize that this is all I have for now, but as always thanks for stopping by! See you next week and keep on gaming!

Hello everyone! I did some work today on some enemies. I’m really inexperienced when it comes to the AI characters and setting them up, but I think I have a good start. There are currently three enemies in the game: a melee enemy, a ranged archer, and a ranged mage. This took me a while to figure out and get going so it’s really the only thing I had time for today, but it’s a good start.

Cursed Crown Updates:

• Addressed issue #4 Create Demo Enemy Types.
  • The three enemies are in the game and functional in the tech demo map.
  • The enemies are currently only using the base UE5 mannequin.
  • Future updates: replace the UE5 mannequins with different characters once they can be found or purchased, update the AI with a couple other options for functionality such as standing in ambush instead of patrolling and similar.
• Fixed defect found in the region announcement volume.
  • The volume’s trigger was checking the class of the incoming object on overlap. This check was too broad and was being inadvertently triggered by the AI characters. I’ve tightened up the class check to ensure only the player activates the trigger.

While the AI enemies are functional, I don’t think they’re ready for prime time. As such, there isn’t going to be a tech demo release today. As always, if you want whatever version is current, check the Cursed Crown page.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to pop in and start updating things here on the website with some updates on the development that I’ve been doing. To start, I’d like to give a quick idea of what to expect from these updates.