Light at the end of the tunnel?
Hello, fans of Aledorn, Dungeons, RPG games, and all players and readers who have found a moment to read this post. I had planned to provide updates on a quarterly basis, then every six months, then at least once a year, and as you can see, I am happy to be providing an update after two long years. Which is probably not very good news. The good news, however, is that those two years were not spent idly, but developing.
The internal playable version of the first chapter of the game is slowly approaching. Personally, I believe that the game will be playable by the end of the year. It will be buggy, unbalanced, and “unpolished,” but the fact that it will be playable is a big step forward. Today, I will present at least part of what has happened in the development of Aledorn over the last two years. So let’s get started.
What you may have noticed was the first version of the game intro. I made it using the game’s graphics and artificial intelligence. Many people think that artificial intelligence is a dirty word and that it is distasteful to use it. I see it as a great helper—a tool that complements or directly replaces my shortcomings. In our case, it’s mainly 2D graphics, which we don’t have and can’t afford, so yes, a significant portion of the screens used in the intro are created using artificial intelligence, and I can tell you that bending it to generate at least something close to what I want is not only nerve-wracking.
Video – Aledorn – intro v0.01 CZ version
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After the first version, which was only in Czech and served more for internal development and initial testing, we worked with Vojta to prepare a second version, in which we made a few minor adjustments. We added professional sound and an English version, which is of course much more important for you. So here it is, premiering right here.
Video – Aledorn – intro v0.02 EN version
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Video – Aledorn – intro v0.02 CZ version
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As far as level design, but mainly map design, is concerned, the game is nearing completion. So one of the last locations that was still missing is the interior of Abkor’s castle. I have included a few screenshots from this location below.
Picture – Abkor’s fortress 01
Picture – Abkor’s fortress 02
Picture – Abkor’s fortress 03
Picture – Abkor’s fortress 04
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One of the tasks will also include a special location between worlds. It is called Void World, but I won’t say anything more about it so as not to reveal anything I don’t want to. Screenshots below.
Picture – Void world 01
Picture – Void world 02
Picture – Void world 03
Picture – Void world 04
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Our colleague Arbiter has also done a great deal of work on the character list and tooltips. The video below shows what the character list entails and how much information it provides. We are developing the game in our native language, Czech, so unfortunately for English-speaking viewers, the texts are unreadable, but even from the length of the video, you can get an idea of how much work goes into displaying individual statistics and tooltips.
Video – Character list in Aledorn
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Various mechanisms have also been developed and can be said to be almost in their final version. The following video shows a few of them in action. These involve the use of tools to overcome obstacles and challenges such as high walls, locks, doors, traps, chasms, and many others.
Video – Obstacles and overcoming them with tools
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Another key script that has been added to the game is the so-called “Item placer.” Thanks to this tool, we are able to create other types of puzzles and riddles. It basically allows us to place various objects in different locations and control those objects in those locations. This makes it possible for players to replace objects placed in the world with other objects. We are using this tool in several tasks that we are preparing. The videos below show its use in more detail.
Video – Script application “Item placer”
Video – Astral padlock – key application – script “Item placer”
Picture – Puzzle with spider – Script application “Item placer”
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Part of one quest is a newly modified cave of the dead, a few screenshots of which are shown below. As usual in dungeon crawlers, players will encounter several obstacles, monsters, and puzzles in the cave.
Picture – Cave of the Dead 01
Picture – Cave of the Dead 02
Another mechanic we have prepared for you is searching for clues and tracking. In several tasks, you will need to search the crime scene to find out more about the situation. You will also need to find clues and follow them—track them to the next key location. The following video will show you more.
Video – Aledorn – tracking
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A new tool that is still under development is a tool for creating NPC movements and routines. Only a minimum of options are available at this time, and the results reflect that. Currently, it is only possible to define paths for individual NPCs, which they repeat over time. We will gradually add the option to incorporate more animations and interactions with the environment, as well as several consecutive cycles. At the moment, NPCs repeat one cycle until they “fall apart.”
Video – Aledorn – Guard patrol
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Finally, we have female characters and other races in the game – elves, dwarves, halflings, and more. This part took a lot of time, as it was necessary to create tools to ensure that all clothing, armor, and weapons fit the individual body curves. Women naturally have different models than men, as do the other races in the game. Now you can admire these new characters, including their beards and hair. The system still has a few bugs, which I believe we will fix, or you will forgive us for (even in bigger titles than Aledorn, clothing sometimes overlaps with the character, etc.).
Video – Aledorn – New races and female models
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However, what I personally spent the most time on was the content, especially the quests. As I mentioned before, there are three types of quests in the game: main, guild, and side quests. I tried to make the guild quests interesting and complex, and I worked on them the most. Over the past two years, I have completed almost all of the tasks planned for Chapter 1. There are exactly 6 guilds and guilds in the game, and I wanted each guild or guild to offer at least 2 tasks. So at this point, I can guarantee at least 12 guild tasks for you to look forward to. Almost every task has more than one solution.
I also completed several smaller and secondary tasks, which I would like to include in the game as much as possible in order to utilize the full potential of the locations being prepared. These tasks will take you to the main parts presented in Chapter 1. In particular, the city of Lim and the sewer area, which is actually the largest dungeon in the game.
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I mentioned above and even showed part of a location called Void World, where players will encounter several puzzles, among other things. You can get a small taste of them in the following video. As I already wrote, I won’t reveal any more so as not to give away too much.
Video – Aledorn – Puzzles in the Void World
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Finally, I would like to introduce the stealth and detection system. To be honest, I don’t know if we’ve mentioned it before, but there are three detection options in the game. Sight, hearing, and smell. While some creatures rely more on sight or hearing, others, such as beasts, use their sense of smell more. Standard humanoids will typically rely on sight and hearing. In the following short video, you can watch someone sneak through a room with a guard. On the right side of the screen is a GUI showing the enemy creature that is currently detecting the player. Once the creature’s bar is full, an interaction will occur, whatever that may be at that moment (dialogue, combat, etc.).
Video – Aledorn – Sneak & Hide
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That’s all for today’s news. I hope it was informative enough, and as you can see, a lot has been done in just a few years. Of course, we still do it in the evenings, mostly in our free time. I don’t like to jump the gun, but personally, I believe that next year we could finally publish the first chapter. After all, it’s been quite a long time since the project was restarted in 2019.
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Thank you very much for your support.
On behalf of NoEZ games
Nefarit
