Afar ~ 1,000 Players

[Ellie]

Currently we are working on... a non-live demo.

Our ad stats have revealed that just under 25,000 people have viewed the login page, but only 570 people have actually joined based on that.

That isn't exactly a good ratio!

We're currently working on a demo, which will show what the game is like, how to play it, and will have a tutorial to explain the interface and such. When you open afar.ws you will straight away be in the game playing it (or a demo form of it), so you can instantly decide if you like it.

Now, I know this means nothing to you current players, but consider that more updates come the more people play the game. If we can get this thing big then obviously more work will be done on it, and that's a Good Thing.

It would look something like this:

Comments and critique greatly appreciated.

 

[regi]

looks like you put a crapload of effort into this so I gave it a try!

here is my review of the first 5 or so minutes of playing:

Spoiler: comments

- upon registering, the password and retype password don't match up, though that might be a browser issue. also once you register you shouldn't have to resign in? (this might be me being impatient and clicking Main Menu though)
- it's very unclear where to really start off in the game. I tried jumping in and exploring the camp at first but the guard who is supposed to give you your quest mumbles stuff and doesn't do anything, and going east just brings me to places with nothing to do (i.e. sewers).
- when purchasing items, it would be nice if you could see how much gold you currently have.
- how exactly do you equip items? do you just click armor and it appears in the slot or is that for selling/trading i am confused

I will definitely try some more once you get some good content or point me to where there is stuff (I couldn't find it) but so far it's looking good!

 

[Ellie]

Thanks man it's been a while since I had some feedback to work with.

- upon registering, the password and retype password don't match up, though that might be a browser issue.

Managed to track it down to the fact the scrollbar shows for some reason. I've never had to use the register page so I never noticed. I'll fix shortly.

Fixed.

also once you register you shouldn't have to resign in? (this might be me being impatient and clicking Main Menu though)

Hmmn, this is just how PHPBB has always done it. I might be able to find a mod to fix that. I'm weary of messing with the login system though because it's so strong in PHPBB.

- it's very unclear where to really start off in the game. I tried jumping in and exploring the camp at first but the guard who is supposed to give you your quest mumbles stuff and doesn't do anything, and going east just brings me to places with nothing to do (i.e. sewers).

Yeah this is something I really need to work on.

The guard is supposed to tell you to speak to the mayor. Maybe I got it wrong, I don't remember. I'll create a new account and play through the quests again and try and make it clearer.

There are actually some ~200 maps, the world is quite extensive in all directions, but admittedly it's not very easy to see how to get where! Currently a completed world map looks like this:

Maps East of Straupuft need to be opened up to free players since I think I'm getting rid of paid accounts.

- when purchasing items, it would be nice if you could see how much gold you currently have.

Good idea, I'll add this to my todo list.

- how exactly do you equip items? do you just click armor and it appears in the slot or is that for selling/trading i am confused

The labels seem to have got jumbled up in an edit or such.

On the inventory page, the top box is the items you have equipped. The bottom box is the items in your inventory.

I'll try and make this clearer.

 

[Ellie]

It's been a while since I updated this thread! Here's a selection of updates from the in-game forums.

Rare Sets

The Robin Hood set is now rare! Congratulations everyone who managed to get it. It joins the likes of the Santa Hat and Barbarian Set.

Coming soon (after 600 players -- 1 more) will be the next rare set - the sailor outfit.

Items Expansion

Items currently in the game:

New in the next update:

The first eight have been released now, with more to come later today, the majority of which will be for the item crafting system (ingredients and creations).

Towns, cities and outposts

It was a nice attempt, but the MS Paint graphics for towns and outposts didn't really cut it. They are being redesigned, with the base camp currently completed.

Before:

After:

A few of these will be released today, and after all have been released the desert expansion and Damascar city, which were formerly planned to be paid content, will be opened to free players with Damascar being reenvisioned in this new format.

Afar Mobile Edition

I have a seperate project thread for this mainly because it is, at large, a seperate project. It is a mobile client for Afar which will hopefully be finished soon. Any comments and criticisms are more than welcome.

viewtopic.php?f=78&t=75406

 

[Jason]

The amount of effort and dedication you've put into this is phenomenal... seriously, I don't think I've seen anyone as devoted to their game on these forums, and this next update looks to be huge! I love how you're using tilesets now, I mean, the MS Paint stuff was nice to see since it was all hand done, but probably takes tons more time than just mapping with tiles, and now everything will be consistent (By this I mean, if I draw for so long, my pictures tend to get sloppier as I get bored, I assume it's the same with others too, lol)

Remember, if you need any updated player sprites or anything, just ask me and I'll get on it, as long as there isn't a tight deadline since I'm not too great with them, lol.

As for the mobile edition, it's a great idea and will expand your audience (Or atleast I hope so, you deserve more players... says this guy that hasn't played it as often as he should), however, I can't try it out since I don't have an iOS device, so I can't really give any C&C on that unless/until you bring out an Android version or something, lol.

Keep it up!

 

[Ellie]

Thanks bro.

Small change to advertising. Previously it was one large banner, which has served well (it was rolling in up to $0.04 a day!... when it costs $20 a month to host the game...)

Anyway, I have replaced it with three "buttons", two of which are also displayed within the app.

however, I can't try it out since I don't have an iOS device, so I can't really give any C&C on that unless/until you bring out an Android version or something, lol.

It's planned, after the iphone app is done and confirmed to be working. Since I don't have an android device to test it on I don't want to do both at the same time in case it turns out neither works.


To the more tech savvy of you,

If you use a user agent switcher (available for Firefox at least) and switch to "Iphone", you can preview the iOS version of the app (minus it's menus).

 

[Tuna]

I haven't checked on this in a while, so I must say that this project is really coming along swimmingly! If you weren't so busy working on it, I'd try to force you to come do some pixeling for my game. :biggrin: Keep it up!

 

[Xilef]

It would be great if you could equip the sword fish as a weapon

 

[Ellie]

You can! Or rather, will be able to. Once you've frozen it... in the ice dungeon. Using an Ice Orb. Complicated! But fun.

On items:

Green = Equippable
Red = Usable in it's current form
Grey = Ingredient, usable in battle only, or vanity item

 

[Ellie]

There are now 162 items in the game following a huge expansion. These include numerous "combinations" (Inventory -> Combine Items). I am going to explain some of these combinations; others are for you to find out (through trial and error, quests, NPCs, books, etc).

How to make an ornate bow

You need the following items:

- Wood
- Gold
- Bow String
- Any knife (old dagger, merthyr dagger, etc)
- Hammer

Gold and bow strings can be obtained from battles. Gold is rare (level 5) and worth 100 coins. Bow strings are common (level 1) and worth 1 coin.

Wood is obtained by cutting down trees (1 per tree).

Knives are obtained from battle, an old dagger is a level 1 common item, as is a hammer (work hammer). These are very often in the Tat Exchange too.

Combine the following items:

• Knife + Wood = Bow Piece
• Bow Piece + Bow String = Basic Bow
• Gold + Hammer = Worked Gold
• Worked Gold + Basic Bow = Ornate Bow

Doing this should yield a very nice profit due to the rarity of gold. Basically, if you find gold on your travels, it is highly worth turning it into an ornate bow and then selling it.



Other combinations worth noting:

• Swordfish Sword
• Worked metals (increases their value slightly, will have combinations soon)
• Fire Sword
• Icy Sword
• Gilded Sword
• Cheese Sword

 

[Ares]

I was playing again and I tried to enter the Knights zone, it said I couldn't access that area. Directly after that I clicked Random battle and fought a hawk and won. Then I was trapped between the battle result screen and the "no access" page and I had to return to the world map to escape. Might be something worth fixing? It is not too much of a problem but it is a tad annoying to have to return to the world map and thus have to travel across the maps to return to your last position.

 

[Ellie]

I'm sorry about that. I've removed all paid flags so free players can access everywhere, since that was the plan. The paid areas need some work however.

 

[Ellie]

It's been a while, so let me just introduce you to a new update which is near completion. It's taken a while.

I keep losing to Ares in battle!

Sim PvP

Sim PvP is an idea I've had in my mind since the very first form of Lost Fantasy back in oh, 2006, but I've never got around to implementing. Well, it's finally (nearly) here.

PvP = Player versus Player, or the ability to fight other real people in battle.

So what is Sim PvP?

Because of Afar's turn based battle system, (and the unlikelihood of a suitable partner being online to fight >.>) Sim PvP is a way of fighting real players but in your own time.

Sim PvP creates a drone, a computer controlled version of a real player. It gets their equipment, their stats, eventually their looks, and their spells and other details, and turns them into a battleable enemy with all the AI of a normal enemy.

And it's pretty tough! A lot of players are already more powerful than their enemy counterparts, largely due to being able to equip armour and weapons and raise your stats, etc.

I've been using Ares as a test battle because they're near my level, and it's suitably challenging.

THE PROGRESS

Sim PvP itself, as an engine, is complete. The ability to fight another player.

You can't do it yet though, because the interface itself isn't done - which will include leaderboards, updated character profile sheets, etc.

It will (should) be done tonight (but note I'm out now for four hours with Uni).

Watch this space!

 

[Ares]

Great! Another update!
I'm looking forward to trying the sim pvp out, I'll let you know what I think of it then.

I keep losing to Ares in battle! [...] I've been using Ares as a test battle because they're near my level, and it's suitably challenging.

I feel flattered :cute:

 

[Ellie]

Ok I've been doing some planning, and essentially several key systems I want to develop are all the same basic thing.

Tonight I am going to work on character sheets and the PvP arena. You can already fight players but it's a bit confusing and unfinished:

afar.ws/v/page.php?p=battle&enemy=54&pvpid=2

Replace "2" with the id of the player you want to fight.

----

Anyway tonight releases will hopefully be:

- Bestiary
- Win list (for PvP)
- Item lookup database
- New character sheets (easier to read; viewable to guests)

 

[gRaViJa]

That's a really good idea. Competition and rankings is what keeps a lot of people playing a game.

 

[Ellie]

Failed to deliver on the bulk of the cool stuff tonight, but player versus player is now released.

To fight somebody, go to their character page and click "fight this player" next to their name, for now.

To find someone to fight you can either:

1. Browse the leaderboards: http://afar.ws/v/page.php?p=inventory&leaders
2. Add people as friends and then go to your character page to find them quickly
3. Enter a user id on the landing page to quickly go to that player
4. Click names on the forums

Some time in the near future I'll jazz up an interface for an arena, as well as leaderboards etc, and character sheets are going to be redesigned.

 

[Ellie]

Tonight will see a pretty extensive update.

Basically, I've been a real noob with my graphics - leaving them in their original form straight out of Fireworks and not compressing them or anything. This has meant the file sizes are attrocious.

What I am going to do is run a bulk process on the entire /img/ directory with Irfanview, to convert every image into a flat, lower resolution png file. This will speed up the game immensely (and also save me bandwidth).

On top of this I will continue testing the preloader, which works but is a bit clunky. What this does is, for people with slow Internet connections, loads all the game images into your browser's cache. This might sound unintuitive, but it means the game won't then have to load them on the fly, and so after waiting a while to load the game no more image loading will be needed.


Progress

Folder: /img/
Before: 67mb
After: 7.4mb

 

[Jason]

This sounds good actually, I mean, I wouldn't say my internet is terrible (It's worse than that actually, lol) but horrible load times and pictures either not loading for a while, not loading properly, or just not at all, also spoil the experience for me, hopefully this fixes such issues.

 

[Ellie]

Yeah I hope so. To be honest I did this because I'm on a bad connx now too so realise how slow it can be.

More updates;

The Highscores pages have been revamped with a new look.

You can also now see the top 15 of each category.

There are now additional leaderboards for community points and lumberjack.

Lumberjack is a future merchant skill. At the moment you can gain exp in it by cutting down trees.

Community Points are gained through participating in the forums and such. They will later be spendable in a store.