Avian

[Sekaru]

Latest round of screenshots for the upcoming zone, Sventor:

Spoiler

Current plans for Glimforth are to make the storyline a bit more visible and linear as well as to populate the halls of the seekers sometime soon. Got a few pieces of lore and art to come out soon too. Finally, we've begun work on patch 1.0.3A and that should be out in the next two weeks or so.

 

[Sekaru]

Avian 1.0.3 has been released. As always it is in the Updater.

It is also in installer form which you can download here: http://www.avian.draignet.com/installer.exe

The "Setting Up Avian" guide has been updated for the new patch:
http://www.avian.draignet.com/forums/sho...php?tid=34

And finally, the patch notes:

- Removed blood.
- GUI is now hardcoded thus the client loading time has been reduced significantly.
- Added a few RP commands: /lol, /laugh, /healme, /oom, /sigh and /afk.
- Friendly NPCs no longer have their level displayed.
- Supplied some new documentation for all clients.

 

[Sekaru]

Original Post:

http://www.avian.draignet.com/forums/sh ... 319#pid319

The Big Announcement:

Quite a while ago me, and the rest of the Avian team, decided visual basic is a dieing language and it'll never let Avian break through the "potential bubble". Because of that we decided to work with a much more efficient language, java. The new engine is well under way and online connectivity is pretty much done, from there it's almost smooth sailing.

Now, that doesn't mean we won't be updating the VB6 game up till the point where the "new" game is released. I've got plenty planned for the VB version. That also doesn't mean we're leaving alpha just yet, since we need to test the new engine for bugs as well. All the old stuff will be in there, npcs, maps, probably items but we can't make sure of it just yet, etc, so don't panic.

Avian is heavily based on lore, and I promise those who enjoy lore I've got lots and lots of it; 30 or so pieces at the moment. I'll release them one by one, in a media that suits the specific lore; some will be pictures, others will be audio/videos. I'm also trying to figure out how to properly organize the lore, it'll probably end up on the wiki (which I promise to also expand).

Finally, something that we're working on bringing in is voice acting. I've recorded a few audio tracks already. We're going to try our best to voice act everything from quests, to cutscenes, to cinematics and even individual npcs.

P.S. Yes, we are working on Patch 1.0.6A.

 

[GAOlivier]

Hm, the site doesn't seem to be online anymore. Or is that just me?

 

[Sekaru]

Our host hasn't payed the bills for the hosting :P. So it probably wont be up till next Friday.

The game server is still up though, and I can get you a link to the installer too, if you want.

 

[GameBoy]

Don't listen to anyone who complains about mapping. I think your maps are great. Remember to NOT put many small things on road. It's better to have clear look, at least you don't have to avoid constantly some annoying obstacles. Keep up with work!

 

[Sekaru]

Thanks, a lot. Though, we are actually going to be revamping our maps, just in Mack's RMVX this time, they fit the style we were going for much much better.

 

[GAOlivier]

Our host hasn't payed the bills for the hosting :P. So it probably wont be up till next Friday.

The game server is still up though, and I can get you a link to the installer too, if you want.

Aah okay, but no thank you. Don't have much time to play. Gotta spend my time on my own project. I was just curious about the site, which I will check up on later.

 

[Ellie]

Don't listen to anyone who complains about mapping. I think your maps are great. Remember to NOT put many small things on road. It's better to have clear look, at least you don't have to avoid constantly some annoying obstacles. Keep up with work!

While you absolutely don't have to listen any criticism is surely worthwhile and valuable. It's not like they're complaining and saying DO THIS OR DIE.

I must remember to try this out some time!

 

[Sekaru]

Ofcourse. I do listen and pass it on to the mapper, whether or not he chooses to listen to the criticism is a whole different story.

1.0.6A is out and it's got some pretty huge changes (and rightly so considering its taken me 3 months to finish it). This patch will not include it's own installer, so you'll need 1.0.3A installed, afterwhich just run the updater.

Patch Notes:

- Quests removed until further notice (i.e. when I develop a proper quest system).
- Guild system added, and thus a guild button (replacing quests).
- Created and added a new GUI.
- Removed the GUI config option.
- Removed blood.
- Extended the logout confirmation system to also execute when clicking the "x" on the application.
- Added the party menu above the player's own vitals, thus removing the party panel.
- Added a particle weather system including rain and snow.
- Removed the key shortcuts for GUI panels (inventory, spellbook, etc).
- Removed the GUI config options.
- Added a weather on/off option.
- Added an autotiles on/off option.
- Added a playernames on/off option.
- Added an npcnames on/off option.
- Added a /ping command (self explanatory).
- Global command syntax changed to: /b message.
- Emote command syntax changed to: /e message.
- Party command syntax changed to: /p message.
- Whisper command syntax changed to: /w playername message.
- Added a guild chat command, usage: /g message.
- Party button now invites the selected target (if possible) if not in a party, if in a party it will ask you if you wish to leave.
- Party interface redone. Now, when you enter a party the GUI will change so that the party vitalsare displayed in the top right (this will ofcourse change back once you leave the party).
- Attack key changed to Space.

 

[Sekaru]

1.1.0A has been released!

Patch Notes:

- Reverted the attack key back to CTRL.
- Reverted the GUI to the 1.0.2A GUI (plus changed a few of the graphics).
- Created a brand new menu.
- Added a config panel to said new menu.
- Reintroduced the /gui command.
- Added a few more commands to the /help command.
- Added a /roll command.
- Fixed shops.
- Chat now minimizes after a message is sent (enter maximizes it).
- All player names now begin with a capital.

 

[Sekaru]

The final patch of the alpha is out.

Patch Notes:

- Fixed parties.
- Fixed all the GUI related bugs.
- Added a /gold command.
- Text is now drawn on screen.
- Fixed /ping & /fps.
- Added an option to turn the logout confirmation on and off.
- Gold cost for guilds changed to 1000 gold.
- Fixed the guild window not closing bug.
- Added back the item/spell desc pictures.
- New level up message.
- Weakened the strength stat.
- Added a graphical border around the panels.
- If player/npc names are turned off, you can now view them by hovering over the player/npc.
- /invite & /i now invite your target to your party.
- Letter count for chat messages reduced to 50 (temporary).
- Changed the font.

Download:

http://www.avian.draignet.com/client.rar

 

[Sekaru]

Wow it's been a while. Updated the main post for all the beta changes. Changelog:

http://www.avian.draignet.com/patchnotes.php

New screenshots (custom graphics):

http://www.avian.draignet.com/screenshots.php

Finally, I've taken down the download until the first zone is finished.

 

[Sekaru]

Early screenshot of the orc starting zone:

Spoiler

 

[Sekaru]

More updates!

Initially after finishing 1.2.0 I decided to begin work on 1.3.0. I've now decided to merge the two together, so here's the additional changelog from 1.3.0:

- fixed some gui errors.

- temporarily removed the 'change sprite' label.

- various menu changes.

- clicking the game screen now makes you lose your target.

- if on a pvp map, you can use tab to target other players.

- added projectiles.

- added back the IP option.

- administrative tools.

- completely redid the gui:

- holding down ctrl shows the vitals bars/hotbar.

- chat is now drawn.

- to view the icon menu a new button has been added.

- m now also opens the menu.

- fixed the panel stacking with keyboard shortcuts issue.

- you can now see the options you've already set in the menu.

- added some error handlers to various commands to prevent anymore issues.

- fixed the click animation on menu buttons.

- removed directsound and replaced it with fmod.

- added a /gquit command.

- added a /trade command.

- fixed the bug where the server didn't clear you properly out of your guild after leaving.

- guilds can now only be created by talking to a guild master.

- guild requirements changed to: a length of 14 and a level requirement of 10.

- the guild panel now properly updates when using the guild-panel-hotkey (G).

- panels are now moveable.

- added a multiple panel option.

There's still a few huge features yet to be implemented though. For example. The new guild system, here's whats different:

- Guilds can only be made by being level 10 and speaking to a Guild Master.
- Guild leaders can now set options, for example, what ranks can talk in guild chat, promote and demote and kick.
- Every exp point members earn go towards the Guild's Level. Increasing your guilds level will reward you with an EXP boost. The EXP boost grows with each guild level and I've planned on Guild Rewards too (but I'll do those in a later patch *wink*).

I've also finished the lore and plot behind the first zone available for testing, Gro'Maash swamp and I will be hosting a few patch tests a bit later on when the patch if fully completed (i.e. the guild changes and whatever else is on my long to-do list).

Also, check out the forums for new updates:
http://www.avian.draignet.com/forum

New changelog page!
http://www.avian.draignet.com/patchnotes.php

 

[Sekaru]

We've moved to We've moved to a brand new domain!

Portal: http://www.sleepystudios.com/

Forum: http://www.sleepystudios.com/smf

Also the test client should be coming out quite soon (possibly today).

 

[Sekaru]

New patch is out with the possibly finished quest system. The main purpose of this release is to test out the quest system.

Client:
http://www.sleepystudios.com/client.rar

Library Files (Install these first):
http://www.sleepystudios.com/libraryinstaller.exe

Support forums:
http://sleepystudios.com/smf/support-suggestions/

 

[Sekaru]

Demo of the new, better, weather system:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcTul5SIpT8

The trollfaces, creepers, nyan, etc, are all for a laugh, they won't go into the full release (maybe ;]).

 

[Sekaru]

Starting zone:

http://i.imgur.com/RnY3c.png

Indoor map:

http://i.imgur.com/8Eu65.png

 

[Sekaru]

So I've updated the GUI (I'll update those over-saturated bars too soon enough):

One of the many new things in the beta patch. Currently working on a few other.. ingenious mechanics and redesigning and making other a lot more userfriendly.

All development updates will also be posted here:
http://sleepystudios.com/smf/development/