Flower's Dev Diary (Week of Feb 11th)

[FlowerChild]

Another week, another round of feature development!

As always, rules for this thread:

-DO NOT post suggestions.
-DO NOT critique unreleased features. Wait until you've had a chance to try them before passing judgement.

With that out of the way, let's open with an in-game screenshot:

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That would be the results of an accelerated time-line test I ran with Hardcore Silverfish in the end-dimension.

The moral of this story: if you're going to build in the end, either don't build out of stone, don't build an obsidian beacon, of if you're going to do both, make sure to build the beacon nowhere close to your stone structures ;)

The bug that crept into the release of Hardcore Silverfish is weighing rather heavily on me. First, for the damage to people's worlds, which I can only hope wasn't too extensive. Secondly though, because it unfortunately really stole the thunder for the release of Hardcore Movement, and also the surprise element from Hardcore Silverfish themselves as I basically had to describe their legitimate behavior in identifying the bug so that people would have a clear idea of what was going on with them.

I've been thinking a lot about how I let that slip through, and in the end analysis, what happened was that I was working on Hardcore Silverfish, particular balancing and tweaking them to get it just right, when I had the idea for Hardcore Movement. I got so excited about implementing that one that I basically dropped everything, neglecting to do my normal final round of testing on Hardcore Silverfish, with a world-eating bug being the end result of that.

Entirely my own damn fault for getting caught up in my own enthusiasm, but something I'll definitely make sure to not let happen again in the future as that kind of shit really runs counter to my whole development philosophy. BTW has always be known for not fucking with your world, and it really upsets me that in a moment of weakness, I let exactly that happen. Again, all of you have my sincerest apologies for that as it's really not something I feel good about.

Anyways, moving forward, let's take a look at what I have planned for this week: first, I want to complete Hardcore Silverfish. Their basic functionality is basically set with the last release, but there are still a few details for me to resolve there, namely, their primary drop. It may not be apparent just yet, but one of my goals with that feature was to make silverfish both farmable, and worth farming, so you guys can expect additional content related to that which may make setting up a silverfish farm worthwhile in preparation for it.

Then, as I mentioned the other day, I'm currently looking at revamping how Cement works in the mod to make it a more worthwhile way to build roads given the recent inclusion of Hardcore Movement. I feel Cement has never really found a home in BTW's tech-tree given that it was one of the 6 original blocks in the mod, and it never really fit in once BTW began to evolve into something more. I'm hoping with a few well thought out changes I can make it feel like a better integrated part of the mod that people will want to make more use of.

Beyond that, I still need to get the remaining Arcane Scrolls into the mod, as this was again something I put on the back burner in favor of Hardcore Movement. That in turn leads to the plans I have for revamping bats and turning them into a better part of the game. As Battosay pointed out in his related suggestion thread the other day, bats just suck at present, and I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment :)

That all being said, I REALLY need to move onto home guys as each week I continue to devote to BTW is another weak lost on something which promises to be way more. It's exceedingly hard for me to let go at present given I've been involved in the development of BTW for close to two years now, and I still have pages upon pages of notes with regards to the things I'd like to implement in MC, but the more time passes, the more I realize it's a necessity for me to move on sooner rather than later.

To that end, I've decided that one way or another, BTW will be finalized by the end of this month and I'll be busting my ass over the next little while to make that happen. This will likely mean that I'll be saying "no" to even more stuff than I usually do because I simply can not allow myself to be distracted if I'm going to hit that deadline, and if I don't make that deadline, I know that I can easily slip into letting this "finalization" process drag on indefinitely.

Anyways, that's the state of the mod and of my development thought process at present :)

[Sarudak]

Sounds great! The silverfish thing sounds really terrifying. I'm going to have to seriously consider whether I want to keep using beacons. I can understand the difficulty in letting go and moving on even though you want to. But remember there's no reason you can't take a break from home later and implement a fun idea in better than wolves to get your creative fix. :)

[MoRmEnGiL]

Hmm, sounds like cement and silverfish will be related in the future :P

[DNoved1]

(silverfish) worth farming,

Damn, I suppose this means my guess on that other thread about silverfish dropping efficiency was wrong? Maybe it's those ocelots or something then...

Anywho, good to hear you're finishing up with BTW and getting ready to move on to your own project, where nobody can bother you about compatibility and such nonsense.

[FlowerChild]

Well, I will say that silverfish do have an arcane scroll drop, however, that alone is not enough to motivate a farm IMO, or make it feel rewarding once it is complete.

To me, they also require a regular drop to make the whole thing feel right.

So yes, you will get value out of building a farm now, just not the full value I'd like to see, especially considering the difficulty of building such a specialized farm in the first place (I intentionally gave them a unique farming mechanic that will likely require a lot of thought to tap into). The work/reward ratio is just off right now IMO.

[DNoved1]

Well, with that said, I have some testing to do! And some obsidian mining... Definitely need a bigger gold beacon. Perhaps build a ZP farm... Agh, so much I need to do! FC, you're turning MC into a job (though a fun one at that).

[FlowerChild]

Oh, and BTW, there already is an additional benefit to farming silverfish that it doesn't seem anyone has discovered. I think in creating a silverfish farm, people will be pleasantly surprised ;)

[DNoved1]

Large scale mining ethoslab style?

[FlowerChild]

Large scale mining ethoslab style?

No...one thing you'll rapidly notice is that farming silverfish is restricted to the end dimension. That not being the case was actually the major bug with them that I corrected.

In the overworld they remain inert and behave by standard vanilla rules. It's in the end where they become both dangerous and valuable, which increases the value of that dimension, gives the place further character through contributing to its back story, and places silverfish farming rather late in the overall tech tree (in that you need to access the end in the first place to even consider it as an activity).

There were actually a lot of subtle details related to the end in the last release (bug fix release aside) to give it additional character and value, similar to the many changes I've made in the past to increase the value of the nether.

[DNoved1]

Well, so long as silverfish can safely go through the end portal (not sure if this is true considering the changes FC has made to it), they can still be used for inefficent large scale mining using only the vanilla rules and a bunch of poison potions.

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At about 2:50 you can see an example of what I mean

Though it's good to hear that silverfish now have a myriad of uses, considering their previous uses were limited to afk-xp farms for those poor vanilla players and as mentioned large scale mining experiments/projects.

[Blazara]

...Huge spawn numbers?

Transportable in block form?

Xp output? Meh, I dunno.

[BobSlingblade679]

Another week, another round of feature development!

Entirely my own damn fault for getting caught up in my own enthusiasm, but something I'll definitely make sure to not let happen again in the future as that kind of shit really runs counter to my whole development philosophy. BTW has always be known for not fucking with your world, and it really upsets me that in a moment of weakness, I let exactly that happen. Again, all of you have my sincerest apologies for that as it's really not something I feel good about.

I just wanted to say that even though you accidentally released a fairly damaging bug, your willingness to own up to the mistake, the regret you've expressed over it, and the sheer speed and priority you put into releasing the fix has reminded me why I respect and admire you so much.

--edit--

Also, it shows that even though BTW is first-and-foremost the game you want to play, you really care about your community as well.

[FlowerChild]

I just wanted to say that even though you accidentally released a fairly damaging bug, your willingness to own up to the mistake, the regret you've expressed over it, and the sheer speed and priority you put into releasing the fix has reminded me why I respect and admire you so much.

--edit--

Also, it shows that even though BTW is first-and-foremost the game you want to play, you really care about your community as well.

Thanks man. I do try to recognize and correct my own mistakes as quickly as possible.

And yeah, I definitely do care about the community and people's worlds. There's no question of that really, but I just don't like to mention it too often as it's inevitably used as leverage by people trying to turn the mod in the directions that they want if I do.

Thus, it is much easier on me if I am perceived to not give a shit about what people think, and thus focus on doing what I know is right in terms of design whether it is initially popular or not.

But yeah, when it comes to the mature gamers that really dig BTW for what it is, and who are willing to trust in my judgement as a designer in steering this ship on its overall course (as opposed to a throng of entitled teenagers who all think they're brilliant game designers...those I could really care less about), yeah, I most certainly do care and get torn up about it when things go wrong.

[obl1terat1ion]

Kind of off-topic, but did the silverfish do anything to your world FC?

[FlowerChild]

Kind of off-topic, but did the silverfish do anything to your world FC?

No, not really. Keep in mind my world is over 2 years old, so everything around my main base is devoid of sliverfish blocks. This was one of the reasons why I didn't notice the bug to begin with (silverfish were only spawning in the end...but were "breeding" everywhere where a silverfish block was already present).

I may have taken a bit of damage to my sole stronghold (I haven't checked yet), but I think I only passed through there briefly, so I doubt it's significant.

[Sarudak]

Oh I get it! Silverfish spawn in the end! Hence why you find them in strongholds. Around end portals. Genius!

[FlowerChild]

Oh I get it! Silverfish spawn in the end! Hence why you find them in strongholds. Around end portals. Genius!

Hehe...well, I will admit this is part of the mythology. Not all of it mind you, but yes ;)

The implication is that the end (or something related to it), is the natural habitat of silverfish. When they seep into the overworld, they're weakened and don't breed there, but when you run into them on their home turf...look out ;)

[Six]

Oh I get it! Silverfish spawn in the end! Hence why you find them in strongholds. Around end portals. Genius!

Hehe...well, I will admit this is part of the mythology. Not all of it mind you, but yes ;)

The implication is that the end (or something related to it), is the natural habitat of silverfish. When they seep into the overworld, they're weakened and don't breed there, but when you run into them on their home turf...look out ;)

Yeah, I imagine they're the reason the end is mostly an empty void, except for the mass of endstone the endermen keep bringing in from the overworld and the obsidian monoliths. BTW lore is best lore.

[FlowerChild]

BTW lore is best lore.

Thanks man! I always get a chuckle out of such comments given my general disdain of story in games, but I very much appreciate the sentiment :)

[Azdoine]

I wish you luck with RTH, Flowerchild. Throughout your time in this community, you have earned my eternal respect for your dedication and character. This is obviously a huge step forward for BTW, and a huge step forward for you, and if anything, you deserve to succeed :)
I'll continue to support you all the way, man.

[FlowerChild]

I wish you luck with RTH, Flowerchild. Throughout your time in this community, you have earned my eternal respect for your dedication and character. This is obviously a huge step forward for BTW, and a huge step forward for you, and if anything, you deserve to succeed :)
I'll continue to support you all the way, man.

Thank you sir! That struck a chord with me :)

[dawnraider]

Thank you for making the true game we play, which is not MC (which as we all know has been seriously lacking recently, recently being the past year). I trust that you will make RTH even better. Keep up the great work!

[obl1terat1ion]

BTW lore is best lore.

Thanks man! I always get a chuckle out of such comments given my general disdain of story in games, but I very much appreciate the sentiment :)

Heh, I find it funny that games that make no attempt at a story often have the best ones :)

[FlowerChild]

Heh, I find it funny that games that make no attempt at a story often have the best ones :)

I went on a little rant about that over on MCF earlier due to someone suggesting written story elements in BTW, but I think that''s largely because they have no story.

What the player will fill in using their own imagination is IMO some of the best story you're likely to ever get out of a game because it will be inherently tailored to the individual.

Internal consistency is a very different thing mind you, as I think to trigger that imagination the player has to have the sense that they are part of something that is logical at some level. It basically then gives them a puzzle to try and figure out rather than just a field of static they assume they'll never make any sense out of.

[BobSlingblade679]

Heh, I find it funny that games that make no attempt at a story often have the best ones :)

I went on a little rant about that over on MCF earlier due to someone suggesting written story elements in BTW, but I think that''s largely because they have no story.

What the player will fill in using their own imagination is IMO some of the best story you're likely to ever get out of a game because it will be inherently tailored to the individual.

Internal consistency is a very different thing mind you, as I think to trigger that imagination the player has to have the sense that they are part of something that is logical at some level. It basically then gives them a puzzle to try and figure out rather than just a field of static they assume they'll never make any sense out of.

It reminds me of the ONE of the differences between reading a book and watching a movie based on the book. When you read the book you have to visualize everything as its described and sometimes when watching the movie it can differ greatly from what you pictured.