May 25 2011
Hello Xsyon Citizens!
The server and client have been updated with a patch.
– Tree data saved in a new database system on the server only.
– All trees have been restored.This is a major update to the server which is why we focused on patching out only these changes with this build. Our old system required a ‘world update’ to run while the server is offline to update tree data daily and required patching out ‘baking’ permanent changes to tree data and patching them out through the launcher.
The new system manages trees entirely on the server and will allow us to spawn, plant and grow trees without an offline world update. This is a major step towards implementing agriculture. The next step will include the gathering of seeds, primarily from cones found near trees, and planting them to sprout new trees. Trees will also sprout every Spring near existing trees.
I don’t have more information to announce regarding the upcoming agriculture system as we are still working out the details. When we are ready, we will have the test server available to show these changes in progress and will solicit feedback from the community.
Our next major changes will involve the combat revisions. I’m personally waiting to see what our combat programmer and animator have worked out so far and expect to see the first (and biggest) step, using mouse controlled directional swings tomorrow. I will keep everyone posted as I would like players to join us in checking out combat changes on the test server as soon as possible.
Enjoy!
Latest
May 23 update
May 23 2011
Hello Xsyon Citizens!
We are on track for an update this Wednesday. This update will include our new tree and plant data system which will allow us to start implementing tree planting and agriculture. With this update all trees will be respawned.
We are currently making some changes to the website and our back end systems.
– Reorganizing the Developer Zone and FAQ list. This is explained here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthrea…and-FAQ-How-to…– Questions will be answered weekly. At the end of each month we will check through the FAQ and revise answers if necessary. As Xsyon will be continously evolving, some details are bound to change.
– The Developer Zone will soon include direct Requests for Feedback. These requests will focus on new features such as combat revisions. GuideRaguel will be running the request threads and is the main person to go to with your suggestions and balance issues.
– We’ve added a Suggestion tracker for player suggestions. I will announce when this is ready for public use.
– We are cleaning out the Bug Tracker and copying issues to a new private system used by the development team. The Bug Tracker will be checked daily and updated with fixed or resolved issues once a week.
– We are adding the ability to purchase pre-paid time through the accounts page. This can be done with a credit or paypal accounts with or without credit cards and will allow players to purchase game time without a recurring subscription.
Most of this will be wrapped up this week.
We are also close to showing some of our combat revisions to the public on the test server. We need to sort out and recreate some animations and this should be ready for feedback by the end of the week.
That’s all for now!
May 22 update
May 22 2011 7:30 AM UTC
Hello Xsyon Citizens!
The server suddenly started locking up today which caused us to have to reboot the server with small rollbacks. I apologize for this but this is unexpected as the server has been running fine since the last corrected server update on May 18. After examining the server logs, the problem seems to be with some specific creature actions, so we’ve copied to the data that was locking up to the test server and have restored creatures on the main server to their intial spawn state.
The intitial creature spawn state sets creatures closer to the starting zones. They will breed and spread out as usual.
I will post a longer update tomorrow regarding changes we are doing to the website and what we have in store for this week’s update. Right now I need to assist the other programmers in tracking and fixing the cause of the server lock ups today.
May 18 update
May 18 2011 11:40 PM UTC
Hello Xsyon Citizens!
The server has been updated with a quick patch as some recent changes were causing the server to lock up. We will be monitoring closely as usual to make sure this issue is now fixed.
Enjoy!
May 18 2011 4:20 AM UTC
Hello Xsyon Citizens!
The server and client have been updated with a patch. This patch includes:
Update:
-Crafting revisions.
Crafted quality and duration are based on:
Materials used.
Player craft skill and associated stats.
Tools used.
Forager and Scrapper tools add to duration.
Trapper and Pioneer tools add to quality.
Luck.-Crafted object decay. Tools, armor and weapons decay with use and will break.
-Duration updated for existing crafted items.
-Combat armor targeting issues fixed. The protection effect of armor should be more prominent now.
-Continued AI revisions
-Server optimization and minor bug fixes.In Progress:
-Crafted object additional properties and bonuses.
-Revised tree data storage system to prepare for tree planting and farming.
This will be accompanied by a full tree reset when it is patched out.-Tool tip improvements.
-Crafted object repair.
-Crafted object and building dismantling.
-Full combat system revision.
-Server cluster set up.The first two items listed are currently being checked on the test server. The tree data storage revision was a major task which took up the bulk of our time over the past two weeks and it just requires some final testing. As this is nearly done and I expect we will do some further adjustments to use decay after receiving feedback, we may have another patch ready in a few days rather than wait for next week. The rest of the items are in progress or next up on our list.
I just arrived home from my 2 week tour around Russia so we will make quicker progress now. This trip was a great success to meet new team members and get things organized. Everyone is excited for the future!
May 11 update
May 11 2011
Hello Xsyon Citizens!
A quick update today to keep you all informed:
There will not be a client patch today as my schedule is too hectic travelling and meeting with new and old team members. I will be back in the US next Tuesday. I will patch out a test build as soon as I can so that the public can connect to our test server while we continue balancing decay.
In order of priority we are currently working on:
-Decay and crafting changes – not much left to finish here, so this will be ready for next week’s update.
-Tree data saving. When this is done we will restore all trees.
-Combat revisions. We’ve started implementing a new system. This will take some time, but we will allow players to check our changes in progress on the test server.My updates will be brief until I return home as I have much to work on. Enjoy!
May 9 update
May 9 2011
Hello everyone!
There is currently a critical terraforming bug on the server at the moment and we need everyone to stop terraforming for now.
Thanks. (The issue with terraforming has been fixed).
May 8 update
May 8 2011
Hello Xsyon Citizens!
A quick note for today:
We will update the server to correct the current terrain problems with our next scheduled maintenance (Monday 2:00 AM PST). The problem was caused by rounding off terrain heights to reduce memory usage. It’s been corrected while keeping our optimizations.
That’s all for now!
May 7 update
May 7 2011
A quick update today to answer some questions and concerns:
1. The shifted terrain players have noticed is due to terraformed terrain heights being rounded off to reduce memory usage. One of our programmers will focus on correcting this immediately and may contact some of the players that have reported problems. We will fix problems on the test server first and may ask some of you to join us to make sure your tribal lands are correct before we patch changes to the public server.
2. Some architecture parts have been deliberately resized to form a more consistent and interchangeable kit of parts. There are many new parts that will be added soon. One particular wall (the wide limestone wall) may be rescaled soon, but only if we write a script to replace all current walls with two wall segments.
3. Quality levels do have an effect, as they are transferred from the material to a crafted object. Quality tools affect the quality of armor and weapons, which will play an important part in the revised combat system we will start working on this week.
4. Some players have reported quality of items not stacking correctly. What you are seeing is an effect of the tool tip information being cached. If you merge a stack of objects it currently takes about a 30 seconds to refresh the information so that you see the correct quality value of the merged stack. This will be fixed for the next update to avoid further confusion.
I think that answers the primary concerns for now. I’ll get back to work!
May 6 update
May 6 2011
Hello Xsyon citizens!
Please make sure to install using the latest installer. This install should remove your old data files and do reinstall the new compressed versions. The download servers, game server and client have all been updated.
This update includes:
Updated Installer
The installer is prepared for future updates to automatically remove files that need to be updated if necessary. This will allow you to update easilly to new installers without doing a full reinstall.
Updated Patcher
The patcher uses compressed files and the total download has been reduced to less than 50% of the original size.
The patcher allows you to connect to the main server or the test server, using a test client, when available. We will post when the test server is open for public tests. This will help us check out and balance some of the upcoming changes with combat and agriculture before patching the changes to the main server.
-Issues causing potential time outs or disconnects have been fixed.
-The patch order for removing, adding and modifying files has been rearranged to reduce total patching time.
-The patcher now displays download speed.
-The patcher should now display progress better through all steps of the patching process.Game Update
This is primarily a creature update with additional data and systems prepared for the near future.
-Creatures age, grow and breed.
-Creatures hide when threatened and hibernate depending on the season.
-Creature AI and pathfinding has been further improved.
-All current animals are in game.
-Item Tooltips are back on. Tooltips have been optimized to use client side caching.
-Problems with creatures or players getting out of bounds causing the server to crash have been fixed.
-Collision detection has been revised for speed.
-Minor bugs with some armor parts and recipes have been fixed.In Progress:
-Crafted object decay.
-Crafted object additional properties and bonuses.
-Crafted object repair.
-Crafted object and building dismantling.
-Revised tree data storage system to prepare for tree planting and farming.
-Starting the full combat system revision. This will be made available on the test server as soon as possible.Enjoy!
May 6 2011 5:00 AM UTC
This update may take a while as we are setting up the download servers. I will post as soon as it’s ready.
May 6 2011
The servers will be down at 4:00 AM UTC for a patch. I will post a link to the new installer at this time. The new installer will require a full reinstall and download as we’ve switched to compressed files. The download is less than half of the original download now.
I will post a full update once the patch is up!
May 5 update
May 5 2011
Hello Xsyon citizens!
The launcher finally looks ready for the public. The launcher programmer ran additional tests while I was travelling and discovered a few more problems that could potentially cause disconnects while patching. These have been fixed and tested now.
I’ve prepared a current build and the test team will be checking it for critical issues today while the current files are uploading to the patch servers. We will test for the next 6-8 hours and if there are no critical issues the new installer will be made available.
I will announce this at least one hour before we do the update. This update will take place of the next scheduled daily maintenance.
As stated before, Wednesday will be our regular day for updates. If we have critical updates such as the current update, however, updates will be patched as soon as they are ready.