Code of the Savage Update #32

The latest Kickstarter update for Geoff Jones’ Ultima-inspired retro RPG Code of the Savage starts by sharing some unfortunate health-related news, but then pivots to a general progress report and shows off some fresh music, art and assets. The update also lists a bunch of notable recent improvements.

Here’s a quick look at the town of Cargile:

And the update’s text parts:

Greetings backers,

Starting off on a more personal note, I was recently diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. I spent a bit of time in hospital and back home resting… I was in pretty bad shape at the time, but I feel a lot better now… Thankfully it is the slow moving kind. So if I follow the advice of my doctors and continue getting treatment, I’ll live a long life. (and finish this game) 🙂

Anyway… on to the update…

I had to rewrite how the game handles moving inventory items from slots to the ground and stacks etc. I was having so many problems with it breaking… The new method is a lot cleaner and more robust. I should experience fewer issues with it going forward. Along with that, I also rewrote the double click system to be more flexible. You may experience some bugs double clicking on items that are behind trees and walls, but that’s a minor issue that will be fixed soon.

The Music system has been added to the game. Different sets of tracks will play at certain locations in the world. I also commissioned a violin version of one of Tom Pyrdols tracks, Tavern Under The Sea. Check it out below 🙂

Trees have been tweaked. The tree tops are now slightly transparent when an NPC or player walks behind them. There is also more variety in the colour of the tree tops.

I also added some minor pond critters like butterflies, frogs, dragonflies and squirrels.

Cargile

As you approach Cargile, a foul stench permeates the air. Grass, trees and other vegetation are dying… It’s residence lay rotting in the summer heat. The once fertile trade port of Cargile now resembles Hell. Was it cursed? What happened here?

Mine assets

I’ve added assets formines to the game

Some of the more notable updates include:

• Added the music system and music zones
• Rewrote item drag system
• Added transparency to tree tops
• Trees now draw tree tops separately
• Centralized double clicking system
• Fixed double clicking on multiple stacked items
• Added ALT and SHIFT animations when dragging stacked items
• Fixed not being able to drag items over item box
• Disabled certain sounds when paused
• NPC names now only appear when the player knows them
• Default object loot items added to the DB lookup script
• Fixed enemy chase mechanics
• Fixed NPC schedules
• Added red blood screen when player is hit when low on health
• Lower black border of wall corners fixed
• Use action on doors fixed
• Take-all on containers with stacked items fixed
• Fixed some walls only drawing part of the sprite
• Cleaned up old collision layers

Thanks everyone. I need to focus on game content going forward… Adding points of interest, NPC’s, storylines and dungeons etc.

~Geoff