Lots of things have been going on in the last months, though most of it remains invisible, and i havnt much eye candy to show.
First, i completed the 3rd big update on the networking engine of Ymir.
This is a verylong task and although invisible , its critical for the game development. This new system is now complete, but now i need to review and update the whole code to use it instead of the old one, which will also take ages.
This new level 3 network provides big improvements :
– More stable
– Centralizing all networking operations in only a few functions, making debugging and maintenance easier as well as implementing new features
– Improved bandwidth usage with optimized and compressed data transfers
– A data subscription and patch system allows to stay updated on a piece of data without having to redownload it all. This will limit bandwidth usage further more and improve loading tiems. What it means is that for exemple you wont have to re-download the whole building list of your city every time you go back to the worldmap, because your game will stay synced with the server even when you leave the region. This auto update system beeing centralized , it works for all the types of data, replacing a case-by-case basis system where each data had its own set of functions.
Secondly, though its still WIP , i have started implementing the events system, mailing system , treaties and trade routes.
Treaties include many options like trade agreements, tributes, right of passage, alliances… They also include automatic breaking closes that can be specified when creating the treaty : for instance, making one of the players pay a gold penalty in case he breaks the treaty, or triggering war automatically. Treaties are proposed via the mailing system, and become effective once agreed by the 2 players.
Screenshots of the UI will come when i’m done repairing the game by updating it to the level 3 network.
Setting up this whole new set of features is also a big task, and because they’re all related with each other, they can’t be done one by one. There is still a lot of work to be done before its ready.
And last but not least, i am aware that at this current workrate, this game won’t be finised until 2030… Though its too soon to say anything right now, i’m now seriously planning to change this situation and considering my options. If it does happen, the game should be playable within a year after it becomes effective.