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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Wind Carrier, Alpha 31.7.19

Hello all!


I only managed to get the creature and enemies that I spoke of last week up and going - the transformation card will be finished for next week.

Not a ton of other changes; it was hot as hell here this last week and I had trouble focusing on anything for more than a few minutes at a time.


Changelog


Enemy Updates:

-Added Roura
-Large terrestrial bird
-Doesn't spawn normally, spawns occasionally in a swarm of minor creatures by the same name


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a visible hitbox for the Ilhkor'sei
-Fixed a few bugs with the new skill menu



A male Roura with a group of smaller females. 
The roura are a common sight in Goldrath, found from the west coast all the way to the edges of the great desert that lies in the east. The female roura pose no threat to anyone, but the larger, more vibrant males are very territorial and will attack intruders on sight. 
The Zin'ahlope learn from a young age how to transform into the creatures. They themselves are quite slow, being barely taller than most other sjjena's waists, but with their mastery of transformation magic, the Zin'ahlope can pose a large threat indeed.

The male roura spawns in a different way than most enemies do; it spawns from the spawning of the female minor creatures. It ends up with them spawning in surprising places. I found it rather interesting myself - I may just have to play around with unconventional spawning more in the future.


Anywho, until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 24.7.19

Hello all!

Been working on a new enemy/minor creature/transform card this week. Not quite ready to show it off, but other than that I didn't accomplish a ton.

I did make a couple of significant changes though. I'll let the changelog speak, then I'll talk below about them.


Changelog

-Merchant stock now updates every morning

-Removed the crafting bench from the player's home

-Changed the color of AoE around EIR encounters


Player/Civ Updates:

-Added Miner's Mark, Chopper's Mark, and Trader's Mark skills
-5 level each
-Miner's: Increases drop rates for stone and clay
-Chopper's: Increases drop rates for hides, produce, and lumber
-Trader's: Increases drop rates for mana crystals

-The player now gains skill points at every level


The first larger change I made this week is that now the player gains skill points every level. To me, it feels like there is more customization this way and it allows the player to make choices at every level, as opposed to every so often. It also allows for more skills to be created in general and allow the player to tailor themselves more how they would like.

The other, probably larger, change is the removal of player gear crafting. Wind Carrier isn't so much about the player herself, but rather the world and the impact that she has on it. With that in mind, I thought it better to remove that aspect. The player can still find and purchase new gear, of course, this way, however, all of their resources go to improving their civilization as opposed to themselves. And since improving the civ improves the player, it puts more focus on the civ than there was before, making it more important. This may turn some players off, but it feels like the right thing to do in my eyes. To be honest, the player gear crafting never really felt like it fit as far as I am concerned. 

Anyhow, I'll be working on the aforementioned creature this next week along with probably working on the decrepit influence levels. 

Until next time,


-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Wind Carrier, Alpha 17.7.19

Hello all!

I noticed today, when I went to put this blog up that I never informed that I was going to be taking a short vacation. I suppose I had just thought about it enough to have convinced myself that I had done it. I apologize for that.

Anywho, this week there are a few changes, some restructuring, same old, same old, more or less.


Changelog

-Added icons for transformation HUDs

-Updated the transformation HUD to reflect the updated normal HUD

-Added day/night transitions

-Added a particle effect to the card projectile

-Updated the weather effects for the following conditions:
-Rain
-Fog
-Arid

-Weather is now hidden when placing/managing buildings

-Made AoE markers more visible in general

-Followers no longer block the player's movement

-Followers now take damage over time, which can be reduced by taking different skills

-Followers which heal allies passively no longer heal themselves

-Added the ability for civs that have reached a higher influence level than their current to spawn 'decrepit' levels in accordance with the highest influence level they have attained


Player/Civ Updates:

-The building upgrade widget now has insufficient material amounts displayed in red for better visibility

-Ritual of the Dancing Shrines can now be taken at level 1

-During character creation, can now control the alpha level of the player's markings

-Updated the way that taking skills works
-Skills only need be hovered over
-Clicking will take the skill

-The player no longer naturally regenerates health during combat

-Updated the skill system to stack the multiple levels of skills as opposed to having them all spread around the skill widget

-Added the skill Sate the Spirit
-Reduces the spirit burn of allies
-3 levels


Card Updates:

-PackHound now only spawns minions on transform if there are fewer than 6 followers following the player


EIR Updates:

-All EIR encounters which have negative effects on the player have an AoE around them, encounters changed where:
-Beehive
-Black Arrow Offshoot
-Lavaleaf


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed the scale for the Builder's Hut
-Fixed an oversight, where the follower icons in the HUD would not carry over if the player used a transform card or de-transformed
-Fixed a bug where the old, broken hut wasn't despawned when the quest A Lost Staff was completed
-Fixed a rare bug where a follower bot would despawn for one reason or another and their widget would not get removed
-Fixed the scaling issue with the follower widget



The new, cleaner skill menu - with a new color, might I add! Green indicates a skill that you have taken at least one level for which you can take the next level of. 
The change comes after discussing with a few people about how they felt the skill page looked. It looked messy to me as well, I just needed enough people to tell me to fix it, I guess. :p


It seems that that is the only screenshot that I have this week.

This update seems larger than it really is. Most of this was done the week prior to my vacation, but next week it'll be back to regularly scheduled updates.

Until next time,


-Lucas Cady
Project Director


Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 19.6.19

Hello all!

I am back from my bit of a break and come bearing some updates!

I spent about three hours one day playing Wind Carrier without even noticing that it was that long. To me, that is the mark of a good game: you feel like you've accomplished something and it has held onto your interest without seeming like time was moving at all.

Anywho, changelog!



Changelog

-Added gravesites
-Have a chance to spawn after any enemy is killed
-Can be desecrated or prayed at for 30% of the enemy's influence
-Interacted with by some spells

-Increased day speed

-Upgraded the minor creature spawner to increase usage speed along with increasing the variety of random creatures that can be spawned in any given biome

-Updated the stone material nodes to increase visibility

-Greatly increased the amount of spawners for:
-Stone
-Minor Creatures
-Flying Creatures
-Eir Encounters
-Random Encounters

-Added Wandering Allies to the random encounter spawner pool

-Increased the speed at which the music changes from Day to Night

-Added a night post processing volume which actives at night


Player/Civ Updates:

-Lowered the out of combat regeneration from 3x to 2x
-Also lowered the in combat regen to 0.5x the displayed amount of regen


Card Updates:

-Added PackHound
-Transformation
-T2
-Transforms the player into a hound which also summons 3 faithful hounds as it does

-Added Horned Charge
-T1
-Spawns horns on the player's head which increase their MDM plus replaces their jump with a charge
-Charge has a small chance to stun

-Added Blast of Bone
-T1
-Creates an explosion of bone which scales with the number of gravesites nearby
-Causes negative influence for each gravesite


EIR Updates:

-Added a new completely random spawner type

-Blackarrow
-Offshoots now stun as opposed to paralyze


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug where if the player returned a building to their inventory after starting to place it, but before actually placing it, the player's civ points would not properly reflect this
-Starting civ points are now correctly displayed
-Fixed the scale for the item type pickup icons
-Fixed a bug where the Vulpine fishing village of Tonorhanko would spawn without the prerequisite quests being finished
-Fixed a bug where the Oriilound's death animation looped incorrectly



A gravesite.
The idea totally didn't come to me while designing Blast of Bone. It's another way that the player can make up lost influence, however, so it's a win in my book because there needs to be more ways for the player to affect the world around them.


Horned Charge

The wife designed this one. As I said above, the player's jump is replaced by a charge which does scaling damage and has a small (10%~) to stun.
There is also some art for it which is almost complete. I will show it off once it is done.


PackHound

A transformation card, upgraded from the common Faithful Hound Card. Spawns three Faithful Hounds along with it.
Taking this screenshot, I realized that the transformation HUD could use some work, even ignoring the fact that they attack icons have not been properly made yet.


And here is the card art for PackHound, credits, again, to the wife.


And that's all I have for this week. I think I'll try to make it a habit to play Wind Carrier for an extended time at least once a week, because I noticed tons of issues which weren't brought to my attention, probably because they are tiny things that I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't the one that designed them. I've still a ton of things on my to-do list from my last play time which range from quality of life, like making the number of resources red when a player doesn't have enough of them to perform the function that they are looking at, to bigger things, like the follower's AI still getting stuck if there are too many enemies around them at once. 
I've still a long road ahead of me, but at least I'm learning shit to make the next one easier to create.

Anywho, until next time,




-Lucas Cady
Project Director


Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 29.5.19

Hello all!

This week I added a new system: the elemental affinity system. It'll be explained lower in the change log.

The next couple weeks, I'll be filling in for a co-worker at work, so I will have less to post about until the middle of June, give or take. I'll probably not post a blog next week, we'll see though.


Changelog

-Added a random merchant that specializes in warpaints

-Updated the merchant 'Aggy' to specialize in cards
-She also now has a larger chance to spawn with more random items in her inventory
-Has a chance to carry any tier 1 or 2 card available in the game, barring uniques


Player/Civ Updates:

-Added elemental affinity
-Each card the player uses increases or decreases their elemental affinity
-A higher affinity increases the damage/healing/status effect potency of cards of the associated type
-A lower affinity lowers the aforementioned effects
-Each race starts with two raised affinities: one major, one minor
-The higher level the player achieves, the more difficult it is for them to change their affinities


Item Updates:

-Added Swirling Sapphire warpaint
-Can be purchased from the aforementioned warpaint merchant


Card Updates:

-Added Saariioisound card art, credits to the wife

-Added Fiery Ribbon card
-Tier 1
-Deals fire DoT then has a chance to stun a single target
-Idea credits to my wife

-Added Oriiolound's Game card
-Tier 2
-Oriiolound's capture card
-Spawns a stationary Oriiolound which allows the player to switch places with it
-Spawns a damaging aoe at both places when switched

-Removed Time Dilation
-I decided that I didn't really care for the idea of playing with time like that. Spirit Walk, both the card and the effect, are still present however.

-Added Sun Blast card
-Tier 1
-After a delay, does a large amount of fire damage

-Added Miirä'dar Nova card
-Tier 2
-Upgrades from Sun Blast
-Miirä'där SunDancer capture card
-Summons a SunDancer which charges a nova over 5 seconds, burning everything around it and finally releasing the charge as a large amount of fire damage


Enemy Updates:

-Renamed Haljuhurtta to Oriiolound and Brass Haljuhurtta to Brass Oriiolound

-Added Miirä'där SunDancer
-Neutral alignment
-Deals AoE fire damage with most techniques
-Only appears during the day

-Miirä'där WaterCarvers now only spawn during the night


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug where the mouse cursor would remain visible after moving away from a building the player was interacting with



The Saariioisound card art, again, credits to the wife.
Probably my favorite card art in Wind Carrier as of now. 



The Miirä'där SunDancer

The opposite side of the Miirä'där monastic society, the SunDancers revel in the light and warmth of the sun which keeps their race mobile and alive. Neither the SunDancers nor the WaterCarvers begrudge the others at all, they both know very well that they need both the sun and the sea to survive. SunDancers guard So'ri'ara by day, while the WaterCarvers guard the night.


And that's all I've got for this week... and probably for weeks to come. 

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director


Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 22.5.19

Hello all!

A new blog on the right day - amazing isn't it?

Not a huge amount this week either, mostly gearing up to push the map out further - probably what I'll be working on next week.

I realized this week that the map, physically speaking, is about a quarter complete. I've decided that finishing that should be my next focus - that and adding the remaining races. I finally decided the locations of the other race's home cities as well, though, that doesn't mean a ton when the map isn't finished.

Anywho.


Changelog

-Added a new landscape material
-Adjusted the current map accordingly

-Updated the last of the pine trees

-Added a new idle for the male Saurians


Card Updates:

-Crack art updated
-credits to my wife

-Added Frozen Standard art

-Finished adding sounds to all the card effects

-Added Saariioisound card
-Tier 2
-Upgrades from Fennoc fire
-Follower


Enemy Updates:

-Added Saariioisound
-Aenahi
-Fire aligned
-Capturable


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed some pathfinding bugs with the follower AI class



Saariioisound

It which immolates itself, a minor aenahi aligned with fire. Saariioisound are often seen at a distance on clear nights, glowing brightly and howling at the moon. 



The new Saurian male idle along with a warpaint that isn't quite finished yet. It will likely be named Swirling Sapphire.



The updated Crack art (right) and the new Frozen Standard art (left.) I definitely like the Crack art better, the original thing was far too old. 
As always, credits to my wife for a job well done with her art. 


Anywho, that's all that I have for this week. 

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director



Thursday, May 16, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 16.5.19

Hello all!

We're a few hours and a whole day late! Woo!
I was out yesterday for the most part on a date-day with my wife. Today, I had 9-5 kind of work, so here we are, late.

Reworked stuff and updated some others. Not a ton of stuff, but stuff all the same.


Changelog

-Updated the way that minor flying creatures spawn
-They now also spawn in random sizes
-Turn speed reduced across the board as well

-Updated sound effects for a number of cards

-Finalized the influence levels for Ardor

-Adjusted the follower AI

-Added a bite effect to things which bite

-Day/Night spawners now spawn different things based on time of day as opposed to one or the other


Player/Civ Updates:

-If there are no cards in the deck or the discard pile, the deck widget will no longer be visible


Enemy Updates:

-Added the Kairan minor creature

-Redid the meshes, animations, and textures for the Faithful/less Hounds

-Added the Wolf and Packleader enemies
-Stronger than dogs, but with less armor
-Also have access a backwards leap
-Packleader also has the option to summon more wolves


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug with the shuffle indicator; it should no longer suggest to shuffle the deck on game load



The new hound model along with the Wolf and Packleader.
The Treefeller is just there for size reference. 


The floating Kairan.
Mostly a passive creature, very few hunt them for anything even sport.

And that's all for this week. The only creatures left that need a bit of a redoing are the Haljuhurtta and the Ilhkor'sei. And both of those mostly need skeletal fixes and some updates to animations to make the snappier. Probably a few more for both as well.

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director


Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha Demo 0.1.7

Hello all!

This week is a build week and as such, you can download the newest build from here or from the header up top.

To the changelog!


Changelog

-Updated the fern texture
-Updated the pine tree branch texture
-Added dynamic moss to the stone texture


Item Updates:

-Added the Miiriöyrä Väärääte accessory
-Unique


Card Updates:

-Added Iron Herald card
-Tier 3
-Provides the same benefits as Iron Eye, but none of the drawbacks

-Added the Upheaval of Stone card
-Tier 2
-Upgrades from Crack
-After a delay, does large amounts of earth damage and either knocks enemies up or stuns them


Enemy Updates:

-Added the Crystalline Mushroom enemy
-Spawns swarms of smaller, projectile spawning mushrooms
-Drops large amounts of stone and mana crystals upon death

-Added The Iron Herald unique enemy
-Leonen
-Stronger and more durable than a normal Iron Head
-Drops the unique card Iron Herald on death


Quest Updates:

-Added A Lot of Water
-Leonen
-Requires Feeding Ardor to be completed

-Added The Iron Herald
-Leonen
-Requires Feeding Ardor to be completed


Dream Updates:

-Added A Lot of Water
-Leonen
-Spawned by the quest of the same name


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug with quest spawning on load
-Fixed a bug where at the end of A Few Leaves, the quest giver didn't actually take the leaves
-Fixed a few bugs in the quest log



The dynamic moss. Not super exciting, I know, but it was a bit of a test for myself. Plus, it adds a bit of dynamics to the environment.
I'll probably make a better mask for the actual moss itself, though.


Miiriöyrä Väärääte

Lit. Watering Stump. The unique reward for completing A Little Water.



And at last the new fern texture. 
I'm a bit impressed by myself as it looks to be in the same style as the grass, which, of course, was done by my wife. 


And that's all I've got for this week. 

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 1.5.19

Hello all!

I didn't get a ton done this week. Mostly worked on refactoring and upgrading some existing systems to allow me to create better content in the future.

Anywho, changelog.


Changelog

-Reworked random merchant logic to make creating new merchants quicker
-Only one of any given merchant will spawn now

-Upgraded the capabilities of the quest system to allow more complex quests to be created

-Added another possible Fateful Encounter


Item Updates:

-Added Bundles for each resource to the sales list of all bots
-Each costs 50 mc
-Contains a random amount of the stated resource
-The amount scales based on the player's resource bonus stats


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug where enemies stunned outside of low health conditions regained health when becoming unstunned
-Fixed a couple bugs with the stat comparison widget in the equipment screen


Yeah, as I said, not super duper exciting, but it allows for more exciting things to be added in the future.

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 24.4.19

Hello all!

I'm almost back up to speed, not a bunch to say.


Changelog

-Random merchants now all have certain types of items that they sell that others do not

-Updated the clothing_object logic to include a unique mesh for each race/gender combination


Player/Civ Updates:

-Health and mana regen rates are now tripled outside of combat and when not dreaming

-Added a bit of screenshake/hit stun when the player is hit

-Added the Fan weapon class
-Medium range
-Heavy combos provide refreshable buffs
-In order:
-Armor Up
-Regen
-Atk Up
-Buff effects scale on the player's damage and MDM or MCM stats, depending which is higher


Item Updates:

-Added A Trickster's Hide
-Unique
-Dream reward

-Added Primitive Fan

-Added S'Hae Typhoon

-Added Crystalline Macuahuitl


Enemy Updates:

-Enemies stunned when about the health threshold are no longer able to be finished


Dream Updates:

-Added A Trickster's Trove
-Dynamic
-Drops from Vulpine Tricksters
-A veritable mana mine to those that are observant; something more akin to a deathtrap to those who are unwary
-Has a chance to drop a large number of items from the burlap sacks scattered around


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug where the mouse clicker icon wouldn't show up above the hand widget when adding cards to an empty deck



A Trickster's Hide

The unique reward for A Trickster's Trove
On display is also the fan idle along with the S'Hae Typhoon
The design of A Trickster's Hide is to be credited to my wife.

And that's all I have for this week. 

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Update; 17.4.9

Hello all.

As I (didn't) mention last week, there won't be a proper blog this week as the wife and I moved recently. My changelog is only three things long, and two of the three are bug fixes, thus I will shift them onto next week.
Everything went much smoother than last time, so I expect myself to be back up to the proper speed again sooner rather than later. It also helps that I've got a short commute now by something along the lines of 45 minutes, so, that'll help too.

Until next time,


-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 10.4.19

Hello all!

Got more than I would have guessed for this week, so, yay.



Changelog

-Resource gain and mana crystal gain widgets now spawn in a normalized widget akin to the item pickup widget

-Re-textured the grass for a final time (credits the wife)

-In the process of finalizing the civ stats icons (credits the wife)

-Added a new class of random encounters which have a lower spawn rate than average random encounters


Player/Civ Updates:

-The player can no longer spirit walk in dreams

-Lowered the delay between the last attack and the combo reset for melee attacks from 3 seconds to 2 seconds

-Spirit Walk

-Updated the mats and post process volume so the spirit orbs are actually visible
-Each orb now increases health healed by between 10% and 20%, up from a flat 10%
-Each orb lasts longer now
-Spirit Walk now ends when the player collects 100% health and mana
-Spirit Walk can now be ended with Escape and Backspace as well as 1


Item Updates:

-Added Consielle Skull material
-Drops from Vulpine Shamans and Sundrinkers

-Added The Gilded Ostaar head item
-Greatly increases all production rates
-Greatly increases population rate


Card Updates:

-Added Ancient Stump
-Earth
-Tier 2
-A simple wall until it takes enough fire or air damage; turning into an inferno or a heavy, blunt object respectively

-Added Crystalline Mountain
-Tier 3
-Upgrades from Crystalline fountain
-A stack of three fountains, each of which fire faster than the original and at different angles, covering a large area with crystalline shards


Enemy Updates:

-Dragonbone Shaman
-Now has a chance to drop the Witch's Crown head item


Building Updates:

-Added Totem of Li'Kuntuu
-Vulpine crafting
-Large amounts of pop rate


Dream Updates:

-Added The Gilded Ostaar
-Vulpine aligned
-Spawned by a random encounter with Fate




The new grass texture, courtesy of my wife. It finally actually looks good. 


New scale texture, replacing the literally two year old thing that I made in a hurry before I even started using Photoshop, let along Krita. 


The two new icons amidst the old ones. The rest will be replaced eventually as well. I'm looking forward to the consistency that her work will bring to the UI.


A couple other textures, courtesy of my wife.


The Gilded Ostaar

The legendary Gilded Ostaar is spoken of in Vulpine mythology. It is said that Li'Kuntuu breathed life into the first Ostaar millennia ago in the form of this golden flower. 
The common ostaar is deeply entangled with the Vulpine race; it's quick spreading and its propensity to prosper where others do not. A common prophetic ritual among Vulpine involves a bonfire and ostaar seeds. They toss the seeds into the pit which they have prepared for the fire, set the bonfire ablaze with specially prepared oils - which cause the flame to burn hotter and faster, and then dance the night away. Once the procession begins to awake, a shaman will read the ashes and the ostaar; some of which may have already grown overnight after the fire had died down. The number and configuration of the ostaar both play a part in the reading. A healthy field of ostaar is a good sign, but horrible things await in the near future if the field is bare.



Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director


Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 03.04.19

Hello all!

Not much to say about the changelog, I'll let it speak for itself. But I do need to mention that we are moving again, just across the city, but the next couple of weeks, maybe a month, will be a bit slower again. After that though, things should theoretically pick up again, faster than now, since I will have a shorter commute to work, thus more time to spend on Wind Carrier.

Anywho...


Changelog

-All buildings which offer no stats now have their description prefaced with "Decoration"


Item Updates:

-Added A Twisted Spire
-Unique
-Spear
-Has a chance to spawn Rockdancer's akin to the spell card, Rockdancer's Drop, every time the player attacks in melee


Card Updates:

-Added Effluvia Gel 
-Dream reward
-Massive explosion
-Damage to everything
-Negative influence when cast

-Added Condemnation
-Upgrades from Effluvia Gel
-Damage to everything
-Large negative influence when cast


Enemy Updates:

-Added Väälhäiliilhiöynd
-Syyenä
-Lit. Pebble Collector
-Heals self with piles of stones which its other abilities spawn
-Gains armor as it heals
-Bleeds with melee after it gains enough armor
-Nature alignment


Dream Updates:

-Added An Alchemical Armament
-Vulpine aligned
-Vulp influence 50+ required for it to spawn
-Negative influence
-Short

-Added A Dancer's Descent
-Dynamic (Saurian Rockdancer)
-Saurian aligned
-Platformer



A Twisted Spire; the unique reward from A Dancer's Descent



A Väälhäiliilhiöynd


Not all syyenä are wise enough to build civilizations. The Väälhäiliilhiöynd are such a breed. These physically strong creatures care for little more than their stones. It is unclear why they care so much for their pebbles, but each takes a large amount of pride in his or her collection - oftentimes jamming the stones into their gashes, allowing the wounds to close around them.



As I said above, things'll be slowing down a bit for a while again, but I'm excited all the same. 

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha demo 0.1.6

Hello all!

This week is a build week, and as such you can find the newest build from our header or from here, as per usual.

I've been working on getting everything set up and ready for a couple new, bigger things that should be rolling out soon and the changelog reflects that.


Changelog

-Added Wargroups
-Wargroups are scaleable groups of enemies which spawn after the player has lowered a race's influence enough
-The power and size of the group scales based on negative influence
-Wargroups have a chance to spawn everyday, in the morning
-Spawn within a certain range of the player
-Will never spawn if no influence is below -10
-Added a wargroup random encounter as well

-Prepared the code base for civilization destruction

-Refactored the influence logic
-In addition, finally clamped influence between -100 and 100

-Updated the random merchant's stock with new items

-Updated the signpost in front of player buildings


Item Updates:

-Added Lavaleaf Oil crafting material
-Vulpine crafting
-Used in other Vulpine crafting

-Added the Violet Mist potion
-Dropped from most Vulpine enemies
-Deals 50% of the player's currently health in damage to them then heals 100% of their mana

-Added Li Feather crafting material
-Vulpine crafting
-Used in other Vulpine crafting


Enemy Updates:

-Updated the drop lists for all the Vulpine enemies to include Lavaleaves and Violet Mist


Building Updates:

-Added Feathered Barrel decoration
-Vulpine crafting

-Added the Feasthall of Li'Kuntuu building
-Vulpine crafting


EIR Updates:

-Doubled the chance for Kiwi to drop eggs


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed the rotation on all the mana crystals I found



Feasthall of Li'Kuntuu

A small hall designed to venerate Li'Kuntuu, It Which is Made of Feather and Bone. The "feathers," which amount to not much more than plant fibers fashioned around a wooden frame, are Li Feathers. Their design comes from the accounts of many a ritualist, who swear that Li'Kuntuu itself is adorned by thousands of such feathers.



The updated signposts. There are three, one for each upgrade level of a building. Adds a nice visual distinction and continuity to the upgrade process, at least, to me.


Anywho, that's all for this week.

Until next time,


-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 20.3.19

Hello all!

Got a couple updates this week, but nothing spectacular.

To the changelog!


Changelog

-Racial buildings now spawn villagers of the corresponding race, regardless of the player's race
-Ex. Vulpine Campsites will now spawn vulpine villagers, even if the player is a Saurian or a Leonen

-Added the word "back" to the back button

-Worked on updating the quest log's functionality
-Quests now fail as the quest giver is killed
-The player is informed as it happens

Player/Civ Updates:

-Reworked Population Chance
-Works almost the same as before when below 100%
-Above 100% there will be an additional guaranteed villager spawn per 100% of Population Chance
-Ex. The player's Pop Chance is 210%. They will get a guaranteed 2 villagers/roll plus a 10% chance roll for a third.
-With new changes to the population chance, the number of rolls per day has been changed as well
-Civs under pop 50 will now have their population/2.5 rolls per day
-Civs above pop 50 will now have their pop/3 to 6 rolls per day


Building Updates:

-Added Advanced Vulpine Campsite
-Final tier Vulpine Campsite
        -10 population
        -20% population rate

Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a weighting issue on the Vulpine male's left wrist
-Fixed a weighting issue on the Leonen female's LOD 1




The final Vulpine Campsite, a two tiered camp fitted for 10 occupants. The campfire has been replaced by a spirit-fire bonfire, almost immune to the rains that plague Goldrath. 



I didn't get as much done this week as I would have liked to (do I ever?), but it is what it is.

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Wind Carrier; 13.3.19

Hello all!

I finally got the gumption to (technically) add all the rest of the races that will be in Wind Carrier. The process took about 2 and a half hours between all the places that had to be updated, but they are all there now. Just have to actually model them, which will take time, of course, and then create armor for those that do not fit any archetypes.


Changelog

-Reworked most of the light combo animations to feel as though they have more weight behind them

-Added all the remaining races to the code base


Item Updates:

-Readded Kuutar Regalia
-Now craftable
-Requires Saurian crafting

-Readded Kuutar Hood
-Now craftable
-Requires Saurian crafting


Building Updates:

-Added Intermediate Vulpine Campsite

-Added the Spirit-Fire Stake decoration

-Added the Builder's Hut
-Upgraded from Builder's workbench
-Decreases generic material costs by 20% and specific material costs by 50%
Note: The crafter upgrades will also get this treatment and the level 3 crafter and builders will get a further decrease in costs
Note: Having at least one upgraded builder's hut will also decrease the material costs of upgrading all buildings


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug where the player could not interact with any widgets after completing Of Feather and Bone



The Intermediate Vulpine Campsite

More population and some population rate to boot. The third level has been designed already as well and it should be ready by next week.


Spirit-Fire Stake

A simple decoration in the vulpine crafting tree. I will probably begin to roll out more decoration objects in the coming weeks as there are only 3(?) of them thus far. A fair number will probably also be racial crafting.


And the re-added Kuutar Regalia
I had almost forgotten that this armor hadn't been updated yet. 
On top of its re-addition, it is now craftable, which makes it much easier to obtain - though, it does require some mats from a couple different creatures, namely: Ob'dar and Consielle.


Anywho, that's all for this week. One of these weeks, the Zin'Ahlop will be ready to show off. The female mesh is about done, just have to tweak some of the bits here and there until it is good enough for the wife. :p
After that, it's not much until the race is added as our 4th. I'll need to expand the map to fit their racial home, which isn't too too far off. On top of that, Granforn needs to be actually added at some point. The damn city has been done for a while now, it just requires the land between Ardor and it to be finished first.


Until next time,



 -Lucas Cady
Project Director

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha 27.2.19

Hello all!

Not a super long changelog, just simply a changelog


Changelog


-Buildings are now saved based on an offset as opposed to an absolute world position
-Older saves will have problems with this update

-Updated the current meshes for all the races for the last time

-Updated Kerankohora 75+

-If a player has unlocked racial crafting for a race, there is now an indicator in the influence menu

-Adjusted the location of the new card indicator for shopping

-Tho-to is no longer killable


Quest Updates:

-Added the quest A Helping Hand
-Vulpine aligned
-0+ influence
-Gives access to Vulpine crafting

-Added the quest A Special Breakfast
-Vulpine aligned
-No influence reqs
-Written by our Chris


Building Updates:

-Added the Blooming Bramble building
-Vulpine crafting
-Increases produce and clay rates


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug where if the player dodged within any civ, including their own, the civ would despawn, then respawn after the dodge had been completed
-Fixed collision for pear trees
-Fixed the collision capsule of the crafter
-Fixed some map tears
-Fixed some water collision
-Fixed an issue where the player could get underneath the mountain near So'ria'ra



The Blooming Bramble building

Tiny Vulpine and pine tree for size reference


A shot from the front of Kerankohora at influence 75+


And finally, the last update to these three. From now on it will be moving forward and that's that. 


And that's all I have for this week. Next week will probably be a bit bare as I am taking a trip for a few days, but we'll see what I can accomplish for next time.


Until then,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Wind Carrier

Wind Carrier is the first game being created by Clouds of Glass Games. It is an adventure RPG centered on the continent of Goldrath. The player, the titular Wind Carrier, directs their small civilization from a simple camp to a continent spanning empire throughout the course of the game. They will encounter a tentative eight different opposing civilizations that they can either help advance or destroy. The entire game world will bend to the player's choices, though the player must be aware that they are a director, not a god - most choice, intentional or not, will have unforeseen consequences for the player in the coming ages.

As the player advances in the game, they will learn different rituals to perform which will aid them, a couple of which will allow them to advance further in time or revert back, seeing the fruits of their labors play out for them in the coming ages. Remember, the only choice that can be undone is inaction.

Ultimately, my team and I are looking to found a game development studio to produce quality, anthro-centric video games.


---


A bit about me:

My name is Lucas Cady, as I'm sure you can see on the side bar up there somewhere. My experiences in storytelling and game systems run deep. I started young, DMing for my group of friends and acquaintances (3.5, D&D, for those that care.) I was never given a respite from doing so, never once was I allowed to actually play within the system, so I learned to love changing and warping it however I liked. It was almost like playing a character.

After high school, I took my love of storytelling and attempted to write a book. It did not end well. Failure to communicate between myself and my co-author at the time lead to it being rushed to production through some self publishing platform that I cannot recall the name of at the time of this writing. I did not write with him again.

I had given up on anything related to that, life took me hither and thither, meeting my wife and being whisked away to the ancient, magical land of Finland before I knew what was happening.

I thought my love for the craft was dead, but about a year and a half ago, amidst some turmoil, I found that spark once more. I began writing a new series of books (which may or may not ever get finished :p) centered in the land of Xeren, a land filled with only anthros. Through the course of writing this I developed a character that I loved very dearly, and a land from whence he/she once held inconceivable power - Goldrath.

Our story here, will begin several hundred years before the happenings within the series. From him/her the idea formed, the basis for the entire story for Wind Carrier. And, no, I'm not revealing who it is.

Before Project Wind Carrier, I had not once touched a 3D development tool, but that has, of course, changed.

Currently, I have been doing the lion's share of the work: modeling, animating, texturing, coding, world building; and as such I have quickly gained a moderate understanding of all of these fields. Most of the good, unique ideas come from my wife, however. :p

---

Wind Carrier Now:

We are developing using Unreal Engine 4. All of the 3D models are being created using Blender, though we have plans to upgrade to Maya as soon as the funds for the studio become available. All textures and the like are made using Krita.

Our technical build is still Alpha 0.1.5, all of the main systems within the game are complete and are being expanded with more content everyday. These systems include: an inventory, a influence system through which the player affects the world, a combat system, a magic system based on cards a la Lost Kingdoms, a civilization building system, a simple crafting system, the aforementioned age system, and a questing system.


---

Wind Carrier Then:

Currently we are working on polishing the content that we have along with adding more. Every system is in place, as I mentioned, it is simply filling the world up and then releasing. This, however, will likely take a long while at my current pace as I am still the main work-horse for Wind Carrier. Along side me are: my wife who does whatever she can whenever she can and our playtester Chris.

The second and third ages, while technically being there, are also completely empty. They, while important, are not what we are focusing on as of now. The intention is to probably release Age 1 (the Leonen Age) in early access once it is complete and then release the next two ages as free content to those that have purchased in early access.

---

I update this blog every Wednesday and we have new builds, which I post links for, once a month. The newest build can always be found at the top of the header.

I really need to take more random screen shots while I test stuff. Alas.






Have the new itch.io icon! Credits to my wife, of course.


-Lucas Cady
Project Director


Note: I decided to write this after my wife noted that the previous featured post was almost two years old and really not that relevant anymore.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Wind Carrier; Alpha demo 0.1.5

Hello all!

It's been three months and here we are!

Finally a new build!

All the changes since last time can be found in the above link, and below, as usual, you will find the changelog for this week alone.


Changelog

-Quest NPC's can now have names


Item Updates:

-Added the Glimmering Shawl
-Craftable
-Head item
-Saurian crafting required

-Added the MarshGlimmer Keratin and MarshGlimmer Scales material drops


Card Updates:

-Added the Dizzying Cloud card
-Tier 2
-Upgrades from Daze
-Leave a miasma that has a chance to stun enemies on tick over the duration
-Has a slightly lower stun chance/tick than daze does on contact


Enemy Updates:

-Added Brass Haljuhurtta
-Haljuhurtta variant


Quest Updates:

-Added the quest The Fantastic Find
-Vulpine aligned
-Available from -50 influence and up
-Found in Kerankohora
-Unique reward (still requires implementation)


Building Updates:

-Added the Glimmering Bath
-Craftable
-Saurian crafting required
-Increases mana regen and population rate
-Slowly heals the mana of a player standing near it at a rate of 5%/sec


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug where the player was able to build within other civilization borders
-Fixed a bug where racial crafting objects were incorrectly added to the crafting list
-Fixed a bug where A Lost Staff was not able to be completed


And that's it for this week. More than last week, but less than the most we've had. We're almost back up to speed though, which is really good.

Until next time,



-Lucas Cady
Project Director