Re: LoC 2024 - Development Thread

[Bumbleguppy]

That's exactly ow I envisioned the look when I was first reading Greek Mythology oh...50 years ago? Yeah, half a century. of course, it was a children's edition book, but still...great look!

[nargil66]

That's exactly ow I envisioned the look when I was first reading Greek Mythology oh...50 years ago? Yeah, half a century. of course, it was a children's edition book, but still...great look!

I'm glad you like it, Bumble. I got some inspiration from this picture:

[nargil66]

Ok, here is the latest stuff.

First, the new Golden Fleece torso is ported. Preview ingame:


Second, i'm working on an overhaul of all enemy Dryads in the mod. The armors used by the Nature pets are remade into a MI set:


Male version, using a "male dryad" (aka Dendrite) skin:


I think to replace the mage enemy dryads (those with long dress) with male Dendrite druids. Also i may add some ascacophuses to the dryad pools, they would fit well.

Stay tuned

[nargil66]

A big chunk of work was done today, and the latest source files are uploaded to Nexus. What is new:
- Fishing system is updated to the latest version
- Added Transmog mod to LoC
- Fixed and updated a lot of animations, re-added the hand buff effects when casting spells, fixed Flex animation
- Added a new skin pack to Helos vendor
- Other minor fixes

[Medea Fleecestealer]

The big question though is - when can we play it!   

[nargil66]

The big question though is - when can we play it!   

If everything goes as planned, I'll aim for an early release at the beginning of August. Many things will still be unfinished, but it's better than making you wait for too long

Edit: Added drop sounds to MI items today

[nargil66]

Here is a long gameplay video of my Guardian char titanquesting in Egypt:


What is going on lately - i noticed many affixes on items aren't giving pet bonuses - especially rare ones like Veteran's, Relentless, etc. Last 2 days i'm working to correct that, but it will take some more time. While i'm on it, i gave a buff to some Magical affixes that i never use, for example:

Pupil's/Scholar's/Mentor's... - now also gives some Energy Leech Resistance along with the X Energy bonus. Has pet bonus.
Tough/Sturdy/Durable... - also gives some Bleed Resistance along with the X Armor bonus. Has pet bonus.
of Endurance/Life/Survival... - gives some Life Leech Resistance along with the X Health bonus. Has pet bonus.

The work on affixes continues, stay tuned

[nargil66]

Ok, a lot of pet bonuses are added to affixes, but more remain. I needed a little break, so i went back to reworking the dryads.
Here is their new look:


Edit - Part 2:


All enemy Dryad champions now have the Tree Form skill, to make them tougher and more lore friendly. It will be also granted from their MI armor to the player (ignore the fact it is granted by common armor here, MI versions aren't ready yet). Now to add something more fun - Guardian Treants, aka modified Ascacophi

[nargil66]

The latest source files are now on Nexus. What is done today - Dryad MI armors are added to the loottables and droppable, remains to add stats to them, and add the MI weapons too. Also i think to revive the old Ascacophus boss that i made for SV before (never got included) and buff it so it fits the difficulty of LoC.

Edit - While i was checking the new MI bow with my Ranger toon, i saw that the texture of the Grizzly bear (2nd tier) is kinda glitchy, so i wanted to tweak it a bit. I ended up changing all wolf and bear pet textures. Here is a preview of their new looks:

First tier - Feral Wolf, Brown Bear


Second tier - Grizzled Alpha Wolf, Grizzly Bear


Now with this done, i can go back to the MIs

[nargil66]

Preview of the MIs:

[nargil66]

Another long gameplay video, showcasing the granted skills and stats of the Dryad MIs, and some tweaks on the Dryad enemies themselves. For this one I decided to go petless and potionless, just to make things a bit harder

[nargil66]

I got an idea of implementing four different gameplay modes via quest editing:

1. Hardcore mode - when you die for the first time, you get extreme penalty to all stats, so it's pointless to continue
but this mode unlocks only IF you pick up a special quest item.

2. Petless mode - if you pick up another quest item you get extreme penalty to all pets, but a buff to your character, basically all pets will have -1000% health or something, so they die instantly on summon.

3. Potionless mode - if you pick up yet another quest item, you get a quest token that deletes potions automatically from your inventory on pickup, so even you can find them or buy them, you can never use them.

4. Pet only mode - finally, if you pick up the last quest item, you get an extreme % total damage penalty to your character, but a slight bonus to pets. This will make it impossible to kill things by yourself, unless your pets do it for you.

All these modes will be completely optional and wont affect you normal gameplay if you don't pick up the special quest items.

[Bumbleguppy]

I loved the Sylvan MI hardcore vid, very fun.

Really loved the Ascocaphus model

[nargil66]

I loved the Sylvan MI hardcore vid, very fun.

Really loved the Ascocaphus model

Thank you That video was my main inspiration for starting the new difficulty modes. After 2 days of working on it, the skeleton of the system is almost set. Here is the next video preview showing it in action:



It's heavily based on quest files. Also, i think each challenge should give a slight bonus to the player stats, to compensate somehow for the increased difficulty. LoC is already a very hard mod, so for example the Petless challenge will be impossible to beat without some bonus... Only i'm not sure what the bonuses should be yet. any ideas are welcome.

Edit - the latest source files are now on Nexus

[nargil66]

Ok, there is change of plans regarding mounts - since @HekTo was kind enough to provide us with a functional Transmogrify system, I think to leave behind the equippable mounts that were using Armor_Clothing. The main reason is there are armors with far better stats in LoC, and this way few people will ever use them. So the mounts will be just like other illusions - giving only cosmetic look without any bonuses, very similar to dyes. That was their purpose anyway - to make you look cool, and a bit more heroic .

This means i'll have to rework all current mount models. Right now a mount model consists of horse model + rider armors, and now ill have to add a model of the rider itself to the pack. But it's totally worth it. The other benefit of cosmetic mounts is i can simplify their interface icons and make them smaller to the size of a dye bottle.

So, that will be my next task before alpha release. I hope you are happy with the progress so far Bumble. I really want LoC to stand out with even more unique mechanics. This great mod deserves it