11.16.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:42 am by swrittenb
Things have been moving a little more slowly than usual lately due to some RL issues, but Twelve Sands is definitely still progressing! I’ve replaced the separate artifact description page with a hover, and it seems to really save time (and db hits) by allowing you to see the information about artifacts without a page refresh.
I’d like to improve the skills, add a few new zones, and at least drop a few hundred more items in to the game, but once those are done, I’ll feel comfortable opening it up for general registration. Kind of scary, but exciting at the same time. Wonder if anyone will try it.. 
Thanks to Garrett for hitting level 7 and inspiring Bidwell’s Eatery, Paul for his hardcore testing through the early/mid stages, and for getting in to “Hard Zone” even before I did, and to Buddy for exposing some nasty bugs, and playing from Peru! Crazy!
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11.04.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:37 am by swrittenb
The buff system has gone in, and the first one that’s achievable is a 10 minute +1 con buff gained from eating bread. This is actually nice, because it also shows off the fact that Strength and Dexterity aren’t the only stats being used on the back-end! Constitution now directly ties in to your health, and the more constitution points to rack up, the higher your maximum health is. I actually removed Wisdom a few days ago, because it didn’t seem to fit in as a usable skill – I found myself trying to invent ways to use in, rather than stumbling across clear reasons why it should be there. So it’s gone!
The fourth skill level should be arriving in the next few days, with a new set of character bonuses. If you take the Strength path, for example, there will be bonuses to melee damage and hit rates. Dexterity opens up dodging, and the rogue path, while Constitution is the road for clerics. Intelligence and Charisma are the Mage and Bard roads, and I’m actually really excited to see how they play out in the world. At this early stage, magic points, or mana, or whatever you want to call it doesn’t seem to fit. Maybe it will show up, maybe not, but I’m trying to find good ways of incorporating it without requiring you to rest or conserve magic abilities. It’s not clear if that will work, but it’s worth a shot!
I took a good stab at normalizing the foes with respect to experience points and gold value. If you’re broke, please let me know, and why. You should never have more gold than you know what to do with, and you should never be out of gold unless you’re buying all the Portrait of the King artifacts to top the new leaderboard in the Hall of Records.
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11.01.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:15 am by swrittenb
The fatigue system seems to work really well, and I’ve started adding in ways to allow players the opportunity to either reduce the amount of fatigue they accumulate, or to reduce fatigue in blocks through items. The first batch is simple — there’s a food vendor in the Trade District who will sell you bread. Not very exciting, I know, but it’s a start! Food acts as a healing potion, but also based on your level and your constitution, will allow you to subtract fatigue that you’ve built up over the day. I believe the average new player will be able to get five or six pieces of bread in before they stop seeing fatigue benefits from the food. Next to go in is a buffs system, so if you eat certain special foods, you have the chance to gain temporary bonuses.
Screenshot, or it didn’t happen. Note that armour/weapons are equippable from the inventory list also.
I revamped the skills slightly to better line up with the goals there. The third level doesn’t change much, but the old titles are mostly gone. The fourth skill level will open up some real bonuses that turn the base starting character into a specific type of class. Multi-classing is easy with this system, so I’m really excited to see what happens with it.
In addition, I’ve started writing some helpful tools to keep track of all the data that’s being thrown around. The really nice part of the system for me is that everything is data-driven, and there’s very little dependence on the code when adding new zones, characters, quests, etc.. However, that being said, it’s easy for me to add an artifact to the world and then forget to give it to a vendor or add it to a drop table. Whoops! Needless to say, I found a few artifacts that weren’t accessible, and promptly attached them.
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10.25.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:04 pm by swrittenb
I’ve been spending some time optimizing some of the queries on the back-end and making the tables more customizable, which has really improved the amount of control over the enemies, artifacts, attacks, and everything else really. However, I need to get to work on the story! It’s all up in my head, but adding the data is going to be a lot of work. Expect a flood of zones, foes, and items in the next couple of weeks.
Also, we’re now live at http://www.twelvesands.com, so if you’re trying to get at the old address, it’s no longer active. As always, if I broke something, please email me!
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10.16.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:00 pm by swrittenb
Here’s a quick snapshot of the Character UI.
It still needs some work, but the character UI has been cleaned up considerably. Reputation numbers don’t look very pretty, and using/equipping artifacts needs some improvement. However, I’m getting happier with the look of the game, and at least this shows off some of the character development. Don’t assume anyone else will be getting the Development Blade though. 
I also wanted to note that I’m looking for some beta testers who would like to get an early look at the game. If you’ve got gaming experience, please send me an email, and let me know why you’d be a great asset to the team. It would be wonderful to have some more people, because the ones that I’ve got so far have already had a great influence on the game. Send me a quick bio at scott@scootah.com, and I’ll be in touch!
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10.12.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:17 pm by swrittenb
I just wanted to add some screenshots, since development seems to be going really well right now. Next step should be introducing people to the blog, but hey, one thing at a time.
Here’s a sample of the navigation system in place. There are about 20 zones in game right now, but that’s growing as I flesh out the lower levels. Combat zones are indicated as such in the UI, and each place has a description and a set of nearby areas.
Store zones exist as well, with collections of artifacts that can be purchased or sold. Restrictions are present for some artifacts — in this case, gold isn’t the issue, but reputation with an in-game faction is.
Karo was the first NPC I put in, and quests just got added recently. Right now the standard is an unlimited repeatable quest system. You collect items, he takes them and rewards you generously. It’s all open and data-driven, so adding quests is pretty straightforward.
There’s a combat system that’s pretty basic right now, but one that’s growing with the addition of new skills. Valid options are given at the bottom. Fatigue is accumulated after combats, and when you hit 100% fatigue, that’s it for daily adventures.
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10.10.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:51 pm by swrittenb
Twelve Sands is an online browser-based game that’s been in development for a few months now, and is finally reaching the point where it’s ready to be opened up. It’s been a blast to work through so far, and it’s definitely going to be an ever-changing project, but there comes a time when you’ve got to set things loose!
What is Twelve Sands, really? It’s a PHP game, with a lot of inspiration from games like World of Warcraft, Kingdom of Loathing, and the old text-based MUDs. It is a classless system, in that you start with the same character as everyone else, and develop unique skills through leveling and training. If you want to follow the path of a warrior, it’s available; magic users need only take a different set of skills.
I like the open-ended nature of systems like this, and recognize that tuning is going to be a big part of making the game fun to play. That said, there are always spots open for players who would like an early look at things, and a chance to make an impact on the system, and the world itself. If you think this appeals to you, please shoot me an email! My address is here on the site, and if you don’t mind sending some background about yourself, it would really help me out. If you’re unsure as to what the game is, please stay tuned to this blog, and I’ll be posting updates as I find both time and things to say!
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