Resource Extraction
- Details
- Created on Sunday, 12 May 2013 18:03
- Written by Joshua Halls
We have spent a bit of time looking at the crafting system in previous articles, and even have a 20 minute video, so we thought it was important to have an article looking at the other side of this system: resource gathering. In order to properly fuel the crafting system, resources need to be collected in some fashion. We feature 2 systems for this and this article is going to focus on the first one: Extraction.
Extraction is the process of removing resources from dead creatures. In most games the standard extraction method is an ability and the results are based on the level of the creature. While our method includes an ability, Corpse Extraction, we do not have a traditional level system built into the game, instead we focus on the resources' grade. At the lowest difficulty, a creature can yield grade A results, but the chances are slim. When the difficulty increases, the chances for a higher grade also increase. As you extract from a particular species, you gain Species Mastery, which allows you to more easily extract resources from that creature. In addition, species mastery can also be increased by engaging in combat with the species in question.
End of April 2013 Update
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 02 May 2013 08:00
- Written by Joshua Halls
April was one of the most rewarding months in our development cycle to date. As we inch ever closer to beta testing our primary focus this month was on continued content and polish. From a developer's standpoint you spend the first years of development working primarily on features and demonstrations for those features. With the vast majority of our features already functional, we can focus primarily on content and creating an enjoyable experience for new players. That was our primary focus in April, but we also managed to stick in a few noteworthy features, as well.
We continued our NPC and AI improvements, adding a plethora of new NPC features. This includes new hooks, trigger types, communication options, and more. These changes allow our content team to create more advanced NPC reactions than was previously possible, and should make the world feel more lively than was previously the case.
Name that Zone Contest
- Details
- Created on Sunday, 21 April 2013 10:54
- Written by Joshua Halls
We are happy to announce we are going to be running a new contest for naming a newly created zone. If you wish to participate in the process you can either submit it via this forum thread or use the hashtag #namethatzone on twitter to send us your submission. Please submit only 1 name via either one of those methods, rules on how we select names if this is not followed is posted in the forum thread. The staff will choose 5 (or maybe more) names and then we will have a poll to choose a winner. Entries need to be submitted by 4/24/2013 at 9:00 PM CDT to be considered valid for this contest.
The winner of this content will receive a $100 level Kickstarter pledge or a corresponding bump-up if you are already an early adopter (or you can gift it to a friend if you choose). In order to help with the naming here are a few screenshots of the zone.
End of March 2013 Update
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 02 April 2013 13:24
- Written by Joshua Halls
We hope everyone enjoyed the April 1st notes and a big thank you to our content team for coming up with a bit of random craziness for those notes, they seemed to be well received and I hope everyone enjoyed them as much as it seemed they enjoyed creating them. A little fun for the month, but a lot of work went into getting the game ready to be shown at PAX East and to push it closer to a larger Alpha and an eventual Beta release. We received some good feedback from everyone that stopped by and gained a little bit of extra knowledge on how we want to handle PAX Prime. We look forward to announcing what will be going on at Prime in a few months, but first our focus turns toward getting ready for Beta.
We recently mentioned that April is going to be spent on a huge content push to get the world ready for a larger Alpha testing session with more testers and we hope to make an announcement with some concrete details on that toward the end of April. We should have a few new slots open up for this and will go into detail how that will work once the announcement is made. This will be an important step into receiving feedback for Beta and making sure we are ready to move into that stage of development. We still hope to hit the Spring timeframe (end of Spring), but if things are not ready it might slide a month or two later. PAX Prime is at the end of August and would be our next major deadline date so we want to make sure things are ready to go by then. We want to thank everyone for being patient and we want to deliver a solid experience even in Alpha and in Beta as it is important we hit the ground running if we want to continue to build momentum toward release.
April Fools Patch Notes
- Details
- Created on Monday, 01 April 2013 12:01
- Written by Joshua Halls
*This was for April Fools, please be aware everything listed here is a joke*
It was a very productive month in March. The team enjoyed some R&R in our annual Las Vegas team week and after a lot of thought decided we needed to make some substancial changes to the core design of the game. We hope you enjoy these new and creative changes we came up with.
Crafting Preview Video
- Details
- Created on Friday, 22 March 2013 00:44
- Written by Joshua Halls
We are happy to have a new crafting preview video now available. Clocking in over 20 minutes this is our longest video yet and really drills down into the fundamentals of the crafting system. The video focuses on the recipes involved in creating a fitting. The resource attribute system is shown and explained as it is used in the refining process for the metal used with the fitting.
If you are attending PAX East please be sure to check us out over in booth #581 on Friday or Saturday.
PAX East Video Teaser
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 22:37
- Written by Joshua Halls
It has been a very long period between now and our last video and we are pleased to announce our next teaser video is up and available for your viewing pleasure. We have more to come this week and if you are going to be attending PAX East please be sure to come and visit us on Friday and/or Saturday at booth #581 (it is listed as the Inidie MiniBooth). We will have a late alpha build to show of The Repopulation and we will be available to talk about the project as well fan or press alike. We will also be attending PAX Prime at the end of August so if you cannot make it to Boston you might want to look at attending Prime in Seattle if you get a chance.
End of February 2013 Update
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 28 February 2013 22:19
- Written by Joshua Halls
From unveiling details on the new and improved crafting system to preparing for PAX East, we had plenty to keep us busy in February. But we didn't stop there of course. Let's take a look at the major features of the month before delving into February's build notes.
We placed a heavy emphasis on combat upgrades this month. The largest of these centered around Action Mode. Action Mode now feels much more in line with our vision for it. You can now hold your mouse button to continously fire. You also now receive bullet splashes based on what you connected with. Firing into dirt will give a splash of dirt, while firing at something metal will spark. Like everything else in action mode, this is a client side effect, and will not add to lag. Action Mode also now displays an accuracy-adjusting target reticle.
We also made improvements to the combat system that will affect those in either mode. This includes variable bullet spread, and missed effects for other players. Bullet whizzes, a slew of new special FX, improved strafing and damage bubble support, optional damage flash effects, and zoomable ranged weapons.
Artificial Intelligence also received a pass. Ranged NPCs will can now seek cover, kneel, or adjust position when they feel necessary. We also added improved dive and roll support to NPCs, and added additional species who can use them. We added a new flocking NPC AI type for herd or social animals. NPCs can now strafe, sprint, and fight from longer distances than was previously the case. Last but not least, we added variable threat detection systems which can change during battles allowing NPCs to select their targets based on different criteria such as Aggro, Proximity or Randomly. We have a number of additional AI improvements on the table, but we took a step in the right direction this month.
Crafting seen quite a bit of content updates this month with fitting recipes being added along with their primary components. We look forward to sharing a new crafting video before PAX to cover many of the details that have been released recently and showing a more complete example of how the system works. The major system updates in crafting were the ability to have a component be flagged for multiple types making it easier to use them in additional recipes and some slight adjustments on how attributes limitations can be pulled out of the end product results.
We continued what we began last month with a number of new stealth improvements including variable translucency for other players, giving some pets the ability to stealth, and a new counter tactics to aid in detecting stealthed players. But we didn't stop there. You'll also find significant updates to many existing features, a new Nation Reputation system, two new epic mission series, improved NPC interactions, audio improvements, optimizations and interface improvements.
Looking ahead to March, we'll have a presence at PAX East on March 22-23rd at booth #581, and are planning to release a new video trailer to coincide with it. But for now, let's take a look at February's build notes.
Crafting Interdependence
- Details
- Created on Monday, 25 February 2013 01:08
- Written by Joshua Halls
One of the major aspects of the game we often espouse is a heavily player driven economy to fuel and drive the game versus a heavy emphasis on end-game raiding. Our team is working diligently to create the recipes for the many skill lines, and today we wanted to take a closer look at the interdependence created from the many recipes, skills, and ingredients that will be available. What is interdependence exactly or how do we define it? In many other MMOs you might have some reliance on gathering for crafting, but the design is simple; you either collect the raw materials or purchase them, and then you craft everything yourself. We have a system in place that at times goes 4-5 layers deep with a wide variety of recipes and skills used to create the components that would go into what we call an “end product” such as a Fitting.
This might sound a little excessive at first, and when you see our flowchart for a single fitting it certainly seems like a lot, but crafting is one of the core components of our system and building interdependence will ensure that players have to work together to create the best products in the game. It can be as a solo crafter working through the auction system, shops, or work order system (reverse auction) to purchase the ingredients and agents needed. Alternatively, it can also be with a few friends or new online friends to work together as a group or as a large group feeding the needs of their nation who in return supply them materials and other resources. Materials are gathered through harvesting; whether it is from an ore mine or a defeated creature all the raw materials harvested are useful to one trade or another.
Come join us at PAX East 2013 at booth #581
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 17:39
- Written by Joshua Halls
We will be attending for 2 days, Friday (March 22) and Saturday (March 23) at booth #581 (it is listed as the Inidie MiniBooth). If you are following us and want to stop by and talk with us and get a preview of the game please be sure to stop by one of those days and perhaps maybe even get a little bit of Repop swag. If you are in the press and want to setup an interview during either one of those days please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with information about your website or publication and we will try to schedule you in.
Big thanks to the folks at the Indie Megabooth for making this possible and we look forward to seeing everyone in Boston in a little under 2 months.
Finally, we have a group setup in RepopSocial for those who are attending. If you plan on stopping by you might want to join the group or at least follow it for further updates about fan involvement at PAX East.
New look for our Website for 2013
- Details
- Created on Saturday, 02 February 2013 15:32
- Written by Joshua Halls
Hello and welcome to our new website. We might still be in the process of fixing a few issues so if you spot any please report them to the forum and we will get them resolved. The upgrade was mostly a cosmetic one with 2 major upgrades: responsive design and RepopSocial.
Our old website was well old. It was not very fluid or had support for phones or tablets. The new design is what is referred to as responsive. Based on the width of the browser it will adjust automatically the layout of the website. You should find the website wider than before if on a desktop and much easier to browser using a phone or tablet. There is also a font size adjuster at the bottom of the website and we will be adding in a dark theme option for those who have issues with a light theme (it might not be 100% perfect though, but it was requested). We hope the website serves us better moving forward and with the shift toward browsing from phones and tablets the website should be much easier to browser using those devices.
End of January 2013 Update
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 31 January 2013 23:26
- Written by Joshua Halls
We kicked off the New Years with another month filled with feature improvements and upgrades. We'll cover some of the highlights and then go into the monthly build notes.
The biggest news of the month was the implementation of our new GUI. This is still a work in progress, and is expected to make up a good portion of next month's notes, as well. Many of the windows in the new GUI can be resized and will automatically adjust and fill out grids based on how you size it. It supports user defined tints, and while going through the upgrade we have made a number of improvements to the functionality which are documented in the build notes below.
Stealth also received an overhaul. Most of the detection code has been rewritten. There are now numerous modifiers that go into the calculation including the time of day, if you are standing in a shaded or hidden location, and proximity in addition to the skill and perception based methods that were already in place.
January was also a good month for increasing the size and talent of our team. Adam Reynolds, an industry veteran, formerly of 38 Studios joined us as a level designer and we brought on another talanted character artist, Ivan De Gregori. In addition, we brought on Steven Coltart as the lead musician for the project. The combination of he and Dan Graham resulted in 18 new musical tracks this month. We made a number of improvements to the music system to accommodate these tracks. Adam hs already been hard at working helping to improve our world and we look forward to sharing some of Ivan's work in February with everyone.
Player Housing System
- Details
- Created on Friday, 25 January 2013 21:06
- Written by Joshua Halls
Player Housing is becoming a popular feature in both themepark and sandbox MMOs offering players a little piece of virtual real estate to call their own. Though not a new concept, player housing started out as a staple in early MMOs like Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies. Currently player housing is making a return in modern themeparks after a few MMO's are starting to add player housing to their titles. Player Housing comes in many shapes and forms in today's MMOs. Some games implement player housing as an instanced areas or neighborhoods so everyone can enjoy the functionality. Some games offer a more limited quantity of in game non instanced locations or plots for housing that let players interact with each other's homes
Looking at many of these aspects of design for player housing, we decided to implement an approach to player housing that incorporated multiple designs and give players flexibility in regards to housing and where/how they can interact with it. For many players having their house out in a non instanced part of the game is important so other players can come visit or simply check out the work they have done. Other folks simply just want a small piece of land they can decorate or use to hone some crafting skills without being disturbed by others. We decided if the player housing design was done in an intelligent and straightforward manner we could cover all of these needs instead of just picking one, sounds crazy right?
Crafting Attribute System
- Details
- Created on Friday, 18 January 2013 22:17
- Written by Joshua Halls
We wanted to highlight one of the new additions added to the crafting system in December, the attribute system. Though briefly mentioned in our change notes and on the forums, the attribute system was a fairly major modification in the crafting process. The exciting part about it is that the attribute system further impacts the customization of your character’s equipment. Before we start to walk through the system, it might be important to do a quick run over how our system works for those who might not be familiar with it.
As many of you might be aware, The Repopulation has no levels. Instead we offer over 70 independent skills. For Trade Skills we offer a mix of resource collection and crafting skills that intertwine. In addition, some crafting lines include collection skills. The trade skills also include skills for creating fittings which are like sockets, stems which are like boosters, traps, robotics, vehicles, and so much more.
Core Cast Interview with Joshua Halls
- Details
- Created on Friday, 11 January 2013 17:54
- Written by Joshua Halls
Earlier this week we sat down with one of our fans, Matt Treck, of the Core Cast Podcast and talked about a variety of details involving The Repopulation. The highlights of the different topics covered in the interview are as follows:
- Cities and Nations
- Housing
- Pets
- Crafting
- Missions
- Auctions and shopkeepers
Quite a few other things slipped into the conversation that is about 70 minutes long, but if you are looking for some of the more PvE focused aspects of our title we covered a good deal of them in this interview. You can find the podcast by visiting the links below.
Direct download from their site: http://traffic.libsyn.com/corecast/episode31.mp3
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/core ... d459065797
Stitcher: http://stitcher.com/listen.php?fid=20139