(Scroll down for patch notes!)

Hello Draconians!

Another patch has been rolled out, once again tackling our combat system.
Targeting has been made much easier, giving you more time to focus on the fight and making it more accessible than before!
However, we still need your feedback before we move on and make further changes to Draconias combat.
To ensure everyone has enough time to test the new changes, we'll be posting a detailed survey in about a week to gather your thoughts on the current combat updates. We're especially interested in feedback from PvP players, but all input is greatly appreciated!

In the meantime please have a look at this Google document which will explain the new targeting in detail.

Of course, combat improvements arent the only thing weve been tirelessly working on!


Characters & Upcoming Character Releases

The Dragon Turtle and the new European Dragon are currently making their way into the game. While the Dragon Turtle only requires a few in-engine tweaks, the European Dragon still needs some final touches - like animation fixes and sound effects - but will also be released in the very near future.


Which characters come next?

Our animators are currently working on a few exciting creatures, including the crabs, the Fae Dragon, and the new Eastern Dragon models.
The crabs and the Fae Dragon require a full set of new animations, while the Eastern Dragons will keep their existing animations - with quality improvements sprinkled on top.

The release order is still up in the air and will depend on progress in other areas of the game.
We want to add more wildlife creatures for players to hunt and replace the current placeholder AI with proper enemies as soon as possible. So it's very likely youll encounter the new crabs and the Fae Dragon as enemy AI first - before they become playable.


These wont be the only enemies youll face!

The Golem received a visual overhaul during a brief break in other work. We've improved its polycount and added more options for variation and customization. However, our favorite pebble will need a new rig and new animations, so its currently on the back burner, as it's one of the creatures youll mainly encounter later in the game.




But there is more!

Weve also secretly been working on a few new enemy AI characters.
These new characters wont be playable - at least not for now. Were not ruling it out for the future!
To avoid spoilers, there wont be any progress updates on these mysterious creatures. Players will simply encounter them in the game one day
if the creatures dont find them first. ;-)
Lets just say - they reek of NOPE energy!


Art Updates

Weve also made progress on the artistic side of development.
Lindy has received its default warpaint. While it may get minor adjustments before it's live in-game, the overall look will remain the same.


The new Drake model is getting some new textures as well. Were aiming for a default skin similar to the old one, but with tweaks to match the new character models improved detail.


Next in line for texturing is the Behemoth, which will also get a skin reminiscent of the old version - this time with more body coloration options. Don't worry, those crystals will remain just as shiny as before!


Level Design & Worldbuilding

Draconias main map consists of four distinct islands, some of which are partially connected.
Islands 1 and 2 have required - and continue to require - a lot of straightforward work.

Island 1 is fairly simple in design. It provides surface-living characters with plently of space to roam, and occasional opportunities to explore underground or reach high peaks.
Island 2 is a bit more extreme, focusing heavily on networks of caves, tunnels, and crevices.
Island 3, however, presents a unique challenge.
It creates a large divide between ground creatures and fliers by combining sea, earth, and sky - all the way up into the clouds - within one biome. Its foliage follows this diverse verticality too.


This island will push players to use their species-specific advantages:
- Aquatic creatures (like the Eastern Dragon and Dragon Turtle) will benefit from their improved water agility.
- Fliers (such as the European Dragon and Wyvern) will dominate the skies and overcome large obstacles that can be used against enemies.
- Non-fliers or weak fliers will need to use the dense jungle below for stealth and ambush.

While we plan to introduce more of these gameplay challenges to the other islands, Island 3 will remain the most extreme example.


Some trees will offer unique gameplay effects depending on your character type and tree location.
For instance, the Letinartharak trees can provide cover for ground dwellers and aquatics against fliers - but their tangled roots can also be traps.

(Large anglerfish included for showcasing purposes!)

Initial tests with some of the new foliage. Were especially focusing on vegetation tall and dense enough to even hide larger characters.



Programming

A significant portion of development has gone into the combat system, particularly the expanded targeting system. This update took considerable time, and were now looking forward to hear your feedback - it will be key in deciding whether we move forward or revisit this part of combat design.

Combat has been a major challenge for us because we want a system that:
- Makes sense for dragons,
- Fits Draconias gameplay style, and
- Is actually fun to use.

One thing was very clear very soon into development: Typical creature sim combat wont work for us. Thats why we are taking a different approach - after months of brainstorming, debate, and growing a few gray hairs.
While we now have a solid plan in front of us, the player experience will ultimately decide what the final system looks like.
Targeting is just one piece of the puzzle.

We know many of you aren't happy with the current character movement, and that's our next focus. Expect some unconventional - and possibly even radical - changes. They may take some getting used to, but we believe theyll make both combat and exploration much more engaging.


The Challenge Ahead

Draconia has been relatively easy so far, and it hasnt taken much effort to level up characters. We designed it that way initially because of the game's early development stage. But we think its time to raise the stakes.
Draconia was never meant to be a no risk, little effort game where you can level from 150 in a few hours and make mistakes without consequence.
As development continues, expect challenges to grow.
Were not here to ruin your day - but we do want to challenge you. Compromises will be needed, and yes, there might even be moments when you want to flip a table or two.

That wraps up today's dev blog. Thanks for reading - and as always, thank you for your support! <3
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PATCH NOTES

Added: Support for different PvE/PvE max. pre-targeting distance values
Added: Support for different pre-targeted PvE/PvP enemies lose distance values (target gets removed)
Added: Support for losing pre-targeted enemies when the enemy is behind the player (PvP only)
Added: Support for losing pre-targeted enemies when the enemy is behind the player and x time elapsed (PvP only)
Added: Simple line of sight test when selecting targeted enemy or next to-be-targeted enemy, e.g. enemies that are not visible can't be selected (PVE/PvP)
Added: Support for multiple line of sight tests
Added: Support for losing pre-targeted enemies when they leave the players line of sight, e.g. walk behind a wall (PvP only)
Added: Support for losing pre-targeted enemies when they leave the players line of sight and x time elapsed (PvP only)
Added: Semi-aim assist code to globally control when head rotation/ability aim direction should lock onto the pre-selected active target
Added: A new direction based head rotation method to achieve a much more consistent head turn and interpolation even when the head needs to rotate to opposite sides a lot
Added: New experimental head rotation target lock method, new system locks and turns head to pre-seected target when ability active and demands it
Added: 1 Second delay when abilities end so head turning is not too snappy
Added: Auto-target attacking enemy option to gameplay settings
Added: Ability activation auto-selects target option (if enabled: the best possible target is being selected when a ability is being activated without active target indicator)
Added: Unified max. assisted auto-target hit angle
Added: Support for PvP and PvE auto-assisted target hit angle configurations
Added: Support PvP camera look at direction and enemy angle configuration/check
Added: Target indicator scale option
Added: Simple hit notification system
Updated: Temporary replicate selected target when a ability is being activated so head turn will be accurate from other players perspective too
Updated: Breath ability hit test now ignores vfx and real head rotation, e.g. breath is going to hit the enemy if basic (LOS, range, angle) tests have been passed, regardless where dragon actually looks because the target is soft locked
Updated: Breath abilities are single-target instead of multi-target for now
Updated: Select aim-assisted enemy as active target (closest enemy to the crosshair) if breath ability has been activated without active pre-targeted enemy
Updated: Auto-aim assisted target lock, when no pre-target has been selected, now excludes players
Updated: Finalized breath abilities targeting code
Updated: Pre-targeting indicator's visibility changes in sync with the line of sight test above, e.g. if the enemy walks behind a wall, the indicator gets removed
Updated: Log category verbosity settings to make log more useful now and in the future
Updated: Nameplate widget now uses a more coherent positioning
Updated: Main map lighting and exposure
Updated: Targets are now being sorted by distance and angle from crosshair (so targets that are closer to the player and closer to the crosshair are being selected first)
Updated: Improved iterative targeting buffer
Refactored: Nameplate visibility mechanism - If PVP enabled, nameplates will only be visible to other PvP players but a) the nameplate will only be visible if the player is semi looking at the other player, b) nameplate does a line of sight check for PvP players, so the nameplate will be hidden if the player should not be able to see it, e.g. when the enemy is hiding
Fixed: Griffin secondary attack, now uses the new targeting system and temporary vfx, sfx, etc.
Fixed: Breath VFX suddenly ending instead of being deactivated
Fixed: 'Ipomo Root' using the wrong material when being dropped
Fixed: Rain and thunderstorms occurring too frequently
Fixed: Epic's gameplaycue removal issue
Removed: The real "fullscreen" option from video settings; fullscreen option will use "windowed fullscreen" mode instead of explicit fullscreen mode to prevent softlock issues at the start on some systems (old fullscreen mode is really outdated anyway);
video mode settings change to "windowed fullscreen" automatically if player is using "fullscreen" mode or it was set previously
Cleaned up our logs in code; removed all logs not needed to make log file more readable
Cleaned up a bunch of texture references pointing to external unmounted packages