Odd Realm Dev Tracker

No, not yet!

This next update introduces a change that lets players access game data and atlas textures, so, hurray!

I've definitely thought about making tutorial videos. My two problems are, firstly, the game changes so often that they need to constantly be updated, and, secondly, I'm currently investing all my time towards finishing this update. Maybe once it's done I'll have the bandwidth to make some.

Thanks for your feedback and sorry you're not having a great time.

I 100% agree that there needs to be more info on tooltips and in the UI. Plus, the tutorial needs a lot more work to help communicate what's going on. The good news is I'm working on this but it does take me a long time to polish the game because it's quite ambitious and it is just me working on it.

That said, I think there's some confusion nowadays where people see games in early access and think that they're finished. It's definitely not my intention for you to buy this game and think it's going to be anywhere close to Dwarf Fortress (a game more than 10 years in the making) and that's why I have it in early access at a discounted price. If you're looking for something that's finished and is going to provide the polished level of UI you expect, I'd suggest avoiding early access games in the future or putting more effort into reading reviews and watching let's plays. They're a great resource for... Read more

Do you have a lot of items lying around? This is the main cause for lag in the game because your entities will constantly check through items to make sure nothing needs to be zoned, eaten, or used for building. I have some fixes in the works to improve performance, but a short term solution, if it's bothering you, is to simply delete unneeded items from the Inventory Panel (I).

As for idling actions and the like, entities will actually go to their respective rooms and chill in those places. That's what they're doing when you say they, "start running everywhere." They're going to and from rooms they're owners of. I have plans for entities to have more idle actions (including patrols for guards) but it'll take time for me to add those in.

Thanks for your feedback and kind words! :)

So, in version 0.9.0.13, you can only build bronze pickaxes, hatchets, hammers, and sickles in addition to the armor.

The next version (0.10.0.0) introduces blueprints for bronze weapons and some other new tools.

That said, you can still find some bronze weapons (the Sagaris and Kopesh come to mind) in dungeons and through merchants in 0.9.0.13.

:O

Fodder is currently a cheese (no rat puns intended) method for surviving. The update I have in the works introduces specific animal diets. Fodder, although a good last case scenario, will have long-term affects on settlements.

So, take advantage of it while you can! Muahaha

Honestly, when you're working on your own, you just need to find the method that works for you. I'm sure, for many, refactoring the system is preferred over a complete re-write. Nothing wrong with that if it is how you like to do things.
One thing to be aware of when doing any refactoring is the time investment. It's easy to say, "I'm going to just delete and start from scratch," but that decision can easily cost you weeks of work. For me, I care more about the quality of the game's architecture because I know in the long run it's going to pay off because it'll be easier for me to continue adding to the game. (I want to work on this game for years to come.) But, as you can see with Odd Realm, it means players wait much longer for updates.
Anyway, thanks for listening to me drone on. I'm rooting for you and your projects. Feel free to join our discord if you want to share your work with the community. We have a dedicated channel for that sort of thing and we're always hap... Read more

Thank you! That means a lot friend. :)

Regarding your question, when I say, "re-write," I usually mean I totally start from scratch. In my experience, it's easier and quicker to move your old code to a place where it can be referenced and then start new. I've re-written so many systems and every time I try and maintain an old one, it's a huge headache and tends to create many bugs. Also, I try to write code that is compartmentalized which means it can be replaced without having to worry too much about other systems losing their minds.
Keep in mind that this is pretty easy because I'm a one-man team. On a big team, it's much more difficult to do this.
Lastly, one unfortunate part of working on a live game is save files. It's VERY difficult to re-write systems when you are saving game states. I spend a lot of time writing bespoke code for old versions. I'd say half of the bugs that are reported immediately after a new version is released are from old versions not l... Read more

Yes! I'm going to upgrade the inventory system in the following update. I'd like to diversify the zoning tools but also make it easier to see where items are. For example, it's not really clear when you have 50 containers.

Have you been using the custom zone at all? Does it help in this regard?

Oh, for sure! I plan on releasing a developer diary that I've kept these last three years when I release 1.0 of Odd Realm. It documents all the challenges during the game's development.
That being said, it's more of a spotlight on game development and less of a how-to for creating a game. My entire solo dev career has been full of learning from making mistakes. I started out as a fairly novice, self-taught programmer and the initial architecture for Odd Realm was poorly executed. I've been paying for these past mistakes with the update I'm currently working on because I've had to re-write a lot of systems. So, I'm not sure I'd be able to write a book telling you how to write the perfect system, but I could certainly tell you all the mistakes I've made.
One book I read earlier in the game's development was Robert Nystrom's Game Programming Patterns. It's really easy to digest and has some great patterns that I use all the time.