Back from the lake, what’s next?

By Frogboy on May 17, 2009 7:43:49 PM from

The last few weeks have been pretty intense. Demigod has been unlike anything we’ve released before. The good news is that its sales have been really good and despite that first week which saw our network brought to its knees, the game’s average review scores have been 4 out of 5 (well over 4 out of 5 after the first week).

Our chief technology architect, Jeff Bargmann, who I brought onto Demigod a couple of weeks ago when it became clear that we were going to need to develop our own network solution for the game is clearly obsessed based on the 4am emails he sent me over the weekend. Jeff is also the lead developer on Impulse, ObjectDock, ObjectBar, Fences, and numerous other projects. When I absolutely positively must have something amazing done right and quickly, he is my go-to guy. So this weekend he’s been working on various proxy solutions. Cari, our lead game developer also found ways to solve some of the Pantheon and Skirmish issues that were reported over the weekend.

I don’t want to make any promises but given the success of Friday’s update and the likelyhood that the proxies will go online this week, we should be nearing the point of diminishing returns for getting people connected on the multiplayer match making side. I also know that Gas Powered Games is looking seriously at in-game connectivity.

Personally, I think the long-term solution is for us just to host the games entirely. That’s what we’re doing in Elemental for its multiplayer – our servers host the entire thing from the start.

But with the connectivity issues in MP likely to substantially diminish this week, it’s time to start thinking about what we should do next.

Demigod v1.1

So on the horizon there’s Demigod v1.1. Now, question is, what should be in it? Now, these aren’t expansion packs but I can think of a few things on my personal list that may or may not agree with what you guys want so let’s talk about that.

Here’s my personal preference list for v1.1 in brief:

Favor points increased by a factor of 10.
Option to Concede. Would let players quit a game they feel they’re losing. Their Demigod is removed. If all players from that team concede, the game is over.
Smart Quitting. If someone exits within the first 3 minutes, there’s no harm, no foul. It counts as a disconnect but not a loss. Sometimes there’s lag or someone has a slow machine or whatever.
Random Demigod. Players can choose a Random Demigod to play.
Updated AI. Smarter computer AI.
Various balance tweaking.

Now, this doesn’t include DLC content such as Clan Wars, Scheduled Games, Group Join, etc. This is just v1.1. But it does give you an idea of some of the things we’re thinking of.

What would you like to see in terms of new features?

+912 Karma | 180 Replies

Nah but there's a big difference between professional tools and map editors for the public. It depends on how they would like to present it I guess. Just a basic map editor where enthousiasts can hack a map together, which is relatively simple to make, or make a map editor for every gamer to use, which would require lots of work.

Also, most maps require lots of work to work out bugs and finetune it. The 80/20 rule applies.

Beside, they probably made all maps we see now in some editor. I don't think these days programists literally "write" maps from the scratch (correct me if i'm wrong).

You're wrong

Every map in the game is actually a 3D model created in a modeling program, then they used the 'map editor' to add the portals, creeps, etc etc.

Quoting danielb23,

reply 13

I dont know if this was mentioned already but

An endgame score for healing/support roles to calculate favor points based on HP active heals

Healing Assists - I'd also like to see about getting assist credit for tossing buffs/heals/shields to a DG currently engaged in combat with 1 or more DG's. I love playing sedna in a support capacity but it really limits my ability to scale with the late game since I spend so much time/mana healing other DG's who are wracking up the kills.

This is a good idea. I know that in TF2, medics get assists if they are healing someone while that person makes a kill

I have an idea for a new demigod: the game developer.

general, can call upon game groupies to assist in battle:

lvl 1: hard core startegy games: calls a few select individuals apt in tactics and strategy. unfortunately they make for poor fighters and will fall fairly easily

lvl 2: final fantasy gamers. nutjobs gone banas. though not as impressive in physique as their virtual idols, their swords still give them the chance to actually hurt someone other than themselves

lvl 3: the korean gamble: your demigod dev scored big time and his title is a major hit in asia. consequently, he lords over an almost infinite number of loyal fans who storm the battlefield on his behalf. though weak individually, their sheer numbers are as overwhelming and unstoppable as a force of nature.

further abilities. '01' gold chain lasso: catches and immobilises enemy

update: patching the world around him, the dev alters conditions in his favour, giving friendly units a bonus in health and enemies a slight penalty

expansion: by expanding of something already in existance, the dev is able to create a miniature copy of an allied hero who will fight on their side until killed

sequel: this passive ability allows the dev to come back after being killed and even stronger than before. kill him again before the countdown to eliminate him for good.

search for publisher: in search of funs for his projects, the dev absorbs a portion of money from enemies in the influence area.

sry for the threadjack, I needed to post something nonsensical. on topic though, I do note the huge number of dev blogs on demigod and it's quite obvious you are serious about fixing all issues. I'll sure give the demo a try, but being not so much of a mp person, well ..., I really enjoyed dota, so lets see.

Quoting Sacrificial_Soul,

reply 25

Quoting PurplePaladin, reply 10 A way to "contribute" gold to Citidel upgrades (everyone on a 5 player team could have 3k gold, but still, no one can buy a 3.6k upgrade???).

This. And replays.

Wow, careful with that one! that would make a BIG imbalance in the Force... sorry the game!, cities would get pumped up in 5 seconds with all avilable upgrades..

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Back from the lake, what’s next?