One of my best friends is arriving in town just a few hours from now, and he’s never visited my hometown, so I’ll be busy the next few days showing him around the places I grew up and everything there is to see here. Unfortunately, this means that I’ll be unable to work on the game or do any streaming on Twitch for the next week. The good news is that in anticipation of this, I tried my best to remedy most of the outstanding bugs and quirks in the game that could really mess things up, and I think I did a pretty good job taking care of things! Only the test of banging on it heavily will reveal what’s left to be fixed, and for that I rely on you!
Since my last post, four new core skills were added to the game. One of these is another gathering skill, Wood Cutting, which allows players to chop down trees to collect wood. This of course also means that trees were added to Portal Walker, which really went a long way in making the world feel more alive. There are trees on every over-world map, and every tree is capable of being chopped down, at which point all that remains is a stump that can no longer produce wood. After some time, a new tree will begin to grow, but if a player should cut it down before it completes growing into an adult tree… Only the smallest amount of wood will be able to be obtained, and the tree must be left to grow again from the start! So please, do leave the baby trees alone to prosper into their mature form (or cut them all down so other players have no trees for collecting wood, bwa ha ha!)
The other three skills are all part of the new crafting system, which allows players to turn materials they have collected into new, more useful objects. Cooking allows players to use uncooked food, such as raw fish caught using the Fishing gathering skill, and turn them into tasty treats that replenish health. The Wood Crafting skill provides methods for creating items out of wood, so you could make a better fishing pole, that will catch you more fish, so that you could cook more food! Finally, the Smithing skill gives a use to all of the precious ores players have been collecting since the very first skill, Mining, was added to Portal Walker. Wielding the strength of the mighty hammer, you can harness Smithing to forge new weapons, armor sets, and tools that will make you more powerful than ever possible before!
The bravest adventurers are already honing these skills, in preparation to do battle with a brand new boss monster that has recently been added to Portal Walker! This means it is sadly time for Fezzick to relinquish the crown worn only by the baddest baddie in the land, but fear not, he can still be found toiling away in the Goblin Caverns for your slaying pleasure. Now those seeking the glory of being a hero must head to the south-eastern spider forests to confront an epic new beast. Will you be the first to claim victory over her?
I’m really looking forward to getting back to work and continuing to expand the game, so I’ll see you all when I return in a couple of days from now. Good luck in your adventures!