Endless Online 0.4.42 : Dev Post
Content Update: Skills
|
|
Dev Post:
|
About: Skills Introduction
|
With the latest patch just released, development is already underway for the next one.
Patch 4.41 was the first step toward a full skill system, and this update follows up with more improvements.
What has been done so far will be discussed in detail in this dev post:
|
|
Skill Testing: Important Disclaimer
|
More time is still needed to develop the supporting content for the skills. To maximize testing and gather server stability checks, the basic (class-less) versions of all development skills, as described later in 'Skill Introductions', are being released.
Meaning that all test skills are released to all players and all will be deleted again later. While the server is being tested with temporary skills, development can continue on dedicated class hubs, each designed for a specific class with their own Skill Masters and unique skill tree.
All test skills can be obtained from the temporary Skill Master in Aeven (location shown in the screenshot). These skills are temporary and will be replaced with class-based skills in a future update. Thank you for testing Endless Online.
|
|
|
REcode: Skill Reworks ( Part 2 )
|
|
This update takes an important step forward with the skill system, something many players have been looking forward to. A lot of time and effort was spent creating the various systems that work together to make these skills function. The focus was fully on developing these skill systems, rather than adding the usual new content. This update may not have a lot of new content, but the work done on the skill system is a step in the right direction and offers a nice framework to build stuff on in the future:
|
|
Cooldowns
Cooldowns are important for making gameplay feel smooth and responsive. Cooldowns are now added to the game and synced between the client and server. This helps developers design and balance skills better. Players also get a clear cooldown bar that shows when they can use a skill again, making the game more fun and easy to follow.
Cooldown Groups
Cooldown groups have been added to the game that allow multiple skills to share the same cooldown. When one skill in a group is used, all the skills in that group also go on cooldown. This will give EO flexibility and balanced gameplay.
|
Status Effects (de/buffs)
Status effects have been added to bring more depth to combat. These effects can either help or hurt a player or NPC, depending on the type. For example, buffs can regenerate health or increase attack, while debuffs might lower health or attack power.
Status effects show up clearly in the UI as white icons on the lower-right corner, making it easy for players to see what is active. Debuffs are configurable in the Pub Studio and are another part of the skill system that is now complete.
|
|
|
Target Options
Skills can be designed with specific targeting options. Players can now click directly on tiles or areas in the game world to cast skills, allowing for area-based effects like traps or ground spells. This new system adds tactical depth and supports more creative skill types. While it already works, future updates should add ground indicators to make targeting clearer and more precise during combat.
|
Cached cooldowns and status effects
Cooldowns and status effects are now stored in the database and automatically re-synced when a player logs back in. This ensures that all timers continue as expected, even after disconnects or relogs. It prevents players from avoiding debuffs, death timers, or other time-based effects by simply logging out. It also prevents the loss of important buffs after unintentional disconnections.
|
|
Skills: Skill Introductions
|
|
Now that the core systems are in place, we can start exploring what is possible with skill development. In this section, we willll take a look at a few example skills and how they take advantage of the new features.
|
|
DASH
Dash is a fast responsive skill that quickly moves the player a short distance forward. It is useful for fast movement, dodging attacks or escaping danger. Dash has been designed to be a general skill with a small cooldown and subtile effec so the can be spammed. Later on the pub studio can be used to create more class-specific dashes/bashes.
|
|
REGEN
Regen is a healing skill that slowly restores the player's health for a while. The skill can be configured to also heal instantly and could be used for staying alive during longer fights or recovering between battles. A small status effect icon appears in the UI while Regen is active.
|
|
SHIELD
Magic Shield is a protective skill that can be cast on oneself or other players. It creates a barrier around the target, reducing incoming damage for a duration. A status icon appears in the UI while Magic Shield is active, indicating the shield's presence.
|
|
ATTACK-UP
Attack Boost temporarily increases the player damage, either by a fixed amount or a percentage of the caster or receiver attack power. It helps deal more damage in tough fights and lasts for a set duration. A small status effect icon appears in the UI while active.
|
|
ATTACKS
Attack spells deal direct damage to enemies using magic. They can be configured with different damage types, ranges, and effects. Some spells hit instantly, while others use projectiles or area effects. Cooldowns and cast times help balance their power.
|
And more..
Spells and skills can be built by combining multiple effects using Direct, After, and Final stages. Each stage can have its own hit chance and damage type, with options for low, high, or percentage-based values. This allows for deep customization and creative skill design.
|
|
Npc Behaviour: Sleepy Npcs
|
Npcs can now enter a sleep state.
This enables new behaviour like sleeping guard dogs, bats, sleepy pets etc..
Sleep Types
npcs can now enter one of four sleep types: always (cannot wake on their own), quick, normal, and rare. This allows for varied behavior in how and when npcs are falling into sleep.
Wakeup Chance
Each sleeping npc can have a wakeup chance defined as none, quick, normal, or rare. This determines how likely they are to wake up when triggered by nearby player activity.
Wakeup Range
Sleep range can be configured as none, close, near, or far. This sets how sensitive an npc is to player activity around them while asleep, enabling more control over when and why they wake up.
|
|
|
Tracking: Special Chest Tracking
|
Patch 4.42 introduces changes to the rare-item chest system: Each chest will now track player efforts individually. Failure will raise the chance of success on the next attempt with that chest. A guaranteed buyout after a number of failures is planned, but it is not yet active.
This change aims to make repeated effort feel more rewarding. The turtle quest has also been adjusted. It is now limited to 1 Daily attempt per day, costing 300 eons, and has twenty times more chance to succeed. This avoids many daily trips to the island..
Each failed attempt will be counted after patch 4.42 landed. Winning the special price will reset the counter back to zero. No other changes to the chests were made.
|
|
|
Render: D-FPS toggle (12/24 FPS)
|
The upgraded FPS system remains a dynamic fps engine but can now supports rates up to 24 frames per second. This extends the original 0-12 FPS range that was originally designed for the game's fourtick based sprite animations.
Current modes:
- Classic FPS ~12 FPS
- Faster FPS ~24 FPS
A dynamic FPS engine automatically adjusts its frame output rather than locking to a single, fixed rate. EO was originally designed around this concept to give better performnce on low end hardware.
The new Faster FPS mode is experimental, but delivers noticeably smoother scrolling and character movement. Feel free to try..
|
|
|
Area: Jail Undergrounds (PKZONE)
|
Reworking old maps
Old details were kept while making the maps more polished and interesting. The goal is to add fun without losing what players remember:
Upper jail floor
Minor adjustments have been made to the map layout to establish a more direct and accessible route to the lower floor, which previously served as the PK lobby. A club VV or maze-style structure has been placed to serve as the entrance.
|
|
|
Lower jail floor / Pk Lobby
The lower jail floor, previously used as the PK lobby, has stayed the same to keep its familiar layout. The map has been expanded to fit a new wayfarer point to offer easier respawning to the pk zone. The entrance to the jail sewers, now the main PK zone, has been adjusted to offer a clearer and more logical path.
|
|
|
Jail Sewer
The PK zone has been changed a lot because the old map was nothing more then a big open space with repeated cross-shaped pillars.
A few cross-shaped pillars been preserved to keep the nostalgia while also letting players enter the PK zone from any direction. This gives players a chance to enter and get ready for battle.
A new sewer tileset has been added with water, pipes and scenery, creating a better pk atmosphere and offering some sneaky spots to hide and surprise other players.
|
|
|
|
the cyclopse school opened a lost and found exchange allowing players to swap their female schooluniforms for male and back.. on popular demand.
Swaps:
- 2x female -> 1x male school uniform
- 2x male -> 1x female school uniform
|
|
Server ground-spawned items now show map names for added context. Items like Bobshop's flyers and dragon eggs display where they originate, improving clarity, immersion, and helping players track item locations.
|
|
Update 4.42 is scheduled this weekend, May 11-12th
Thanks for playing Endless Online we are glad you are here. You can find a list of contributers here
|
|
|
|
|
