Code of the Savage Update #15

Geoff Jones is back with a new Kickstarter update for his Ultima-inspired RPG Code of the Savage. In the update, he lets us know that Code of the Savage now uses a 16×16 grid instead of a 32×32 one, shares his reasons for the switch, talks a bit about the game’s background lore, shows off some NPC portraits, and more. Check it out:

Greetings backers!

I had a few weeks off, but I’m back in the thick of it now.

I have converted the 32×32 grid movement to a 16×16 grid. I felt the 32×32 grid size was too restrictive, and it also created other development issues. A huge portion of the game was built around the 32×32 grid size, so as you can imagine the conversion has been a lot of work. It involved reworking a lot of the game elements, including how the walls and doors function, but in other ways, it has made things much easier and more flexible. All in all, I’m very happy with how the new 16×16 grid works. As you will see in the demo, there are still bugs related to the change, such as NPC movement (they tend to wander off in random directions and not follow schedules)- that will be fixed in a future update.

Wall shadows now have a little more depth, and I no longer need to place them manually. It’s all done automatically.

I have written much of the backstory of Daneths dynastic rule. Outlining some of its’ tumultuous and brutal past, which shows what can happen when religious zealots take control of the crown.

Portraits

I’ve painted a few new NPC portraits. So far I’ve finished about, 40 and expect to have well over 100 by the time the game is finished. I really enjoy creating these 🙂

Books

In the next update, I will be adding readable books to the game, among other things. Books will play a vital role, as they will be scattered throughout the land and contain various useful, interesting or useless bits of information and lore.

If anyone happens to have any scribblings or writtings they would like me to include in one of these books, please let me know, and I’ll consider adding it to the game. It could be anything at all, from poetry, a short story, a recipe, diary etc etc. It just needs to be compatible with a medieval/middle-ages time period. You will be credited in the in-game rolling credits.

As usual, I have added a new version of the demo to the demo dropbox folder. Please PM me if you have forgotten the link. This release is quite buggy. I’m aware of the NPC movement issues, and the layer depth issues when two NPCs walk close to each other. The player also appears naked unless moving of certain areas.

Thank you 🙂

~Geoff