Hellgate: London – London 2038 Development Update #34

The latest development update for Hellgate: London’s London 2038 multiplayer mod is primarily a progress report for the mod’s upcoming expansion. So if you’re interested in that, you should definitely check it out.

But on top of that, it also features a quick shoutout to, well, us, and our continued coverage of the project. And to that, I’ll say that we’re always happy to spotlight such an ambitious and impressive project. And also, I feel I have to mention that most of the credit for discovering it should go to our benevolent overlord and founder Buck.

Here’s the update itself:

Hello, hello!

As foretold last time, these last two weeks ended up being quite less productive. Because well, they only offered 2 free days, plus some stolen spare change here and there.

Still, some work has been done, so let’s dive right in…

Benefactors

…in a moment.

But first, resisting a meticulously-crafted “Wail of the Banshee” joke because I’m really trying, here I’m only obliged to briefly mention a very notable event.

And that is, GameBanshee’s ValH has put out the word on our ongoing search for voice acting contributions. That they have even been reporting on our progress, outlined through my unprofessional textwalls, was a very unexpected honor I came to graciously accept. But that they sought to actively help this project in this way is a gesture beyond compare – and one I could not leave unacknowledged.

So, our unexpected benefactors, please know you have our heartfelt thanks. I’m nothing short of deeply grateful for this remarkable gesture, and it’s only proper that I express this publicly.

Progress

Now then, and quite related to said efforts, here’s the rundown on what’s been done since last time.

• Polished NPCs. No wardrobes yet, but most NPCs have been polished data-wise to avoid clashes with their base counterparts (eg Ser Sing who hands out Cleansers) or make story-based wardrobe/voice changes easier to implement. Yes, we will in fact have our first instance of a character’s voice changing – which meant they too needed a doppelganger.
• Added 3 new vendor NPCs. Not terribly exciting, I bet, but those have now joined the cast as well. For the moment, one is also fully voiced by a kind contributor’s test lines; yes, they were that good.
• Added 4 monsters. In a curious first, we were offered music – which we much appreciated, but didn’t know just how to use at first. These contributors then followed up with an encounter suggestion we liked, so 4 new monsters for it followed. Not quite finished yet, but the fundamentals are now there.
• Fixed a new Mythic affix. The issue that was present last time has since been fixed, so this affix is now ready for release. The solution was of course time-consuming and entirely based on generous manual input, as Hellgate things tend to be.
• Added a new recipe. This one is almost ready, save for a minor leftover issue. I’d rather not spoil this yet, but it is one that’s been requested for a while.
• Tested a new flag which works. Good news, another type of enemy modification left behind by FSS actually works. Wouldn’t want to spoil this yet either, but it’s now an asset in the drawer.
• Renamed an enemy type. Not very exciting on its own, but it ties into the next point.
• Started tweaking enemy skill scripts. Some enemy types had skills which didn’t quite align with their naming conventions and minion ecosystem, so we’ve started addressing that. Pardon the secrecy, but I do think such developments are best left as surprises.
• Found a pesky bug. One of these cases where a bug’s existence is met with sighs, as circumventing said bugs is easy enough but not quite faithful to the actual goals behind them. Another TODO entry then, thankfully with a plan to follow.

And then there’s a few bits and pieces like tweaking these new quests for easier/more accurate emulation, which do constitute work but don’t quite constitute palpable exciting stuff to list here for readers. A few innovative ideas for enemy mechanics were also floated around, but these too only represent some theoretical progress. And, there’s also quite a few more item blueprints on my desk – but alas, time.

And finally, in the coming days we’ll also start recording some voice lines ourselves. The plan is to bless at least another 5-6 characters with new voices by next time, between our own and the first contributions we’ve gotten, so fingers crossed for that.

Bye!

And there you have it. Unfortunately less exciting and plentiful than I’d have hoped, but work and life got in the way quite insistently.

Still, I hope defending London has kept you busy and content, brave Survivors. Our punch event 8 is still ongoing, too, should you want to channel your inner Mike Tyson on some poor demons. We very much look forward to beholding more such glorious endeavors, ourselves.

Until next time then. All the best to you and yours, and happy hunting.