Knights of Frontier Valley Events - Alpha 3.fun release: latest info
Apr 28, 2025We are just a few weeks away from the biggest update so far.
Today I have some more info about the upcoming release "Alpha 3.fun". The plan is that this will be the last closed release, followed by a free demo available to everyone.
After the demo, I will start the "Beta" branch as the game moves forward towards the public release. It is not yet decided if there will be an Early Access... it depends on the feedback from the demo.
The February update already went into detail about Alpha 3.fun, but today I have some new info, including a release date. But first things first. Here's what I have been working on recently:
- The main character's first set of voice output is now in the game, including matching portrait lip animations. I already have a lot more recordings from the hero's voice actor Alan, so this feature will continue to grow over time.
Read my lips! What do you think he is saying? Leave a comment below! - New items have been added. Adding items can sometimes be a quick and easy thing, but for equippable items, new animations are needed which is always time-intensive work. The new items I find most interesting are the polearms:
- Some previously locked locations are now accessible, including the windmill, farm, and the logging camp. A few other wilderness sites have also been added and can be found on the procedurally generated world map.
The logging camp is not yet populated, but will be soon - Several quality-of-life improvements were made. This includes things like being able to eat food items directly from a loot container now, without having to transfer them to your inventory first. Volume controls have finally been added, too.
- Story mode chapter 2 quest is well underway. This is the most complex quest in the game so far, as it should be for a main quest! Creating it requires work other than creating the actual quest - aside from new characters, items, and places that are being added, the custom engine also needs extensions to support certain quest features. Completing this quest is the main focus right now.
Creating any quest is currently a lot of manual labor, so I am considering making a Quest Editor after this version (and, like the Map Editor, make it available for modding at one point). Interesting quests always include custom behavior, so it will likely require programming skills to make quests that are more complex than simple FedEx deliveries.
I imagine it could be interesting to some which modding/workshop features are planned, so I will dedicate a future update to this topic.
Notable internal changes:
- The video playback engine has been replaced. I had been using the VLC video player for cutscenes so far, but it caused issues. The new one is open-source and custom-made for the libGDX framework I am using. It did away with all the issues I had, and it is also faster and has a smaller file footprint than VLC. The VLC player is generally a very powerful player, it just was not quite the right fit for this game.
- I spent some time bringing the Mac version up to speed, but there is more work needed. It fully runs, but only at a frame rate of 1 FPS regardless of the Mac's power. I suspect it has something to do with OpenGL (which is deprecated on MacOS), but it requires more time to investigate. This will have to wait until later.
- Lots of bugfixes! MicroProse organized a week of professional testing by an experienced QA team, and it was very productive. I think we have a pretty stable game now! It is still Alpha, so there are some bugs, but nothing game-breaking.
Now regarding the release date for Alpha 3.fun: I am targeting Monday, May 26. Some of you have asked about becoming a tester... you will hear back from me before that date, if you haven't already.
Rob's Note:
As you know, I am working with D&D design legend Robert J. Kuntz, and when Rob saw the new polearms, he was reminded of the interest Gary Gygax, co-founder of Dungeons & Dragons (*) and Rob's mentor, had in such weapons:
"Gary was a huge fan and student of Medievalism, especially those battles described by the military historian C. W. C. Oman in his seminal work 'The History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages (Volumes 1 & 2)'. From there his research centered around his 11th edition Britannica articles, the last scholarly encyclopedia of its kind, with a focus on the arms and armor of that time period. The result was to finally form the Castle & Crusades Society to promote Medieval articles and miniatures games. He was also a fan of Japanese arms and armor.”
Until next time,
Martin
(*) "Dungeons & Dragons" and above image are trademark owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used here for historical purposes only.