MILESTONE: DINODRIFTERS playable now on Steam!

DINODRIFTERS is available now on Steam Early Access!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1179190



Enjoy!

MILESTONE: Steam Page is Up

The DINODRIFTERS Steam page is now live!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1179190



It will be available in a little over two weeks time in November.

Almost there!

MILESTONE: Kickstarter Out Now!

The DINODRIFTERS Kickstarter is now live!

Dinodrifters Kickstarter campaign here!

Thank you to every reader who has checked out this development blog over the last few months. There are several rewards that are available, so be sure to check them out!

Here's to you!

MILESTONE: The Road Ahead

An Alectrosaurus mother stands guard around her nest in the Flaming Cliffs

DINODRIFTERS is now fully in private beta.

Currently, I am testing the game and making tweaks and small alterations to improve everything. Performance, graphics, balance, among other things.

All features outlined from the beginning are present and working well!

The timeline to come is as follows:

July will be all about tweaks, quality-of-life improvements and bug-squashing. The beta will be in private beta during this time. I need to record some voices for use in the text-to-speech system and perhaps tweak it a bit.

August will be big.

In August, DINODRIFTERS will begin to move towards release. There are additional things I know I can do to make DINODRIFTERS even greater. See here for details. More areas, more features and even more story. However... time is running out. It would take months of additional development to do everything I want to do. Not need, per se. Want. I'd want to add more dinosaurs. More areas. But as I am right now, I cannot.

However, the game is complete in the scope I iterated over a year and a half ago. It's my ambition that says I need to do more, but I am only human and reality is sometimes not what we want it to be.

Therefore, in order to develop past August, I would need to secure support.

While I always envisioned a straight release at the end of my timeline, I'm starting to consider the possibility of creating a either a Kickstarter or an Indiegogo to support an additional few months of development.

Subject to change!

There are several great boons to this idea:

• The bulk of the game is already done. Backers would be able to play the game from the beginning and see more features and maps and dinosaurs as they're added!
• Because of the amount of development already done, it means that I would not require much. Around $5000, including fees. Smaller than average and with a smaller timescale and sooner delivery date.
• It would provide the funds and resources needed to continue development post-August, up to January at least.
• It would allow me to hire individuals to create music for DINODRIFTERS. I lack the skills to compose. I tried several times, but it is beyond me! However, I have several people in mind whose style would fit the setting and ambience of the game.
• No promises, but if such a campaign is successful and drums up enough support, I'd think about creating ports of DINODRIFTERS after upgrading to GM2. I do not know how long it would take, but it would be possible to create Mac and Ubuntu ports easily and due to how DINODRIFTERS is designed, even Android and other tablets would work perfectly given enough time to make the change.

That's the plan I have in mind at the moment. For the next month, development will continue as normal and I'll announce the concrete plan by the end of July.

Until next time!

- Jane

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #25: Into Beta

Hello and welcome to the final DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

Soon, DINODRIFTERS will leave the in-development alpha and at long last, enter into private beta. At this stage of development, all major features are in the game and now it's a case of testing, improving, balancing and adding sounds.

Currently, as of writing this, DINODRIFTERS is at v986 and will reach beta at v1000. At the current development rate I predict beta entrance within the next week (around 6-10 June).

I have a whole portable hard drive full of builds of DINODRIFTERS at this point

I've decided to end this development dairy as it no longer helps in chronicling the work and features in DINODRIFTERS. I'm more in a 'do' mood than a 'plan' mood right now and with beta so close and the road beyond that on the horizon, it is not really fair to say that DINODRIFTERS is in early development anymore.

It's more developed than developing at this point.

I'll still post larger articles on this blog, of course, but for more regular updates and development bits be sure to check out the DINODRIFTERS twitter here.

Soon, my precious, soon...

So, yeah.

Soon enough, loads of gameplay, cutscenes and other footage will be available. So instead of talking about all the features and cool things in DINODRIFTERS, I shall show them.

For now, this will be the end of dev diaries, at least for the moment.

Until next time!

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #24: Maps

Hello and welcome to another DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

Throughout prehistory, the world has changed as the continents and climate shifted. Various locations throughout the fossil record are particularly well understood enough to obtain a good view into how animals lived. This information is the background to which the worlds of DINODRIFTERS were created.

So today, I shall talk about the maps in DINODRIFTERS.

The time periods featured include the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene and the Quaternary

A bit of context first: the variety of life exploded during a time period called the Cambrian, around 540 Mya (million years ago). Before then, life was dominated by sponges, jellyfish and other simple lifeforms. The earliest fish evolved during this time, too. For this reason, the Cambrian will be the earliest time period visited during DINODRIFTERS. For now.

The maps go forward in time from the Cambrian to the present time period, the Quaternary. In addition, there are maps further than this, in the future, featuring fictional creatures and landscapes.

All others though, are based on real-life fossil sites. Or several.

There are over twenty regions to explore, here are the full maps to just a few

Maps are in most cases 30x30 grids (excluding skies, undersea regions and caves). This means that each map has 900 tiles in total. This is big enough to allow all animals in the game to has breathing room to run, have territory and, in general, live, yet not too large as to become needlessly empty.

Next diary, I will talk about the animations in the Story Mode of DINODRIFTERS!

Until next time!

TIME FILE: Dinosaur Cove - Antarctica and Australia, 106 million years ago

"The antarctic frozen valley of forgotten spirits"
(based on the Dinosaur Cove Formation)

Description
Located on the earth's southern pole, Dinosaur Cove is a valley with a river flowing through it, supplying life to a frosted forest. There are periods of complete darkness that persist for months at a time. 

Geography
Frozen mountains to the south and north direct a river that flows from west to east. A forest hugs the lowest portion of the valley, while high up, icy corridors of rock lead upwards to the higher ground.

Features
Cold and extreme. Frozen waterways, snow and ice with frigid forests. Days that persist for months instead of hours.

Rock Type
Siltstone and mudstone.

Fossilisation Extent
A river created a steady supply of fossils via siltstone fossilisation.
 
Animals
Theropods – Timimus, Australovenator
Sauropods – Austrosaurus, Wintonotitan 
Ornithopods – Atlascopcosaurus, Leaellynasaura, Muttaburrasaurus, Diluvicursor, Qantassaurus
Ankylosaurids – Kunbarrasaurus
Amphibians – Koolasuchus
Mammals - Steropodon
Other – Weta
 
Plants
Conifers, cycads , tree ferns, horsetails, redwood trees, laurels and angiosperms.

Most plants were riparian, living near the water sources like lakes. Only tough conifers and ferns could live away from direct sources of hydration.

 

MILESTONE: Chapter 3 and Story Mode, complete!

Featuring the Super Forms of the Dinodrifters!

Chapter 3 of DINODRIFTERS Story Mode:

Lowarn, the ancient creator of the Drifter Gear and the Timegate, has awoken!

Now Biall is on the run, still seeking to acquire the Time Cards.

However, the Dinodrifters, with Lowarn's help, have a plan.

To finish Biall once and for all, the Dinodrifters must build the Eternal Time Card by filling it up with the powers of all the Drifters. But to do so, they must conquer their pasts.

Can they do it? Can they save Cymreen and the world from the reign of Biall? Or will evil rule the times of earth?

The final battle of the Dinodrifters is about to begin!

--

I am overjoyed to announce that Chapter 3 of Dinodrifters' Story Mode is finally complete! As with the last milestone, the only thing missing is the animations - all gameplay, missions and dialogue are complete!

This leaves 3/3 chapters and 21/21 episodes done. The whole Story Mode, excepting extra material such as side quests and bonus scenes that will come later, is complete and fully playable.

Chapter 3 was both difficult and easy. Easy in that most the groundwork was already there, built up over two chapters, but hard in creating a fair but firm challenge for the player late in the game. I've added the final main character, Lowarn, upgraded sprites for the Dinodrifters and the Final Form of Drifter Green, the player character.

More on that another time.

Chapter 3 is all about finishing character threads that have been built in the previous chapters to that point. Gameplay-wise, Chapter 3 is where the whole game opens up, with all gatemarks unlocked for the player to explore.

It's so good to see all that space I allocated for the story and dialogue and missions to fill up to completion over the last month. When I animate the cutscenes in April, I'll share snippets! But for now, it's time to take a step away from Story Mode and work on Dinosaur Mode!


Stay tuned for more, for the next month of March is where the last gatemarks will be built and added!

See you there!

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #23: Cast of Characters

Hello and welcome to another DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

DINODRIFTERS has two core parts: Dinosaur Mode, a free mode where you play a dinosaur surviving in the prehistoric world, and Story Mode, where you play a ranger who travels to the past from the present to rescue, study and bring back animals from extinction.

Story Mode has many characters (mostly human), but today I'll introduce the entire main cast. The only exception will be Drifter Green, who is the player character, whose appearance is entirely up to the player.

Biall, the Prince, Lowarn, Aelwen, Susan, Gabriel, Rose, Korrel and Wei - the main characters of DINODRIFTERS

From left to right:

Biall: The ultimate villain of DINODRIFTERS. It is not truly human. It is a amalgamation of the many millions of people and animals that have died in the years after to the Great Cataclysm which destroyed the world. It wants to gather the Time Drift Cards and assimilate everyone it can touch. Beware!

Prince Jacob Aberfaw of Cymreen: The crown prince and heir apparent of the Kingdom of Cymreen, Jacob is the founder of the Blackhill Reserve and funds the whole Timegate Program and the Dinodrifters themselves. He's a philanthropist who works to better his kingdom through the accumulation of knowledge.

Lowarn: Lowarn is beyond human. She is a powerful entity who aids the Dinodrifters after they help her regain her powers. She is the one responsible for the rejuvenation of the world after it ended and is the accidental creator of Biall. She wants to redeem herself by destroying her worst creation and save as many lives as possible.

Aelwen ap Rhyds: Drifter Yellow of the Dinodrifters. Aelwen is a young woman with an uncertain past. She doesn't know who her parents are or where she's from. She works with animals because she's afraid of making people hate her. Though insecure, she's a bright lass who loves all life without judgement and hates fighting, but will do so if her friends are in danger.

Susan Warburten: Drifter Red of the Dinodrifters. Susan is a longtime soldier who hails from Inglia, across the Narrow Strait. She harbours great shame, as she was unable to prevent the silver plague from taking her daughter. Since then, she has a single-minded focus on her duty, providing security to Blackhill and the Dinodrifters' activities. She is tough, but her skin only does so deep, and when she's angry... Goddesses, help you.

Gabriel Ferro: Drifter Blue of the Dinodrifters. Gabriel is a mechanical genius who made the Drifter Gear and the Timegate from ancient technology. He is the heir to the Ferro Clan from the Alban island of Aran, but left his responsibilities to become a Dinodrifter. He is smart, but fickle and prone to terrible decisions to smooth his ego.

Dr Rose Hawksworth: Drifter Violet of the Roguedrifters. Rose was born before the Great Cataclysm and is partially responsible for it, being the inventor of silverdust and thus the destructor of the world. She seeks to control the silverdust and the mythical Drift to recreate the world in her own image. She's selfish and smart, but can't admit when she's wrong.

Korrel Akki: Drifter Navy of the Roguedrifters. Korrel is an Illuman, one of the people who originally created the Timegate. A renowned strategist, he follows Drifter Violet in exchange for her to resurrect his perished people and bring back his wife and son.

Wei Lin: Drifter Army of the Roguedrifters. Wei is from the other side of the world, recruited by Drifter Violet. Promised his entire family to be back for his service, Wei is a hands-on person who prefers to get his hands dirty when working and fight.

There are other characters, but these are the most important to the main story. There are many others you'll meet on your journey, but let's leave them to be a surprise, eh?


Next diary, I will talk about the maps and how they work in DINODRIFTERS!

Until next time!

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #22: Events

Hello and welcome to another DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

A lot of what I've talked about lately is Story Mode, which is indeed the meat of DINODRIFTERS. However, the secondary mode, Dinosaur Mode, has a great feature that I'd like to reveal to you all. 

Note that the images in the events are placeholder and not complete yet.

As you travel the landscape, you will encounter events throughout the map. Different events can occur depending on your age, diet, sex, species and the landscape itself, with a bit of randomness mixed in. Some are small and some can change everything.

These events can do a variety of things. Some spawn unique instances of animals, plants and objects. An example above shows a near-death ornithopod being spawned at the player's location - an easy meal for a meat-eating dinosaur!

There will be dozens of events in the game and vary greatly in their scope. From small scale spawnings to meteors to freak and rare occurrences.

They'll spice up the gameplay for sure!

This is the event for the player's death, when health is at zero

Events can also have up to four choices to make, like the one for death seen above. Some of these choices can fundamentally change the course of a Dinosaur Mode playthrough. Perhaps some can even take you across time and space... or even grant wishes...

You'll see!

Each gatemark (or area) will have around 20 or so events. That's the number I've have planned anyway. Some will have more because of their scope, others less. We'll see how things go.


Next diary, as we near completion of Story Mode's gameplay, I will talk about the full cast of characters in DINODRIFTERS!

Until next time!

MILESTONE: Chapter 2, complete!

Chapter 2 of DINODRIFTERS Story Mode:

Biall has awoken!

The malevolent intelligence that has stolen the Time Cards and seeks to claim the rest.

With all of them... Biall would be unstoppable.

With the Roguedrifters split, Drifter Violet joins the Dinodrifters. With her help, can they defeat Biall, claim back the cards and save humanity from its touch?

--

I am extremely happy to announce that Chapter 2 of Dinodrifters' Story Mode is complete! As with the last milestone, the only thing missing is the animations - all gameplay, missions and dialogue is complete!

This leaves 2/3 chapters done and 14/21 episodes done.

Chapter 2 has turned out to be much harder than Chapter 1. I've added the Cometcopter, Super Forms for the Dinodrifters, Keytoucher codes, advanced Dinodriver mechanics and of course, new characters.

By the end of Chapter 2, the Dinodrifters are joined by a new character and Chapter 3 will be a hunt across all the gatemarks to complete a weapon to contain Biall, the ultimate villain of Dinodrifters.

Stay tuned for more as we near Story Mode gameplay completion!

See you soon!

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #21: Gatemarks

Hello and welcome to another DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

Gatemarks are co-ordinates in time and space that constitute a destination in prehistory. These are the maps in which you will explore, survive and discover, either as a dinosaur or a drifter.

Gatemarks are divided by their approximate time. These are, from oldest to most recent:

Cambrian
Ordovician
Silurian
Devonian
Carboniferous
Early Permian
Late Permian
Early Triassic
Late Triassic
Early Jurassic
Late Jurassic
Early Cretaceous
Mid Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
Early Paleogene
Late Paleogene
Neogene
Quaternary
Present Day
Far Future (more on this to come at a later date!)

Once you've selected a time, you click on a location button on the globe. Now, due to continental shift, the locations described do not correspond to their modern locations. Instead, they are linked to their geological position.

There are going to be, at least, around 26-28 gatemarks in the game, with each time listed above having at least one map. You can find a list of them in the WORLDS button on this blog.

Next diary, I will talk about events in Dinosaur Mode and how they work in DINODRIFTERS!

Until next time!

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #20: Tracking, Calling and Maps

Hello and welcome to another DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

Animals in DINODRIFTERS have degrees of intelligence. Some simply spawn when certain conditions are met and exist only for a short while. Most through, are persistent. They have brains which they use to judge what they should do, where to move and what to do when they get there. They are adaptive and capable of being tracked.

This is the whole map of the Yixian Formation. However, this will not be completely visible at first during normal play.

In both Story and Dinosaur Modes, you can track animals by either smelling or tagging them. This does the same thing - it allows you to see where the target is on the map, should they be within a certain range. Smell can be captured via feces, but most commonly, it is captured via a direct contact with the target.

This way, you will not lose a special animal you want to eat/capture in the 900-square map, unless they're dead.

If the animal is dead for whatever reason, then the scent will fade and disappear.

In the natural world, this happens often, so do not wait too long to track down your quarry!

Smell is shown as a circle around the animal's location on the minimap and full map.

To force a conflict with an animal once you've tracked them, you can use the call feature. When you call, you get their attention. Whether or not they attack is dependent on their nature, your threat level and both party's health. If you see a Tyrannosaurus and call it - it almost certainly will forget whatever it was doing and make a meal out of you! However, a gentle Diplodocus will either run away or more than likely, ignore you. It depends on the situation.

Don't carelessly mess with mothering animals, though. They will often fight to the death to protect their young.

More specifics on how much of the map visible at certain times will come at a later point (after gameplay balancing is underway), so stay tuned.


Next diary, I will talk about the maps in DINODRIFTERS and give an overview of them.

Until next time!

FACT FILE: Euhelopus

Name origin: Greek euos (true), helos (swamp) and pous (foot)

Short Description: Huge sauropod herbivorous dinosaur

Height (adult): 12 metres

Length (adult): 15 metres

Weight (adult): 8000kg

Temporal range: 133-129 Mya

Distribution: China
Sexual maturity (in years): 12

Description: Euhelopus was the tallest animal that lived in the Yixian Formation. This height allowed it to harvest food that manifested in the canopy of the rich jungles of early cretaceous China.

FACT FILE: Smilosuchus

Name origin: Greek smilos (chisel) and suchus (crocodile)

Short Description: Large carnivorous phytosaur

Height (adult): 1.5 metres

Length (adult): 10 metres

Weight (adult): 3000kg

Temporal range: Late Triassic

Distribution: North America
Sexual maturity (in years): 8

Description: Smilosuchus was one of the apex predators of the Ghost Ranch Formation. A distant relative of crocodiles, Smilosuchus was a land-dwelling predator that hunted a wide variety of prey.

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #19: Mating, Pregnancy and Birthing

Hello and welcome to another DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

In Dinosaur Mode, the primary goal is to find a mate and have children, continuing your progeny. Today, I want to talk about these fundamental mechanics.

First of all, mating is only an option when:

- You and the target are the same species
- You and the target are of opposing sexes
- You and the target are of sexual maturity
- The female partner is not already pregnant

If all of these conditions are met, then the option will appear on the drop menu when you click on your target.

As you can see, the option here does not appear. This is because the player is female, and the target is female.

Now, the process for females is more involved than males, on average. While some select males do stay and care for young, in many species this is not the case. So for males, the mating occurs and then they move on. However, females have to carry the offspring to term and either:

- Lay a clutch of eggs
- Birth live young

Children can be either left to fend for themselves or defended, depending on species in an AI's case or player choice for the player. The traits and states of both parents are mixed and passed to the young.

This whole process awards progress points which advances the growth of the player, making them bigger and more powerful. So the more children and matings you secure, the more successful your animal avatar becomes.

Of course, death comes for all. So when you die, especially if it is natural causes (a rare feat for an animal to accomplish), then certain awards will unlock.

Some species will be harder to beat - for example, completing a Tyrannosaurus run is easy because it is an apex predator; a Edmontosaurus run would be medium because the largest predators would hunt you but you're large enough to avoid most of the smaller ones; a Struthiomimus run would be hard, due to the frailty of their bodies and their lack of defences.

If you have had any children during your run and they are alive, you will be able to play as them, continuing your game.

More details on this will come another time.


Next diary, I will talk about tracking, smells and calls in DINODRIFTERS and how they work.

Until next time!

FACT FILE: Stegosaurus

Name origin: Greek stegos (roof) and sauros (lizard)

Short Description: Large stegosaurid herbivorous dinosaur

Height (adult): 5 metres

Length (adult): 9 metres

Weight (adult): 6000kg

Temporal range: 150-155 Mya

Distribution: North America
Sexual maturity (in years): 10

Description: Stegosaurus was a browsing herbivore from the Jurassic. It wandered the terrain, harvesting low-laying woody plants like cycads and ferns like a cow. They were solitary, but could defend themselves from medium-sized threats through a display of thermoregulatory bright plates and a dangerous spiked tail, capable of piercing flesh and breaking bones.

MILESTONE: Chapter 1, complete! Enter... Roguedrifters!

Chapter 1 of Dinodrifters Story Mode:

Ravaging across time and space!

The team of opportunistic drifters who use drift technology with the goal of bringing back people from the dead.

Roguedrifters - Raiders in Time!

Comprised of Drifters Navy, Violet and Army, they oppose the Dinodrifters, who waste their gifts on primitive animals. They lack imagination or sight. The Roguedrifters seek to benefit humanity as a whole, especially those who suddenly died in the Great Cataclysm all those years ago.

They need to gather the Time Drift Cards to restore what was. Will they succeed, or will the Dinodrifters? When greater, darker forces rise with more insidious goals, how will the Roguedrifters and Dinodrifters react? Can what was, be again?

--

It is my great pleasure to announce that Chapter 1 of Story Mode is in its first playable state, from start to finish! All dialogue, gameplay, locations and links are complete and playable in their entirety. The only thing to finish are the animations for cutscenes.

This leaves 1/3 chapters done and 7/21 episodes done.

I plan to bring the whole campaign and story to a similar point during February, then do all the animations after that point. This will allow me to test the core gameplay as intensively as possible.

By the end of Chapter 1, the Roguedrifters cease to be be the main villains of the story, as the main villain reveals itself. In addition, Chapter 2 will feature new power-ups for the existing Dinodrifters and several new members will join the team. The whole world of the game expands beyond in says I'm certain will be exciting! More to come on this next month!

I will update the blog in the coming few weeks with some slightly spoilery posts (including the unmasking of Violet, Army and Navy). Stay tuned!

Don't forget to play DINODRIFTERS later this year to experience the full adventure!

See you soon!

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #18: Underwater Life and Aquatic Animals

Hello and welcome to another DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

We've discussed the life of land and the sky, but not the eldest ecosystem of them all - the sea. Today, I will talk about how animals that live in the oceans differ from those above the ocean's surface in DINODRIFTERS.

Aquatic animals, classed here as animals that exclusively live in the ocean, share some of the mechanics that land-based animals do. However, they differ greatly in their movement.

Animals that are aquatic can swim between the surface, shallows and the seabed of a body of water. Each one is vastly different.

The surface is the same level of the map that the land animals live on. They can interact with any object directly near the water.

The shallows are the first few dozen metres of water beneath the surface. Here, algae is common and light shimmers down from above. Most of the animals will travel on this level.

The last level is the seabed. Here, sea plants can appear and there is very little light. Unique animals live here like trilobites and corals. Herbivorous aquatic animals will feed here often due to the unique life that present itself on this level of the ecosystem.

Due to the openness of the ocean, there are seldom any safe places to hide or nest in, so the only safety measure is to keep moving and keep your eyes open.

For monsters lurk in the gloom.


Next diary, I will talk about mating and how bearing offspring works in DINODRIFTERS!

Until next time!

DINODRIFTERS Dev Diary #17: Flying and Aerial Animals

Hello and welcome to another DINODRIFTERS dev diary!

Most animals in DINODRIFTERS are intelligent and move on their own volition. In the past, I have talked about mechanics shared between all of these animals. Today I will talk about how flying animals like pterosaurs differ from other animals.

The button above the minimap is used to both ascend to the skies and land on the ground.

Firstly, flying animals when on the ground operate just as any other. They walk, drink, feed and mate all on the ground. However, unlike non-flying animals, they have the ability to take off and ascend to the skies above.

They can only do so when certain conditions relating to health and energy are met. So be careful and make sure your reserves are sufficient to make a quick getaway at all times.

When in the sky, objects below cannot harm you. However, you can only take off when you have enough health to do so. Injuries to a pterosaur can be fatal.

Once you're in the air, nothing on the ground can harm you. The only threat is the weather conditions present and other flying animals. However, these are not common, so you can use the sky as a highway to your destination, free from most predators.

Changes in elevation are ignored by flying animals. So they can fly over oceans, hills and mountains and get to places not accessible to other animals. Good places to build nests and roosts.

However, most flying animals are weak. Even the largest, Quetzalcoatlus, can be killed by most medium size animals. So evasion is key to winning as a pterosaur or other flying animal.


Next diary, I will talk about aquatic animals and how underwater gameplay works in DINODRIFTERS!

Until next time!