ID:38407
 
I created this game just over four years ago now, although only portions of my free time were dedicate to the project it has progressed and developed in to a much larger game than I had anticipated. Finishing up is something I've been claiming for the past year or two but I feel the timing will be correct soon. Once the current version(which is still in development and testing) is 'complete', meaning all of the features finished and stable and any serious problems addressed, I will be moving my attention away from the project and onto other things.

I don't believe a game is ever really 'complete', developers either run out of time or resources(money, system limitations, interest etc). In my case I feel the game has grown enough to consider it 'complete' and move on to bigger and different things. Of course, it is very tempting to add 'just one more feature' and I may very well do so after this time, however, I can't dedicate the rest of my life to one game.

If you've followed the game you probably have a lot of questions, I'll try to answer the most obvious questions below:

What is happening to the game?

If you're a regular to DMO, you've no doubt noticed the 'test server' which is the latest version being developed. The server is updated every few days with new updates and bug fixes, drawing us closer to the final version. This version will be considered '6.0', representing the final step for the game.

Over the coming days/weeks there will be changes, improvements and additions to the test server. Not everything will be released immediately, over time new features will be released for testing. Releasing everything at once isn't a good idea in this situation.


What's the plan?

The priority is to get the game stable, there won't be any huge changes overall the game will remain the same with minor additions and changes to improve it. The test server will remain up everyday with new builds every few days to fix previous bugs and release changes/additions.

Once all features have been added and the game is reletively stable, it will go into the completion phase and only receive the occasional bug fix.


How much and what has been added so far?

There are actually a lot of significant changes to the game since the previous version. Aside from the obvious bug fixes and refactoring of many systems(which there was a lot of, many systems were redone to allow new additions) a lot of new features have been added. If I've done my job well, players won't notice a lot of the refactoring.
Although these are boring to point out, refactoring takes a lot of work and preparations, many hours and days can go into a major change.

- New Cards
The next set, Magician's Force, was added; increasing the legal card count to over 1,000.
Various cards from the 'Shadow lists' were moved to the legal area as well as many new promotional cards added.
Over 100 in total.

- BYOND 4.0 support
A new unique interface was added with several interesting features.

- Tournaments
Huge tournament system upgrade which supports multiple tournaments as well as player submissions.

- Duel Matches
Best 2 out of 3 duels were added along with Side Decking. Added a new dimension to playing the game.

- Team Gauntlet
Two teams of up to 10 players can duel against each other in a gauntlet style match, the loser is ejected and the winner faces the next opponent with their Life Points from the previous match.

- Options Update
The little input/alert boxes recieved a makeover using some 4.0 features. They are much easier to use and look more professional overall.

- Various small updates
To be honest I can't recall every feature added to this release as the version has been in development for a long time now.


What is left to add or do?

- Duelist Kingdom
I expect to have the DK up and running again soon. It is actually a separate addition to DMO that doesn't actually affect the normal game but it is important none-the-less.

- Rankings
Originally removed due to cheating, I have some plans to make it less suspectible to cheaters and more fair for everyone. I'll announce more details when I get to the stage to work on it.

- Fix 'internal arrays' problem
This has been an issue that has plagued the game for a long time. Information on the cause is scarce, I'm expecting the next update will fix the root cause or at least give developers a means to track it.

- (Secret)
I'm expecting this one to be done and released soon. I'd rather not mention it until it's done and added.

- Secret Feature
This is the 'big one' I've mentioned a few times. This will be the last feature I release, although it has been completed for some time it will be released once everything else is ready.

When will the game be released for players to host?

Maybe never. Currently my focus is on getting the version stable and finished. The test server is all we need for now, extra servers will just spread out bug reports and make it more difficult to track problems and update. Having to prepare a releasable build can take a while, uploading one to our own server is quick and painless(not to mention a lot cheaper on our bandwidth).

How long will all this take?

I expect everything will be done by the end of next month. A lot is resting on fixing the internal array error mentioned; which solely relies on the BYOND staff as I've spent hours trying to figure out why it occurs and attempting to replicate it without success.



I'll attempt to use this page a little more by posting update information and future plans.
A Battle City tournament could be done, it is definitely something I considered more than a few times(even have some sketches lying around for the mechanics and layout). The major reason I never went ahead was basically the icon work involved; as it's a city quite a few different tiles need to be made. The DK could use existing tiles I already made.

I haven't had much luck with icon artists either, sadly. Even when the work is paying, they seem to vanish all the same before producing anything.
Sounds awesome. So, if you don't mind me asking, what's next for you? Hope it's not a secret. Good luck!
Why is the server down?
Um Why does the game keep going down? And I could help out with the Icon work
Have you tried http://www.byond.com/games/Eviofau/Chat, Kajika? Most of BYOND's elite developers hangout here, I'm sure someone can help you.
can it be unbanz tym noawz?
Kerala wrote:
So, if you don't mind me asking, what's next for you?

My next big project is kind of a secret for now, I haven't exactly worked out all the details so I'm leaving it open. All I can say for now is it won't be made in BYOND; I don't believe I'd use BYOND again for anything more than very simple games.

Kinglionking wrote:
Um Why does the game keep going down? And I could help out with the Icon work

Not sure exactly, there seems to be some BYOND error, it has been reported though. I would love to hire an icon artist for the game but sadly I've done it five times so far with each one having enthusiasm but every last one provided nothing.

TheBigRyo wrote:
can it be unbanz tym noawz?

I don't understand what you're referring to.
This game really is gameplay friendly. but come on, its lacking in balance and cards. the game really isnt anywhere near complete. add around 3000 cards (something like that you dont have) ; The newer cards. the games outdated by around 3 years!
Kamrusepas wrote:
This game really is gameplay friendly. but come on, its lacking in balance and cards. the game really isnt anywhere near complete. add around 3000 cards (something like that you dont have) ; The newer cards. the games outdated by around 3 years!

My original response didn't appear so I'll have to be more brief this time.

The base engine wasn't built with expansion and some of the newer cards in mind, due to those limitations not everything could be added.

It really comes down to whether I can or want to dedicate all of my free time to adding to a project I already feel is nearing completion. There are other projects I'd like to try and do, but I need to finish up on this one.

The more simple programming behind 'manual' Yu-Gi-Oh! games allows them to add any card within a minute or two, you don't need to program each unique effect. This gives gamers the idea that adding cards is a simple process in DMO, sadly it's far from it.
Adding cards in a Duel Monsters game and making them play automatically would be hell for any programmer. You have to program many lines of code and Dream Maker has a limit when it comes to this. Due to that limit there may be a point where he wont be able to do anything I believe he's already there. That being said I myself wouldn't expect many updates from DMO because of the size of the source code.
Kajika wrote:
I would love to hire an icon artist for the game but sadly I've done it five times so far with each one having enthusiasm but every last one provided nothing.

Why not make a donation email address for people to donate icons to you? If you feel as if they are ripped icons, don't use them.

Why does DMO keep going down?
Donated icons would have been nice, the major downside there is that overall the graphics of the game won't really match up well if different artists are used.
any chance ur gonna update the deck editing utility anytime soon?
I was waiting until I had a finalized list of cards added in this release, I still have a few planned for release.
Hey Kajika why couldn't you make a Yu-Gi-Oh game off byond or does that take a lot of work? Because if you could, it would make me want to play 24/7(and if people helped you support the game and stuff :))
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Creating a Yu-Gi-Oh! game outside of BYOND was something I considered for a while, being able to have full control over the engine would have made life a lot easier. (Being able to use a database for cards along with externally scripting their effects in particular)

However, I decided that I would make something new instead of do something I've already done. To be honest, I don't really play Yu-Gi-Oh! or have that much interest in it; although I did enjoy the problem solving involved.
Recently the only problem with it is that it's been lagging. In truth you could leave it the way it is and it would still be fan-hosted until the last days of BYOND. I really doubt anyone will make a better duel monsters game, or anime game for that matter.
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