Xsyon Updates Archive

[Xsyon]

May 4 2011

Hello Xsyon citizens!

A quick update: I'm in Moscow now meeting with Nikolay, one of our new programmers. We're going over our strategy to implement combat revisions over the month of May.

The improved launcher will allow for us to patch out test builds and all players will be welcome to check out our working builds in progress and provide feedback while we fine tune the system.

We are still testing and making some changes to our current build before we patch out the improved launcher and next update. As soon as we're comfortable that this update is ready for the public I will post here again. It's close, but there are a few minor issues that we are resolving with the launcher still timing out too easy in some cases. I'll get back to work now!

[Xsyon]

May 5 2011

Hello Xsyon citizens!

The launcher finally looks ready for the public. The launcher programmer ran additional tests while I was travelling and discovered a few more problems that could potentially cause disconnects while patching. These have been fixed and tested now.

I've prepared a current build and the test team will be checking it for critical issues today while the current files are uploading to the patch servers. We will test for the next 6-8 hours and if there are no critical issues the new installer will be made available.

I will announce this at least one hour before we do the update. This update will take place of the next scheduled daily maintenance.

As stated before, Wednesday will be our regular day for updates. If we have critical updates such as the current update, however, updates will be patched as soon as they are ready.

[Xsyon]

May 6 2011

The servers will be down at 4:00 AM UTC for a patch. I will post a link to the new installer at this time. The new installer will require a full reinstall and download as we've switched to compressed files. The download is less than half of the original download now.

I will post a full update once the patch is up!

[Xsyon]

May 6 2011

Hello Xsyon citizens!

Please make sure to install using the latest installer. This install should remove your old data files and do reinstall the new compressed versions. The download servers, game server and client have all been updated.

This update includes:

Updated Installer

The installer is prepared for future updates to automatically remove files that need to be updated if necessary. This will allow you to update easilly to new installers without doing a full reinstall.

Updated Patcher

The patcher uses compressed files and the total download has been reduced to less than 50% of the original size.

The patcher allows you to connect to the main server or the test server, using a test client, when available. We will post when the test server is open for public tests. This will help us check out and balance some of the upcoming changes with combat and agriculture before patching the changes to the main server.

-Issues causing potential time outs or disconnects have been fixed.
-The patch order for removing, adding and modifying files has been rearranged to reduce total patching time.
-The patcher now displays download speed.
-The patcher should now display progress better through all steps of the patching process.

Game Update

This is primarily a creature update with additional data and systems prepared for the near future.

-Creatures age, grow and breed.
-Creatures hide when threatened and hibernate depending on the season.
-Creature AI and pathfinding has been further improved.
-All current animals are in game.
-Item Tooltips are back on. Tooltips have been optimized to use client side caching.
-Problems with creatures or players getting out of bounds causing the server to crash have been fixed.
-Collision detection has been revised for speed.
-Minor bugs with some armor parts and recipes have been fixed.

In Progress:

-Crafted object decay.
-Crafted object additional properties and bonuses.
-Crafted object repair.
-Crafted object and building dismantling.
-Revised tree data storage system to prepare for tree planting and farming.
-Starting the full combat system revision. This will be made available on the test server as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 7 2011

A quick update today to answer some questions and concerns:

1. The shifted terrain players have noticed is due to terraformed terrain heights being rounded off to reduce memory usage. One of our programmers will focus on correcting this immediately and may contact some of the players that have reported problems. We will fix problems on the test server first and may ask some of you to join us to make sure your tribal lands are correct before we patch changes to the public server.

2. Some architecture parts have been deliberately resized to form a more consistent and interchangeable kit of parts. There are many new parts that will be added soon. One particular wall (the wide limestone wall) may be rescaled soon, but only if we write a script to replace all current walls with two wall segments.

3. Quality levels do have an effect, as they are transferred from the material to a crafted object. Quality tools affect the quality of armor and weapons, which will play an important part in the revised combat system we will start working on this week.

4. Some players have reported quality of items not stacking correctly. What you are seeing is an effect of the tool tip information being cached. If you merge a stack of objects it currently takes about a 30 seconds to refresh the information so that you see the correct quality value of the merged stack. This will be fixed for the next update to avoid further confusion.

I think that answers the primary concerns for now. I'll get back to work!

[Xsyon]

May 8 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick note for today:

We will update the server to correct the current terrain problems with our next scheduled maintenance (Monday 2:00 AM PST). The problem was caused by rounding off terrain heights to reduce memory usage. It's been corrected while keeping our optimizations.

That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

May 9 2011

Hello everyone!

There is currently a critical terraforming bug on the server at the moment and we need everyone to stop terraforming for now.

Thanks. (The issue with terraforming has been fixed).

[Xsyon]

May 11 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick update today to keep you all informed:

There will not be a client patch today as my schedule is too hectic travelling and meeting with new and old team members. I will be back in the US next Tuesday. I will patch out a test build as soon as I can so that the public can connect to our test server while we continue balancing decay.

In order of priority we are currently working on:

-Decay and crafting changes - not much left to finish here, so this will be ready for next week's update.
-Tree data saving. When this is done we will restore all trees.
-Combat revisions. We've started implementing a new system. This will take some time, but we will allow players to check our changes in progress on the test server.

My updates will be brief until I return home as I have much to work on. Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 18 2011 4:20 PM UTC

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch. This patch includes:

Update:

-Crafting revisions.
Crafted quality and duration are based on:
Materials used.
Player craft skill and associated stats.
Tools used.
Forager and Scrapper tools add to duration.
Trapper and Pioneer tools add to quality.
Luck.

-Crafted object decay. Tools, armor and weapons decay with use and will break.
-Duration updated for existing crafted items.
-Combat armor targeting issues fixed. The protection effect of armor should be more prominent now.
-Continued AI revisions
-Server optimization and minor bug fixes.

In Progress:

-Crafted object additional properties and bonuses.
-Revised tree data storage system to prepare for tree planting and farming.
This will be accompanied by a full tree reset when it is patched out.

-Tool tip improvements.
-Crafted object repair.
-Crafted object and building dismantling.
-Full combat system revision.
-Server cluster set up.

The first two items listed are currently being checked on the test server. The tree data storage revision was a major task which took up the bulk of our time over the past two weeks and it just requires some final testing. As this is nearly done and I expect we will do some further adjustments to use decay after receiving feedback, we may have another patch ready in a few days rather than wait for next week. The rest of the items are in progress or next up on our list.

I just arrived home from my 2 week tour around Russia so we will make quicker progress now. This trip was a great success to meet new team members and get things organized. Everyone is excited for the future!

[Xsyon]

May 18 2011 11:40 PM UTC

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server has been updated with a quick patch as some recent changes were causing the server to lock up. We will be monitoring closely as usual to make sure this issue is now fixed.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 22 2011 7:30 AM UTC

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server suddenly started locking up today which caused us to have to reboot the server with small rollbacks. I apologize for this but this is unexpected as the server has been running fine since the last corrected server update on May 18. After examining the server logs, the problem seems to be with some specific creature actions, so we've copied to the data that was locking up to the test server and have restored creatures on the main server to their intial spawn state.

The intitial creature spawn state sets creatures closer to the starting zones. They will breed and spread out as usual.

I will post a longer update tomorrow regarding changes we are doing to the website and what we have in store for this week's update. Right now I need to assist the other programmers in tracking and fixing the cause of the server lock ups today.

[Xsyon]

May 23 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We are on track for an update this Wednesday. This update will include our new tree and plant data system which will allow us to start implementing tree planting and agriculture. With this update all trees will be respawned.

We are currently making some changes to the website and our back end systems.

- Reorganizing the Developer Zone and FAQ list. This is explained here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/6915-Developer-Zone-and-FAQ-How-to...

- Questions will be answered weekly. At the end of each month we will check through the FAQ and revise answers if necessary. As Xsyon will be continously evolving, some details are bound to change.

- The Developer Zone will soon include direct Requests for Feedback. These requests will focus on new features such as combat revisions. GuideRaguel will be running the request threads and is the main person to go to with your suggestions and balance issues.

- We've added a Suggestion tracker for player suggestions. I will announce when this is ready for public use.

- We are cleaning out the Bug Tracker and copying issues to a new private system used by the development team. The Bug Tracker will be checked daily and updated with fixed or resolved issues once a week.

- We are adding the ability to purchase pre-paid time through the accounts page. This can be done with a credit or paypal accounts with or without credit cards and will allow players to purchase game time without a recurring subscription.

Most of this will be wrapped up this week.

We are also close to showing some of our combat revisions to the public on the test server. We need to sort out and recreate some animations and this should be ready for feedback by the end of the week.

That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

May 25 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch.

- Tree data saved in a new database system on the server only.
- All trees have been restored.

This is a major update to the server which is why we focused on patching out only these changes with this build. Our old system required a 'world update' to run while the server is offline to update tree data daily and required patching out 'baking' permanent changes to tree data and patching them out through the launcher.

The new system manages trees entirely on the server and will allow us to spawn, plant and grow trees without an offline world update. This is a major step towards implementing agriculture. The next step will include the gathering of seeds, primarily from cones found near trees, and planting them to sprout new trees. Trees will also sprout every Spring near existing trees.

I don't have more information to announce regarding the upcoming agriculture system as we are still working out the details. When we are ready, we will have the test server available to show these changes in progress and will solicit feedback from the community.

Our next major changes will involve the combat revisions. I'm personally waiting to see what our combat programmer and animator have worked out so far and expect to see the first (and biggest) step, using mouse controlled directional swings tomorrow. I will keep everyone posted as I would like players to join us in checking out combat changes on the test server as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 30 2011
Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Developer Zone section has been updated with answers to questions going back to February. Questions, bug reports and suggestions have been piling up since the launch and my trip to Russia but I'm finally all caught up. We've consolodiated transferred all bugs and suggestions to a new bug tracking system and will make regular improvements in addition to our feature work on combat and agriculture.

This week's public build will primarily focus on important bug fixes (such as information not loading for some players while crossing zones), but we will be publicly testing the new combat system on the test server and we will move it over to the main server as soon as we're confident that it's ready enough. We are testing the changes now and I'm enjoyng it personally. I'm excited to show off the changes, but we definitely have a few things to tweak before making them public. We'll see how our tests tonight and tomorrow morning go and I'll post an update tomorrow on our progress.

[Xsyon]

May 31 2011

We are preparing a public update and test server update with a preview of the new combat system right now. Both will be up and running in the morning (PST). I'm looking forward to the feedback on our combat changes!

[Xsyon]

June 1 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A server and client update has been patched out. The server is being restarted at this moment.

This update fixes issues with players not fully loading entities, trees and terrain while crossing zones and with players not fully loading their equipment or armor when entering another player's zone. If you still encounter these problems, please report it and inform either GuideRaguel or Dezgard directly so that we can look into this immediately.

We've also patched out animations necessary for the new combat system. We're going to continue working on the combat system for at least a few hours (we're adjusting parrying and dodge at the moment) then will allow all players access to the test server to give us feedback on the system so far.

A quick note: The Test Server will be open to all players, including inactive players so that everyone interested can see what we have in the works.

I'll be back!

[Xsyon]

June 1 2011

Quick Update: Our website host server had some problems today (I don't know the details except for that it was bad timing for our udpate today). We are currently on a shared server and are going to move to a dedicated server as a high priority. The dedicated server has already been ordered and is ready for us to start transfering the site.

[Xsyon]

June 1 2011

Quick Update: The Test Server is up and running and you should be able to log in to check out the first phase of our combat revisions!

What you can test:

Attacks:
Left and right attacks are initiated by the left and right mouse buttons.
Move the mouse in the direction that you want to draw back your weapon or fist.
Without mouse movement you will initiate a mid to center attack.
There are five attack directions: left to right, right to left, up to center, down to center or mid to center.
Press to draw back a weapon (or your fist).
Release to attack.

Parry:
Use either left or right mouse button while pressing Alt
Move the mouse in the direction you want to parry.
You can parry left, right, high, low or center attacks (no mouse movement).
Release to stop parry.

Dodge:
Use either left or right mouse button while pressing Ctrl
Move the mouse in the direction you want to dodge.
You can dodge left, right, high, low or center attacks (no mouse movement).
You cannot hold a dodge.

This is our first step with this system and we primarily want you to get a feel for controlling combat.

We appreciate all feedback on what is working so far!

We are aware of the following issues:

The right parry animation was not exported correctly.
Animations need finishing and adjustments.
Combat damage is not finished.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 1 2011

Quick Update: The Test Server will be up and down today for two reasons. One, we are working on things and making changes. Two, the Test Server is also running some test code that will allow us to process more incoming commands per second, but this code has not been fully tested and the server may lock up and require a restart.

[Xsyon]

June 4 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The test server is up with an update and I've patched out a revised test client and some animations and sound scripts. We are primarily testing some changes on the server that should reduce 'desynch' issues. We plan to test combat parry and dodge implementations hopefully starting tomorrow night.

Basically, we work on different parts of the code and run local servers for testing purposes. When we need something specific tested with more testers or players, we update the test server. Our test server builds often will have some features turned off or rolled back as we make adjustments or focus specific areas of the code that need attention.

Thanks for the combat feedback so far! It helps.

[Xsyon]

June 5 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

It's been a long almost 24 hours getting the site properly moved, but we're here now on a new dedicated server! This move should eliminate the time out and down times problems that were increasingly happening at our previous shared host location. It was a frustrating move as we experienced some problems moving our domain, but it's worth it.

Next up, we will update the test server with more combat revisions as soon as possible.

We will be making changes to our account system this week that will enable us to set up all accounts with additional free time. Once we do this, we plan to add some free time to both active and inactive accounts so that players can experience the combat revisions and other changes in progress.

The test server will also remain active to all Xsyon citizens, both active and inactive.

I will post again when we have updated the test server.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 6 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The test client and server have been updated and should be accessible now.

This patch updates dodge, parrying, animations and sounds for combat. This test build is going straight to the public and testers at the same time, and I haven't taken a personal look at it yet. I will tonight.

If you are interested in taking a look, please provide feedback on:

dodging
parrying
desynch issues

Just to be clear, the combat revisions are a work in progress, not a display of a finalized system. Combat changes will be patched to the main server when we are comfortable that the system is enjoyable enough for some fun PvP, and we will continue to improve the system over time. We will spend some time tonight reviewing the combat feedback so far and continue with our improvements.

[Xsyon]

June 7 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

There will not be a public update on the main server this Wednesday. We need to forge ahead with combat changes and other tasks rather than test and assemble a public update.

Instead, I am spending the night reviewing all feedback and suggestions in recent threads and am making a short personal task list to add quick changes and balances this coming week. Questions from last weeks FAQ session have been answered.

We will continue to update the test client and server and announce what is in progress. All players are welcome to join us on the test server. We will enable global chat on the test server with the next update.

In addition, our first terrain expansion will happen on June 15th. The green mist north west of the current starting area will start to clear to reveal over 50 new zones.

As noted yesterday, we plan to add free time to all accounts once our combat revisions are working well enough!

[Xsyon]

June 11 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We're just plugging away on combat revisions and other improvements right now so there is not much to report.

I've just patched out a new Test exe so you should be able to connect to the test server right now through the launcher. We are currently testing more combat changes. The next step is adding a rotation to the character's spine and arm so that you can change aim while holding a swing or while the swing is in action. This may be ready by tomorrow.

We are also testing:

Skill gains for hunting actions (gathering leather and bone) and logging actions (chopping logs).
Unblocking actions while swimming, such as opening containers and looting. This is in progress.
Tree spawning and growth. This can't be tested well by players but we have developer commands to help test this.
Server changes to reduce issues with desynch and lag and to soon expand to a server cluster. These are major changes and we have been stress testing the system for stability with online bots.

I am working on a new system to redistribute scavenged resources. This system will also allow for territory specific tree growth and frequency of natural resources. This will take a while, so I'm not sure when the next public update will be ready. I just wanted to keep everyone informed and notified that the test server is currently available.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 14 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

This month is going by too quickly! I've answered the weekly Question and Answer session in the Developer Zone.

We have a lot going on right now that needs to be tested thoroughly before going out to the public. Our current list of things in progress includes:

Combat Revisions.
Zones divided into smaller areas for faster loading and less memory use. (This was just completed today.)
Server cluster, message and thread improvements. (This will be in constant development for at least another month).
Resource redistribution including new and rare resources.
Resource properties affecting stats on crafted items.
New architecture parts and improvements.
Unblocked actions while swimming. (Done)
Checking my list of minor bug fixed and improvements that have been set aside for too long.

I know things are very quiet in game right. Please bear with us. The next patch will be made public as soon as possible. I don't have a set date for this yet as some of these changes, such as proper resource distribution are very time consuming, and others, such as the zone redivision, require more testing.

We'll keep working as hard as we can!

[Xsyon]

June 15 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update tonight. As the zone division changes and some server improvements we are making to reduce 'desynch' issues require a lot of testing, and the resource distribution tables are being thought out carefully, I'm taking the opportunity to finalize and fix a lot of small issues that have been piling up for a while. I don't want to rush this next build, but I will keep you all informed of our progress and we will continue to make the test server available when these changes are ready for public testing.

That's all for tonight.

[Xsyon]

June 18 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The test server is available for public testing right now. I've updated the test server database to include new players.

Here are a few things we are testing:

- Combat revisions: Swing power increase while holding an attack.
- Combat revisions: Ability to change angle up and down while holding or swinging an attack. Your final angle of attack is taken into consideration. Your character's spine rotates and we will make this more visual in the future by adjusting the character's arm
- Combat revisions: Hit selection and damage working. We are still reviewing this system and making adjustments for weapon versus armor types and other factors that influence hits and damage (stats, rear attacks, etc.).
- Scroll bars on crafting, construction and social lists.
- Sorting of craft and construction recipes.
- Trees spawn and grow. This is difficult for the public to test but we are recording data to make sure this is functioning properly.
- Crafted object stat bonuses (in progress).
- Looting, opening and hunting works while swimming.
- Buildings can be dismantled. This currently only works with new construction and will be finalized so that it works with old construction as well.
- 512 zone size. This improves loading times and reduces memory usage. The visible coordinate system still follows the old 1024 zone size.

Our resource distribution list is not uploaded to the test server and sorting and scavenging currently does not work as intended on the test server. This is in progress.

What needs to finished before we make all this public:
-Some final tests for our zone changes and tree growth.
-Combat revisions allowing you to cancel an attack by switching to parry in mid swing.
-Resource distribution finalized.
-Architecture revisions including gates.

Once these things are ready we'll patch all of these changes to the public server. Please remember what's on the test server is in progress so we are aware of small bugs and are working on them.

I look forward to your feedback on what's in progress

[Xsyon]

June 20 2011

A quick update for today since we're very focused on getting this coming major update out as soon as possible. We have a few things to wrap up before this build can go live:

1) Checking through all new architecture recipes and parts. (Working gates will be part of the update).
2) Testing scavenged and sorted material distribution.
3) Finishing object stat bonuses based on materials (there are new metal materials, similar to the cloth system. Materials will impart bonuses to crafted final items).
4) Fixing reported issues with combat.

As soon as these things are done and tested, we will patch this out to the public. This will definitely be the biggest update we've done at one time, so we want to make sure we've tested things as thoroughly as possible. Many of the changes are interrelated, so this all needs to be patched as one important update. It will probably take us a few more days, but things are coming along really well!

[Xsyon]

June 22 2011

Another quick update. Things are almost ready for the next public update. We just need to finish thoroughly checking the new architecture parts. We've had to make a lot of small fixes with these parts, but we're getting there.

I plan to catch up with the weekly questions tomorrow. For now I need to focus on helping with the architecture parts and checking through new items and recipes. More coming soon!

[Xsyon]

June 23 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the latest questions for the week. We're keeping the test server unavailable to the public as we've been patching and restarting constantly these past few days. We will be working through the night, getting closer to wrapping up this patch, but we're still not quite there yet.

That's all for today... back to the code...

[Xsyon]

June 26 2011

Hello Everyone,

I had to roll back the terrain data this morning because of a server crash last night. We're not sure at all what happened and are looking into this. The server has been stable without crashes or errors for a long while now and I checked the files during the restart after this crash and everything was fine.

The server is restarting now (5:00 AM PST). If you notice any big problems, or need some help restoring terraforming from this weekend, please contact GuideRaguel.

I apologize for this and we will fix any problems that this has caused.

[Xsyon]

June 27 2011

Hello Everyone!

I know you're all anxiously waiting for this big update. We're getting there. We've locked down all improvements (we added a few more changes: scrolling chat bar and improved the crafting bonus system while waiting for the architecture parts to be corrected) and are working only on final bug testing for this build. We'll see how testing goes tonight. I'd like to get this out Wednesday, but it might take until Thursday. Right now I don't think it will take any longer than that.

I'll keep you posted!

[Xsyon]

June 28 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Everything is looking good. We're going to test one more night and day and unless any critical issues show up, we will release this big patch Thursday morning 7:00 AM PST!

[Xsyon]

June 29 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We ran a full conversion and update to the test server today with the current main server data and everything went smoothly. We're all set for this big patch tomorrow. The server will go down at 7:00 AM PST tomorrow morning and the update will take approximately 4 hours. I think it will take me half the day just to write up the patch notes!

[Xsyon]

June 30 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We've started the update process for this patch today. It will take a while, around 4 hours, as we are backing up the database every step of the way. I will post again when it's ready!

[Xsyon]

June 30 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A big update is on its way! We are still converting data and then need to back everything up one final time. It may take 1 more hour or so.

Some of these changes are quite major. I will keep the notes as succinct as possible to list the key features that we've added or improved. We are not yet clearing the green mist as we want to see how the rare resource distribution feels in the current zones and we haven't finished our distribution maps for the upcoming expansion zones. Our revised resource system applied to all current zones.

I'm very excited about this update. I hope you all enjoy!

Patch Notes:

Combat revisions:
- New combat system well under way!
- Desynch issues. These have been improved, but are still in progress.
- Swing, parry and dodge are controlled by left and right mouse buttons and the Ctrl and Alt keys (they keys can be reconfigured).
- Swing and parry direction are controlled by the mouse and can be adjusted in mid movement.
- Swing and parry can be held.
- You can switch from swing to parry in mid action to cancel a swing.
- Swing power increases while holding an attack.
- Ability to change angle up and down while holding or swinging an attack. Your final angle of attack is taken into consideration. Your character's spine rotates and we will make this more visual in the future by adjusting the character's arm
- Hit selection and damage working. Hit depends on the direction and counter position of your opponent.

Combat revisions are still in progress. We will continue to improve and perfect this system and look forward to more feedback!

Interface:
- Scroll bars on crafting, construction, social lists and chat.
- Sorting of craft and construction recipes.
- Resource and crafted object bonus properties display.

Crafting and Construction:
- Crafted items acquire properties from materials used (both primary and secondary materials used will affect the final outcome).
- Rare resources impart special bonuses to crafted objects.
- Architecture system revised into 7 architecture groups, with many new parts.
- Limestone walls have been reduced in size and doubled up.
- Buildings can be properly dismantled.

Character:
- Character gains skill through hunting.
- Character gains skill through logging and chopping logs.
- Looting, opening and hunting works while swimming.

World:
- 512 zone size. This improves loading times and reduces memory usage. The visible coordinate system still follows the old 1024 zone size.
- Trees spawn in Spring and grow.
- Scavenged resources are distributed throughout the world.
- The chance of finding rare items is increased with distance from your home territory and from all safe zones.
- New metal materials have been introduced.
- New leather resources can be found through sorting.
- Many metal and plastic components can be found now through scavenging.
- Architecture recipes can be found through scavenging.

Up Next:

I am going to spend the rest of today and tomorrow reviewing recent feedback, suggestions and the 'top 5 features' request lists. We will incorporate this feedback in our plans for July and I will post a full update of what we have in store next. A few things we will definitely be working on are:

- Desynch issues
- Animal AI improvements
- Tree planting
- Skill decay and balancing
- Death penalties

[Xsyon]

June 30 2011

We need to run one step in the data conversion process again, which will take at least an hour, possibly two. This ran faster on the test server yesterday and we just adjusted some windows and database settings on the main server to finish this up properly.

This update is slow because we are backing up all data (which takes 20 minutes) every step of the way.

I hear that some players have questions regarding the expansion zones. We're not clearing the mist because as posted below we need to make sure the rare resource distribution is balanced first. Rare resources are distributed throughout the world, not just expansion zones. The rarity is controlled by relative safety regardless of where you are. I want to run the game for a few days, and if everything is working as planned, the green mist will be cleared to open the new zones.

I'll post as soon as the conversion process is ready or if there are further delays.

[Xsyon]

June 30 2011

Sorry it's taking so long today. We didn't know that the test and main server had different SQL and other settings. This slowed down the process a lot today as we had to restart it. It's coming along but will still take a while longer. I'm restarting the patch servers with new data though so you can start to patch if you like.

[Xsyon]

June 30 2011 3:20 PM PST

Hang in there folks! I wish it was going more smoothly today, but we had to restore to our backup and restart the main conversion step again. This only took 2 hours on the test server yesterday, but it's just not going our way today. It may take another 2 hours while we convert, check and backup again.

[Xsyon]

June 30 2011 6:20 PM PST

It's been a long day! The conversion is done, and everything has been backed up again. We're going to spend about 30 minutes checking various locations to make sure everything was converted correctly. This took a lot longer than it should have, but we're almost there.

[Xsyon]

June 30 2011

The patch is up!

A few quick notes:

You will have to explore and get away from your safe zone for a good chance at new materials and architecture recipes. Please provide us with feedback on this. There are a lot of architecture recipes out there with over 100 new parts.

You will notice the properties on materials, but these don't retroactively apply to all old metals. You'll have to scavenge or sort (old bundles do have a chance of rare materials found).

Since resources are distributed by territory, if you stay in one territory you will keep finding the same cloth, leather and metal types.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 1 2011 4:00 PM PST

Hello everyone!

I am going to restart the server and patch servers with a small patch at 5:00 PM PST. This will fix the problem with full bins not opening.

That's all for the moment. I am meeting with the team online tonight as we are laying out a solid plan for July.

[Xsyon]

July 1 2011 5:15PM PST

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've restarted the main and patch servers with a quick update to fix problems with bins not opening. If you had this problem, please report that it's fixed for you, or if you still encounter this problem, let us know.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 3 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We are currently focused on fixing the lag and disconnect issues that many are experiencing since this last build. None of these issues showed up on the test server and the actual server is not bogged down or lagged at all. Right now we are gathering as much information as possible. Once these are solved I will post an update regarding our plans for the coming month. For now, we need to get these problems and a few other minor issues corrected.

[Xsyon]

July 4 2011

Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans!

We've discovered that the lag and disconnect issues are both caused by a fix for the last known potential cause of the server locking up. We're working on a better solution right now, in addition to resolving the movement desynch issues which we've also pinpointed, and a few minor fixes.

We will have a patch on the test server first and will ask some of you to help us check things there.

[Xsyon]

July 4 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The test server is up and there is a new test exe available through the launcher. If you have been experiencing disconnects, please come to the test server to cross a few zones and see if you still disconnect. I will start a thread for feedback on this.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 5 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The test server is open with a new exe. If you would like to help check things out, the main change with this build is a big improvement to desynch issues between players. I would like some feedback on this. It looks good to our test team and we plan to patch this out tomorrow morning.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 6 2011

Hello Everyone!

There will not be a patch this morning. Our current build on the test server is not stable enough to move to the public server. Once we fully resolve a conflict that can happen during loading (that was causing lag spikes and other problems) we will patch this to the public. If we are unable to have this ready by tomorrow morning, we will at least update the scavenging distribution table. I will keep you posted.

[Xsyon]

July 7 2011

Hello Everyone!

It looks like our next update is ready for the public. I want to make sure there are no surprise critical issues, so we're going to test for most of the day before I patch this out. I will announce the patch an hour before we take down the server. It will be a quick update so the server will be down for 20 minutes or so when we patch this out.

[Xsyon]

July 7 2011

Hello Again!

I will shut down the server at 9:00 PM PST for a update and patch. This will take about 20-30 minutes as I will back up all data for this patch. I will post the details when we're ready.

[Xsyon]

July 7 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch.

Patch Notes:

Player and creature positioning has been revised to fix 'desynch' problems. We are still working on improving the synchronization of movements and animations, but this is a big step in correcting desynch issues, especially for combat.

Player connection and disconnection issues that were causing lag spikes and potential server freezes have been fixed.

Issues causing players to disconnect while crossing zones, or randomly, have been fixed. There may still be some disconnects crossing zones. If so, please continue to report this.

Scavenging distribution has been revised and improved. This will be further revised this week.

Large Metal Plates have been replaced in recipes with Small Plate, which is available in game.

Limestone walls now have two versions. All walls in game have been reverted to the old lower height. A new scheme can be found or gained to build a full height limestone wall.

If you have already made adjustments in order to have the new wall height, please contact a Guide (GuideRaguel, GuideMihr, or Dezgard) and they can assist you to convert walls to the new wall type.

We've been extremely busy dealing with these issues, restructuring our testing process and finding the right contractor to help us finish some necessary changes to our account and ordering system. If this build not does introduce any problems, I will try to catch up with the FAQ and provide a full update of our coming plans by Saturday.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 8 2011 6:00 PM PST

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I'm patching the server with a quick update. This will take 15-20 minutes and hopefully will fix the issue that some players are getting stuck 'already logged in'. We caught a potential cause of this in our connection code changes this week and corrected it.

[Xsyon]

July 9 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I patched the server with a quick update. This update is a slight rollback in the code to remove changes that are causing players to be stuck at 'already logged in'. Only the disconnection code that affects this issue has been rolled back.

That's all for the moment. We will be monitoring to make sure this build doesn't cause the same log in problems.

[Xsyon]

July 9 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've caught up with the current questions in our FAQ section for those interested. That's all for now as that took a considerable amount of time. Thanks for the questions!

[Xsyon]

July 11 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've caught up with this weeks round of questions in our FAQ section for those interested. Coming soon: a full update on what we have planned for the next month or two.

[Xsyon]

July 13 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've created a new thread, Xsyon In Development, to list what is currently in progress and planned for the near future. This reflects our goals and task list for the next 6-8 weeks. We will add or remove to this as needed if critical issues arise or if some of the task become more difficult than anticipated.

Our ultimate direction is to add contested expansion totems and agriculture. Our more immediate goals are to improve and balance current systems and wrap up things that have been unfinished or unpolished for a long time.

These are our current main guidelines:

- Fun and engaging PvP combat based on player skill, character skill and player decisions, such as weapon and armor selection.
- Fun and engaging creatures to hunt and fight.
- Generate reasons for trade between tribes and players.
- Improve the use and usefuleness of the Quest system.
- Improve game immersion and the feeling of survival.

In addition:

- We will continue to work connection / disconnection issues as a priority.
- We are almost finished collecting all suggestions from the past year into a clear and organized tracking system. If any suggestions make sense and are easy to add, they will be added along with our planned improvements.
- We are considering implementing Totem decay very soon.

Our next patch will have improved animation synchronization and minor interface improvements, a further revised scavenged resource distribution and possibly more combat revisions. Our next primary goals are to revise skill and scheme balance with skill decay and soft caps working properly and crafting balance including scheme revisions and a limit on schemes learned per player. To balance schemes properly, we will allow players to unlearn old schemes to make room for new schemes.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 15 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update today. I am headed to Russia early Monday and it will take a few days to reach my destination and settle in. We have a patch almost ready, so there will be an update this weekend before I leave. This is not a major update but it addresses some interface issues and most importantly it should free a lot of animals that have been stuck.

The server will be down tonight for about 30 minutes at 12 midnight PST so that we can transfer the current database to the test server and check on animal movement with the current set of creatures.

[Xsyon]

July 17 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server will be down at 7:30 PM PST for an update. It will take 30-40 minutes. We'll do this as quick as possible!

[Xsyon]

July 17 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server is back up with an update. In this update:

- Containers can be renamed.
- Glitches with dragging and dropping icons have been fixed.
- Closing of panels from a distance has been revised to prevent exploits.
- Containers now stay open when you discard objects from them.
- Interaction distance for construction panels has been increased.
- Dismantling old buildings should return some correct materials.
- Animation and movement synchronization improved.
- Animal AI and pathfinding has been improved. More animals should be found wandering around.
- Chat colors have been adjusted (primarily for Global, Announcements and System messages).

I'm off to Russia. We'll have another patch as soon as possible as we have many bigger changes in the works right now. Our primary foci for the next patch are:

- Combat improvements
- Disconnect issues
- Crafting scheme revisions
- Scavenging chance increase
- Animal AI further improvements

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 20 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The test server is currently running a build that should hopefully fix disconnect problems. We have been testing extensively and are not getting any disconnections. If you experience frequent disconnects, please help test on the server. Dezgard will also contact players who have reported these problems.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 23 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update for today. This has been a hectic week for me, settling into the Russian time zone and attending to some personal business in addition to directing a lot of testing with the team.

Thanks to all players that helped disconnect issues! Our latest test builds solved the disconnection problems, but other problems such as faulty entity loading, resurfaced. We're still working on this. For now, the test server is available only to our private test team as continue to make improvements to combat and creature AI. We are aiming for the next public build by Wednesday and will open the test server again to the public with our current changes as soon as possible.

That's all for today. Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 23 2011

Hello Everyone!

The test server is now available to the public through the Test Server button on the launcher. We are primarily testing zone crossings. If you experienced the problem where entities fail to load during a zone crossing, please help us to reproduce this problem. We've added a lot of specific error checking. Once we can reproduce this we should finally be able to resolve this problem fully.

We are also testing changes to animal pathfinding, but I've reverted combat code to what is currently on the public server while I continue to improve the system on my local server.

GuideRaguel and Dezgard will contact specific players to help us check the zone crossing issues.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 25 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the Questions of the Week for those interested.

We are still focused on the zone crossing issue. Thanks to all the players that are helping us with this. We'll keep workin on it until it's fully resolved.

The combat revisions we're working on are almost wrapped up and I expect to have them available on the test server first, after tomorrow.

Just a quick update today as we're very busy!

[Xsyon]

July 28 2011

A quick update: From our tests so far it appears we've finally resolved the disconnection and zone loading issues. We need to keep testing with players today to make sure. Please contact GuideRaguel and Dezgard if you have had these problems and would like to help test on the test server (and have not yet contacted them).

The latest round of combat revisions has also been ready for testing and will be patched out on the test server as soon as we're sure that the disconnection problems are finally out of the way. This ended up being a big task, but it needed to be taken care of once and for all!

[Xsyon]

July 29 2011

Another quick update: The players that were experiencing disconnection and zone loading issues have confirmed with us that these are finally fixed on the Test Server! We're going to run the Test Server for private testing today so we can heavily test our revised combat hit and damage code and we'll get this build out as soon as possible. It's going to be a busy weekend for us!

Much thanks to all of those who helped test the disconnection and zone crossing issues!

[Xsyon]

August 3 2011

Hello everyone!

The Test Server is now open to the public and I've patched out data files for the coming public update. We are running some final tests on the combat system and creature pathfinding right now and you are welcome to join us. If no critical issues arise over the next day, we will patch this build to the public.

Combat block, dodge, swing power, differences between weapons and the effect of your skills, stats and item qualities should be much more pronounced and balanced now. You will notice server messages during combat. These will be revised for the public build but have been useful for testing and we will leave some of this message code in place for the public.

Please provide feedback on the current state of combat in the current Combat Feedback thread in the Developer Zone.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

August 4 2011

Hello everyone!

We are currently uploading files for the public update. We have a few things (mostly with creature damage) to balance today and plan to patch out the update by tonight PST. The daily maintenance will proceed as usual this morning and I will post at least 2 hours in advance before we shut down the server for the update.

[Xsyon]

August 4 2011

We are currently testing a better creature distribution and combat with creatures on the Test Server. The Test Server is open to the public right now for those interested.

[Xsyon]

August 4 2011

Hello everyone!

We're going to continue testing for a bit because of the new creature distribution and some combat tweaks we made today. The data files for the next update have already been patched out and we'll patch out the server and client with the next maintenance scheduled (2AM PST Friday).

[Xsyon]

August 5 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The client and server have been patched with an update! This patch took us a while as we spent a lot of time dealing with disconnection issues and improving combat formulas. It's good to finally have these things working correctly. We will continue to revise combat based on feedback, but all aspects of combat should now have a noticeable effect.

In this update:

- Disconnection issues fixed.
- Combat functions revised and balanced. This is a major revision of the server side combat functions!
- Creatures redistributed.
- Creature power adjusted.
- Creature pathfinding improved.
- Desynch improved.
- Distribution of certain objects (blades, saw blades) increased.
- Minor bugs fixed.

These past few weeks have been very hectic with a few team members spending time in the hospital and other personal interferences. I am headed back to the US in a few days and have a lot to deal with before I return. I will answer the weekly questions and update what's in development as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

August 11 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've caught up with the weekly FAQ section and updated the In Development section. We have a small patch ready for the next backup a few hours from now. I'll post a longer update with the patch.

[Xsyon]

August 12 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch. This is just a minor patch and was necessary to fix an issue with tribe radius growth and to try out a revised scavenging table. The scheme changes are in preparation for the next update.

In this update:

- Scheme gain limits set (but temporarily disabled until we add more schemes).
- Scheme count display. You can currently have more than the listed 'maximum' schemes for each craft.
- Unlearn scheme from the craft and construction menus. This will be useful later when we add more schemes.
- Combat switching between swing and parry by holding and releasing the parry key in mid swing.
- Buildings (only 'roof' and 'room' parts) can be labelled.
- Creature AI adjustments to increase growth and power.

I'm back in the US now and we'll be cranking out another update soon.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

August 17 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the weekly FAQ section.

We are working very hard on our next update which we are aiming to release next week. The coming update will include most of what is listed as In Development, including basic functionality for rooms (weather protection and home location), improved creature pathfinding and AI, skill decay, scheme revisions and some interface improvements including a 'buff' display (displays effects of weather and tribe bonuses), name colors and a better display of creature / other player health bars.

We are also continuing work on combat and other features based on feedback. This next update will have a lot of little changes and will require a lot of testing before we patch to the main server.

We have been updating the test server with builds a few times per day (though today the test server is available for in house testing only). Feel free to stop by the test server to see some of these changes in progress.

That's all for today!

[Xsyon]

August 19 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've updated the In Development list to reflect what can be expected for the next update. The next update will be sometime next week. We are shooting for Wednesday, but we'll see how things go this weekend. I will post regarding our progress Monday morning.

The test server will be available on and off throughout the weekend. We are primarily testing creature pathfinding right now, but other interface and scheme improvements should be on the test server by Sunday.

That's all for now. We're very concentrated on this patch and I think it will provide a lot of much needed balance!

[Xsyon]

August 22 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the Questions of the Week for those interested.

We're making good progress on the coming update. The test server will be up and down today as we are testing some changes to the database. These changes will require a lot of testing restarts before we patch this update to the main server. So while we run these tests today, there is not much reason to check out the test server. I will post again when we're done and when we've patched our weekend changes to the test server.

That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

August 24 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick update tonight just to keep everyone informed.

The past two days we've been running a test implementation of general object decay. Currently this is very cumbersome as a lot of data is changing often which requires very long database saves. We're a bit stuck on this but are working on the best method to properly implement this type of general decay over time.

Other improvements are going well, but require testing which we haven't yet been able to do. We will be working through the night so I'll post regarding our progress tomorrow morning. As soon as we're done with the database tests, we will open the test server to the public with most of the changes listed for the Next Update in the In Development section ready for testing.

[Xsyon]

August 27 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens

I'm sorry I haven't posted an update in a few days. I've been consumed with our progress on the next update. The test server is currently and will be available for those who want to see what's in progress. We've been moving full steam ahead making many changes that require a lot of testing. Thanks to assistance from public test team we are catching bugs and getting a lot of feedback on balance issues. We still have a few things to fix and finish before patching this update out, but it's getting close.

[Xsyon]

August 31 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick update: First of all, I've answered the questions of the week for those interested. A few questions weren't 100% clear to me, so if you want more details, please post in the same section.

As we're taking out time extensively testing changes to combat, creatures and the database we've added a few things to the game including tabbed chat, ambient sounds and 10 row action bar. We have a few other surprises in the works as well. Tabbed chat currently has 3 tabs, one for all chat, one for combat messages and one for local and tribe chat only. We will allow these to be customizable in the future.

At the moment we need to spend tonight further reviewing combat changes. Once those are ready this update will be patched out!

[Xsyon]

September 3 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We are running what I hope will be some final tests on the test server for the current update. If you wish to check out what's being worked on, the test server is currently available to the public. We are primarily testing a new revision of movement and combat action synchronization.

Other things you can see that are not on the main server are:
Revised combat (more damage done, greater effect of armor, swing and parry improvements, synchronization improvements).
Buff system (town, tribe and weather buffs).
Master tools.
Revised scavenging distribution and chances.
Visible and functional stat increases for items.
Action bar with multiple rows.
Tabbed chat.
Holding both mouse buttons will move your character forwards.
MiniMap and Info panel (displays temperature, season, time, date and location information). This is almost done, but still in progress.

We're currently working out a few bugs and focusing on combat tests. Please provide feedback if you wish. Thanks!

[Xsyon]

September 8 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We've patched out a big server and client update! There are many changes in this patch so I will be as brief as possible.

Combat System Revisions:
Damage, armor values, swing power and rear attack values adjusted.
Synchronization of movement and attacks completely revised and improved.
Ranges adjusted but still in progress.
Combat messages revised.

Character Improvements:
Buff system display. Displays weather effects and bonuses.
Bonuses for tribal leaders and for members in tribal territory.
Effects of stat bonuses revised.
Stat bonuses display in character stat panel.
Holding down both mouse buttons moves character forward.

Resource, Crafting and Trade Improvements:
Revised schemes for a more consistent system.
Revised distribution and scavenging difficulty.
Improved scheme limits and progression.
Artisan and Master tool schemes for advanced level crafters.
Artisan and Master tools give bonuses to crafted items.

Environment Improvements:
Minimap! Includes temperature, date, time, season and location displays.
Ambient sounds system.

Creature Improvements:
Increase base stats of all creatures.
Adjust creature aggression and wildness to stress differences between creatures.
Increase creature power growth over time.
Improve creature combat AI to use new combat revisions.
Fix problems with creature movement over terrain.

Town Improvements:
Currency selection. This will have several uses soon.

Architecture Improvements:
Buildings as a home location.
Buildings protect from weather effects.

Interface Improvements:
Stat bonus displays.
Weather effects diplayed as 'buff' icons.
Tribe buffs displayed.
Tabbed chat, with separate combat and local (includes tribe and announcements) chat.
10 Row action bar.
More opaque chat panel.


Bug Fixes:
Problems with the green mist map corrected. This was causing crashes.
Problems when setting your windowed resolution to match your screen resolution fixed.
Several potential crash causes fixed.
Several exploits with trade and construction panels fixed.
Bugs with fires fixed.
Minor collision bugs fixed.

Notes:

Your options and interface settings will reset with this patch.

This update paves the way for a lot of other improvements that we have already in the works. Expect another big update in two weeks. At that point we should be ready for totem decay and we will provide all players with some free game time.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

September 11 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A small patch was made this morning. If you have been in game for a while, you will need to log out to get the latest client update. Today's update deals with a few issues:

- Combat ranges have been adjusted. These are still being balanced, but before this patch we had an extended range that was intended to compensate for desynch issues. As desynch issues have been largely solved we are now setting ranges how they should be.

- Combat crosshairs have been removed to avoid confusion in combat. Crosshairs will be used in the future for ranged combat but current combat uses the direction and angle of your swing to calculate hits and damage, not the aiming of crosshairs.

- Missing sounds that were causing crashes have been patched out.

- Client crashes caused by changing terrain or grass settings while in game have been fixed.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

September 14 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answers the Questions of the Week for those interested.

We are currently working on some database optimizations, which are almost done. These will be patched out immediately once they've been tested and then we will continue with balance, improvements and new features. I have a lot of feedback to read through tonight, so this is a just a quick update. I will update the In Development section by the end of the week to reflect our plans through October.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

September 26 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I am getting back in action. I'm not fully recovered but I'm at least functional. I've answered a round of questions and am catching up with the team.

Our priorities right now are:

1) Update the test server so the public can test our current combat changes.

2) Patch our current changes to the public. They include important changes to how terrain data is saved. This is not a visible change for players but important for future systems such as agriculture.

3) Get carts and other works in progress patched out. These are close to being finished.

4) Catch up with everything else including revising our plans in development.

That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

September 28 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick update tonight. I've answered the latest round of Questions from players for those interested. The files needed to check our current combat revisions have been patched out except for the test exe. I am waiting on the other programmers and we will make the current build available for public testing tonight as I'm on a reverse schedule at the moment.

I'll post when we're ready!

[Xsyon]

September 29 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is now publicly available. Our focus is testing the current PvP combat system. A full explanation is here:

http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/7546-Feedback-Request-Test-Server-Combat-9-29-11?p=89427#post89427

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

October 1 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is up with some more combat tweaks. The list of changes is here:

http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/7546-Feedback-Request-Test-Server-Combat-9-29-11?p=89482&viewfull=1#post89482 (http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/7546-Feedback-Request-Test-Server-Combat-9-29-11?p=89482&viewfull=1#post89482)

We will continue tweaking combat and fixing a few bugs this weekend. Monday morning PST we will patch the current build to the Main Server. This week we will continue to adjust combat but will shift our focus to finish up other tasks, including carts and improvements to the quest system.

I look forward to your feedback!

[Xsyon]

October 3 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch. This patch focuses on the combat changes that we've been testing on the Test Server, but also is a major update to our database system in preparation for carts and improvements to trees and surface changing (for example when trees are planted or spawn in Spring).

Combat changes are outlined in this thread:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/7546-Feedback-Request-Test-Server-Combat-9-29-11

We will continue with combat and creature improvements but will now also focus on:
Finishing up carts (which was a big task).
Finishing up other features that have been almost done for a while (such as planting trees).
Fixing important bugs.
Balancing current systems, in particular rare resources.
Getting almost ready content into the game, such as mutants and more architecture parts.

September was paritally wasted because of my illness. Now that I'm feeling better we're going to push real hard to get as much done as possible this month. I will update the In Development section after discussing things my plans for this month in detail with the team.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

October 5 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A very quick update tonight. I had to rest most of the day, but I'm in good form to work all night on the team's schedule. I've answered the latest round of Questions for the Developers.

Coming next is the ability to open multiple ground containers (this is part of our revisions for adding carts, so that items can be moved from ground containers to containers inside a cart), proper camera collision against buildings and trees (in testing right now) and more combat improvements.

I'll post again when these things are ready to be checked on the Test Server.

[Xsyon]

October 8 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick update this morning. We are currently keeping the In Testing thread status up to date as we've increased the size of our player test team. This will let you everyone know what is being currently tested and if the test server is publicly available.

I haven't been doing so well the past few days, but we're moving forward with the latest round of changes. We'll focus on small bug fixes today and will patch out the current build to the public early this coming week.

[Xsyon]

October 10 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Another quick update: I've answered the weekly Questions for the Developers for those interested. A few improvements (such as opening multiple containers and camera collision against trees and buildings) are ready to be patched out, but I'm waiting on some changes to combat (parrying) that need to be tested tonight.

Other things that are in being tested in house right now are:
Carts
Architecture ramp and platform parts.

Carts will probably take another week as there are many parts to this. Architecture ramps and platforms are almost ready, they just need recipes set up and thorough checking. I've increased the visible size of the Yakid Stone Post which has been a problem for a while. This will be patched out with the new architecture parts.

That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

October 12 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Another quick update: (My updates are short this week as I'm still not fully well and my focus is on the code.) We've been keeping testing internal these past few days as we have been constantly adding and checking new meshes and textures for upcoming content. This is easy to do for the internal test team, but not easy to do through the launcher. Once we can patch out the next set of meshes and textures, we will open up the Test Server again.

What we will do is patch out what is ready and tested (including opening multiple containers, parry improvements and camera collision) Friday morning. Our focus over the weekend will be more combat improvements and public testing of carts.

That's all at the moment. It's been a busy week and I just want to keep everyone informed!

[Xsyon]

October 14 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch.

Patch Notes:

World:
Camera collision versus buildings and trees implemented.
Yakid Post size increased to match collision box size.
Mason Stone Room adjusted to reduce amount of overlap.
River drinking now fills more of the thirst bar.
'Objects in the way' message improved.
Collision revisions, especially for placing objects on building parts. (Still in progress).

Crafting:
Added grass roll recipe. This will be used in some upcoming architectural parts. (note: This was not added. It will be part of the next patch).
You will now learn all new 'auto learn' schemes when retroactively when entering the game, any time these type of schemes are added.

Inventory:
Multiple containers (up to four) can now be opened at the same time. You can drag items between containers.

Combat:
Ability to switch from parry to swing (and vice versa).
Tweaks to make switching between parry and swing smoother in both combat modes.
Successful parries now play reaction animations for both the attacker and defender.
Mouse combat mode setting should now save between sessions.

Bug Fixes:
Problem with 'objects in the way' fixed. This resulted from improper scaling of boulders for this collision check when we converted data to our current system.
But with unlearning recipes fixed.

A lot of preperation work for new architecture parts (corner parts and ramps) was completed so the next patch will include a lot of new architecture parts. Carts and water containers are in progress and should be ready next week.

What we're working on this weekend:

More combat revisions based on feedback.
Finishing new architecture parts.
Continued work with carts.
Mutant testing and creature AI improvements.
Finishing up water containers (starting with current buckets).
Reviewing the current state of the game to see what can be finished by the end of this month. I am going to be in Russia from November to January, so I'm also preparing for this move.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

October 18 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch. This is primarily a bug fix patch.

Patch Notes:

World:

-Gathering resources with on top of floors or other objects blocked.

Interface and Rendering:

- HDR(High Dynamic Range) lighting now works. This is in progress, but you can switch this on in the Options panel to see the difference.
- Skill Panel now show first decimal fraction of current skill value.
-Additional arrows for different increment project moves added to the construction Move Panel. These are not currently set correctly and will be adjusted for the next patch.

Bug Fixes:

- Blocked dragging items to the Cart (Key) slot in the pack panel.
- Blocked labeling containers while looting corpses.
- Fixed bugs with dragging from construction sites to ground containers.
- Fixed bugs with female parry animations.

If you have any problems with your inventory or packs due to dragging items to your Cart / Keys slot or from a Construction Site to 'floating slots' please contact Dezgard or one of the Guides.

The test server is currently available, but we need to patch out some files for proper public testing. I will post when we are ready for this.

Thanks and enjoy!

[Xsyon]

October 21 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update tonight to keep you all informed. We are plugging away on thecurrent improvements: Carts, new architecture parts, undead, mutants and a lot of bug fixes. Things are coming together but it's been a hectic week.

We've been slowed down as we are currently solving a problem with too many trees spawning in the green mist area. There are close to 2 million trees out there! Cartshave also brought more complications than we bargained for, but we are getting here.

Some of you experienced major time outs a few times over the past few days. There was a problem at our host location and they informed us that this has been resolved and was due to some hardware failing and switching over to backups.

We will be working through the weekend as usual. Once we're done testing our system to reset trees in the green mist, we will open up the test server again.

[Xsyon]

October 25 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is currently open to the public. New architecture corner, ramps and platforms are ready and will be patched out this week. We already patched out the necessary data files.

If youwant to help test carts or new architecture parts, you can use the Global or Help channel on the test server to see if a developer or guide is around. Carts still need work with encumbrance and other issues.

We've fixed many small bugs and improved placement, object interaction and inventory functions. Inventory functions don't have a noticeable difference but we have been testing the changes heavily as the system required revisions so that NPC scan use all the inventory functions that players use (such as looting and using containers).

That's all at the moment as things are very hectic this week. I am preparing to go toRussia this weekend and we have a lot going on. We will have a patch out this week with at least many bug fixes and the new architecture parts.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

October 28 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update for now: This has been a very hectic week as I've been preparing for the next 2 1/2 months in Russia and I'm still not fully recovered.

However, we have a patch ready that will go live tonight or tomorrow morning. We are just doing some final tests. I will announce the patch 2 hours in advance.

That's all for the moment!

[Xsyon]

October 29 2011: 12:30 AM

The main server will be down from 2:00AM to 3:AM PST for an update. I will post again after the update!

[Xsyon]

October 29 2011: 3:00 AM

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The main server is restarting and will be up soon. The restart is taking a while as we are running a process to remove the abundance of trees in the green mist.

I will post patch notes in the morning.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

October 29 2011:

Patch Notes:

Crafting and Construction:

- New architecture parts: Ramps, Platforms, Corner Walls, Corner Floors.
- Revised bonuses for Artisan and Master Tools.

Character and Interaction:

- Improved functions for interaction distance to keep containers open properly.

World:

- Improved placement collision (in particular for placing objects on floors and ramps).
- Improved collision in general for new architecture parts.
- Removed abundance of trees in the green mist.

Interface and Rendering:

- HDR(High Dynamic Range) improved.
- Sun ray effect with HDR turned on.

Bug Fixes:

- Blocked dismantling buildings with objects on top.
- Fixed inventory bugs.
- Fixed decimal display of skill points.
- Fixed Heyburn Pants meshes.

The main goals of this patch are to get the new architecture parts out there and to prepare inventory functions for carts and undead. I am leaving for Russia tonight so I won't be settled in until Monday or so.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

November 4 2011:

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I'm finally fully settled in here in Russia. It was a long trip with a canceled flight to deal with and it took me a while to get my internet properly set up,but everything is good now and I've spent the past day and a half catching up with what was done while I was traveling.

The main focus right this weekend is to test what's been done this week and get the next patch out early next week. I will catch up with the Questions of the Week by Monday.

That's my quick update for today. I hope you all enjoyed the Halloween event!

[Xsyon]

November 6 2011:

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server has been updated with an emergency patch. Our last patch had an error in the inventory stacking code that could potentially cause an infinite loop. As this happened a few times today we decided to patch out the fix although other code changes haven't been fully tested. Other changes are as listed in the patch notes, but will likely have some adjustments with another patch early this week. These are mostly small optimizations that are being done while we are focusing on bigger tasks.

Patch Notes:

World:

-Collision improvements to fix some placement and collision bugs with ramps and floors, in particular near zone boundaries.
- Rain and snow improved in general including blocking rain and snow from passing through roofs and buildings.
- Shadows optimized.
- Water container functionality set up. Actual containers will be patched out with the next update and current buckets will also serve as water containers.
- Tribe ranks now have a separate permission for Dismantle. This is not fully set upand will be functional in the next patch.

Another non-emergency patch will be ready within the next few days.

[Xsyon]

November 6 2011:

A quick update. We are aware of current client crashes and working on this issue.Please send any crash logs from your Logs directory to bugs@notorious-games.com (bugs@notorious-games.com).

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

November 6 2011:

Another quick update. The crashes are due to missing files that need to be patched out. The upload will take a while to prepare and patch. I'll post again when this is ready.

[Xsyon]

November 7 2011:

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've caught up with 2 weeks of Questions from players for those interested. I will catch up with the rest as soon as I can. It's a very hectic week and I need to get back to more important coding tasks. We are also preparing a new launcher that requires some extensive testing. A lot is going on this week so my updates will be brief, but we will have another patch this week as well as one next week.

That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

November 8 2011 11:00 PM PST:

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We are currently patching out another emergency patch. In the last patch we let some water container code slip out that was not fully tested and ready and it's caused problems with the server tonight. The server is restarting and will be up with a fix in about 20 minutes.

Patch Notes:

- Permissions for Dismantle should now work separately from Construct permissions. These will need to be set for your ranks.
- Water container code fixed. Final container system will be made available with the next non emergency patch.

[Xsyon]

November 10 2011


Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is up with our latest build. This build has water containers fully functioning. Here is a brief description of water containers.

1) Buckets
Buckets can be filled at rivers or lakes. One action will fill the bucket.
Buckets can be emptied. One action will empty the bucket.
Buckets can be used to fill Barrels.
Buckets can be filled at Barrels.
Artisan and Master Buckets have more capacity.
Buckets will be used primarily for filling up barrels.

2) Barrels
Barrels are built in place, like buildings.
Currently there are only Pioneer's Barrels as a scheme in Woodcraft.
Barrels can be Moved, like building ghosts.
Barrels can be filled from waterskins or buckets.
Barrels can be used to fill waterskins or buckets.
Barrels contain many 'charges'.
Barrels display their contents and count under the name display when selected.
To use a barrel:
Select the barrel
Right click a waterskin or bucket in your inventory, it will show Empty To and Fill From. These can be used to interact with a barrel.
Barrels will be used primarily for in town water storage.

3) Waterskins
Waterskins are crafted as part of Toolcraft.
Waterskins can be filled at rivers or barrels.
Waterskins can be used to drink from.
Waterskins contain less 'charges' than buckets and barrels.
Waterskins will be used primarily for portable drinking.
Artisan and Master Waterskins hold more 'charges'.

By setting up water containers we've set up a system that will allow other interactions in the future with objects in your inventory and objects in the 'world' such as furniture.

We will wait for some feedback and testing on this and if everything checks out we will patch this to the public.

In addition, we do have an improved launcher ready. However, as many of you already know, I am getting married this weekend so I don't want to pile up any additional work for the team this weekend in case the launcher has problems when released!

The launcher will be released early next week and I will be settled in to crank out features the rest of this month!

Notes:
I am considering adding the Move menu to ground containers and totems (within a short distance of the town center) if we don't have any problems moving barrels around.

Some waterskins require some materials that are not yet in game. This will be in next week. Plastic bags (required for one of the skins) are available.

If you want to test some of these things on the Test Server, GuideRaguel and GuideMihr should be available to hand out recipes so that they don't need to be scavenged or learned.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

November 11 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is up with another updated build. This has a few fixes:

- Added Destroy command on water barrels.
- Allow for destroying and moving water barrels off of tribal lands.
- Fixed Mason Brick Roof collision.
- Revised animations for barrel interaction and drinking.
- Fixed kitten animations.

Some files were patched out with incorrect timestamps with my last update. This is not important for players but it is for keeping track of files. The timestamps had been changed because of my moving things to a new computer. This has been resolved and is why there will appear to be a large patch through the launcher right now.

I plan to patch this to the public server in about 8 hours, but we'll run some final tests.

[Xsyon]

November 11 2011:11:30 PM PST

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is restarting with a patch.

Patch Notes:

1) Buckets
Buckets can be filled at rivers or lakes. One action will fill the bucket.
Buckets can be emptied. One action will empty the bucket.
Buckets can be used to fill Barrels.
Buckets can be filled at Barrels.
Artisan and Master Buckets have more capacity.
Buckets will be used primarily for filling up barrels.

2) Barrels
Barrels are built in place, like buildings.
Currently there are only Pioneer's Barrels as a scheme in Woodcraft.
Barrels can be Moved, like building ghosts.
Barrels can be filled from waterskins or buckets.
Barrels can be used to fill waterskins or buckets.
Barrels contain many 'charges'.
Barrels can be destroyed
Barrels display their contents and count under the name display when selected.
To use a barrel:
Select the barrel
Right click a waterskin or bucket in your inventory, it will show Empty To and Fill From. These can be used to interact with a barrel.
Barrels will be used primarily for in town water storage.

3) Waterskins
Waterskins are crafted as part of Toolcraft.
Waterskins can be filled at rivers or barrels.
Waterskins can be used to drink from.
Waterskins contain less 'charges' than buckets and barrels.
Waterskins will be used primarily for portable drinking.
Artisan and Master Waterskins hold more 'charges'.

Additional fixes:

- Fixed Mason Brick Roof collision.
- Revised animations for barrel interaction and drinking.
- Fixed kitten animations.

There will more improvements to water containers next week. Next up we are wrapping up work on carts, improving creature AI and finishing up mutants.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

November 15 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is restarting with a small patch. We spent yesterday fixing some minor annoyances and bugs with recent changes. Our focus this week is to continue with some bug fixes, wrap up carts and get mutants out to the public as soon as possible.

Patch Notes:

Minor Improvements:
- Skill gain is reported every full point gain only.
- Improved Boulder Destroy command so that Guides can help players removed unwanted boulders. If you have any unwanted boulders that you can't remove, please contact one of our Guides.

Bug Fixes:
- Learning Master Waterskin recipes fixed.
- Fixed positioning of fishing rods with wrong positions in hands.
- Fixed selection circle for large buildings.
- 'Hunted by' on items gathered from creatures now displays who killed the creature. Works on newly gathered animal parts only.
- Problem causing the tool tip to glitch and display a container background fixed. We need confirmation of this fix as the glitch was difficult to reproduce. If you still see this problem, please report this to our of our Guides.
- Bug causing players and creatures to sometimes not appear to other other players fixed.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

November 16 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is restarting with another small patch. This patch simply has some server preparations for mutants and creature improvements and a potential fix for the glitch and display a container background fixed.

If you still encounter this glitch, please report it again to our Guides. This is a difficult issue to fix as it's not quickly or reliably reproduced.

We have also added the ability for Guides to remove boulders of any size. If you need assistance with removing boulders within your tribe zone, please contact one of the Guides.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

November 20 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick update for today. We're wrapping up the next public patch. We've changed some of what we're working on as a we decided to wrap up some tasks that have been in progress for a long time.

The coming patch will have seed gathering, tree planting, improved shadows, further improved rainfall and snow gathering innards from creatures, increased creature stats and mutants. We've also finally wrapped up how some of our data is stored and transfered. This step will allow us to do more public testing. Without this, often we were stuck not being able to open the public test server as necessary files could affect the main build as well. With our recent changes this will no longer be a problem.

Carts are still in progess but as there were many complications with collision and inventory functions, these won't be in until the changes listed above are patched out.

At the moment it looks like this patch will take another few days. The goal is to get all of this in before Thanksgiving weekend.

Our new launcher is also ready. We're moving to a new EU server with this launcher change, so once the new server is ready this week, the new launcher will be released.

It's going to be a busy week!

That's all for today!

[Xsyon]

November 25 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick note for now: There will be no scheduled maintenance at the regular hour today. We will run maintenance with a big patch this weekend.

That's all at the moment.

[Xsyon]

November 25 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Our new launcher will be released today at 9:00 AM PST. I will post when the switch has been made. Links to the new launcher installation will be available in this thread and through the old launcher. I will post again when the switch has been made.

[Xsyon]

November 25 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Our new launcher is now available here:
http://www.xsyon.com/install/Xsyon_Installer_20111125.zip (http://www.xsyon.com/install/Xsyon_Installer_20111125.zip)

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

November 26 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We had a few problems with corrupted data files getting this patch out, but everything should be working now. If you have problems patching or after patching, please delete Anim.xsip and Interface.xsip and patch again.

A big update has been patched out. There is a lot in this update. I'll try to keep it brief.

Patch Notes:

Interface
- Cleaner base control panel.
- Separate gauge panel that can be set to 4 directions.
- New icons for basic controls.
- New Xsyon logo in background.

Character
- Forestry skill for planting trees and gather resources from trees.
- Resource skill for gathering basic resources.

Environment
- Optimized snow and rain.
- Improved shadows.
- Expansion lands have been fully patched out and are ready for deployment soon.

Trees and Resources
- You can now gather sap, needles, cones and seeds from nearby trees.
- Seeds can be extracted from cones.
- Seeds can be used to plant new trees. New trees can be planted anywhere in dirt, grass or forest.
- Growing trees create forest floor surface in Spring.
- Trees now have quality based on its parent tree or the player that planted the tree.
- Harvested lumber has quality based on the tree itself and the player harvesting it.
- Quality of ground resources now is dependent on your Resource skill.

Creatures
- Increased creature stats.
- Creatures can be gutted.
- Creatures are skinned to collect hides. Hides can be separated into leather and fur.
- Creatures significantly increase hit points, attack and defense with age and times in combat.
- Creatures become legendary after many victorious fights with players.
- Mutants! Creatures that enter and return from the green mist can now become mutants. Mutants will also be created in 'toxic zones' within the new expansion lands that are coming soon. Mutants are more powerful than normal creatures and their parts provide better craft bonuses.
- AI revisions.

Optimizations
- Optimized variable data to be stored on the Server only. This will enable us to patch more frequent public Test builds.

Bug Fixes
- Fixed placement of campfires on floors.
- Fixed placement bug that caused server crashes.
- Fixed issue with creature arrays on the client causing random errors.
- Fixed looting permission issues. Players should be able to loot correctly from all containers now.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

November 26 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Sorry this patch date was so hectic. A mistake was made by one of our team that had never been done before. Files with Russian cyrillic names were accidentally added to some of the packed data files and this caused all sorts of problems when patched through the launcher.

This has been sorted out and we worked all night on other crash issues that players have been reporting.

We've updated the Test build. If you have frequent crashes on the Main Server, please log in to the Test Server for a while to see if you can crash with the same type of actions. If we can confirm that we've fixed the issues we will patch to the Main Server.

If you still crash frequently on the Test Serrver, or if you can confirm that crashes are fixed, please report directly here:
Bugs Email (bugs@notorious-games.com)

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

November 28 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We did server maintenance early today to get out a small patch. This patch and a small patch done yesterday fix a few problems:

- Fixed object placement bugs at zone boundaries.
- Fixed bug with sorting stacked heads, hides and guts.
- Fixed bug causing incorrect player positioning and client crashes.
- Additional increment for moving objects. This allows better placement of Mason Corner Walls and other parts.
- Fixed gauges not reappearing after turning the interface on / off with numlock.
- Fixed a potential cause for client crashes in the interface code.
- Fixed Forestry and Resource skill gain.
- Reset Forestry and Resource skills due to fast gains to 25 if gained beyond this.
- Temporarily turned off forest surface creation in Spring. It was causing some server lag and needs to be optimized.
- Set up the Test Build with additional debug info. This may cause the game to run a little slower when connected to the Test Server, but it will help us gather more information on crashes.

I am taking into account feedback on the new gauges panel and working on revising this today.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

November 28 2011 11:00 AM PST

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A small client only patch is now available through the launcher. This patch includes:

- Fixed crash problem due to too many resources at trees in rivers.
- Fixed problems with characters loading and unloading at zone boundaries
- Small optimizations to zone loading.

[Xsyon]

November 29 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch and the server is restarting, primarily to fix some critical issues since Saturday's big patch. This patch includes:

- Gauges separated, colored, can be moved freely and set to save positions and orientation.
- Increased maximum stack count on many resources.
- Small optimizations to zone loading, server side.
- Fixed problem not fully loading boulders and caves in some zones.
- Fixed client bug causing freezes crossing zones while raining.
- Fixed problem with stacking creature heads (the ability to stack heads was recently added. Old heads were not updated correctly).

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

December 1 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick, important note: We are preparing another new installer and launcher, with some minor improvements. This installer will perform a full install of the game. Returning players with older launcher versions and some ongoing players are experiencing random errors due to files being corrupted because of problems in packed data files caused by older patcher versions.

This launcher will be made available before the weekend, but after today's maintenance and patch (We have another patch going out today during the daily maintenance. This patch includes an improved chat panel

[Xsyon]

December 1 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a small patch. This patch includes:
- Fixed bug, unable to learn Slicer schemes.
- Chat panel has an extra tab for system messages.
- Chat panel revised to match new interface style.
- Chat panel transparency slider added.
- Minor optimizations to graphics code.

That's all for now, more improvements on the way!

[Xsyon]

December 2 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A new installer will be ready at 5:00 AM PST. This installer forces a full clean reinstall. I will post again when it's ready.

[Xsyon]

December 2 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A new installer is available here:
http://www.xsyon.com/install/Xsyon_Installer_20111202.zip (http://www.xsyon.com/install/Xsyon_Installer_20111202.zip)

This will run a full install of the game and should prevent problems with filed corrupting in the future. Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

December 5 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Question and Answer session is now current and up to date for those interested! Some of my answers are brief as I had a lot of catching up to do with these. I hope that everything was answered to your satisfaction.

The Feature page has also been updated to reflect the evolutions of the game since launch. It's been a long time coming and we plan to revise this list more often in the future.

Next up this week I will update the In Development and In Testing sections to reflect what we have planned for the next 2 months.

[Xsyon]

December 5 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a patch. This patch includes:
- Creature attack speed adjustments.
- Adjusted creature sizes.
- Improved player position interpolation
- Fixed problem with player movement when crossing zone boundaries.
- Optimized snow and rain.
- Tribe start location feature. Tribes of 20 or more members can set their Tribe as a start location. New players can choose this location to first enter the Xsyon world. Start locations lie just outside the tribe's radius.
- Movable action bar panel.
- Seperated action bar and commands panels.
- Emotes can be entered by typing names. Full emote list will be added to the manual. Please see the post regarding the emote list here: http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/7753-In-game-Commands-for-Emotes!
- Moved zone position information to the Terraforming panel.
- Master and Artisan tools require minimum skills to use.
- Customize chat panel tabs by selecting chat channels for each tab. Right click on the tab name to select channels for each tab.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

December 9 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Today and throughout the weekend we will be focusing on an intense bug fixing session. We have also made steps with carts, revisions to the tree system and animal behavior this week, but we want to get a lot of this minor bug issues that have piled up over the months out of the way.

The public test test has been contacted for their assistance and I will post in the In Testing thread after I've compiled a list.

Once I post this list, if you can reproduce some of the issues that we need assistance with, please contact GuideMihr or GuideRaguel via PM and we can meet on the test server.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

December 9 2011

The In Testing thread has been updated to reflect our current bug testing session. That's all!

[Xsyon]

December 11 2011

A quick note regarding this weekend's bug fixing session. I believe that the problem with architecture projects losing focus has been fixed. If you could easily reproduce this problem, please log in to the Test Server to see if it's fixed for you now. Please email the results to our bugs email.

This wasn't an easy one to track down. Thanks!

[Xsyon]

December 12 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the questions of the week for those interested. We are primarily testing carts, some creature AI improvements and bugs fixes on the test server. The skill tracking system for skill decay is also in place and being checked. That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

December 18 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've been quiet this week as we've been very concentrated on several things: our account system back end, carts, creature adjustments, skill use tracking and preparing for our Christmas event.

Our revised account system back end is finally ready for transfer.

We will be shutting down the current account system at roughly 2:00 AM PST to implement our changes. We will not be taking orders until the new system is in place.

[Xsyon]

December 21 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered last week's Questions and Answer session. We are wrapping up changes to the account back end now that it's been transferred over.

As carts are still causing some troubles, we are working on turning off the cart building skill and schemes so that we can at least patch out the many bug fixes and creature improvements we made this past week.

We have some Christmas treats for next week!

[Xsyon]

December 22 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Our new account system backend is now fully live and functioning. If you have any issues with your account, please contact SUPPORT (support@notorious-games.com).

From your account view things should be a little more clear now, however the major changes are in the back end system. We will now be able to send out emails to past players and get things going with player surveys and more important with decaying abandoned totems, something I know many of you have been waiting for!

[Xsyon]

December 24 2011

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

　
I would like to update you all on the current state of the game and what we have planned for the near future. Our current focus is to improve game balance, meaning and interactions between players.

　

Specifically we are going to be working on the following:

Skill and stat revision including balance, caps, decay and death penalties.

Revised xp and levelling.

Resource and material redistribution.

Further crafting revisions.

Faster tool, weapon and armor decay on use.

Improved quest system, including gaining xp from quests.

Trade system using local currencies.

Creature AI and difficulty, including the arrival of undead.

Comfort and weather effects on players.

Building uses.

Further combat improvements.

Totem decay and abandonment.

Allowing tribes to remove their safe zones and gain advantages by doing so.

　

We will also continue to work on the cart system and implement this as soon as we can. This task was far more involved than we thought but the revisions that we've had to make will be useful for other future features.

　

We have other minor additions planned that will be implemented without advanced hype so that players can enjoy a sense of discovery and exploration. I know many of you are waiting for other content and features but we will deal with the above improvements first rather than add things that will entertain only for a short while.


I will be emailing our Guides and Player Test Team for more feedback on game balance and works in progress. If you are interested in participating on either of these teams you are welcome to sign up.

　

We have a patch ready for Monday morning and some fun events planned for next week.

　

I hope you all enjoy the holidays!

[Xsyon]

December 26 2011

　
Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Today's maintenance will run from 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM PST and will include a server and client patch, primarily with bug fixes and optimizations that were done over the past two weeks.

I will post an update after this patch.

[Xsyon]

December 26 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The main server has been restarted with a patch. This patch primarily implements bug fixes and a skill tracker that will be used for balance and skill decay. I am rushed tonight working on many tasks. Quickly here are some of the improvements in this build:

- Fixed issues with missing and improperly playing animations (mostly for creatures)
- Fixed raccoon mutant foot removal.
- Decay shovel when terraforming
- Fixed bug allowing player to swap head items to any item in pack.
- Basketry schemes can be scavenged
- Players auto gain 1 bin scheme at basketry skill 25.
- Optimized some structures for memory use on the server
- Optimized CPU use on the server to boost performance and handling of players and creatures.
- Tripled limit on number of creatures in the world.
- Fixed issue where skills could not be removed from action bar.
- Mason Heavy Gate model fixed.
- Bugs with hiding and resting fixed.
- Bugs with hiding and combat mode fixed.
- Shadows don't render now when you are properly hidden.
- Bug logging out player sometimes when Y was pressed fixed.
- Loss of focus while moving architecture projects fixed.
- Closing a panel removes any icon being dragged from that panel, to prevent exploits.
- Collision with barrels sometimes going through floors fixed.
- Collision when dropping objects on a roof fixed.
- Improvements for Guides to create special events at Founder's Isle.
- Holiday themed totems.
- Creature Pack AI implemented.
- Many improvements to creature AI.
- Server side improvements to the database.

The cart system has been disabled for this public build, but will be available for testing on the Test Server again soon. I am just waiting on the collision system revisions needed for this that has become a major task.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

December 29 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick update for today:

- The Questions of the Week have been answered for those interested.

- A small patch went out with yesterday's maintenance to address a few crash problems from the December 26 patch. If you experience any client crashed please send your client and crash log files from your Xsyon / Logs directory to BUGS (bugs@notorious-games.com).

- Our account back end still has some issues that are being fixed and completed. Fixing these is our main priority right now. If you are experiencing any account issues please contact SUPPORT (support@notorious-games.com).

- A few players have mentioned free time that we plan to offer. This feature of the account back end is not yet fully functional. When it is fully functional we will add free time to accounts as stated before.

- New Year is the biggest holiday of the year here in Russia and I am returning to the US in the middle of next week. We may be able to squeeze out a small patch before my flight home but most likely our next public patch will be a bit more than a week from now.

[Xsyon]

December 30 2011

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A few announcements for today:

- As part of our account system update, we no longer will accept PayPal recurring subscriptions. This was done for several reasons, but primarily because we cannot control PayPal subscriptions in order to add free time to accounts. All players with recurring PayPal subscriptions have been contacted via email. If you have any questions and did not receive an email, please contact SUPPORT (support@notorious-games.com).

- Our Creature Tracking Tool is now fully functional and this has helped us visualize what is going on with the creatures in the world. The results have been interesting.

In general creatures are behaving as they should. Creatures are rare in areas with a lot of human activity, but more remote zones are plentiful with creatures. Players have been hunting the larger game animals, so the smaller critters have bred like rabbits. Mutants abound on the edges of the green mist in hard to reach areas.

We've identified a few problems where creatures are getting stuck and will be working to fix these right away. Creatures are also hiding too frequently. We're going to fix these issues and make some adjustments to breeding to provide more larger game. Once we've done this, we will respawn creatures with a new balanced distribution and once again let the breeding take its course.

- The test server is open with carts being tested again. We are also testing collision revisions in general and some further improvements to creature AI.

That's all for today. Happy New Year everyone!

[Xsyon]

January 2 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Welcome to the New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays.

This will be a quiet week. I start my trip back to the U.S.A. tomorrow afternoon and will be back home late Thursday night PST. We won't have a patch this week as I want to avoid any problems while I'm in transit.

I've answered the Questions of the Week for those interested.

I'm looking forward to the improvements and features we have planned for Xsyon this year!

[Xsyon]

January 6 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update today. I'm back in the US and spent the day catching up with things here and getting set up and backing up all data as I usually do after a long trip. We'll spend the weekend preparing the next patch that should go out next week. That's all at the moment.

[Xsyon]

January 9 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The good folks at MMOSmackTalk were kind enough to interview me for their Sandbox Podcast this weekend. In this session we discussed the past, present and future of Xsyon. This has already been posted, but here is a link for those interested.

http://thesandbox.mmosmacktalk.com/?p=413 (http://thesandbox.mmosmacktalk.com/?p=413)

Much thanks to Coolit and Quint and I hope to join them again for more podcasts in the future!

The Questions of the Week have been answered and we're busy working on the next patch. We're still ironing out a few problems with the account system and it's taking me a few days to get back into full swing but things are coming along.

[Xsyon]

January 11 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We're going to delay the public patch until next week. The main reason is that I have too much going on this week personally. I'm going to see two specialists regarding an inner ear problem that has been bothering me since September and refuses to go away.

We've also made some changes so that player can destroy bins and we need to test permissions on this carefully to make sure only the owners can destroy their own bins (for now). Other improvements are coming along well, I just want to make sure I'm available full time when this next patch goes live.

That's all for today!

[Xsyon]

January 16 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is open to the public with our latest build as we perform some final tests on carts, animal AI improvements and a new intial spawn of creatures. If we don't find any critical issues today, this build will be patched to the public tomorrow.

[Xsyon]

January 16 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the Questions of the Week for those interested. Here is a recap of what we have currently in development:

Carts (done on test server)
Skill and stat revision including balance, caps, decayand death penalties.
Revised xp and leveling.
Resource and material redistribution.
Further crafting revisions.
Faster tool, weapon and armor decay on use.
Improved quest system, including gaining xp from quests.
Trade system using local currencies.
Creature AI and difficulty, including the arrival ofundead.
Comfort and weather effects on players.
Building uses.
Further combat improvements.
Totem decay and abandonment.
Removal of bin permissions on public land.
Allowing tribes to remove their safe zones and gainadvantages by doing so.

As usual we will also address critical bugs and other issues as they arise. That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

January 18 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with an important patch. This patch features long awaited carts!

Patch Notes:

- Implemented wainwright skill for cart building.
- Implemented carts.
- Revised collision.
- Creature AI revisions with increased aggression and kiting behavior.
- Reduced shovel decay.
- Improved closing of all panels based on distance.
- Ability to destroy containers.
- Mutant parts can be properly used in crafting.
- Fixed problem with craft bonuses being rounded off.
- Owner of bins and carts is now displayed.
- Bugs with Christmas items fixed.
- Minor bug fixes.

It will probably take some time and teamwork to put some of the carts together. We will start a thread for cart feedback in the Developer Zone.

If you are having problems with any Christmas event items, please contact support (support@notorious-games.com) and we will sort it out.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

January 20 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a minor patch.

Patch Notes:
- Fixed server side issue with some mutant animations.
- Increased allowable depth for carts crossing rivers. This will be revised later when we implement bridges.
- Totem decay system implemented with consequences turned off.

The Totem decay system will work as follows:
Each time a tribe member interacts with the tribe totem, the totem and tribe are set to 'active'.
The more time passes without any activity from a tribe member, the totem 'decays' to the next stage.

The planned stages of Totems are:
- Active
- Neglected - This is just a warning stage.
- Deserted - At this stage bins and bundles left on the ground will be accessible to other players and the tribe will not be a safe zone.
- Abandoned - At this stage undead will spawn within the tribe zone.
- Removed - At this point the Totem is removed, the land can be claimed by another tribe and all buildings and objects become accessible.

We are currently preparing and testing this system. None of these consquences will apply to the main server until this system is announced to all players with advanced warning. For now you will be able to see at what stage other tribes are by viewing their Totem info.

We will be testing Totem removal on the Test Server today. The Test Server will be available to the public within a few hours.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

January 23 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch.

Patch Notes:
- Cart bug fixes.
- Interface rendering revisions to prevent client crashes.
- Fix for the 'bin overlay' bug where sometimes a bin panel becomes attached to the cursor.

That's all for today. Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

January 26 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update for today. The Questions of the Week have been answered for those interested. We're busy working on the next patch, currently setting up a system to allow players to sell and rent buildings.

We are also continuing to test tribe and totem decay, which is almost ready. Once it's ready we will send out emails to all players.

I expect my updates will be brief for the next week or more as I'm completely focused on the next round of improvements.

[Xsyon]

January 28 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is now open to the public (with files patched through the launcher). This is a very exciting update in progress!

- Real Estate feature for selling and renting buildings.
- Buildings can be used as containers to store bins and bundles.
- Crafting panel improvements:
Scheme stays selected when gain skill and new schemes.
Scheme stays properly selected when sorting by Name, Class, Type.
Tools remain in scheme after crafting an object.

Note: All of this is in progress and testing.

Only stand alone buildings such as tents can currently be sold.
The rental feature is not functional yet.
Buildings will be sold and rented using the tribe's local currency only.
Buildings will have permissions so that you can allow tribe mates and friends to use your buildings for storage.

I look forward to feedback on this so far. Buildings as containers and the craft panel improvements will be patched to the public as soon as they are fully tested. The Real Estate feature still needs a bit of work and may take another week to make it to the public server.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

January 30 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

A quick update today. We're wrapping up some fixes for the next update. Tomorrow we will do some final testing and if everything checks out we will have a public patch on Wednesday with the crafting panel fixes, some graphic optimizations and hopefully buildings as containers. The Real Estate feature will require more work.

I'll be back tomorrow to answer the Questions of the Week.

[Xsyon]

January 31 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Questions of the Week have been answered for those interested. We'll have a patch with tomorrow morning's maintenance and another later in the week for buildings as containers as I'm waiting on a bit more testing and feedback.

That's all for tonight.

[Xsyon]

February 1 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a patch. We're going to continue testing and adjusting the use of buildings as containers today but other changes have been patched out. This is a minor patch, but the functionality of the craft window is much better and some annoying bugs have been fixed.

Patch Notes:

- Fixed selection in craft window when sorting by name / class / type
- Selection in craft window stays when you increase skill or gain schemes.
- Tools in craft window stay unless you change the selected scheme.
- Inventory functions revised in preparation for 'Real Estate' functions.
- Animal AI improvements for pack behavior and creature aggression.
- Graphics optimizations for rain.
- Cart / container bug fixes.

There is a known issue with sorting recipes by class / type. This will be corrected

[Xsyon]

February 2 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is currently down and will remain down until we can sort out some problems caused by yesterday's patch. Unfortunately the patch has caused some improper saving of containers. This might take a bit to sort out so please bear with us today.

We will run some tests on the test server first and this may take a while as we may need to restart the server several times.

Thanks for your patience. We will get the server back up as soon as possible.

[Xsyon]

February 2 2012

The Test Server is now up. Please come to help check that everything is ok. Things should be as they were when the server was shut down for daily maintenance this morning. There may be some invalid inventory item messages when dragging objects that were gone missing after the maintenance. If so, please report this in global chat. I will be paying attention and will restart the server again after I get some feeback.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

February 2 2012 10:05 AM PST

The Test Server is restarting again. The first test run looked good but I am going to run this several times to make sure everything is right before restarting the Main Server.

[Xsyon]

February 2 2012 10:35 AM PST

The Test Server is restarting again. These are quick restarts and checks. I expect the Main Server will be back up around between 12:00 Noon and 2:00 PM PST. I apologize again for the long down time today. We just want to make sure all items have been corrected and things are running 100% properly.

I will post again when everything is tripled checked and ready to go.

[Xsyon]

February 2 2012 11:55 AM PST

The Test Server is up and we are continuing to check that data is correct. If you can come to the Test Server to check your inventory, please do so. I will be monitoring and awaiting feedback.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

February 2 2012 12:55 PM PST

The last test looked good, but I'm going to run my tests and error checks one last time just to make sure. The Main Server should be back up in about an hour after this final test.

[Xsyon]

February 2 2012 1:50 PM PST

I'm sorry this is taking so long. I need to restart the Test Server at least two more times. This process has revealed old incorrect data in the database from many months ago that should also be corrected. Restarting the server takes about 20 minutes each time which is why this takes so much time. Thank you for those helping check on the Test Server!

[Xsyon]

February 2 2012 5:00 PM PST

The Main Server is finally up!

This was a grueling day as each minor change took about 40 minutes to test, restoring data and restaring the server. Everything seems to check out now and we will keep a close eye on the Main Server. Some players that have been around for a while may find additional items in their packs as the process I ran today restored some items lost many months ago due to previous bugs.

This was a minor issue, affecting about 1000 out of millions of in game objects, but it was very time consuming to ensure that data was properly restored.

Thanks again for everyone's patience and assistance today!

Now, back to our regular tasks...

[Xsyon]

February 3 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update today: We're going to spend the next few days working on bug fixes, optimizations and cleaning up some data, in addition to a few improvements to having buildings as containers. Buildings as containers is basically done, but we're going to improve the permission system before releasing these to the Main Server. After this bug fixing and optimization session we'll get back to our regular schedule.

I will post when the Test Server is open for public testing for those interested.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

February 6 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Another quick update tonight: This weekend we had a very good bug fixing and optimization session. Totem decay has been thoroughly tested and finalized. We've made some server processing optimizations that should enable us to handle a lot more players without lag. We've been running internal tests on this yesterday and today. I plan to wrap up some bug fixes tonight then have some help from players to make sure the current build is ready for the public.

That's all tonight. Just keeping the community informed!

[Xsyon]

February 8 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the Questions of the Week for those interested. There are a lot of questions about when upcoming features will be implemented. This is really going to depend on how we can expand the team over the next month or a bit more. We're currently looking to add one or two more programmers so we can pick up the pace on adding new features.

Currently we are continuing with much needed optimizations on both the client and the server. These require a lot of time consuming automated tests that we're running on our local servers. This is delaying the release of the Real Estate features, but we really need to optimize things in preparation for running Totem Decay.

That's all for tonight!

[Xsyon]

February 9 2012

Daily maintenance will be one hour early today, at 6:00 AM PST.

[Xsyon]

February 13 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The In Testing section has been updated with current tests in progress.

We are almost ready to patch out the use of buildings as containers as well as a revised Permission and Lock system to the Public. We have continued working on many optimizations as well that required a lot of checking. The problems we encountered on the 2nd revealed data errors from a while ago that we really needed to clean up and correct. This is now done.

We will be waiting for feedback on the current build and hopefully can get this patched out to the Public after tomorrow.

That's all at the moment.

[Xsyon]

February 15 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the Questions of the Week for those interested.

We will not be running daily maintenance at 2:00 AM PST February 16 as we are on the verge of this next patch. Instead, we will keep working on this tonight and hopefully be able to patch out sometime tomorrow.

I will post again after we see how things go tonight.

[Xsyon]

February 17 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server has been updated with an important patch!

In this patch:

1) Permissions and Locks. Container objects now have two settings, permissions and locks.

Permissions allow a group (tribe, friends) to:
- Use
- Pickup
- Label
- Destroy

Locks allow a group (tribe, friends) to:
- Open
- Take items
- Place items

Buildings have only Locks
Container bins have Permissions and Locks
Carts have Permissions and Locks
Container packs and pouches have Permissions but can’t belocked.

Locks can be overridden in these cases:
- If the player carrying the container is dead, for looting.You can now loot properly on tribal land.
- By tribe rank permissions (access all containers).
- Bins are currently safe on Public Land, but this safety will be removed when we start Tribe Decay.

When you are accessing a bin by overriding locks, you will receive a message from the server. In some cases this will affect alignment in the future.

Exceptions to the rules:
- Carts currently can be Used only by the owner.

Improvements:
-Friend and Public Permissions and Locks apply everywhere including other tribal land.

Example of Locks in use:
A Building is set to Tribe Lock. This allows Tribe members to open the building.
The building contains 8 bins.
2 are set to Private Permissions Private Lock. Only the owner can take, open and use these bins.
2 are set to Private Permissions. Tribe Lock. Only the owner can take the bin. Tribe members can open the bins to place or take items.
2 are set to Tribe Permissions. Tribe Lock. Tribe members can take the bins, open them and place or take items from them.

2) Stand alone buildings can be used as containers. They can contain only bundles and bins. By default these are set without Locks until the owner sets a Lock type.

3) Lock and Permission display. Item tooltip and selected ground items now show Owner, Permission and Lock settings.

4) Crafting window sorting has been corrected and improved.

5) Crash problems caused by boulder destruction fixed.

6) Crash problems due to certain animation situations, incombat and other fast actions, fixed.

7) Hide scraps should sort properly to fur and leather scraps.

8) Client optimizations for increased rendering speed.

9) Server optimizations for lag prevention.

10) Fixes to animal pack AI (to group creatures only with their own kind).

11) Fix for bugged animations when entering combat with a shovel after terraforming.

12) Gates have a base frame (this was patched out a few days ago)

13) Adjusted quality required for some artisan and master schemes.

14) New larger 8x8 meter roof parts! Gotta catch 'em all!

This prepares us for the big Real Estate patch. I will be asking for some feedback on Real Estate soon. Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

February 20 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server has been updated with a minor patch. Primarily this fixes a few potential client crash issues.

We have also set all containers that were set to PUBLIC to TRIBE. You will now get a warning if you set containers to PUBLIC permissions or locks. Public permissions do allow anyone access now regardless of where the containers are.

That's all for now. Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

February 22 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've answered the Questions of the Week for those interested. There are a lot of questions this week.

This week we are focusing on some server performance improvements. We patched these out last week but the server locked up after a few hours so we've been revising the system again to avoid this type of lock up. This is in an important change as it allow for a lot more players to be online.

Next up is finishing the Real Estate system and the long awaited revisions to skills, stats, experience and quests which all tie in together. Those will be followed by free time for players to return and revisit Xsyon and finally... totem decay.

That's all for tonight!

[Xsyon]

February 26 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The next maintenance will run at 7:00 AM PST February 27th. We've changed the time as we have a small update for the client and server.

That's all for tonight!

[Xsyon]

February 27 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and client have been updated with a minor patch. This is primarily an update that will enable the server to handle a lot more simultaneous players. These changes still require testing that we are unable to do on the test server. If the server encounters any problems, we will revert the changes and restart.

Patch Notes:
- Dismantling improved and revised to correct issues with decaying of objects during the dismantle process.
- Some stone recipes revised to use granite instead of generic rock.
- Minor crafting recipe bugs fixed.
- Improved checking for tribe name availability to prevent tribes with nearly identical names.
- Pack behavior for creatures improved.
- Rendering optimizations.
- Improved transparency for proper rendering of 'ghost' buildings.
- Revised Guide commands for better assisting players.
- Locks and permissions checked again to reset all 'public' permissions to Tribe. If anyone really wants to set permissions or locks to public, these will have to be reset again by the owner.
- Server updated for better processing of commands. This is a major change in progress and should allow us to handle 5-10 times the current max population online.

I am headed to Russia tomorrow so I will be mostly in transit for the next two days, then I will need to deal with some personal business and get settled in for the next couple of months. Our goal this week is to continue with optimizations, bug fixes and minor improvements so that we are better prepared for the influx of players that will come soon with totem decay and removal.

We'll keep a close watch on the server today!

[Xsyon]

March 5 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and client have been updated with a minor patch. This is a patch to primarily address lag issues.

As more players have been joining us recently in Xsyon, the server has experienced lag spikes. This is our primary concern right now and we've been focused on this for the past week. From our observations, these lag spikes have been caused by the server not properly distributing the processing of actions across the CPU cores. When one CPU core overloads it causes a lag spike that can last a few minutes. This was dependent on specific actions and in game activity, not number of players online.

When the load is properly distributed the server runs at around 15% CPU usage even at peak times.

Hopefully this patch will resolve these lag spikes. A few minor bugs have also been fixed.

We will be observing the server carefully today.

[Xsyon]

March 7 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update today. There was a minor server patch yesterday and there will be another with the next maintenance and most likely another Friday morning. With these patches we are addressing specific situations that can cause server lag and fixing a few bugs and exploits. We're doing this now so we can get back on track with more substantial game improvements.

I will catch up with the Questions sessions when I can. It's been a hectic week for me, with my travels and finally settling in where I'll be for the next few months here in Russia.

Much thanks to all who joined us on the Test Server yesterday! This helped us confirm some of recent improvements and pinpoint what we still need to finish fixing.

[Xsyon]

March 9 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The server and client have been updated with a small patch.

Patch notes:

- Continued server revisions for proper load distribution to prevent specific lag situations.
- Patterns, blueprints and schemes now stack.
- Entity use system optimized and revised to prevent exploits.
- Open, Permission and Lock actions are now instant.

We're going to resume progress on more substantial changes today but will continue to monitor the server closely in case of any lag spikes.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

March 9 2012

A quick update: I am not patching out the stacking for patterns, blueprints and schemes until Monday as there are additional changes to the data files that need some more checking.

That's all. Sorry for the slow maintenance today. I'm experiencing internet connection issues. The server is restarting now and will be up in 15 minutes (4:00 AM PST).

[Xsyon]

March 11 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We will be running important tests on the Test Server today all day. Please join us if you can. Specifically we are checking the following:

- Database cleanup. We need to make sure that your containers, especially building containers are correct. The database on the Test Server is a copy of the Main Server data from March 9 2AM PST.

- Server optimizations. We need to test zone crossings, loading and general actions.

We will be observing the Test Server at these times:

4:00 PM GMT (9 AM PST)
7:00 PM GMT (12 noon PST)

This will also be announced in game several times. Please join us if you can!

[Xsyon]

March 14 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Thanks for the help testing over the past few days! The Main Server has been updated with a patch. In this patch:

- Database cleanup.
- Revised server process load distribution. Basically we are balancing functions to optimize use of the server's CPU.
- Revised loading to prevent players to get stuck in a queue with long loading times.
- Revised compression for improved server / client messages.
- Fixed bug with learning from stacked recipes.
- Fixed bugs with containers getting stuck open.

Our server revisions are not yet finished. It will take a while to fully implement what we have planned. Feature improvements have been back in progress and we'll start testing these soon.

We will be monitoring the server closely today.

[Xsyon]

March 15 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is up for Public testing. We are testing a revised Tribe upgrading system.Tribes can now upgrade from Homestead to Band to Clan to Tribe as members are added. Tribes will downgrade as usual if members are removed.

When a new Tribe is created, it will require placement at maximum distance from nearby Tribes, based on the starting tribe type of the new Tribe. (This is the same as what is already in place on the Main Server).

As a Tribe upgrades, its radius will increase ONLY if it is not blocked by the CURRENT radii of nearby Tribes. This will allow smaller Tribesto grow into unclaimed nearby territory and potentially block the full growth of nearby Tribes.

The Totem / Town information panel now displays the current Tribe type and radius at the top of the panel.

We will be testing and asking for feedback on this system (in the Developer Zone) over the weekend.

[Xsyon]

March 20 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The weekly Questions to Developers thread is up to date now. I've caught up with the past few weeks of questions.

The Tribe ugrading system is ready to go for tomorrow. We will patch out the system that allows tribes to upgrade tribe type and radius as longs as it's not blocked by the maximum growth radius of nearby tribes. We are also testing some important optimizations to loading entities that should slightly increase loading times, but most importantly, prevent bottlenecks during loading that can create lag spikes. Please join us on the Test Server today if you can.

Regarding loading times in general, we've identified the main cause of slow loading and one of our programmers is fully dedicated to resolving this. Hopefully we will be testing some major improvements to loading in the next few days.

That's all for today. We should be able to get this current patch out tomorrow.

[Xsyon]

March 21 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a patch.

Patch 2012.03.21 Notes:

- Improved loading times.
- Improved data loading for crossing sectors.
- Server optimizations (we will continue to optimize server functions for a while).
- Tribes can now upgrade from one type to another.
When upgrading, your tribal radius can grow as long as it's not blocked by the maximum growth radius (based on current tribe type) of nearby tribes.
If more space becomes available because nearby tribes shrink or are abandoned, your tribe radius can be reset by adding or removing a member.
- Minor bug fixes.

We will set up a thread for you to provide feedback on loading times. In our tests loading times were increased greatly!

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

March 22 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a minor patch.

Patch 2012.03.22 Notes:
- Owner label on ground bins and buildings turned back on.
- Revised game logic processing on the server.

If this build causes any issues we will revert to yesterday's patch. We will be monitoring very closely today.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

March 22 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've reverted to yesterday's build and restarted the Main Server. We will schedule some testing times this weekend so we can test these latest revisions better with more testers online.

Thanks to those that helped test today so far!

[Xsyon]

March 22 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server will be down for a while as we need to sort some problems from this week's patch. I will post when the server is back up. I am estimating this will take 2 hours and the server will be back up at 2:00 PM PST.

Thanks for your patience.

[Xsyon]

March 22 2012 1:15 PM PST

The Main Server is restarting now. We will likely restart it again later today as we've identified a problem with this current build that needs some revision. The current build will run but is not 100% stable. The server will be up in about 15 minutes (1:30 PM PST).

[Xsyon]

March 22 2012 2:45 PM PST

The Main Server is restarting with an update. A client update has also been patched out. Sorry for the server troubles today. The same server build ran well in our tests and for a full day, however there was an issue that potentially could lock up the server as it has done today. We patched this fix directly to the Main Server and will be here monitoring closely.

[Xsyon]

March 22 2012 3:30 PM PST

The Main Server is restarting yet again. I reverted again to our previous patch. If the server locks up again we will need to revert to last week's build. I apologize for these problems today. We tested this build as best as we can and will keep working through the night (it's night here) to try to resolve this.

Thanks again for your patience!

[Xsyon]

March 23 2012

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a minor patch. Hopefully this will completely resolve the server lock up issues we had yesterday. We will be observing closely as usual.

[Xsyon]

March 26 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a minor patch. This patch primarily releases further server optimizations in progress and fixes a few minor bugs.

Patch 2012.03.26 Notes:

- Improved threading on server to further prevent lag spikes.
- Owner display on world objects turned back on.
- Tribe leader bonuses properly update when a Tribe upgrades or downgrades.
- Gates checked and revised to make sure all gates allow carts to pass through.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

March 28 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We have updated our Maintenance Schedule. Maintenance will run only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday AM PST. Additional down time will occur only if needed for an emergency update.

That's all for today!

[Xsyon]

March 30 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update tonight. March was full of distractions, both personal and development related. The past few days we are finally making great progress on the coming feature update (focus on skill, stat, experience and quest revision) with additional changes to prevent recently reported combat lag and issues with creatures.

Currently we are testing these changes in house only as we are restarting the Test Server often and running checks on current data. The Test Server will be available to the public on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend!

[Xsyon]

April 4 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is available for public testing with major balance revisions well under way!

Here is a list of what is ready so far:

Stat revisions
- Primary and secondary stats for skill reassigned. Resource skills are now affected by the following stats:
Fishing: Dexterity | Fortitude
Hunting: Agility | Dexterity
Logging: Strength | Agility
Terraforming: Fortitude | Strength
Foraging: Intelligence | Spirit
Scavenging: Charm | Perception
Forestry: Spirit | Charm
Resources: Perception | Intelligence

Other skills will be reassigned stats to further balance the use of all stats.

- Agility affects combat swing speed
- Base movement speed and max movement speeds increased
- Base allowable weight and max allowable weight increased
- Stat bonus effects on movement speed and allowable weight fixed.
- Fix for stats potentially going below 0.
- Stat soft cap revised. Skills gain and decay much faster now. Decay is spread across the least used stats.

Skill Revisions
- Soft cap on skills implemented. The soft cap is per skill group (Combat, Resources, Actions, Crafts, Construction)
- Skill counts are tracked on a daily use basis. These counts are used for skill balancing and may have future uses.
- Skills decay / balance when new skill gains exceed the soft cap. Your least used and lowest skills decay first. There is no decay over time, just rebalancing when skills are gained.
- Scheme gained revised increasing gain attempts based on number of available schemes per craft.
- Schemes can be gained with continued crafting at skill level 100.
- Experience can be gained with continued crafting or actions at skill level 100.

Health Revisions
- Health is now variable based on stats (40%) and skills (60%)
- The following stats affect health points in order:
Fortitude
Strength
Spirit
Charm
- Skills increase health based on group and individual skill. Only Combat, Resource and Crafts currently affect health.
Combat oriented actions and crafts provide more health points than passive actions and crafts.
- Health points show when you hover over your health bar.

Experience Revisions
- Experience is now gained per action, not per skill gain and can be gained beyond skills of 100.
- Experience and levelling up revisions are in progress. The level up panel will allow character to shift skills and stats instead of just gain stats.
- Skill gains through the level up menu properly gain associated stats and health as if the skill points were gained through actions.

Quest Revisions
- Quest expiration set up. Expired quests are removed from the questor. Expired quests will have to be claimed by the creator within a time limit or rewards will be lost. (In progress)
- Quest time limits partially set up.
- Accepted quests now show in the Quest Tab of your personal Tribe Panel. Quests can be viewed and dropped from this panel.
- Scroll bars for Quests and all panels checked and fixed.

Combat Improvements
- Revised server handling of attack and position commands to hopefully reduce / eliminated combat and movement lag.
- Creature behavior in and near water revised. Creatures should avoid combat in water entirely and return to shore to wait for their attacker.

Other Improvements
- Local chat displays ....... for ignored chatters. This allows you to ignore, but player talking in local will not be 'silent'.
- Resource distribution visualization tool. This will allow us to easily and more effectively distrubute scavenged resources.
- Creature tracking improved. This helps us revise and improve breeding rates.
- Improved Guide commands to better assist players.

All of this is in progress. I'm quite satisifed with the balance so far, but I am sure there will be some tweaking. Once the level up system is ready and quest revisions are done I will solicit feedback from all players who would like to test. For now this is a sneak peek at what's in store.

For testing purposes skill gain is run 25 times per action now, so if you are testing you will notice big skill gains. This will allow players to see the effects of skill and stat gains, balancing and soft caps on the Test Server.

I hope you all enjoy what's in progress. I'm excited about these changes as I think they will provide some much needed balance and specialization.

[Xsyon]

April 9 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server has been updated with further progress on quest and balance improvements! Please keep in mind these changes are in testing and not finalized.

In addition to the previous mentioned changes we are now testing:

Stat Revisions
- Further revised balancing system. As stats increase the least used stats within the past week decrease. The decrease increment is spread across the least used stats, balanced based on how much each stat was used. Note: as tracking data is a clean slate on the test server, all stats are 'least used' until you use them in testing.
- Name of stats gained reported to the screen and chat log.
- Stats soft capped and gains slow after 90 but can increase beyond 100.

Skill Revisions
- Further revised balancing system. Skill reduction applies to the least used skills within the past week, not lowest skills. This will allow players to be more flexible with and control their skill gain and loss.
- Name of scheme gained reported to the screen and chat log.
- Actions group (running, swimming, jumping, hiding) does not have an overall soft cap.

Experience and Level Up Revisions
- Level up panel is ready for testing.
- Leveling up skills gained adjust stats as if gained through actions.
- Leveling up skills are balanced in order selected.
- Leveling up skills gained do not gain experience.
- Actions such as running and swimming do not gain experience.

Quest Revisions
- Quests give experience points to the Questor and Creator (based on many factors). Experience points awarded in progress.

Materials Revisions
- Bonuses on hunted items (leather, bones) increase based on age and power of creature hunted.
- Potential bonuses on raw materials displayed in item tooltip.

Skill gain on actions is still set to 25 times for testing purposes. The skill and stat balancing can be seen better in action now, especially when using saved points through the level up panel.

There are a few things we attempted and tested over the past days that were taking a lot of time to work out correctly and have been put on hold for now. These may be added in the future, but will not be released with the first public patch of these current changes.

- Allow shifting of stats and skills during level up (instead of just gains).
- Overall skill soft cap in addition to the per group soft caps.
- Skill balancing / decay spread to least used skill groups.

In addition we are still testing changes to reduce lag / desynch with player movements and especially in combat. We will be posting threads for feedback on this and the stat and skill changes in the Developer Zone.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

April 10 2012 2:00 AM PST

The Test Server is restarting after being offline for a while. We are ready for testing and feedback. The Test Server will be restarted with updates as needed throughout the day.

[Xsyon]

April 11 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've caught up with the weekly Questions for the Developers for those interested.

The focus today will be on fixing and finishing some things with the current stat and skill revisions. When these are ready for further testing I will post here and in the Feedback section to ask for more specific tests and feedback.

One of my main drive partitions died last night so I'm spending the day doing some file recovery to get my system set up properly. Fun day!

[Xsyon]

April 13 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server has been updated with our most recent changes ready to be tested. These changes are going straight to the Test Server, so we expect there will be bugs to be fixed and further balancing over the weekend.

In addition to the previous updates we are now testing:

- Skill lock system. Skills can be set to four different settings:
- Normal: Skill can increase or decrease.
- Minus: Skill can only decrease.
- Locked: Skill will not change.
- Plus: Skill can only increase.
- Currently 4 skills per group can be set to Locked or Plus.
- Stats are gained when performing associated skills set to Normal, Locked or Plus.
- Locks apply to skills that are gained and balance when levelling up.
- Skill panel does not reset it's scroll position when you gain skill.

Note: The lock icon images are temporary.
Note: Actions currently run 50 skill gains for testing purposes only.

I look forward to your feedback on this in our Feedback thread here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8241-Feedback-Request-Skill-Stat-Level-up-changes?p=94827&viewfull=1#post94827

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

April 13 2012

A quick note: We will be restarting the Test Server as needed while catching and fixing bugs. The Test Server will be up and down for a while.

[Xsyon]

April 16 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The weekly Questions to the Developers have been answered for those interested.

We are very focused on the skill and quest system revisions in progress. They are coming along well and I'm anxious to get these out to the public. That's all for today!

[Xsyon]

April 21 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server has been mostly unavailable to the public over the past day and a half as we are restarting often to check server optimizations that were started last summer then put on hold.

I will post once the Test Server is ready for more public tests which should be the final round of testing for the current stat, skill and quest system improvements.

We will be sending out emails Monday finally to announce the start of totem decay. Stay tuned!

[Xsyon]

April 23 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Our big upcoming patch is almost ready. We would like you to join us in some final tests. Please provide feedback here:

http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8261-Feedback-Request-Skill-Stats-Quest-Patch

We have a few tweaks to make but if we don't find any critical issues we will patch this out as soon as we can this week! More news coming very soon.

A quick note: I've patched out some interface files for the coming patch. These will affect the look of the interface on the main server as well. A few elements will seem off until we make the final public patch with this build, but these changes do not affect gameplay.

[Xsyon]

April 23 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Emails are currently going out announcing the coming free time and advent of totem decay!

Inactive players are welcome to return to Xsyon for 10 days for free, in groups, starting Friday May 18th.

All active players will be given two weeks of free play time once this period ends.

All emails for players with valid email addresses should be received by tomorrow morning.

Here is the full text of the email:

http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8262-Xsyon-Update-Free-Time-and-Totem-Decay!

[Xsyon]

April 25 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick note: The Test Server will be up and down, but most likely down today while we are working on a few minor but critical issues. We currently do not need more feedback and just need to get these out of the way. That's all for now!

[Xsyon]

April 30 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We're pushing hard to release the big Skills / Stats / Quest patch. We've fixed the few critical issues that were found last week, so this is almost ready to go.

If you have any final feedback on this please post in the current Feedback thread:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8278-Final-Feedback-Request-Skills-Stats-Quests

[Xsyon]

May 1 2012

The Test Server is resarting now (8:30 PM PST) with a few fixes and changes:

- Base movement speed increased with the affect of agility further revised. Please provide feedback on this. I personally think these speeds are too high now, but you all are more used to playing. This can be further revised after the public patch, so it's not holding anything up.

- Skills update on every use count now.

- Skill gain set back to normal (instead of 50 times gain)

- Problems with the Level Up and Stat Adjustment panel fixed. Decimals display now in both panels.

Barring any last minute critical issues, this patch is finally ready for the public and we will patch out today. If you test and find any critical issues at all, please report them on the feeback thread or alert one of our guides.

Feedback here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8278-Final-Feedback-Request-Skills-Stats-Quests (http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8278-Final-Feedback-Request-Skills-Stats-Quests)

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

May 2 2012

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a major patch!

I hope you enjoy the changes! Some of the major changes include:

- Skill balancing and control over skill gain and loss with skill locks.
- Faster stat gain.
- Improved experience and level up system. Using experience will gain stats associated with the skills you raise.
- Improved quest system. Both the questor and quest creator can gain experience through questing.

Full patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=95188&viewfull=1#post95188

Over the next few days we will continue to tweak these changes and fix any bugs that are found. Please provide feedback here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8279-Feedback-Skills-Stats-and-Quest-Patch

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 7 2012

The Main Server and Client were updated with a minor patch today. The main reason for this patch was to balance stat gains.

Full patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=95298&viewfull=1#post95298

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 8 2012

The Test Server is running with a small but important patch right now. We appreciate it if players can help test and we will set up a test session during the daily maintenance time.

This patch focuses on Client side revisions to prevent crashes. We need to make sure that these changes do not cause any client lock ups or decreased performance. We will be testing general actions and gameplay to compare with the Main Server.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

May 9 2012

The Main Server and Client were updated with a minor patch today. This patch is primarily intended to prevent client crashes.

If you crash, please send all crash logs from your Xsyon/Log directory to bugs (bugs@notorious-games.com). We really appreciate the crash reports as they help us pinpoint the exact causes.

Full patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=95320&viewfull=1#post95320

[Xsyon]

May 11 2012

Today's maintenance will start at 6:00 AM PST!
We will be updating the server and client with a minor patch at this time.

[Xsyon]

May 11 2012

The Main Server and Client were updated with a small patch today. The main purpose of this patch is further revisions to prevent client crashes and improving client performance.

Please continue to report any crashes by sending all crash logs from your Xsyon/Log directory to bugs (bugs@notorious-games.com) .

Full patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=95381&viewfull=1#post95381

I will be in transit to the US over the next few days. We will be working on bug fixes and minor improvements these days and will resume more substantial feature improvements when I'm back to a normal schedule on Tuesday May 15th PST.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 16 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server was updated this morning with a patch. This patch primarily deals with recent lag and desynchronization issues. These problems started with recent changes including increasing the creature count (5x) and updating windows on the main server which changed some configuration settings and caused the server processing to overload some CPU cores. We discovered a few memory leaks that could also be contributing to the lag which recently surfaced.

Patch notes are here: http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=95543&viewfull=1#post95543

We have been monitoring today and things appear to be much better. I am still acclimating to US time and getting caught up after a very long trip home. We will continue to focus on fixing memory leaks and final preparations for the coming free time on Friday. We expect the next content update to be ready for the middle of next week.

[Xsyon]

May 18 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is now open for our first round of Free Time for inactive players!

To check when your free time is available, please log in to your account. If you have any questions regarding free time please contact support (support@notorious-games.com)

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 25 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is now open for our second round of Free Time for inactive players!

I've been silent here this week as I had to catch up on many things being back in the US. I will try to catch up with the questions to the developers section this weekend and we are getting the test server ready for coming changes.

It appears that the issues we had with lag and desynch are resolved. We're going to work on some quick improvements based on feedback then continue with improvements as listed in the In Development section.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

May 30 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've caught up with a few rounds of questions to the developers for those interested.

We have a lot going on behind the scenes these days as we are preparing to raise some funds to expand our development team and promote Xsyon to bring in new players once the free time period is over. I will announce more about these plans when we're ready.

That's all for tonight!

[Xsyon]

June 1 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is now open for our third round of Free Time for inactive players!

A minor update was patched out this morning. The only visible change today should be increased stack counts for many items.

We've made some major revisions to how creature AI is handled on the server and these are almost ready for public testing. I will post once we are ready for feedback. The server can process many times more creatures now without affecting server performance.

So far these server optimizations are paying off. The server has been completely stable these past few months and we haven't had any reports of lag over the past few weeks. If you do encounter lag, please report it to the Guides in game.

[Xsyon]

June 4 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and Client were updated today. We will continue to patch out minor improvements over the next few weeks while the free time is in effect. Primarily we are patching updates to the AI system and server processing. Other small changes are being patched out simply because they are quick changes that are being made while we are focusing on more substantial changes.

Patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=95863&viewfull=1#post95863

As part of the creature and AI changes, we are revising creature ageing. It's currently based on game years, but we will age creature from child to adult faster, based on game months. This will populate the world with more adult creatures faster. Once this is ready we are going to reset creatures with a saved distribution and allow the breeding system to take over from there. We will request feedback on the revised creature AI at that point.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 8 2012 10:05 PM PST

The Main Server is currently restarting and will be up at around 10:30 PM PST.

[Xsyon]

June 9 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've almost caught up with the weekly questions to the developers for those interested (I have one more week to catch up with).

If you have logged in to the test server you would have noticed that we have cleared the database there. This is for testing and promotional purposes, as we are preparing some before and after screenshots and videos of tribal lands. We will be closing off the test server to public access tomorrow so that we can run some database tests.

That's all for today!

[Xsyon]

June 11 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

All the weekly questions to the developers have been answered for those interested!

We are currently running a lot of creature AI and growth tests on the Test Server and have set up a new distribution / spawn for creatures. Creatures will mature faster with these changes and we've fixed many reported issues.

I will post when this is open for public testing.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 13 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is open for public testing. The main change is with creature ageing and growth. In addition we've made a few minor improvements and bug fixes. These are changes that we plan to patch out immediately (Friday morning). The full list of what's available for public testing is here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/1007-Xsyon-In-Testing

The Test Server is currently operating with a blank database. We are running some tests with this data and will reload the data from the Main Server when we are finished. (Should be tomorrow morning). I will post again when we've copied over the latest data.

[Xsyon]

June 14 2012 3:30 PM PST

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is open with data from the main server for those interested in testing the latest minor improvements. These changes look good so they will be patched to the Main Server tomorrow. We will continue patching only minor fixes and creature AI revisions until the free time period is wrapped up on June 25th. Then we will start totem decay and the coming of revenants.

[Xsyon]

June 15 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is now open for our final round of Free Time for inactive players!

We are going to allow all inactive players to log in next weekend as a last chance to claim their goods and update their totems before we start the first round of totem decay and removal. I will send out an email to everyone as a reminder.

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a patch. This patch is focused on revised creature growth, ageing and breeding. Creatures now grow based on game months rather than years. In addition, we've made some minor bug fixes and improvements. Full patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=96007&viewfull=1#post96007

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 18 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a minor patch. We will continue to patch minor changes as they are ready. Patch notes are here: http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=96035&viewfull=1#post96035

[Xsyon]

June 18 2012 5:00 PM PST

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server locked up and is currently being restarted. We are investigating as the cause is unclear at the moment.

[Xsyon]

June 18 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We sent out emails earlier today detailing our plans for the coming 'Abandonment' phase.

From Friday June 22 (3AM) until Monday June 25 (2 AM) Xsyon will be open to all players. This is your last chance to claim your totems and goods before weenter the 'Abandonment' phase.

Commencing June 25th, Xsyon will enter a totem decay phase, the 'Abandonment'.

Totems not marked active and without any active players will enter the Abandonment phase one week after the free time ends.

This will usher in a fun and chaotic phase for Xsyon players as survivors explore abandoned ruins, fight over salvaged goods and stake theirc laims on previously occupied lands!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abandonment will progress through the following stages:

Neglected: Thisis a final warning stage and lets other players know that your tribe will soon start to decay.

Deserted: At this stage, bins and bundles left on the ground will be accessible to other players and the tribe will no longer be a safe zone.Revenants will begin to haunt deserted tribes. Revenants will be aggressive creatures with the ability to loot players and equip what they steal!

Abandoned: At this stage, the tribe is on the verge of complete removal. Buildings will be accessible and Revenant spawns will increase.

Removed: At this point the Totem is removed, the land can by claimed and buildings can be dismantled. Claiming land will cause revenants to move on to other areas.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In addition, on June 25th all actively subscribed players will be given two weeks of additional free game time. Add a subscription or pre-paidtime before June 25th to take advantage of this offer.

[Xsyon]

June 20 2012 3:00 AM

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We are running the daily maintenance early right now. The server locked up, so rather that restart it twice this morning we will run our routines now and the server will be up at around 4:30 AM PST.

Thanks for your patience.

[Xsyon]

June 20 2012 4:00 AM

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We discovered the cause of the server lockup earlier today and are going to patch an immediate fix. Because of this we are going to prepare a full patch with other AI improvements.

The server will be back up at roughly 7:00 AM PST.

Thanks again for your patience.

[Xsyon]

June 20 2012 5:30 AM

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is up (a bit early that we expected)!

We patched out an update that improves creature AI (in preparation for Revenants). Patch notes are here: http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=96035&viewfull=1#post96035

We will post a thread later today requesting feedback on the current state of creature AI after today's patch.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 22 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is now open to all returning players this weekend, before we kick off the Abandonment phase on Monday!

In addition, a small update was patched out this morning to fix bugs with creatures' attack range and frustum which were caused by recent changes to fix other issues with attack timing and desynch. For those who posted about this problem in the Creature Feedback thread, I appreciate it if you can post regarding how creature attacks feel now that these bugs have been fixed.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 24 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We will be running maintenance at 7 AM PST tomorrow morning (June 25th) instead of our regularly scheduled time.

[Xsyon]

June 24 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

With the coming Abandonment, we have the potential opportunity to converttribes from a circular radius to a square bounded area. The square area wouldbe circumscribed about the current radius.

This would:
- Give tribes slightly more area.
- Allow player to better visualize and fill their tribearea.
- Allow tribes to better build connected tribes in thefuture.

We ran some preliminary feasibility tests and found thatafter unclaimed totems are abandoned, converting from a circular to squaretribe area will result in slight overlap in 8 instances. We will discuss directly with the tribe leaders of these potential overlaps and will deal with either slightly moving a few tribes by a few meters or allowing for the overlap (as it seems half of these are associated tribes).

We've posted a Feedback thread and a poll to get a public opinion on this here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8398-Square-Tribe-Radius-Poll

The general consensus so far is that this we should move forward with this. I can't guarantee we will do this but we will run some tests starting tomorrow and if we do switch to square tribe zones, the public will first be able to see the changes on the Test Server this week.

[Xsyon]

June 25 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

There are a few things to announce today, so I will be brief with each point:

1) Today starts the official 'Abandoment'. The system is ready to go. Today totems that were not accessed over the past weeks of 'public free time' are marked as Neglected. Next week these will lapse into a Deserted stage, objects will become accessible and revenants will start to spawn.

2) We added two weeks of free time to all active accounts this morning. This is reflected in your account tab as your next payment date or expiration date has been extended.

3) We updated the Client and Main Server with a small patch today. We are continuing to patch Creature AI revisions. We are aware of recent issues causing erratic AI and creatures not properly attacking players. These were unwanted side effects of server processing optimizations and the IOCP update. AI should be better today but we are not done with our revisions, so we will continue to patch minor Creature AI updates this week.

Full patch notes are here: http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=96211&viewfull=1#post96211

4) We will proceed with converting tribes from a circular to a square tribal area. Hopefully we will be checking this on the Test Server tomorrow or Wednesday.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

June 26 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is open for public testing.

We are checking tribes with square tribal areas. Please take a few minutes to log in and check out your tribe on the Test Server. You can check your tribe boundary by walking along the edge with the Map panel open.

We've also started to add bounding box that renders when your totem is selected. Currently this is fixed at 25 meters, the size of a Homestead and is simply a tool for testing, as tribal area dimensions are not currently saved on the game Client.

If you find that your new boundaries overlap with a Neglected tribe, don't worry. These Neglected tribes will soon become Abandoned and removed.

If you find that your new boundaries overlap slightly with another Active tribe, you are in one of the 8 overlapped situations and our Guides will be contacting your Tribe Leader to determine how to resolve your specific case.

If you find any problems with the square tribal areas, please report them here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8403-Feedback-Request-Square-Tribal-Areas

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 1 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is open again for public testing. (It will be up at 11:00 PM PST)

We've spent the past few days working intensively on creature AI and balance: gathering and reviewing data, checking all reported issues and reworking the code. Our changes are still in progress but we are opening the test server to allow players to assist us with tests. Tonight we are testing bears primarily. We are doing our best to address all reported issues with creatures this week.

We are also waiting for responses regarding overlapped tribes. If you were contacted regarding this, please respond.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 3 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Sorry for the lack of updates on the state of the Abandoment. This is an especially frantic week for me as in addition to getting the Abandonment and totem decay in full swing I have urgent personal matters to attend do (positive matters) and I will be headed to Russia early next week.

Currently on the Main Server, while the days are counting down on totems, the stages of Abandonment will not commence until we patch out one more update. This will happen as soon as three issues are complete:

1) We resolve all tribe overlap issues that will occur with the change to square totem areas. These are almost all resolved but we are still sorting out a few situations.

2) We are finished with creature balance and improvements that have been our focus for the past week. We've put our full effort into this, including me personally working on the creature code and checking the results (typically I am working on other aspects of the code). I've run a lot of data gathering and I hope that once we are done with this creatures will range enough to provide challenges and rewards for players of all levels. We will be testing our latest changes tonight and need to spend at least one more day on this.

3) We reduce the stat bonus power of creature parts. Creature parts will still range in power base on age and creature power, but I plan to limit a full armor set to increase a stat a maximum of 25 points. Currently a full set of the right materials can increase a single stat too much. This is causing balance issues and sets a priority on gear that I did not intend nor desire for Xsyon. A 'quick fix' limiting the power of armor sets is running on the Test Server, but a proper revision is in progress and armor sets and creature parts will be evenly adjusted. The high end sets and parts will remain as the high end items.

These are last minute additions to the Abandoment phase, but I am glad that we decided to do these now.

The change to tribal square areas is a very positive change in my opinion and one that we couldn't easily implement at any other time. The choice was to do this now or never. Now was the best choice.

The AI and balancing changes will greatly improve the Abandoment as these changes apply to revenant AI and equipment as well.

I know many of you are waiting for the totems to be removed. Thank you for being patient while we wrap up these improvements so that this Abandonment phase is fun and exciting. The totems will not last long and will be gone by the end of the month.

I will post again when the test server is up with the Deserted decay stage active and revenants haunting Deserted tribes.

[Xsyon]

July 4 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server will be closed tonight while we run some tests on and make adjustment to creature movement speeds and reactions.

I will be in transit to Russia from Monday to Wednesday so we are holding off patching the revenants and running the first stage of decay until I am settled in next week. This will give us a few extra days to gather public feedback on our creature changes and revenants but is mainly being done in order to avoid the risk of patching any issues that we won't be able to deal with while I'm not available.

The Test Server will be open again tomorrow with the Deserted stage as it will be on the live server next week.

[Xsyon]

July 5 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is now open to the public. I've started a thread requesting feedback on Creature AI on the Test Server here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8414-Feedback-Request-Creature-AI-2012-07-05

The Test Server may be up and down while we make changes tonight and tomorrow, but we will keep it open to the public.

We will continue making improvements to AI until the big patch next week. I'm really looking forward to this upcoming phase of Xsyon!

[Xsyon]

July 6 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is being restarted with changes to revenants. The details and a request for further feedback has been posted here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8414-Feedback-Request-Creature-AI-2012-07-05

If you wish to help test creatures, please contact an in game Guide for assistance and GuideMihr or GuideRaguel can spawn creatures on the Test Server if they are available.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Xsyon]

July 9 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Test Server is open for public testing again. I've made many small adjustments and bug fixes to creature AI and power. With so many changes I've started a fresh Feedback Request here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8420-Feedback-Request-Creature-AI-2012-07-09

As usual, if you wish to help test creatures, please contact an in game Guide for assistance and GuideMihr or GuideRaguel can spawn creatures on the Test Server if they are available.

I am leaving in a few hours and will be back in full swing Thursday AM PST. We hope to patch this big update at that time. What is currently on the Test Server is what is planned for release. In the next few days we hope to identify and fix any critical issues. Your help is appreciated!

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 10 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

I've caught up with all the Questions for the Developers for those interested. Also, if you have any feedback on creatures or revenants, please provide it in the feedback thread. I will be checking and directing any necessary changes so that we can wrap things up and get this big patch out before the end of the week!

[Xsyon]

July 12 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We are ready to patch out the first Abandonment stage and the Revenant invasion! This will be patched out with the next maintenance Friday morning (July 13).

We are working on a minor issue with attack ranges today and will reduce the life of low end revenants before the patch. I will continue to check the feedback thread today, so if you have any last minute feedback, please post there.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 13 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Maintenance and the patch will begin at 7:00 AM PST this morning. The server will be down for approximately 2 hours for the patch.

[Xsyon]

July 13 2012

Undead invade Xsyon!

The Main Server and Client have been updated with our big Abandonment patch.

Totems will now go through the full stages of Abandonment as Revenants haunt abandoned tribes. Major improvements have been made to creature AI. Tribes now have square bounding areas instead of a radius.

Full patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=96407&viewfull=1#post96407

This is the dawning of a new age for Xsyon! The revenant invasion will change the face of the game and sets the stage for coming improvements.

I am very excited about this patch! If you have any feedback on the difficulty of or problems with creatures or revenants please post here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8428-Feedback-Request-Creatures-2012-07-13?p=96428#post96428

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 17 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Our Development plans have been updated to reflect what we are currently working on. Our main focus now that the Abandonment is in full swing is to revise crafts, materials and bonuses to provide a more consistent, progressive, challenging and rewarding system.

Our current plans are detailed here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/7280-Xsyon-In-Development

As usual we will continue with small patches to address bugs and balance issues. We have taken in Feedback regarding revenants and will patch some revisions to aggression and chase limits this week.

One important recent change that there have been questions about is the 'nerfing' of stat bonuses on armor. Currently the limits are set to a max of 25 point per stat due to armor bonuses. Individual armor parts also have per stat limits based on the type of part, with the larger parts providing higher stat bonuses. Older parts that exceed these limits currently display the previous bonuses. We are working to revise the old bonuses in a balanced way so that old armor parts retain their previous relative power.

This is a necessary revision to balance things as they were originally intended and allow for additional bonuses that will be gained from weapons and other sources. The relative effect of each stat will also be adjusted so that stats elevated beyond 100 are worthwhile.

In effect, we are revising the system so that it is within correct and manageable limits. The 'volume' was turned up to 11 and we are turning it back down to 10.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 18 2012 3:45 AM PST

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server experienced some problems and locked up twice this morning. We are currently going to run the daily maintenance now instead of the scheduled time.

The server will be up at roughly 5:00 AM PST.

We are working on a patch that should be ready by tomorrow, so we will likely run maintenance and a patch tomorrow morning as well.

[Xsyon]

July 18 2012 5:30 AM PST

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server is restarting with a patch. This is just a patch of minor improvements that are ready for the public. The main reason for this patch is optimizing how creature data is saved. Maintenance took a while today as the server operating system required an update.

Patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=96568&viewfull=1#post96568

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 21 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We are checking several things on the Test Server. If you have the chance to help us test, please do so and provide feedback here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8465-Feedback-Request-Test-Server

As most of you know, inactive tribes have now reached the abandoned phase. Within the next week these abandoned totems will be gone. Land that is claimed will no longer be haunted by revenants and they will move on to other zones or become dormant.

This coming round of revisions is going to include a lot of changes to balance crafts, resources and bonuses. These will be patched out and available for feedback on the Test Server as changes are ready, but won't be patched to the Main Server until all these revisions are complete. My updates for the next week or two will focus on what is on the Test Server as things progress.

I will be checking the Test Server feedback thread every few hours as we intend to patch these changes as soon as possible.

Thanks!

[Xsyon]

July 22 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The Main Server and Client have been updated with a patch. The main reason for this patch is to improve the loading of revenants and their armor sets that was causing some problems including the server lock ups that occured over the past few days.

A few other improvements have been patched out. Full patch notes are here:
http://www.xsyon.com/forum/showthread.php/8280-Xsyon-Patch-Notes?p=96736&viewfull=1#post96736

The server will be up shortly.

[Xsyon]

July 23 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

We are closing in on the final stage of Abandoment this week! Totems will start to disappear and any land claimed will free that land from the haunting of revenants.

This week we are fully concentrated on the next round of development including crafting and material improvements and a full redistribution of scavenged resources. My updates will be brief this week as unless we have something urgent to patch there won't be a public patch until this next round is complete.

Enjoy!

[Xsyon]

July 27 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

The final stage of the Abandonment has arrived! Totems have been disappearing and lands are ready for the taking!

With the world full of revenants, creatures and free land to be claimed we are ready for an influx of new players.

We have started a push to advertise and raise capital (as mentioned before). Xsyon banner ads will start to show across many different game sites. We are in the process of improving the website and are preparing a Kickstarter page. This campaign will take us 2-3 weeks to get into full swing.

If you are enjoying Xsyon, help spead the word!

[Xsyon]

July 28 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Unfortunately our forums were attacked by a hacker this week. Everything is resolved now and we've increased the security of our site. The perpetrator has been reported to all appropriate authorities.

There is nothing to worry about regarding and personal payment information as that is not stored on our server and the game database has not been affected in any way.

We do recommend that you change your password (and do so on a regular basis) although this attack was directed at our team directly and not towards players.

Our first priority now is to finish our improved website at a new location and move the xsyon.com domain. This includes revising our account and database system to support free trials and promotions.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact GuideRaguel.

[Xsyon]

August 1 2012

Hello Xsyon Citizens!

Just a quick update today.

First, I've answered the latest round of Questions for the Developers for those interested.

Our primary goal right now is to move to new website which is in progress on a different server. My updates will be brief until we make this move. The new website is taking a lot of effort but it will be well worth it!

We are also working on a small patch to address some bugs (crashes primarily) and balance issues with revenants for early next week.

That's all for today!