DevBlog #51: Gear sets and holidays break! - Lemmy.World
Hello and welcome once again to the WalkScape dev blog! I have some exciting
news about the engine rework and, as promised, a first look at the gear sets! #
Wave 3.5 starts this week! Wave 3.5 of WalkScape Closed Beta begins on December
15th! Players who have supported development on Patreon
[https://www.patreon.com/WalkScape] or Buy Me a Coffee
[https://buymeacoffee.com/walkscape] will receive immediate access when the wave
goes live. Those who support development before January 6th will also gain
access during this wave, as mentioned in our previous dev blog
[https://www.reddit.com/r/WalkScape/comments/1h1sq5h/devblog_50_wave_35_announcement_improved_ingame/].
More instructions about how to get access are available here:
https://walkscape.app/help [https://walkscape.app/help] # Gear sets:
introduction Let’s dive into the exciting new QoL feature that’s launching
alongside the engine optimization: gear sets! According to our previous poll
[https://www.reddit.com/r/WalkScape/comments/1gayixz/patch_hotfix_342_fixing_some_final_minor_things/],
gear sets (or presets) were the most requested QoL feature, making them our top
priority. I’m happy to report that I’ve designed the system and completed its
core functionality. I just need to add some finishing touches and polish the UI,
and it should be ready. Here’s what this system aims to solve: - Switching gear
between skills is tedious. With presets for skills and activities, you’ll be
able to swap your entire loadout with just a few taps. - Finding the optimal
gear for activities and skills can be tricky. We’re adding tools to help you
pick the right equipment, especially when managing lots of items. - Whether
you’re a min-maxer or casual player, these features will make your life easier.
Now, let me walk you through all the features coming with gear sets! # Gear
sets: how do they work When designing this system, we needed features that would
work well for both casual players and min-maxers. I wanted to get it right so
that managing gear builds would be much simpler for everyone in the future.
Here’s a list of our features! We’re also planning to integrate gear sets with
the Travel + 1 Queue, which will make swapping sets even easier when switching
activities. Create set from current items By pressing the “Copy currently
equipped gear”, you current gear gets added to the gear set you’re creating.
[https://i.postimg.cc/59pYLnRm/image.png] This is the most common way to create
gear sets. Simply wear your optimal gear, create a new set, and click “copy
currently equipped gear.” That’s it! After saving, you can easily re-equip your
favorite set whenever needed. Customize and prepare As an example, finding a
tool for your gear set with the highest crafting outcome is now very easy!
[https://i.postimg.cc/P5vCGhr6/image.png] When not walking, you can create gear
sets to prepare for activities or update your existing ones. I’ve created an
advanced in-game tool called the “gear explorer” to help you find the right
equipment for your sets. When creating or editing a gear set, simply click any
gear slot to open the gear explorer. You’ll see a list of all items that fit
that slot (from your WalkPedia discoveries), with several ways to find the
perfect item: - Sort by attribute: Choose any attribute, like Work Efficiency,
to see items ranked from highest to lowest. - Filter by activity: Select
specific activities like “cut birch trees,” “cut pine trees,” or “cut oak
trees.” The list will show only items with relevant attributes, and sorting will
be calculated for those selected activities to show which items provide the
greatest benefits. - Filter by skill (not done yet): For a broader view, filter
by skill to see all related items. - Compare items: If you already have an item
equipped, you’ll see a helpful comparison to make upgrading easier. - Search:
Find items quickly using the search function, just like in the bank. Share or
import gear sets You can press the import button to copy a gear set made by
another player to your character. [https://i.postimg.cc/JhwGMgsR/image.png]
Don’t want to figure out the best gear yourself? You can ask the community to
share their gear sets! The game allows you to export your gear sets and import
ones made by others. When you import a gear set, your character gets a copy with
the same configuration. For example, if someone has created an optimal set for
the Search Team activity (a common question), they can share their gear set data
for others to easily import and use. If the gear set includes items your
character hasn’t discovered yet, they’ll appear with a “?” sprite and no without
stats or rarity, but their names will still be visible. Since players who share
and import gear sets typically use the wiki anyway, showing item names makes it
easier to look up how to obtain missing gear while not ruining the feeling of
discovery for those who don’t want to use wiki. Organize Finally, let’s talk
about organizing your gear sets for easy access when you have multiple saved.
Each gear set has these customization options: - Name: Give it a memorable,
descriptive title! - Icons: Add multiple icons that will appear before the set’s
name. - Color: Use colors to categorize your sets - like green for woodcutting
sets! - Skills: Choose which skills the set appears for. For example, your
fishing set won’t clutter the menu while you’re smithing. - Activities: Specify
activities where this set should appear. Like skills, this helps keep your gear
list relevant to what you’re doing. Note: When your character is idle, all gear
sets will be visible when you browse them regardless of skill or activity
filters. Smart with inventory space Let’s look at how gear sets handle inventory
management. When switching gear sets at a bank location, you’ll be asked if you
want to store your current gear in the bank. If not, the items will go to your
inventory. If you’re at a bank and your desired gear set contains items stored
there, those items will automatically be withdrawn. If you have them in your
inventory, your inventory is always prioritized before the bank. If some items
in your gear set are unavailable (whether they’re missing, you don’t meet
requirements, or you no longer own them), you’ll see a list of these items and
can decide whether to proceed with the switch. # Engine optimization Last week,
we completed the engine optimization with only a few minor features missing and
released it to our internal testers. This work took quite a while, but I’m very
happy it’s finished. If we had postponed it and allowed technical debt to
accumulate, it would have taken much longer to complete in the future. Initial
testing has revealed bunch of small bugs in the optimized engine, but these
should be rather quick to fix. After completing the gear sets (hopefully by next
week), I’ll focus on fixing these bugs and preparing everything for release. Due
to the holiday break, this update will likely be ready for closed beta testers
sometime in January - the timeline mainly depends on how quickly we can resolve
the bugs! # Holiday break and until next time! Lastly, the development team will
be taking a holiday break from December 23rd to January 1st. While we may check
Discord and contact@walkscape.app [contact@walkscape.app] emails for any Wave
3.5 issues, we’ll primarily be enjoying time with family. Due to the break,
there won’t be a devblog on December 26th—the next one will be posted on January
9th. That’s all for today, folks! Thanks for reading, and happy holidays to
everyone. Keep walking and stay hydrated ❤️
