Are we there yet?
EDIT: This post has been updated to reflect changes to our planning. The Domain and Settlement Selection site will be brought online in a review-only mode once the integration of maps and site is complete. This will be followed by a short window of time for monarchs to pick their duchies, counties and settlements. Finally, the normal pick process will resume thereafter.
Hail Elyrians!
Over the last week we've made huge progress on all three areas of Domain & Settlement Selection. The content team has completed the terrain generation and we're now sitting on four complete sets of elevation data. Each set is made up of 256 different 4k tiles, totaling over 16 GB of elevation data. On top of that, the content team has finished the higher resolution resource maps that tell us what the surface and subsurface resources are of each parcel of the starting continent. To get these maps created required almost round-the-clock execution of four separate 72 core machines, each running at 100% CPU utilization with almost 200 Gb of RAM. But the work is done, and the content team has moved off Domain & Settlement Selection! Huzzah!
Sample Terrain Tile
The second team, the metadata team, has been working tirelessly to balance the design-time and run-time game mechanics including the resource distribution, tribal distributions, and settlement distributions. While it may not be immediately obvious, there's a huge amount of interconnectivity between the work we're doing on the generation of the maps, and the way the game will be played and feel on launch day. As a result, there's been a lot of effort this week put toward making sure the game is fun at launch.
View of the D&SS Details Tab
We need to ensure that settlements are neither too far away, nor too close together. That they're neither over or under-populated, and that there's neither too little nor too much resources. We're not just building maps; we're building an entire world! The metadata team does have a bit more work to do, however, as the water simulations haven't completed, preventing us from determining exactly where water will exist in the world. As you can imagine, this is pivotal as it's not only a vital resource, but it also plays a role in where settlements are located, which in turn helps determine where county lines are drawn. We anticipate another couple of days of work required to complete the water simulations and rendering. Now that the content team is no longer using the build machines, and the terrain is done being created, the metadata team will be taking over use of the cloud machines.
And finally, the web team is feature complete on the website and is currently working through a full set of tests to validate its functionality. We anticipate being done with the test pass tomorrow.
As you can see, things are coming together -- and we're close -- but we're not quite there yet. This means that we won't be releasing Domain and Settlement Selection to you on Monday, the 13th. Earlier today, I spoke with several hundred of you, including many of the monarchs and nobles of the various servers to discuss the situation and our plans moving forward.
Based on that conversation, and our own internal planning, our efforts to complete the maps and bring the site online will continue as planned over the coming days. Once the site and the maps are integrated, however, we'll bring the Domain and Settlement Selection site online for your perusal in a review-only state. Only then will we officially open the site to resume Domain and Settlement Selection, shortly thereafter.
When the claim period begins, we will begin with a short time reserved for the monarchs, who will choose their duchies, counties, and seats of power, and will then proceed to the dukes as previously planned. By doing things this way, we'll allow the kings time to complete their picks of their duchy, county, and settlement ahead of the ducal picks. And, even as the monarchs make their last picks, the maps will be visible to everyone, ensuring everyone has a period of review before their pick time comes up.
We'll be giving you all regular updates throughout the process with images and other snippets of our progress so you can track where we are as we push to cross the finish line.
It's a been a long road getting to Domain & Settlement Selection folks. In many ways, building and balancing these massive worlds has been just as difficult and complex as building the technology they'll run on. But we're almost done. Just hang in there a little while longer and we'll get back to picking domains.
Pledged to the continued development of the Soulborn Engine and the Chronicles of Elyria,
Caspian
Are we there yet?
Will we get a new message on the website letting us know our new select dates while Monarchs are picking? For me, I have flexibility until May 29th. After that date I’ll have to request PTO to get access to a PC to grab my county.
I am growing more and more apprehensive. First it was a one-week delay and then now a two-week today with no target in mind. We have not received any information except for upgraded post on the 27th. I am not looking for a drop-dead date I'm looking for a general window, is it 1 week 2 weeks or is it going to be announced on Discord only and the members on the website will be left out? After donating over $1, 000 I would hate to lose my position in land selection due to poor communication. All I'm asking is for any information that goes on Discord we also posted on the website. And since DSS is a very important deal a little more communication would be appreciated.
"Count Eldric Blackmoore of The Haven, offering direct support for the Hunters, Explorers and Gathers of Elyria"
@Sullen Giving dates so short such as weeks is just about as bad as giving the day.
However, they said they are going to open the maps for review when they are done before everything else. Then they needed to finish all the other systems. Then monarchs have time to finish their selections. This will likely be ~2 weeks process imo. Then dukes need to pick. So you'll know about 3 weeks before you need to pick.This is if they don't announce the view-only maps before releasing them. If they do then you'll know about a month+ in advance for the county level. Should be plenty of time.
I don't know anymore.
The thing is, they're in a really tight spot if they're not ready today. We've established that nobody wants to hear another meaningless deadline, but also silence while the previous deadline slips by is aggravating. I guess it would be better to provide a status than not.
Posted By mightyfish at 1:44 PM - Mon May 20 2019
I guess it would be better to provide a status than not.
Agreed, they said they would give updates but it's been pretty quiet. Would be as simple as a comment on this thread from Caspian saying
- Here's what we finished last week:
- Here's what were working on:
- Here's what we need to be finished before maps can release:
This should all already be on his notes as the CEO or on a team lead's notes somewhere in the studio. Take those, shorten them for abstraction, post them on a comment to this thread.
I don't know anymore.
Just so everyone is clear - Caspian hasn't been silent, he has made quite a few comments in Discord.
That he isn't posting here is a dead horse, stop beating it. You all know he comments in Discord, go do a From:Caspian and From:Snipe search every once and a while.
It would take less time than it takes to come here and make a post complaining about them not giving updates.
Posted By Marovec at 08:28 AM - Tue May 21 2019
Just so everyone is clear - Caspian hasn't been silent, he has made quite a few comments in Discord.
Nothing beats unofficial comments. He keeps going on about never quote or take anything he says there as official. So you think, if there was any update. He would come here to officially update everyone.
Also, I don't think it unreasonable to expect him to review and engage on his own post. He should be reviewing and providing some feedback. The purpose of forums is engagement.
Posted By Marovec at 6:28 PM - Mon May 20 2019
Just so everyone is clear - Caspian hasn't been silent, he has made quite a few comments in Discord.
That he isn't posting here is a dead horse, stop beating it. You all know he comments in Discord, go do a From:Caspian and From:Snipe search every once and a while.
It would take less time than it takes to come here and make a post complaining about them not giving updates.
So the official updates are on a medium he said was not official. I love how it has built in bull-shit protection: "If I'm right it's official why didn't you guys look at the damn discord, if it's wrong wtf is wrong with you I said it's unofficial."
I guess taking 30 seconds to copy paste an official update to an official medium is too taxing and would impede development. Ok that was me being an ass but seriously though, is there really a valid argument again'st Crl+c and Ctrl+v any major DSS updates / progress to this thread??? I mean even further isn't that the entire purpose of the #soul-chamber channel? Putting developers general discussion discord quotes into a more official viewing place so everyone can see? Why is that at least not being done? Idk.
This isn't beating a dead horse. That's not how the saying works. The horse represents an issue or conflict. Meaning the horse is not dead until the issue is. If official updates are still being primarily delivered in an unofficial source than the horse is still alive. I just feel like for someone who knows he has an issue keeping morale and PR up through conflict, there is sure a bare bare bare minimum being done to fix it and that is what is more irritating to me.
I don't know anymore.
Posted By Marovec at 5/20/2019 10:28:46 PM
Just so everyone is clear - Caspian hasn't been silent, he has made quite a few comments in Discord.
That he isn't posting here is a dead horse, stop beating it. You all know he comments in Discord, go do a From:Caspian and From:Snipe search every once and a while.
It would take less time than it takes to come here and make a post complaining about them not giving updates.
Except the last time we copy and pasted something he said in discord as “official” he had a cow and a small cat coming to the forums getting mad at folks who take things said in discord as official.
In this mate you are absolutely wrong. He needs to suck it up and make an official remark of where were are on the forums.
If nothings changed and they are still working on it so be it stop dropping “official” responses on an unofficial source.
This is nothing new. I pointed this out YEARS ago. Just another case where Caspian will have it Caspian's way regardless of what is best for his customers or market. The only conclusion I can come to is its an ego thing.
We are all perfectly imperfect. Often we key on someone else's perceived fault when it is amplified by our own. The cool head wins.
-NOSIG-
Posted By Malais at 10:01 AM - Tue May 21 2019
Posted By Marovec at 5/20/2019 10:28:46 PM
Just so everyone is clear - Caspian hasn't been silent, he has made quite a few comments in Discord.
That he isn't posting here is a dead horse, stop beating it. You all know he comments in Discord, go do a From:Caspian and From:Snipe search every once and a while.
It would take less time than it takes to come here and make a post complaining about them not giving updates.
Except the last time we copy and pasted something he said in discord as “official” he had a cow and a small cat coming to the forums getting mad at folks who take things said in discord as official.
In this mate you are absolutely wrong. He needs to suck it up and make an official remark of where were are on the forums.
If nothings changed and they are still working on it so be it stop dropping “official” responses on an unofficial source.
I am thinking that Takeda_Shinukage meant a dev or mod should copy and paste it here. Sad really that we get no announcements here but we have to go to discord to get unofficial ones.
Having not gone to Discord to read the unofficial propaganda, this is starting to look more and more like another dropped promise. I am expecting the announcement any day now that domain selection will be pushed back to some unknown date in the future. If so, once again something that was days and hours from release several times is looking like it will be dropped and or changed to something completely different to be released at some unknown date in the future.
Several times now we were told this was days from release and yet here we are getting close to a month later with no release. WTF is going on?
Is SBS stroking us when they say any day now and just buying time?
Does SBS studio have no idea at all how long it takes to make anything they work on?
3.Does SBS even know whats wrong and how to fix it?
My personal opinion based on nothing other than speculation is 50% #2. 30% number 1. #20 number 3.
