Travellers,
Thank you for continuing to support us through our development process. We are continuing to add followers and want to thank all the assorted Traveller pages on Facebook for sharing our updates and getting more fans on board. This is just a small update to let everyone know where we are at, but also where we are heading.
Our IT guy, Mark, has been spending the last few weeks on networking. He has been testing multiple characters in the same scene and ensuring that they are going to work independently in our demo. He has also been working with a voice server to get the lines of communication open during gameplay. His longer-term goals are to create a chat area and lobby as well as access to library data at the touch of a button. We are currently operating on our own server and will have this available once it comes time for a demo. Mark has been great with keeping morale up and is truly excited to get others involved in our project.
Our Creative Director, Mike, has moved away from terrains and is starting to work on character design. A writer by trade, Mike has impressed us all with his ability to learn new software and really get in deep to minute details. As we mentioned a few months ago, he was working with Blender to color ships and place them into the universe that we are looking to portray. Now, he has added MakeHuman to his repertoire, and is currently working on some variations of the humanoid races. He has also been designing space clothing to ensure a realistic approach to the everyday wear a Traveller can expect to have. This is just the beginning for his creative process and as we move along you will see many of his designs prominently featured.
I myself have been working with animations in Unity. It has been a difficult process for someone who little to no experience within a game world, but things are moving along. I know that we are in the deep end as far as video game design goes, but that does not deter me. I have been able to determine the basics and am starting to work off these as building blocks in the character animation process. You need to learn how to swim somehow, so jumping into the deep end is just as good of place as any to start. I have learned throughout these last 18 months that yes, we are in the deep end, but you can step back and look at priorities once you are there. This has been essential in maintaining morale but also keep long-term goals in mind. This is a large project, but it is not impossible.
Our Founder, Paul, continues to look a few steps ahead in the project. His main focus has now become the User Interface. If anyone out there knows Unity, you will understand that this area is just as important as the main content creation. It seems like everything falls under the UI when dealing with maps, menus, and all the small details. He has also been designing the Game Master interface, which is going to make Traveller MMORPG unique. This is going to take some time, but this is what we hope is the feature that sets this game apart from the MMORPGs that are out there today. Each conversation I have with Paul reassures me that this is a game LaGrange Game Studios is going to be proud to present.
Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more information. We will be making updates to our main pages on the website as well and will be adding photos of our concept art and some in-game shots as they come along. It pleases me to see that there are new people being added to Traveller groups on Facebook daily, along with some new groups, and hope that we can have that kind of traffic one day. One thing that I have learned about the Traveller community is that they are loyal, and I hope LGS and Traveller MMORPG can earn your loyalty as well.
