Hello everyone!
Xyren gained a 3D World Map in July! You can explore it in your browser at the World Map, with familiar terrain, buildings and animated NPCs. Character profiles also received a fuller preview, and I continued working on mobile loading and graphics settings.
The map gives you a new way to look around the game, whether you're getting your bearings or just having a look at somewhere you haven't visited for a while. I'm pleased to have a more useful place for that on the website.
Take a Look Around
The World Map lets you move around a 3D view of Xyren, with scenery appearing as you explore. Buildings, textures and different floors are included, so you're able to see more than a flat outline of an area.
NPC placements appear with animated models too. These show where NPCs are placed in the world; the map isn't a live view of every fight or player. That distinction matters if you're using it to explore an area before visiting in the game.
I also corrected several texture colours and parts of the map's overview during July. Those details help familiar locations look more like the places you recognise from playing.
The viewer still needs a little time to load a new area, particularly on a first visit. A 3D map also asks more of your device than a static image, so phones and older computers may take longer to fill in the scenery.
An Easier Place to Find the Map
Older map links were brought together around the new World Map. I wanted there to be one clear destination when you chose to explore, instead of different links leading to different versions.
I also cleared some of the visual clutter from the public view. The focus is on the world itself, with enough of an overview to help you find your way before taking a closer look.
There's more to improve as people use it. A missing object, an odd colour or a location that doesn't finish loading is worth reporting, especially if you can point me to the area where it happened.
Your Character on the Website
Character profiles gained interactive full-body previews during July. You can take a fuller look at your linked character and its equipment, giving your profile something more personal than a small portrait alone.
Online-status information received a correction too, alongside improvements to the surrounding layout and text contrast. The aim was to make the page easier to read and your character easier to recognise.
Equipment and appearance are things you spend time choosing. It's nice to have more of that visible when you visit your account page, and it gives the website a closer connection to the character you actually play.
More Work on Mobile Loading
Android loading continued to receive attention. I worked on delays at startup, missing scenery and interruptions while moving between areas.
Some of the visual fixes involved scenery that spans different floors. Parts of a tree or building could disappear while the rest remained visible, making an otherwise familiar area look incomplete. Those cases received further corrections.
Animated scenery also got attention as areas changed. The aim was to keep more of the world looking complete while you moved, rather than only after you'd stopped and waited.
Mobile play still had rough edges, particularly during longer sessions and journeys through busy areas. July made progress on specific problems, with more loading work continuing into August.
Settings That Are Easier to Use
Graphics presets, shadows, bloom and water settings received another pass. I corrected controls that behaved inconsistently and improved scrolling through the settings on smaller screens.
Lighting changes included fixes for overly strong glow and for characters appearing incorrectly in shadows or reflections. These were noticeable in different places depending on your graphics choices.
Higher settings continued to have a cost, especially on phones. I wanted the controls to give you a useful choice about the appearance of the game, while continuing to improve the problems that affected ordinary play.
Other Changes
- Added animated NPC placements to the browser World Map.
- Corrected several map colours and overview details.
- Improved character-profile readability and online status.
- Fixed more cases of incomplete scenery during area changes.
- Improved settings scrolling and several graphics presets.
- Continued work on client sign-in and support improvements.
So what's next?
August's work includes more improvements to banking, mobile controls and the way client updates are presented. The World Map will keep receiving attention too. In the meantime, feel free to take a look around and let me know what you find!
All the best, Austen