General Updates & Banter
- The team experienced UI changes in the stage/audience interface, requiring new steps to speak on stage.
- Casual discussion about health and Thanksgiving gatherings.
Leagues Feature (Elias)
- Concept: A competitive, weekly league system where in-game actions earn points. Players fight bots to promote through divisions, with eventual rewards.
- Structure:
- 11-week seasons.
- Multiple leagues, each with 3 divisions (total of ~33 divisions).
- Points-based for characters under level 10; leaderboard-based for higher levels.
- Top league is called "Kill" league, expected to be highly competitive with promotion/demotion.
- Timeline: Not coming in the next chapter (starting February). Targeted for the chapter after (May) for more polish and testing.
- Current Feedback & Development:
- Generally positive on the "passive promotion" feel, encouraging play.
- Actively discussing how to integrate Factions into leagues (e.g., faction competitions for points, scaled rewards).
- Team is adding stat tracking to analyze current Faction engagement (e.g., pet feeding, kitchen use) to inform design.
- Acknowledged that Factions might not ultimately fit into leagues; still exploring.
- Mentioned the successful "Goblin War" event as a model for occasional, high-engagement faction competition.
Backend & Infrastructure (Craig)
- Login Method Cleanup: Upgrading backend infrastructure.
- Removing login via WeChat and FSL due to extremely low usage (<1% of players).
- Affected players will be guided to link a wallet before these methods are disabled (planned for the following Tuesday).
- Blockchain Investigation: Researching the TOM Network for potential token integration, noting it's technically different from Ethereum-based chains like Polygon.
Frontend & Features (Developer)
- Frontend Upgrade: Successfully migrated to React 19 and implemented the React compiler for significant performance gains (reduces unnecessary re-renders).
- New Feature - Plaza Interactions:
- Developing a system for players to interact directly in the plaza (e.g., wave, dance).
- Goal is to add life and socialization without being intrusive or interrupting gameplay flow.
- Early prototype shown (waving animation).
- Ideas include faction-specific salutes and encouraging veteran players to welcome newcomers.
- Future Ideas:
- Placing Bumpkins as decorations on your farm.
- Adding more ambient animations to NPCs and the plaza world.
- A "wall art" or pixel painting feature for houses, similar to tile design.
Other Topics & Notes
- Team is preparing for a new hire starting the following week.
- Elias will be on vacation for about 1.5 weeks.
- Brief off-topic discussion about the game "Rare Crows" and its launch/mechanics.
- The team reminisced about the past "Goblin War" event, highlighting its success as a limited-time, high-burn engagement driver.