DOFUS Unity: The World of Twelve Is Coming to Life 2023-07-15 17:30
Back to listDear adventurers of the World of Twelve,
After a few months of silence that must have been unbearable for you, we're taking advantage of the festivities sparked by Japan Expo to give you an update on the next major version of DOFUS.
Meanwhile, in Sufokia Cruz…
If you're already in the Astrub Rocky Inlet, sipping a cocktail like Goultard or completing the new achievements linked to the latest update, I suggest you take a little break and let yourself be dazzled.
Today, we'll be talking about the long-awaited port of the DOFUS game client to Unity and the many changes that will be introduced with this new version. Ready? Here we go…
Previously, on DOFUS Unity
The last time we spoke about this "little project" was all the way back in the KrosmoNote at the end of 2022. We showed you a preview of the game's performance developments and the initial in-game interface research. If you've been locked away in the Moowolf's Lair all this time, here's the first version of the interfaces we shared with you back then.
As you know, our main objective when we started this project was to significantly improve the game's performance, but also to overcome the technical constraints of Adobe Flash technology. Who would have thought at the time that animation and scripting software would have produced a game as complex as DOFUS?
With this change in technical foundation, we can now open many doors that were previously closed to us, and we intend to let you benefit from this.
During 2022, we managed to finalize the first part of this project, having succeeded in fully reproducing the existing game client in its new form. During an Ankama Live, we showed you the significant performance improvements between the current game client and the upcoming version. If, once again, you missed this information, here is the video that was shared during the livestream:
After that quick look back, and to make sure everyone is paying attention, we're now going to look… forward. Insert the tag, great things await you (us).
As you can imagine, this is one of Ankama's most ambitious projects for our historic game. Even though the team has so much to share with you about this project, we won't be able to go over all the points today. We'll be back later in the year to continue sharing progress on other things. In the meantime, we'll let you take a look at today's menu!
User Interface
To begin with, I'd like to return to a topic we already went over in the KrosmoNote, by continuing to present our work on the game's interfaces. As a reminder, we're not just talking about a mere graphical revamp here, but a major overhaul of the interface with many brand-new features.
When we designed them, we drew up a list of objectives and prerequisites we wanted to achieve with this overhaul. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the most important points:
- Rework the module system to put more emphasis on the content of the game itself.
- The interface must be fully modular and configurable based on your preferences.
- Provide an "adaptive" system to suit your needs as an adventurer (combat, exploration, farming sessions).
Character Sheet
Let's take a look at the future version of your character sheet. On this model, you can see several new features, which we'll break down into their main components.
On the left, we have the new version of the character sheet module. We wanted to significantly revamp the extensive information linked to your character's stats, offering a standard view and a more advanced one.
Information is easier to read and codified according to specific accessibility standards as well. You can view your main stats and change them dynamically whenever you like.
In the center, we also have the area where you can view your character's active equipment. There are loads of nice things to talk about. The most attentive players will immediately notice the tab system directly between Equipment and Cosmetics, but… we'll come back to that later. Older players will notice – with a touch of irony – that a certain empty block in the current in-game interfaces has vanished. We'll all miss it, won't we?
On the right, we have a new version o your characters' inventory interface. Among the most striking new features in terms of usability are a more advanced filter system, tabs for specific items based on your needs and desires, a favorites system, and multiple item selection.
Cosmetics
We know that customizing your characters is a key element that means a lot to you. As seen in the previous interface, you now have a dedicated tab for your characters' appearance.
This tab lets you manage and save appearance ensembles in the same way as equipment ensembles currently. This system completely uncouples equipment from appearance, letting you change equipment without changing your appearance, or vice versa. All customization options (titles, ornaments, auras, fatal blows, colors, etc.) have been grouped together in a single interface.
You can also view a collection interface that groups together all the cosmetic items available in the game. Just like many interface, this one also features different display modes and a comprehensive sorting and filtering system.
It should be all you need to win the Mr. and Miss World of Twelve contest no matter what!
Spell Management
Let's move on to an equally important topic for your characters: spell management! Here, all the information displayed has been redesigned and restructured. You'll be able to see how spells work, with a simple or detailed view as usual. A brand-new system for displaying this information to beginners or reminding seasoned players of it, showing spells' areas of effect, range, etc.
The interface for managing your spell variants has also been completely overhauled. This is in keeping with the idea of having different display modes, from a full view to a more macro view for the most experienced players!
Preview of Various Modules
DOFUS offers many different interfaces due to its many game systems and features. This work is still ongoing as I'm writing these lines, with ongoing integration into the future game client. I know you'll be curious to keep reading more, but I can't go into all the details here, so I'll leave you with a few images that I'm sure will make you react to other modules in the game.
Customization
Just like your characters, we know you like it when you can customize your interfaces. As mentioned above, you'll be able to save the various displays you like so you can quickly change them to suit your activity. But that's not all!
In the past, DOFUS featured a theme system in the client, enabling you to customize your game experience. So, we'll be offering various colored interface themes natively, based on your preferences, or to enhance the accessibility of in-game information. I'll let you discover our proposals, which are being tested, and get ready to make your own choice!
A Living World
Having successfully completed the first phase of the project, which involved developing the project's technical foundation, we quickly set about exploring the many possibilities that lay ahead. DOFUS boasts a great many unique markers, and the game's artistic direction offers unique and varied environments.
We wanted to preserve one of the pillars of DOFUS: its map-by-map system, which lets us offer a unique composition for each environment in the World of Twelve. Each game map is designed like a painting, to represent an idea, a place, or a setting. But despite the many settings suggested in the environments, we were never able to give free rein to our wish to really bring them to life. All that has changed now.
The World of Twelve has never been so beautiful. We hope you'll enjoy this new journey just as much as we have.
Combat Environments: Dungeons
Now that we've set our sights on bringing the World of Twelve to life, we had to do justice to the whole game. Combat is a major part of the DOFUS experience, and many of you are fans of tactical mode. That's despite it sometimes being "painful" for the art team and level designers to see so many of you using this mode.
In the case of the Kolossium, we've created dedicated maps with a "native" tactical mode in the very design of combat-oriented maps. This system makes for much nicer environments while maintaining greater clarity for your combat strategies. So, we wanted to replicate this process and apply it to all the dungeon maps in the game.
This involved many iterations and tests. We began by overhauling some of the game's iconic dungeons, such as the famous Royal Gobball's Court. This latest test, among many others, enabled us to anticipate certain issues with dungeons – both inside and outside. Without further ado, here is a quick test of the initial research.
A few iterations, weeks and months of work later, we had experimented with more diverse environments. We were able to think about how to better codify obstacles and lines of sight, and put an outline on combat maps that needed it. All we had to do then was get started…
So, it's time to show you a few examples of the future dungeon combat maps!
For the most attentive among you, please bear in mind that all the work presented here is, once again, "work in progress" and that the cells and positioning on the various maps are not final.
For some dungeon maps and especially Keepers, it's a real pleasure to be able to enjoy both the dungeon atmosphere and the clarity in managing the various fights again!
Combat Environments: World of Twelve
Once the dungeon maps had been created, along with beautiful, dynamic environments, we still had one major problem to solve in order to offer an immersive, enjoyable experience.
To date, DOFUS has shared its non-dungeon environments for two activities: exploring (or farming) and combat.
Every adventurer reading this will have already fought Will-o'-the-Wisps at the Temple of Incarnam exit… where, at the end of the fourth turn with 3 MP, you could finally land your first attack spell. Fights in environments such as cities, which are difficult to adapt to, despite transparency mode… It was never nice to fight around a building with an escapist AI, for example.
Today, we're offering you a total revamp of this experience. Each game area will now have a set of maps dedicated to environment-based combat. This comes at the cost of several thousand new maps, created specially for this purpose. But the team was really determined to offer a totally new experience.
Low-level areas will now have their own maps for a faster, more dynamic experience, taking advantage of the fact that we've completely separated the needs in terms of graphic design for environments, and the tactical part for fights, which are still DOFUS's core activity.
Rest assured – you'll still be able to view the monsters on the current maps, and you'll still use the sword to join your group's fight. We're aware of the paradox of breaking the "immersive" aspect of fighting on environment maps, but many of them aren't at all suited to combat. It's also impossible to offer a tactical alternative to the game's maps as a whole, like we were able to do with dungeons, despite our efforts and desire to do so.
Ultimately, this kind of system could open up incredible possibilities for us, especially on the technical side. To lighten the load on the game servers, it might be possible to transfer fight management to a separate server, just like how Kolossium fights are currently managed. You see where I'm going with this…
What if, tomorrow, you could joint the fight of your friend who plays on a different server from your own? It's a challenge we'd very much like to take up one day, and this kind of system could help us achieve it.
In the meantime, take a look at this test sample of these new combat maps, created specially for the occasion!
As we're well aware this is a major change in the way the game currently works, we're looking forward to reading your reactions and questions about these changes. We're convinced that even though this will greatly change your habits, the gameplay comfort is undeniable. And it's difficult – if not impossible – for DOFUS to make a strong case for its graphics with just the current tactical mode.
Orchestral Music & Dynamic Atmospheres
One final point that is also receiving a great deal of attention is the game's music and atmospheres. Once again, the new technical foundation opens up incredible new possibilities for us… Get out your headphones if you haven't already!
The game's main melodies have been completely re-recorded. Under the watchful eye and baton of Guillaume Pladys – the heroic composer who made you all whistle the Astrub theme tune (I can hear you!) – the Budapest Symphony Orchestra delivers an exceptional performance of orchestral music right in the game!
Now you can listen to the famous Astrub theme tune, enjoying the original version (which will forever remain in our hearts, like the current musical version in DOFUS Retro), while switching to the brand-new orchestral version.
If you haven't had enough yet, get out the bamboo milk, because we're taking a setting off to check out a short excerpt from the new orchestral version of the Pandala theme tune!
If you were paying attention during the video presentation of the animated environments of the World of Twelve, you might also have discovered a new theme tune for Incarnam… Yeah, hurry up and watch it again. And if you really haven't been paying attention, dear adventurers, listen closely to the dynamic atmospheres that adapt to suit the environment – they're fresh, too!
All Good Things Must Come to an End
Now it's time for me to bring things to a close and leave you with all this information. We hope you're as excited as we are to see all this coming together. That said, you'll have to be patient, as we've still got plenty of surprises in store.
See you again very soon, and I hope you have a wonderful summer!
– Logan