Milestone “Alpha-Test-Ready” Reached! (DevBlog #29)

Today, I finished the last remaining features for release 0.5.0.0 of Network Traders. When I defined this milestone more than one year ago, this was what I wanted to have for my Early Access or “Alpha” release. Well, I got impatient and went into Early Access in September already, but here it finally is: a major milestone on my long indie dev journey!

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DevBlog: Three new Buildings in Release 0.4.5

So far, only one type of building was available in Network Traders. With the latest release 0.4.5 (“base buildings”) this Friday I added three new buildings which represent three more categories. These are transport capacity (basket maker), trade route information (town hall), and information gathering (tavern). Read on for more information on how these new buildings play together.

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DevBlog: The Merchants in Network Traders

As I outlined in The Idea behind Network Traders, the core mechanic of the game are merchants that travel from one device to the next. The concept is simpler as it may sound, but requires some explaining nevertheless. So please bear with me while I explain.

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DevBlog: Major Game Server Rework

Any new technology you have not used before is a potential risk to your game project. One such risk in Network Traders was the transition of merchants from player to player via Bluetooth. I meant this to be a central mechanic, but tried it much too late, only to find out that it is not stable enough. So I had to reconsider, redesign, and rework the trading mechanism, relying much more on the game server. In a way I have now left the prototype phase behind with this major rework being finally done.

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DevBlog: Why early Play-Testing is so important

Anytime I read about game design and development, the importance of early play-testing is pointed out. Show your game to your friends and listen attentively to what they say. This is a short anecdote of how this was proven right for me and Network Traders. It is about using Bluetooth again, but also about how critically people may react to something unforseen.

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DevBlog: A Bluetooth Novice’s Tale

Once upon a time not so long ago there was a not-so-young programmer. He thought, “let’s make a game where people connect their smartphones via Bluetooth to trade with each other”. And so he went on a perilous adventure with many loops and turns where in the end, the simplest solution won out.

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