DINOX World Beta is live and going strong with over 7,000 hours played and 5,000+ DAU (daily active) players already. So we’re introducing a new, insider-style article series to give our community some behind-the-scenes info about what we’re up to with game development! We plan to make this an ongoing series, where we highlight less of our long-term goals and more of what we’ve already done & what we’re working on right now.
In this Game Dev Update, we’ll break it down into two main parts: Bugs & Error Fixes and Game Design. Bugs & Error Fixes will detail some of what our amazing community of Beta testers has discovered and how we are fixing them. Game Design will explore how we’re improving the gameplay, design, and feel of DINOX World.
Bugs & Error Fixes
Since the launch of Open Beta, our community of testers has helped us find and fix many bugs and issues already. Here are some that we’ve mostly fixed (can’t say 100% fixed as they still occur sometimes).
- Backlog of Resource earnings not being sent to players quickly
- Login errors that prevent players from starting
- Wallet connect issues
- Game freezing during battles
- …and a bunch of smaller errors as well
There are some issues that keep coming up which require multiple fixes and several things we are aware of and working on improving right now.
- Server Validation Error
- The way in which our backend connects to the blockchain can take a few seconds. However, if it takes longer than 5 seconds, we get the “server validation error”
- We’re working on a fix for this, either lengthening the time (which could have other issues) or another workaround are both being explored
- When this error happens, energy is taken away from the player without them ever playing the Encounter. We’re working on a fix to give that energy back - Multi-Accounts Fix
- We are aware that there are people who would love to exploit our systems! We’re taking the necessary steps to fix these issues promptly - Smoother Login Process
- Refactoring
- Improving our code’s readability, functionality, and the game’s performance. Adding new features and fixing bugs will be faster and easier in the future thanks to refactoring - Memory Optimization
- Stopping any lag of Resources or issues with backed communication with blockchain to fix problems with Resources not being delivered right away
Game Design
Fixing bugs & errors is only part of the process! We also are constantly working on improving the design, gameplay, and overall “feel” of the game. You may have noticed some design changes in the latest versions of DINOX World such as:
- Redesigned the “dinosaur details” and the “my dinosaurs” pages, making it much clearer to the player and cooler looking
- Reworked the dino health bars and base stat indicators (DMG & HP)
- Display Skills/Action Cards when clicking on dinos in battle (both a player’s own dinos & their enemies)
We’re working on several game design features right now that we know players are going to love! Here are several new visual improvements and design changes that were just launched or will be coming soon:
- Valentine’s themed visuals
- Polishing the login screen design
- Additional battle screen improvements
- Health display
- Action Card/Skills display - Adjustments to the “feel” of the game so that players have
- A clearer understanding of the damage taken and dished out on the battlefield
- A more natural feeling to the battles themselves - Dino Animations
- We know this is highly anticipated and are working hard to ensure the animations look impressive before launching them in the game
In addition to design features, we also work hard on gameplay elements as well. Just a few things in the works right now include:
Game Balance Refinement
- Difficulty: We’ve heard the community say that the difficulty is too high for players to continuously progress through the game and are working on a fix for this.
- Energy: We’re watching the energy consumption of players closely and working on ways to properly balance consumption with the ability to play for extended periods of time.
- Resources: We’re analyzing data from players to determine a balance of the Resources gained by defeating Encounters.
Of course, one constant is the field of data analysis. We’ll always be analyzing mounds of information, both in-game and out, in order to optimize the potential and player enjoyment of the game. Most recently we’re looking at things like how long it takes to win an Encounter, do players win more with NFT dinos, or with mostly starter dinos, at which level do they get stuck, etc.
Outside of the game, our devs are also working on many features that will benefit the community! Some things we’re about to launch are:
- HODL-to-Buy whitelist
- Pack opening event
- Land Sale on a few other platforms
- Land Sale on our own Portal
- Single Staking for $DNXC (with small bonuses when you hold a dino NFT)
- …and a whole lot more!
We hope you like these development updates and we’ll have more coming your way soon!
