Suppose you're trying out a new game, and it crashes on startup or one minute into the game. The likelihood you're going to tell this to the developer and help them is probably below 0.1%.
Many developers are of course fine with their games crashing. If you're just developing freeware for your own fun, it might not matter if the game doesn't work on every last machine. As for me, I'm determined to fix all of the errors I possibly can.
So to this end, I implemented an error log sending system into Driftmoon. If the game crashes, the game will ask whether you allow it to send me a report of the error. Basically it will try to log where in the game code the crash happened, but it doesn't of course tell me what you did to crash the game. So telling me what happened is still extremely helpful!
The server collects your IP number so I can identify which reports belong to the same computer. I take privacy seriously, so I'm the only one who can access them. As for user created mods crashing, I'm still debating whether to allow mod makers to get access to crashes in their own mods.
With the automated update system this should allow me to quickly react to any crashing errors I happen to forget in the game. This will be especially useful for all of you mod makers, since modders will use the game in ways I didn't originally intend - now instead of going around the problem you can report it to me and hope to get a fix not only for you, but also for your players.
When testing the new starting level in Driftmoon I ran straight past an important key. I obviously placed it better, but I got to thinking of how I could make the items more visible while keeping everything graphically consistent. And then I deviced this!
That's correct, there are little sparks flying off the items. In the screenshot they're pretty hard to see, but when they're animated, you're bound to find the loot! Another nice thing comes from this, it's also easier to notice items in dark rooms:
As you can see I haven't changed the shirt for the main character yet, it's still on my todo list. Anne is always telling me to change my clothes more often, but he's had this shirt for over a year now - it's literally starting to grow on him. 
Those of you who have tried the map editor tool in the Driftmoon Preview will know that making joined walls is difficult. Say, for example that you needed to build a house with walls that don't have any visible gaps in the corners. You were forced to zoom in and position the wall points really carefully, and you still ended up with gaps sometimes.
That's all past now with the new Snap function! Any time you're moving a vertex you can hold shift to make it snap to the nearest point. It can even snap to an edge, in case you need to join something to the middle of a wall. Holding shift will now also show you the nearest walls with that nice magenta color, very useful in crowded areas.
This week we got a chance to talk with Gareth Meek, the musical prodigy behind Driftmoon's soundtrack.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
How did you hear about Driftmoon?
What is your main ambition?
What are your main influences?
What are your favourite instruments?
Do you have musical education? What instruments are you able to play and have in your collection right now?
Where do you find your inspiration?
I think the fact that I live very close to the a forest and can walk in it whenever I need always help. Also listening to other composers works helps, along with being exposed to any form of story dealing with myth, magic or fantasy whether that story be in book, game or film, my personal favourite being that of The Lord Of The Rings. I also have a very over active imagination which tends to conjure up stories, pictures and ideas which really helps the process of composing.What's your process of creating a new composition, and what tools do you use?
). Other times I come up with an idea on the piano or guitar be it melody or progression and just extend that. One device I often use though is coming up with a story to write about also, if I am already writing for a story like that in a game or film, I shall try to place myself in that world to help me write. However, sometimes I sit at my piano and have to work out an idea over several hours or even days, it’s worth it though. As for the tools that I compose with I use my digital piano and guitar along with Pro Tools, various synthesisers and orchestral samplers.Could you estimate an average time you spend for creating a single composition?
How long have you been making music?
What kinds of music will we hear in Driftmoon?
At the moment I am trying to compose music that conjures up thoughts of a fantastic world that is very natural and organic sounding but also grand and powerful. I think some of the music could be akin to that of what you hear in the great old Walt Disney films like Snow White.Have you given thought to possibly putting together a Driftmoon soundtrack?
What kinds of computer games do you like? Do you have any all time favourites?
Do you have other hobbies or interests besides music & composing?
Finally, do you have anything you would like to add?
We're inventing weapons for the game. My current plan is that all weapons are unique, and have some sort of a history or at least hint to a story of where the weapon came from.
Basically we're trying to come up with cool names, and I'm going to implement and draw those that I can. If you have that weird fantasy weapon floating in your brain, why don't you tell us your invented weapon in the comments and maybe it'll get in the game! If you have a description for the weapon as well, all the better!
Mostly there will be one handed melee weapons, so I'm prioritizing those. Here are some from Anne's current list:
- Butcher's meat hook
- Silver Gauntlet
- Bonehammer
- The Guardian of Hope
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