Yep, we’re getting closer to the testing phase. Currently i’m working on the game while at the same time doing some basic testing in the real environment. It’s more boring than you might think. Doing multiplayer network code testing in one person, having to play as both sides at the same time lacks any kind of suspence:). Non the less, I was able to fix a lot of bugs thanks to this. Basic single player testing will be next. When done with that, a new internal beta version will see the light and from there its a straight way to releasing the first real public beta (demo was just a demo). Here’s a screen of some stuff that was implemented recently. Actually two things. The grayed out terrain, which servers as a kind of a border which you cannot enter, and a strange thing that looks like a cabbage. What is the ‘cabbage’ thing? Take a guess.

snakeman_uptonogood

The culprit responsible for it stands next to it. As for the grayed out terrain. Its a very cool addition. First of all, maps will no longer simply go black when you’re out of tiles, like when you would be on the edge of a flat world. Now there is something in between. Another major function is limiting absurdity of standing close to the edge of the map. For example when you throw a grenade, and it lands just one tile away from the enemy, but it so happens that the tile is already outside the map. In normal circumstances you should score a hit from the explosion. Here however, without the introduction of grayed out terrain, the grenade would vanish. That’s not cool. So the grayed terrain serves as a kind of a buffor. Its perfectly damagable, you can do whatever you want with it – except to walk into it (therefore it does not expand the region on which the battle takes place).