Blog

Build 154 released!

Added a “Basics & Building” tutorial. This is something everyone starting with KAG should play first. Something like this might be mandatory to pass through in the future so that new players don’t spoil the fun for people already playing.

Fixed numerous most critical bugs. Please report if any of the mentioned bugs still remain.

Beware griefers! Mods can now freeze you by pointing at you with the mouse cursor and pressing [F3]. If you didn’t do anything illegal you can explain yourself during this time.

Changes 151-154:

– added “Basics & Building” tutorial
– added password prompt in server browser
– added moderator key [F3] to freeze a player
– fixed map tile desynchronization on game join
– fixed chat console not scrolling when joined game
– added infinite resources on warmup
– lowered amount of resources on round start (100 wood and stone)
– lowered amount of wood falling out of destroyed catapult or tent to 30
– builder automatically picks up stone and wood parts
– fixed castle background blocks requiring support
– fixed /kickid names display on Linux
– removed clantag brackets (default name separator is space; other chars can act as separator)
– cannot pull catapult while holding [F]
– fixed minimap dissapearing on death
– dedicated_autostart.cfg and mapcycle.cfg don’t get autoupdated
– fixed server map preview memory leak

Hotfix released:
– fixed 4 crash reasons

One “KAG Day”

I might or might not do this monthly or quarterly or whatever to see how everything changes over time. Here’s the rundown on new user registrations and total user logins per hour over one day recently:

(click for full size image)

That is what happened in KAG last Thursday. I picked Thursday because it marked the start of how the game’s population seems to be progressing – the day before had a large jump in registrations (see the log graph preview on the first graph above!) – and every day since then has been roughly the same in terms of activity both in registrations and activity (if you look closely you’ll see a higher volume over the weekend with some interesting spikes, but it looks to be continuing roughly the same)

User logins seem to peak around 2-4PM in a “KAG Day” (wherever that is) which is slightly after the peak in registrations. A “Dead” period (server population likely lower than 50) occurs from 11PM to 11AM.

By the sound of things the peak is probably when France does most of its gaming, which would overlap considerably with the rest of Europe. It seems to me that we don’t yet have as much of a presence as we could in the US, as logins are low apart from the EU spike. So, if you’re in the US, feel free to tell everyone you know good things about this game 😉 We could do with evening this graph out a little, I think.

…That’s more or less all I wanted to say about the stats we have at hand (we also have cumulative registrations and are looking into logging more so we can learn more about when/how you guys play), I hope someone gains some insight from this – see you all for more chatter about blue lines in a month or so!

Keep your eyes on the blog for some gameplay (and premium) related content coming soon!

Geti

“New Server Browser” build released!

Besides tweaking some things, improving the auto-updater and fixing bugs we have now a completely NEW SERVERS BROWSER!

Includes:

• pinging (sorting closest server)
• map preview (check and see what is going on the server before joining)
• sorting by map size
• better view of locked and full servers

Attention knights! You can’t destroy now castle backgrounds with a normal hit and you can’t destroy your teams open doors. This is to prevent random damage when fighting inside your castle. You’ll need a full slash to destroy the castle back wall.

Changes 142-151:
– new server browser
– server pinging
– server minimap preview
– optimized GUI rendering
– max server name length added
– server info limited to 144 chars
– client disconnects with message when trying to enter full server
– autoupdater reads another download URL if first one fails
– precache.txt doesn’t update in autoupdater
– block cursor always shows for archer & knight
– knight can’t destroy team open door
– knight can destroy castle background only with slash
– changed default team switch button to ALT

Alpha Funding on Desura!

King Arthur’s Gold is now officially part of the alphafunding program on the games distribution channel Desura. Alphafunding (or crowd funding) is a way for independent game developers to create their games without being dependent on a publisher that pays salaries. These games are only for you, players. Once you pay for them, you can play the alpha version and when the full version is complete you get it first! The main benefit is that you get the game now for significantly less money than when it’s done.

We’re honored to be in a group of 5 awesome games.
Definitely try out the other games!

Hello new players!

We’ve got a new online record!

We have a massive spike of new players. Where are you people coming from? Stats engine hasn’t logged it yet.

If you’re new, here are the most important things in the KAG community:

http://kagforum.com – Forums where we hang out, discuss, add ideas, ask to solve problems

http://kagwiki.com – Everything you want to know about the game

Suggestions

KAG is in alpha phase and it is funded by players. If you want to check the roadmap where this game is heading checkout this page and definitely this page.

Server browser inbound?

Server browser inbound. Includes:

• Sorting options
• Ping checking
• Map preview
• Player counts
• Simple Bookmarking
• A few other misc usability-wise useful things (game mode and password indicators)

Also likely included around the same time:

• BLD
• TDM

The full gui overhaul will need to wait, but this should make finding a game simpler. Should be around by this weekend.

Geti

Build 142 hotfix

Available on auto-update. Please note that some fixes require servers to restart.

– fixed emoticon bubbles not working on other players
– fixed kill feed truncating names to 1 character
– fixed main menu disappearing on player death
– fixed server links authentication eg. kag://127.0.0.1:50301

What’s next

I was away for a couple days but now am back in business, ready to work with new ideas! It seems people are grabbing the premium edition like hot buns. This is really cool because we’ve got more motivation to finish it faster and make it even more awesome. There are some things though we need to fix to make the ordering process more clear and quicker.

KAG is steadily becoming really popular. I really need to make a proper server browser now since 25 servers is a hassle to browse right now. So that’s on my todo list.

I want to make the bomb workshop soon, since I feel the game needs that right now.

Also a builder tutorial is missing.

That’s all for now, we’ll keep you updated with the latest news. So subscribe to the feed or just drop in here later.

MM

Build 142 released!

Just a quick patch fixing most important issues cause I’ll be gone until next week. Attending Game Developers Conference in Poland (http://zjazdtworcowgier.pl/)

MM

Changes 137-142:

– fixed crash after too many objects
– ladders and castle background need support when building horizontally
– bombs just damage dirt blocks instead of destroying

Premium KAG and The Future.

We figured we should shed some light on where we’re going with KAG. As such, hit the jump for a rough roadmap of where we want to go (it has pictures!)

French translation / Française

What is coming next?

New game modes:

• Team Deathmatch

  – Quick, to the point combat without any extra objectives.

• Creative Mode

  – For all those Minecrafters out there that want to construct castles in a peaceful environment.

• Tutorial / Challenges

  – Mini games that allow you to practice your sword or archery skills by shooting at apples, trees, ducks or bison, as well as helping new players find their feet in-game.

New constructions:

• Giant Boulder – did you watch Indiana Jones? You will be able to make a giant boulder to crush your foes
• Bomb Workshop – a castle room that allows the construction of bombs.
• Quarters – castle room used for spawning and healing.
• New contraption and room construction mechanics.

• Modifications to how the current castles function as well as Wooden buildings!

• More varied vegetation.

• New semi-procedural epic soundtrack by David Pencil (composer of Penny Arcade)
• GUI improvements including a better server browser
• BISON

What’s coming in KAG Premium?

Even more game modes!

• 
  

  WAR

  Each team has a small wooden castle consisting of a spawn point “hall” room on start. Over the course of the game teams construct forts and outposts and push forwards to raid each other’s constructions. If all of one team’s spawn points have been destroyed and all team’s players are killed the attacking team wins. NOTE: This game will represent a culmination of a lot of other work, as it’ll introduce RTS elements. Mainly rooms, a complex inventory system, and many more items.

• 
  

  ZOMBIES

  (can be played in single player mode) One survivor or team builds a fort for the upcoming Army of the Dead invasion. The goal is to survive as long as possible. Continually repair defenses and fight the undead!

• 
  

  “Mongolian Horde”

  A spin on the survival mode where the attacking team has more advanced AI and uses the player classes. They’ll be able to find paths, dig, use archers and lay siege to your castle in a more articulate way.

Now, let’s break down WAR mode because we feel that this is the most valuable part of paid KAG:

• Day/Night cycle

  – There will be time and a time limit in the game. It will be indicated by the change of lighting in the game. Battles at sun dawn or at night with full starry night are coming. This won’t be just a gimmick because fighting at night will add fog of war allowing for sneak attacks under cover.

• Siege Towers

• Siege Workshop

  – allow the construction of movable classic medieval siege machines, including Battering Ram, Canopy and Ballista!

• Upgrade Bomb Workshop to Demolition Workshop to build Powder Kegs for massive wall destruction!

• Items and Workshops

  – Construct chests which can store larger quantities of materials – Food: Roast Meat and Turnip, Bread, Boiled eggs, Cakes, Soups, Potions… – Create bowls for food & potion making, boulder, statue and a vases for ornamentation

• Animals

1. What you see on the picture above plus:
2. Rabbits – fast; must be hunted down by archer
3. Firefly – lights up dark caves

• Single-player challenges

  Custom maps and campaigns for offline play.

• Gold Servers Access – gold servers are servers that only allow premium players to play. This means more friendly, more cooperative and griefer free games.
• Avatar customization – heads, hats and haircuts! this will affect both in game appearance and potentially appearance in the chat presentation:

• Multiplayer Map Editor – that’s right. One of the very few in existence real-time, multiplayer map editors. This means you can edit maps in collaborative mode with friends.
• Honorable community membership – all premium players names are yellow and have a star next to their name on every server (free & premium) on the scoreboard
• Access to hidden section of Official KAG Forums
• SNES mode! – turn your hardware into an old NTSC TV and a Super Nintendo. Also with 8-bit sounds!
  

• Most importantly, you’ll be supporting independent game development and ensuring we get some return for our work, so you can sleep easy 😉

If you want to get in early and beat the slow increase in price over time:

BUY THE GAME HERE