Doug Binks - 03 Feb 2017
We've just stealth launched the Avoyd Editor Prototype for download, along with a purchase button for Avoyd.
From now on we'll be releasing new versions of Avoyd periodically, increasing the price as we add functionality. If you activate a purchased license key for Avoyd you'll get all the future updates we post, along with access to the multiplayer services we'll be rolling out. However for quite some time our Avoyd releases will continue to be free.
We feel this gives us and those who try out Avoyd the best balance of risk/reward. You can try Avoyd, and if you like it you can take a small risk now and buy it. As time goes on that risk will get lower as we add features and show you more about what Avoyd is, so the price will rise to reflect that.
In rough priority order our focus for development is going to be:
Avoyd Editor
Fix crashes and resolve bugs
Ease of use
New editing tools
Improve rendering
Add multiplayer editing
Avoyd Co-Op Gameplay
As we progress we'll try to flesh these plans out in more detail.
The Avoyd Editor Prototype is a voxel editor which will become the editor for making everything in the game Avoyd. Right now you can make large voxel environments using Avoyd's unique voxel style. It's designed to be fast, smooth (Avoyd is an FPS), and usable by multiple people over a network together (networking is not currently enabled, but works except for a couple of issues with undo/redo).
We've been working with concept artist Rebecca Michalak on refining the editor functionality. As a direct result we've added an arcball camera, made it possible to load/save material and atmosphere templates, improved how the tools work in continuous mode, and improved how the undo/redo system works. We still have a lot of work to do to implement everything we need, but we think the editor is functional enough right now to be usable and fun.
Check out our Avoyd Editor Playlist on Youtube for more information on how to use the editor:
In 1999-2003 we made our first iteration of the voxel game Avoyd, releasing a simple multiplayer FPS deathmatch game.
When we decided to revisit Avoyd in 2012, the larger spaces enabled by the advance of technology made it possible for us to consider more complex gameplay styles, and eventually we settled on making a co-operative FPS evolution of Avoyd. We're building on the core design: FPS combat, Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF), movement on all surfaces as well as flying, and of course since it's a First Person Editor the ability to build and destroy the environment.
Movement was an important part of the original Avoyd - your Avatar could smoothly transition from a surface at one angle to a tangential one whilst keeping your view stable and on target. Avatars could jump into an inertia-less flight mode, which was slower than surface movement to create tactical advantage from geometry. We want to extend this system to empower deep mechanical gameplay, and so will be adding movement modes with inertia which will hopefully allow skilled players to build momentum as they traverse worlds.
Avoyd games will revolve around playing worlds built in the Avoyd Editor, some by us and some by members of the community. The worlds will be populated with both enemy and friendly drones and installations. Players will strategically build, play, evolve, and change their environment to achieve their objectives (or just lark about!).
To get some more information check out our interview with Chris Priestman about Avoyd on Warpdoor.