Dev Blog #33 - Community Update

Hello again, Survivors! We hope you have been enjoying the on-going Halloween events and the Halloween items so far. We’re ready to bring some new Community Server features with this upcoming update - read through the Dev Blog to know what’s coming in this month’s update.

KITS

KIT VENDING MACHINES AND KIT PURCHASING

We are excited to introduce a new type of Vending Machine designed specifically for kits. These machines will be easily identifiable by their red colour, and their location on the map will be marked with a yellow icon for quick reference. Server Owners and Admins can spawn these Kit Vending Machines in-game.

Players can interact with the Kit Vending Machines just like regular ones. Upon accessing, they will see a list of available kits, including each kit's name, icon, and description. Please note that certain kits may be restricted based on player authorization levels. For example, kits assigned to the “Mod” authorization level will not be accessible to players with lower permissions.

Additionally, there is a 5-second cooldown between purchases. Players will not be able to complete a purchase if they do not have enough space in their inventory to accommodate the kit.

KIT CREATION AND MANAGEMENT

Server Owners and Admins will have full control over creating and managing kits, either through existing commands or the newly introduced UI. They can create kits, assign names, add icons, and provide detailed descriptions. Kits can contain any combination of gear, weapons, items, etc. Once created, a kit can either be made available for purchase in the Kit Vending Machine or distributed to specific players or authorised groups.

When configuring kits for sale in Vending Machines, the following options are available:

• For Sale: Determines if a specific kit will be available for purchase in the Vending Machine.

• Kits Amount: Sets the maximum number of a specific kit available for sale (this can be set to infinite).

• Kit Restock Amount: Specifies the quantity of the kit added to the Vending Machine each time the restock timer completes.

• Kit Restock Timer: Defines the time interval before restocking the kit in the Vending Machine (can be set in days, hours, minutes, and/or seconds).

• Acquisition per Player: Limits the maximum number of a specific kit that a player can purchase (this can also be set to infinite).

• Acquisition Cooldown: Sets the cooldown time a player must wait after reaching the maximum allowed purchases for that kit.

• Currency Item: Specifies the type of currency required to buy the kit.

• Currency Amount: Determines the amount of currency needed to purchase the kit.

Additionally, Admins and Owners can manage kit visibility in the shop by adjusting the ‘Visibility’ setting, and can also restrict kit sales to certain authorization levels.

The WIKI has been updated to reflect the recent changes, these features will only become available with the release of update 2.4, releasing with the monthly wipe on October 31st.

SERVER TAGS

TAGS

To make server types easily identifiable and prevent the use of misleading tags in server names, we’ve introduced Server Tags for Community Servers. These tags are automatically applied based on how the Owner or Admin has configured the server. For example, if the PvP & PvB commands are enabled (or both of the GPORTAL options are active), the server will automatically be tagged as PvE. Not every command has an associated tag, but we’ve selected the ones that players are most likely to want to see or search for. These tags will be displayed in a specific order on the server list and during the loading screen.

FILTERING

We've revamped the server filtering system to make searching for servers easier. In addition to the existing filtering options, we've introduced a new panel that allows players to search by Server Tags. Players can now open the filtering menu and seamlessly switch between the more general filter options and the new tags panel.

LOADING SCREEN

We've also revamped the loading screens to now display Server Tags, giving players a clear view of the most important tags for the servers they are joining while they load into the server.

SERVER PREVIEW PANE

In addition to the server's title and description, which are editable via GPortal, the Preview Pane will now showcase all the automatically assigned Server Tags.

For easier navigation, the tags are organised into two categories: gameplay and monument tags.

SCHEDULE COMMANDS

This new feature allows for pre-scheduling of commands, making it easier to automate server management tasks. It supports multiple commands, with a focus on managing in-game chat communications on Community Servers and scheduling Custom Zones to create raid windows. More information is available on the WIKI.

ONGOING HALLOWEEN EVENTS

The Halloween events are still live and will be available on Official Servers till November 7th, make the most of them before they’re gone!

Community server owners will be able to run Halloween Events on their servers even after November 7th.

Halloween Skins

Keeping in line with the Halloween spirit, brand new Halloween themed Skins will be live in the Skin Store on October 31st!

That’s a wrap for this month’s Dev Blog. Huge thanks for your ongoing support.
We can’t wait to see you explore the new Community Server features. See you on the Island!