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As stated in the previous blog, I’ve been working on a making of for Gladiator Trials II starting when I first had the idea of the game (back in 2004) to the current version available today. I hope it will be an interesting read to both those who enjoy the game and anyone who is involved in game development. I originally intended to do a simple postmortem, but felt I could do a bigger job and hopefully include much more value than a postmortem can achieve.
http://www.gladiatortrials2.com/makingof
Feel free to comment on the blog, forum or via email about the first chapter. I won’t hold any dates to when the rest will be finished just yet, but I’ll be sure to update on the progress from time to time on the blog.

In other news I’ve updated the Gladiator Trials II manual to reflect the changes from v1.2 and included some minor updates here and there. I’m working on getting the rest of the manual completed, hopefully the basic and advance sections will be completed in the next few weeks.

And now the mac port has been released for Gladiator Trials II v1.2.0, bringing with it all the changes from the windows version.Gladiator Trials II Important Links:

Download Mac OSX Demo [Here]
Purchase Full Version [Here]

 I’ve finally started work on the GTII postmortem, although it’s more than just a simple postmortem as it goes through the history of the game from it’s beginnings back in 2004 to the latest version 1.2.0. I’m not sure when it’ll be completed, but it’ll span quite a few pages of text and come with alot of screenshots ranging from the very first mockup’s and many unreleased screenshots showing off the game during it’s development, to what it is today. I’ll be sure to post a sneak preview sometime in the next week or two for those interested, and keep everyone updated on how it’s progressing.

Lastly, many are probably wondering what I am working on now. Well I can’t reveal any specific game details, but I have decided to change my programming engine and move into the realm of 3D. I just recently decided on my toolset and so it’ll take a few weeks getting used to it before I actually start coding anything new. Currently I have two game designs that I am deciding on, once I pick one I will start blogging alot more about the game for those eager for new details.

Head on over to the forum for the full change log.

It’s been alot of hard work getting this update done, especially with the sharp decline of free time, but it’s finally ready. I hope everyone enjoys the changes, remember to tell your friends and family, better yet pass on a copy of the demo for them to enjoy… oh and don’t forget to buy your copy as well, to support a struggling indie developer!

For now, it’s time to do a little marketing.

Gladiator Trials II Important Links:
Download Windows Demo [Here]
Purchase Full Version [Here]

Great progress over the last few days, so much that I can safely announce a release within the next couple of days! That’s right, version 1.2 of Gladiator Trials II is being released in only a few more days which also means the special pricing of $19.95 won’t last much longer.

A sneak peak at the new Arena GUI has arrived, check out the screenshot below

Arena GUI
As you can see, the spells are now visible for the current Gladiator at all times, as well as the name, health and mana of said Gladiator. Hovering over a spell will produce detailed information about the spell in the bottom right corner. The name of the current tier is also visible just below the arena. The combat log has been improved, as you can see it now logs details like a Gladiator casting a spell or defending (and in italics), this really helps during those action-heavy moments.

Some little tidbits about what’s changed gameplay wise:

Camp Game Speed
The game speed options are now Pause, Play and Fast (no more “faster” option). Play is now 25% faster while the Fast speed is actually 20% faster than the recently removed “faster” option.. Confused? To put it another way, the game can now be played 20% faster than all previous versions!

Combat Speed
Now the options range from 1 - 3 (was 0 - 4) , with 1 being 2x faster movement speeds than the old 0(zero) speed setting and 3 being around the speed level of the old 2. To make this less confusing, again just remember the game will play slightly faster than before and from testing this is a good thing

Bread and Water
The bread and water storage capacity was increased for the Inn, Bakery and Well, as well as the amount of thirst quenched from each unit of water. This helps push more of the attention towards the fun parts of the game, the Gladiators.

Building
Not only has the speed of the game increased, but now buildings will build instantly. No more waiting for a certain building to be built, just select the area and it’s ready to go!

Unfortunate Casualties
There were two features that I was hoping to include but have since fallen to the side due to time constraints. The first is the new slave market, which was meant to be changed to a community camp site, and the second was the arena entrance being called from clicking on an object. The clickable object seemed a little too confusing during playtesting, so instead the GUI was designed with the central point being a larger Arena button. Both features weren’t critical or high on the importance list, and I do believe they added little value when compared to the dozens of changes that did make it.

Release Date
The latest date of release will be Sunday (27th), if the testing phase goes without a hitch it should arrive sooner than that. Again, you will need to visit the official site (or this blog) in order to obtain the update due to the server change issues with the Launcher update feature.

Just wanted to do a quick update, this time the new title screen. As mentioned, every aspect of the game has been touched upon in the upcoming 1.2 update for Gladiator Trials II. The Title screen has seen some nice graphical improvements, it doesn’t affect the gameplay but I feel it does affect the overall look and mood of the game in a positive way

The Arena screen is coming along nicely, and everything looks set for a late Jan/early Feb release!

Progress is happening with the next major update to Gladiator Trials II. The GUI and it’s layout has been finalized, which means it won’t be too long before the update is released. I just need to fix some minor layout problems and a couple known bugs for the camp screen, the arena screen needs the most work. Spells for the current Gladiator will now be shown without needing to click the spellbook, and a visual list of both Gladiators and Opponents will be shown on either side of the screen.

I have included a sneak peak at the new Camp GUI, this is very close to what the final version will look like. I will have a preview of the new Arena GUI next week and my current estimate for the release of version 1.2 is Early February.

 I have left the large $10 discount for the full version of Gladiator Trials II until the release of the update. So if your holding out on the full version of GTII for version 1.2 its a little incentive to purchase it now!

On a small note, I have noticed there has been troubles with the internet update/news feature for GTII’s launcher. I believe its due to a server change, and will ensure this is fixed for the next update. I will just have to supply a link to the update on the main site (and in this blog), so please don’t rely on the “check for updates via the internet” setting in the launcher.

This is still a little rough and some elements are missing or incomplete, but it gives you an idea of what the new GUI will look like in the version 1.2 update. And yes, the resolution has been increased to 1024×768!

To celebrate the holiday season, I decided to drop a further 20% off the price of Gladiator Trials II. You can now buy the full version for only $19.95, saving a whole $10 off the original price of $29.95.

This special will only last until the end of December, so hurry up and grab your copy today!

I recently updated the windows demo version to fix a few minor bugs. Including the incorrect reporting of the game ending when finishing the tutorial. There was no build change, as I didn’t have the time to produce updates and notifications sorry.

I recently changed servers and for a couple of days had some problems getting everything up and running. Hopefully everything is back to normal now :)  If anyone tried to contact me via email in the last week it might be best to re-send it, as it may not have reached me.

I’ll have more news regarding Gladiator Trials II in the next few weeks, progress is coming along on the new update.

I missed last weeks update, and this week I will explain why. Unfortunately due to the low sales of Gladiator Trials II, I’ve had to take an offer for full-time work to support myself. While I am not abandoning GTII, I won’t have as much free time to work on it as before. I will try to give updates as to the progress, but at this stage I don’t expect the 1.2 update to be done by this year.

I’m still trying to perfect the look and feel of the new interface, so there’s no screenshot this time.  But I can reveal some more information, this time about the stat changes to your slaves.

New Wage Stat
Instead of slaves losing happiness when they gain a level, they will now have a wage stat. This will go from 0% to 100% based on how much your slave is currently earning. As he gains levels, the wage stat will decrease, until you cave in and give him a rise.

Happiness
Happiness is now calculated by combining the Hunger, Thirst, Fatigue and the new Wage stat. Instead of being a stat itself, its just the overall level of all the previous stats mentioned. In order to increase happiness, you need to ensure the stats are all 100%.
Happiness now also has an effect on the slaves performance. A lower happiness level means the slave will not perform his task as efficiently as possible.

Stat Bars
All stats now work the same in regards to what is best and what is worst. Having 100% in Hunger, Thirst and Fatigue is now desired, while 0% means they are starving/thirst or tired. This ensures that all of the visual status bars act the same, avoiding any possible confusion.

Almost every aspect of the game is being touched in this update, so it’s a big task to complete. I’m not going to give an estimated time frame for completion this time, since I am unsure as to how much time I can dedicate. But being my first game, I don’t want to simply ignore it as I do believe with the right tweaks it could be a much better game. It’s just hiding under some bad design choices