Last updated: Sept 8, 2025 (ET)
As we close out Q3 by starting our bug bash, we wanted to convey what has been accomplished since reopening, and what is up next on the roadmap.
2025 Releases Through Q3 (Shipped)
04/14/2025 - Fishing Records Feature
The Biljum's Bait & Tackle fish scale is back after ~24 years. Weigh fish and post records to the chalkboard. Future tweaks may refine layout/rewards. Rolled this out to all fishmongers across Thrael.
04/19/2025 - Mimics
They exist. You were warned. Twice.
05/04/2025 - World Dynamics Phase I
Astrolabes introduced (semi-magical devices for discerning celestial objects).
08/24/2025 - World Dynamics Phase II
- Time/Timezones: Regions now honor world-map grid offsets (e.g., Kaezar [5i] = 0 from server time; Durbra'Thrum [5h] = −1h; Koje [7k] = +2h). Ships transition time zones mid-voyage.
- Sky Box: Follows local time zones.
- Stars: New procedurally-generated star map (hue, magnitude). Visible via astrolabes; coordinates vary by night time, geography (RA/declination), and instrument direction.
- Stellar Objects: Moons (with phases) and sun traverse visible arcs via astrolabe.
Sets up Phase III: axial-tilt sunrise/sunset, season/weather by latitude, constellations/comets/anomalies, and the forthcoming Lunarist profession (TBA).
08/30/2025 - Systems & Client I/O Updates
- armors command: Lists worn armors + occupied slots; warns when STR penalty impedes armor use.
- FE tag updates:
- New <exits> collection (will deprecate <exit> soon).
- Unique <roomid> for non-dynamic rooms (inn rooms/groves/etc. excluded for now).
- New <preparedspell> (short/long spell names on prep).
- Fixed <pt> issues (no more -1), and releasing prepped spells now resets <pt>.
- Offline XP absorption: Now a single consolidated update; capped at 7 days max.
- GMCP implemented: All current FE tags (except <exit>) now published via GMCP, including Discord info. Discord integration is opt-in via settings 17. Spec posted to the wiki.
Planned Roadmap (Target Windows)
Dates are targets and may shift as we prioritize stability and player experience. Items are grouped by track so engineering, gameplay, and admin work stay in sync.
Q4 2025 - Stabilization & Upgrade Prep
Engineering / Game Systems
- Bug Bash & Stability Sprints: Triage → fix → verify top backlog issues (focus on Phase II regressions & long-standing client quirks).
- FE Tag Changeover: Announce <exit> deprecation date; add in-game warnings; finalize client examples for <exits>.
- Upgrade Readiness Work
- Docs & Wiki: Publish "GMCP for Client Devs" guide + examples. Update FE tag docs; add <preparedspell>/<exits> usage patterns. DONE!
- Backups & Recovery: Move nightly backups to VSS-based snapshots; document restore runbook and test quarterly.
- Observability: Centralized logs, crash dumps to speed bug triage.
Engineering
- Tech Stack Upgrades (staged → prod):
- OS: Windows Server 2019 → 2025
- DB: SQL Server 2014 → 2022 (with migration rehearsal + rollback plan)
- Runtime: .NET 4.8 → .NET 8.0 LTS (profiling + integration tests)
- World Dynamics Phase III - Public Beta:
- Axial tilt (dynamic sunrise/sunset), seasons + latitude-driven weather.
- Constellations, comets, rare anomalies.
- Enable/disable performance profiling for sky math + room updates; bug sweeps.
- Runbooks: Upgrade playbook (backups, cutover, rollback, smoke tests).
Engineering / Design
- Loot System Redesign: Table revamp (rarity tiers, affixes, materials), salvage & crafting hooks, economy safeguards; telemetry to watch sales/purchases and item inflows.
- Economy Monitoring: Dashboards + alerts on sales and purchases.
Engineering / Game Systems
- Quest System (MVP):
- Quest journal & step progression; failure states; rewards hooks (integrated with redesigned loot).
- GM authoring tools + templates; GMCP events for quest updates.
- 2.0 Mechanics (Parallel-Run Opt-In): Player-toggle to switch between 1.0 and 2.0 during rollout/testing; instrumentation for balance & feel; fast patch cadence for tuning.
- Player Onboarding: "Try 2.0" guide, feedback forms, scheduled feedback/Q&A sessions.
- Change Management: Weekly notes; clear reversion path if needed.
Cross-Cutting Work (Ongoing)
- Security & Compliance: Regular dependency scanning; least-privileged service accounts; secrets rotation.
- Performance: Profiling hot paths in room updates, ship ticks, sky/stellar math; cache where safe.
- Accessibility & UX: Default client snippets for GMCP; color-blind-friendly FE examples, VI user integration.
- Community Health: Clear Discord rules/roles; volunteer mod guidelines; escalation paths.
- Bug Bash → Platform Upgrades → Phase III → Loot Redesign → Quest MVP
- Phase III features should land before 2.0 opt-in so 2.0 tuning reflects the living world.
- 2.0 Opt-In runs in parallel with 1.0; player switch remains during beta.
- Legacy FE tags deprecated in favor of GMCP; required before GMCP 2.0 as FE tag piggyback bears limitations to future GMCP dev.
- Platform Upgrade: All smoke tests pass; no crash regressions over 2 weeks; restore tested.
- Phase III: Measurable sunrise/sunset variance by latitude/season; constellations discoverable; performance within budget.
- Loot Redesign: Drop rate & economy metrics within target bands for 4 weeks.
- Quest MVP: ≥5 authored quests live; GM tools documented; GMCP events validated with two major clients.
- 2.0 Opt-In: Player toggle stable; ≥70% of early-beta survey responses rate combat/feel "good" or better.
- Client "starter kit" repo with GMCP samples.
- In-game /bug flow that links to triage board with repro context.
- Automated nightly world snapshots for rapid rollback of content-only changes.