Weekly Update - Status Effects, Aggro and Faction Systems Development of Antilia's combat systems continue to move along with new status effects, "aggro" and factions systems, projectile damage, and more!

Development this past month has been a little rough due to a variety of factors, but I continue to make progress on combat.

Here are some highlights:

• Accuracy Effects Aim - The character's accuracy stat now affects the accuracy of the bow. As the character's level gets higher it's easier to hit a target at long range.
  
• Accuracy HUD Indicator - A circle now appears on the HUD which indicates the user's accuracy. (Larger circle = less accurate)
  

For characters with a low accuracy stat the HUD indicator circle will appear larger and arrows will have more variation in their trajectory. Note: The character does not yet aim quite where the crosshair appears - still working on getting those to align better with a better "over-the-shoulder" view.

As a character's level improves the HUD indicator circle will get smaller and arrow trajectories will have less variation.

• Projectile Hits Earn EXP - Hitting a target with an arrow now rewards the character with experience points in the "ranged" discipline.
  
• Status Effects System - This week I worked on status effects. I had a lot of the framework for this in place already, so it makes sense to try to get this working. I'd like to support status effects that are imparted on a character from a skill that is used by/on them, from equipment they are wearing, from potions, as well as from the environment.
  
• Aggro System - I've recently added an "aggro" system that improves the way creatures select targets. Instead of simply selecting the nearest target creatures will accumulate aggro toward other creatures based on proximity and actions they preform. Creatures also lose aggro toward targets that are running away from them, so creatures will no longer chase the player forever (unless the player gives them reason to).
  
• Factions System - Another recent improvement is the addition of a factions system that controls the disposition of creatures toward one another. This system ensures that iichii attack jidou and Taipii creatures nearby, but not other iichii. (Unless of course we want that sort of behavior we want for a creature, in which case we can set it up that way.)
  
• More Combat Effects - Collision game object components now have an optional effect file that plays when a collision occurs, so shooting an arrow at a metal object can play a different sound and visual effect compared to a wooden object. I'm slowly building up a small library of effect files, and many of them can be reused for multiple objects.
  

My current plan is to try to wrap up combat as best as I can in October, spend November debugging/polishing what I end up with, and then work on creating a new video for the start of the new year in December. It's been a while since I polished things up for a video, and there are a number of annoying bugs now that are beginning to get in the way of development.

That's all for this week, thanks for reading!