New Dev Blog: Player Journal Preview

Quick new Dev Blog out today with more information on the Player Journal, which will be available to use during the next Closed Alpha Test. Check it out:

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This looks awesome! Super stoked to see all this information accessible from within the game rather than needing to break out to a browser all the time.

As an alternative to an index page for navigation, you might consider a “tabbed” approach so players can turn to a section in a single move no matter which page they’re currently on in the journal. Something like this:

Not sure how much you’d like to stick to a strictly “book” feel, but you could also consider a “Go back” link and direct links to other pages (if they’re present). This could, for example, be used to conveniently flip between a recipe and the info page for each ingredient. Needing to page through manually would certainly be more immersive, though :slight_smile:

Great work as always!

Edit: “Go back” could also be facilitated by using both hands. One hand could turn the pages while the other maintains position within the journal to mark a spot. If you then turn the page using the marking hand you could skip back to your original spot. This would let you flip back and forth across multiple pages without breaking the “book” feel of the journal.

I’d like to re-suggest my idea of allowing the player to physically write in the book. Or at least type in the book, if we must. Thus far Orbus has put a lot in the players hands in terms of figuring things out and remembering where things are. I’d like to keep this trend going/reduce hand holding where possible. The player should be responsible for making their own notes.

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This is the first thing that came to mind with me too. I think the tab approach would work well. :slight_smile:

Looks great, love the Runemage part that will come in handy, hopefully teleport spells are there too.
Maybe if we did them once they are there as reference to practice?

Also, maps. Will it unlock sometime of basic map or something similar in the journal?

Quoted from the blog regarding teleport runes "As shown in the above video, there are some runes on pillars in the world that you can hold your book near to unlock a new page by taking a “rubbing” of the carved information. " adds it to practice like any other spell.

We’re definitely considering this as a possibility if we can figure out a way to make it work.

I agree, and I think you’ll notice in the example videos we’ve shared thus far, we’re still keeping to that.

As an example, your field note for each fish does not tell you what to use to catch it. Your Runemage spell page just copies information you already found in-game. Your quest log entry doesn’t give you some magical pointer that tells you where to go.

Basically, the pages themselves either a) just provide lore, or b) just provide information that you already heard/saw in the game yourself. So we are doing a little hand holding I suppose in that we are saving you personally the trouble of having to re-write down things you literally just read, but it’s not like this is giving you any additional information you didn’t have before (perhaps with the exception of the stats it keeps for you), rather it’s just helping you remember it a little easier.

What I could see is you needing to take your own notes on what lures you’ve tried with what fish, how long you’ve aged your various potions to get different effects, that you noticed an odd-shaped rock at this location in the world, that there’s a nice supply of Reed Flute on the shore by this teleport pillar, etc. As I said, the hope is that you’ll be able to take those notes in-game as well, but even if that’s not the case, that’s still information you’ll be responsible for figuring out and remembering on your own.

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I think we’re definitely on the same page. Thanks for taking the time to explore this further!

I think a fun idea would be to take an idea straight from a highschool yearbook. It would be cool if there was an ability to sign each other’s books. Maybe write a message or something. Would be cool to complete a raid for the first time and to commemorate the occasion, we sign each others journals. Maybe even in the future, put photos in their as well.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with! If you can get note taking in VR down, I think that it will have an impact on more than just this game!