Development Log #3

Progress on the "Vertical Slice" continues as foliage assets start to come in!

Welcome once more to the weekly Development Log for Lionhearts, an up-and-coming project on Steam created using Unreal Engine 5.

Week 7 of Lionhearts Demo development again brought us some great technical and creative advancements, particularly as we begin laying foundational systems for scalability and shift focus towards visuals.

A well model for drawing water for agricultural purposes

On the programming side, shared functionality between Player and NPC controllers is now being moved to C++ in preparation for MMO framework.

Work also began on a new inventory system, complete with drag-and-drop item functionality and stacking, while combat effects like parry stuns and directional animations received further polish. A new audio manager was also created created to handle sounds in game!

Grain silo for long term storage at a farmstead

Early prototypes for the Shadow system, including Shadow "possession" and spawning, have been implemented.

Video explanation of the "Shadow System"

Some 3D animations were reworked with full-body motion, all one-handed weapon swings are now blocked out and awaiting further polish.

A farming plow tool to be used for farming features

Level design efforts have shifted toward the Jerusalem Siege map to showcase what a siege in Lionhearts will look like.

The 3D art team continued their work across multiple bulk asset orders, including more foliage like trees, more agricultural assets, and military assets.

The first new olive tree foliage model has been completed

A target to practice swordsmanship

In Game Design, the Guild system and trade economy have been further detailed with new job types and deeper progression systems.

Progress on several of the "extract" trade economy jobs and objectives (WIP!)

The cinematic trailer first draft has been completed, and reviewed for revisions. Followers should expect to see it within a few weeks!

Screenshot from the Lionhearts Cinematic Trailer

On the 2D art/UI side, icon production for the favor tree resumed, with some trade tree icons in progress.

The "Serf" icon for the favor tree tier

Lastly and importantly, the Kickstarter backer tier rewards have been completed and are available for full detailed view on our website! There are some awesome rewards - please let us know if you have feedback or which tier you intend to donate to! The website continues to be updated with the most relevant information on Lionhearts!

Apprentice Reward Tier

Thanks for reading, and please remember to join us again next week as we move into Week 8.

Another shot from the vertical slice with foliage!

Please join us on our Discord server for forum posting, where you can ask questions and participate in our growing community!

To support this project, please follow our Kickstarter campaign, which will be launching soon!

Our Steam Page is also up and now localized to many languages, be sure to wishlist it!

Written by Credenzio Studios Staff