Q&A @ Expo by Bog Alley Breedables

Last night we got a notice in the Bog Alley Breedables Group of a Q&A session at the Expo on the Legend of Bog Alley  from Bog Alley Breedables. So Serra and I hopped over to give it a listen.

WARNING VERY LONG

The Bog Alley Breedables Dev Team in attendance:
Divine Nitely - Artiste Extraordinaire- visionary mother of Bog Alley
Bjorn Cristole - Wizardly Crafter of all things born and breedable
Joshe Darkstone - Grumpy Old Man

(Entered Session late, missed beginning question)

Divine Nitely: We are working on a way and its fairly finished that he will on his own interact with objects and have a recognition of his surroundings that is similar but doesn not use pathfinding. I'm not the expert in the scripting part of our creatures, but as I understand it pathfinding is fairly taxing on sims.

Audience Member: Indeed. That is what had me worried.I build a path finding system a year or more ago and had to scrap it.I haven't followed Bog ally GREATLY just what I have seen on the website previously and quick little looks at the sim (and here) On top of breeding, what exactly are you offering? I'm sorry if you have answered this previously and I'm happy to read up if you have ^^

Divine Nitely: We were playing around one night and the hare was turned into a convex hull and he became = to about 1200 prims if i understand it correctly, so at this time its not what we have chosen. No,  this is our first Q & A so glad to answer as I can.  Bog Alley is a legend, a story. We will follow the 8 main creatures as they are revealed to us and we learn their stories. During this, we will be able to of course breed the creatures,   but also there is a community, and economy we are working on

Audience Member: So as for other breedables you intend to develop the story as time goes on? like an adventure of discovery?

 Divine Nitely: We will have resource gathering, breeding, questing and leveling. We will be able to find items and combine them to create additional items we can use for all kinds of things.

Audience Member: Will the 8 main creatures you mention interbreed? And what would come of it if they did?

Divine Nitely: lol, well interbreeding hasnt been a consideration, but this is SL :P I dont think at this point we have considered it, but we have some interesting creatures, and a winged Hare might be beautiful.

Audience Member: The creature you have displayed is similar in appearance to an Australian Creature... the Bilby... very cute indeed.

Divine Nitely: We are just beginning to get our group involved and as we continue to get further alone suggestions will be fun to look thru and implement even. So far some of the group have already given us great suggestions.

Thats so funny, you know we just played in 3dmax one night after trying many ideas out and nothing hit us quite right, then we created him and all loved him and he sparked ideas for me personally on how he might be textured or move etc.

 Then in searching all kinds of things I happened across some creatures with similiar shapes and legs etc.... its really crazy, mother nature has designed it all

Audience Member: Will they all be the same amount of prims? 12 prims right?

 Divine Nitely: yes 12. However he has 3 attachment points We want them to be able to use many different attachments as we go along, from adornments to additional jeweled armor maybe.

Audience Member:  Ok.... so for example wings, horns or the like can be added?

Divine Nitely: Yes exactly :)

Audience Members:  Ok. thats good.. Keeps it interesting. Won't that complicate animating them greatly?

Divine Nitely: I know it is also important to us that everyone can participate in these attachment creations. So we are planning to make that aspect available for Sl. I think yes some attachments might cause some visual problems at times, so people will have to be creative as well as we will to get them just so.

Audience Member:  Are they in testing yet?  When Is the projected release date.. or is that still an unknown time?

Divine Nitely: One important feature, going back to an earlier question, is the place for older or unwanted, not as desirable creatures. As you know being breeders, we get many of the more common anilams and sometimes that can affect the market, we dont have a good way to keep them being productive. We are really working hard on a way to make the creatures as they mature, have value. One way is as they mature, their rate of fertility decreases. but wisdom, some of the better aspects for the creatures can be passed a bit better. Basically few more chances for rares from an elder creature  breeds less often, but there's wisdom in the elders,  also our resource gathering is done by all creatures. Depending on what resource it is. So a few hares can be used to gather resources that do have great great value...when they might not have value as a breeeding creature

Audience Members: That's a good idea. You have a lot of stiff competition coming up in the market, Starlas, Booshies, Those panda cat things, the JingJings all claiming to do the "Next level of Breedables" all offering RP elements, Not to mention the already existing -similar- breedables like Battlebeasts. What do you intend to do to keep your self ahead of the game? What are you going to do differently?

 Divine Nitely: When we began this project. It was first off important to give you a creature, that showed off its textures, the time and effort that is in him, we wanted him to be beautiful and have personality, not just be born and set out to sell because he isn't a rare or perfect keeper.

We wanted to try hard to make them interactive, with an interesting on going tale they can share...not just a fast backstory, but a way for you to get invoolved in this world we are trying to create.
so frst is the creature.Then the use of the creatures, we wanted them to have use far beyond just breeding
through resource ga thering, adventuring, sharing dreams and morefo the story with you. We wanted them to have personality, so you find friends, not just a commodity. We are planning on making a very new form of marketing for you also. That will allow you to place in a variety of markets a single animal multiple times, so you have vast exposure and the markets can stay full and active

Audience Members:  Do these breedables have a certain life span or are they immortal?

Divine Nitely: with our plans to have these creatures live in Stables on the server, but be at your bekon call at any time, you will be free of having to maintain large prim counts to house them all

Audience Members:  Yes very good Idea I like that very much.

Divine Nitely: If you had a chance to do the initial quests at Bog ALley Sim, I personally love the sounds lights effects animations, so we would love to incorporate more into what they do and how they interact with you.

Audience Members:  How much are these things going to cost?

Divine Nitely: That's a good question, we also felt it was important that soemone wanting the entire Bog Alley experience, can in fact recieve a creature such as the Hare..and quest, adventure with them, earn quest rewards, silver etc..and build an economy for themselves. If they immerse themselves in it, then they can move to acquiring more creatures etc.  Questing playe an important part in Bog Alley. This is a way to acquire resources, magical items and other things that can advance you.

We are starting out with what we feel we can achieve here and do a very good job, support iot effectively, and launch when we say and deliver what we say...BUT our plans are much bigger then that and the maps we have drawn of Bog Alley are HUGE with many many lands and places to explore 8 different lands to be exact :) Each with a primary creature that will eventually be revealed from that land.

Audience Members:  Will the Questing Take place Via a HUD?

Divine Nitely:  Quests for now are all inside S.and as you level and complete all the quests we have planned for SL, it is our goal and plan, to have many more and intereactive ways to do more with your Bog Creatures on the server. But that is our goal and plan at this stage:)

Audience Members:  1 or more sims per land? You said there will be 8 lands? Will this be one sim per land or mots of sims?

Divine Nitely: right now we ahve just the one sim available for quests as the story unfolds, more land rises and the sims change. The quest asks that magic be brought back to its core, so the magic of Bog Alley can be revitalized.

Audience Members: I would like to know how much it will take to buy these creatures and if there will be a discount or something?

Divine Nitely: Lately there have been some issues with pre-orders. I know we will have some sort of advance orders, but we dont want to promise until we are 100% ready to deliver

Audience Members:  where can I go to get a pre-order?

Divine Nitely: When that time comes, there wil be something available...not sure just how yet...but there will be something :P And early participation will be rewarded.

Audience Members: Will the sim idling effect your hares?

Audience Members:  Yes that's what I wanted to ask also, SL's planned Sim Idling once no avatars are present.... will this affect the feeding/ breeding of the Hares?

Audience Members: I wish our technicians were here, i know they are aware of many issues with lag and scripts working properly and a lot of testing is being done. If you asked me about the rare coats Im your girl :) I would say being that they exist in essence on the server, no issues at all should arise.

Audience Members:: Ok hmm. Will the sim idle thing effect the rare coats :P

Divine Nitely: If there is a problem they are simply deleted, or sent back to the stable and you can resummon another.

Audience Members: So how many rare coats are there? and traits?

Divine Nitely: Each creature fo the 8 has a bit o  something different it will offer. The Hares, if you notice, have many different shaped tails ears etc.

Audience Members: Are these going to be affordable for the common avi? Really I mean the poor like myself.

Divine Nitely: Save your gold and silver as it comes, :) < hint>

Audience Members:  kk CAN DO! :)

Divine Nitely: I didn't want to do the same scultp but change textures and give texture changes over and over. So we have designed into these creatures, to offer changes to tails ears antennae, wings etc...plus some features, possibly animations and personality traits in the future.

 We do have one creature that is all about being beautiful however, and will have remarkable textures and attachments.

Audience Members: What happened to that baby bunny thing over there on the left? it kind of look slike it cracked its head and is bleeding..

[19:03] Divine Nitely: O the one on his back?

Audience Members:  This one over here laying in a pool of purple stuff

Divine Nitely: O lol, well hes caught mid way thru his sleeping animation.

Audience Members:  Looks drunk to me.

Audience Members: Iit looks like its bleeding out all over with he purple stuff, just saying.

Divine Nitely: When they sleep they roll over, flip their feet up in the air, feet wiggle like they are dreaming ears twitch etc. They roll around while they sleep. We could have only 2 animated objects in the display so hes mid way a flip and landed that way :)

Audience Members: There be new dreams soon?

Divine Nitely: Yes new dreams :) The baby Patter, that you can receive formthe chest,,,,dreams and we will send them new dreams as quests are ready

Audience Members: I think your texturing is lovely, it's dfinatley what caught my eye about these... not just another RGB breedable

Divine Nitely: ty :). I really love illustrating and each crearture has been fun to do. This texture coat Flicker, is just one this Hare has. There are some really fun ones with many variations

Audience Members: Look forward to seeing those

Divine Nitely: Finishing the previous question about the dreaming hare. Patter is a twin. She has a brother, Pitter. Ptter is your personal guide through Bog Alley and her dreams will change. He will be available as a group only gift very soon, and will be your group guide.

The Bog ALley group completed 2 such quests this last week. The belt i ahve on is the level 1 Aventurer's Belt, that was for a 1000 rope climbs by the group to the waterfall. It is in our group notice archive now for group members, but Pitter is coming soon, few days now.

Audience Members:  o0o so theya re a collaborative effort

Divine Nitely:  Yes, as we go on it hopefully will be realized, that the group as a whole plays an important part in revitalizing the Bog and getting closer to the breedable version of the creatures. As the group completes its part the Bog will change and more land will emerge and more sims will rise up. Now much is under water :)

 Time wise, we are nearing beta. We have in our forums at Bogalley.com a list for beta. I don't want to give exact dates as I've said until we know we will meet that date. The quests have begun however, so the rewards from those quests will stack up and special things at release will be available.

 Are there any more questions? :) we went over, hope that  was ok.

Audience Members: I's fine, Divine. Thank you very much. You've answered a lot of great questions.

Divine Nitely: In a few days we will have another Q & A with the animated hares

Audience Members: Yes it was a good look into whats to come, thank you for sharing your vision.

Divine Nitely: I think we have a very special team. Bjorn, who is doing flips around the hares there is the wonderful sculpter that did the hare.

Bjorn Cristole: Hello

Audience Members:  hi Bjorn! nice to meet you

Divine Nitely: Norty is the one that amde those great chairs, we give her bits and pieces of branches and petals she makes wonderful things

Audience Members: Hiya Bjornr ;)

Bjorn Cristole: /waves  Divine is our Bog Mother :-)

Audience Members: it's nice to have you all here

Bjorn Cristole: Would still be playing greedy on some random friends sim if it wasnt for there vision :-)

Divine Nitely: OH on note :)  Bog Alley has a one of a kind Pet named " Hope" at silent auction. She is in a marble garden, and when Bog Alley releases her garden comes to life and she comes to you as a special pet.

 Bjorn Cristole: Yeah, and seeing everyone fall in love is exciting for me :-)

Audience Members:  This the best DAAAAMMMMMNNN thing since sliced bread lol

Divine Nitely: You just love, love :P

Audience Members: Thanks Divine and Bjorn

Bjorn Cristole: Thank you guys for all your support :-).

Divine Nitely: Thanks  for coming!

(end Q&A session)

Well, I don't know about you but that left a lot more questions than answers for me but I am so pumped I can't wait for the next quest and to meet Pitter! Twin to the cutie, Patter, above.


Till next time, take care all!
~ Taliferrue