Dev Logs

You've got mail!

Welcome back to another devlog, with a new format for it loosely based on how Fandoms does it (I think their styling is just neat, and simple to understand). With a new table of content and a more broken down formatting, it should be more digestible!

Another day another slay (once again!)

It's been a while since the last true dev update! This one is a bigger one, bringing 2 new extensions (one released the next week alongside possible UI overhaul) as well as a few minor updates for claims and other Quality of life updates!

The new extension

It was something people were asking a lot in our tickets and suggestions, as well as DMs, we had plans for it however there were a few minor issues with it that prevented us from properly releasing it, it's now out and should be bug-free!

This extension (natively called "Character Transformation", shown in here as "Alternative form") allows a character to have multiple forms, whether it's a palette, another trait-changing form (like a ghost form) etc. It means we'll be able to allow palettes and alt forms again, however we're still debating if we should trait it or at least regulate it. You currently won't need to resubmit your Alumies that have alt palettes for now, but it might be something we'll ask of people to do in the future!

For new Alumies (or redesigned ones) you'll have to proceed in two times : submit your main image first like per usual, then go back to the character tab to submit the transformation thru the Update Design tab (or redesign/submit alt form button). This is a bit time-consuming on an user's end but it will make the process of checking and uploading a transformation faster staff-wise (as it will be like checking regular design approval).

The submission process is pretty straightforward, however if you have any questions you are free to open a ticket on our Discord, or chat in the thread of this DevLog in the announcement channel.

Quality of life updates

There were a few minor issues as well as things that weren't 100% clear for users, which have been changed in hopes to make it easier to understand!
Some of these updates were also present before this devlog but were not officially recorded given how minor they were, hence them being summarized here.

• Notifications for character waiting for a user to approve them has been reworded so it is clearer the user receiving the Alumy has to approve it in order for it to confirm the transfer.
• The shops now displays items in order of cost instead of name, making it easier and more organized to search thru it. It's also now properly labeled.
• When we launched criteria-based prompts and Periodic Reward, there were a few issues with dupes and items not being properly sent out. This has been fixed for a few weeks now.
• 3 minor extensions were added: Prompt Form, which allows a simple text-based form to be automatically dropped in a submission comment when the associated prompt is selected; Custom Currency which allows Sales and character values to have a custom currency symbol tied to it instead of the default currency on-site; and Trait Examples which allows us to add example images to traits.
• There was an issue on mobile where people couldn't reply to comments, this should be fixed in latest merge.
• A note about what a focus character is has been added when filling a submission.
• The claim page has been slightly reworked, you can now submit missing Alumies and claim missing storage with the provided form in the page.

Staff oriented changes

These changes are geared towards the staff, like extensions or QoL that doesn't concern users directly. They are made public for those curious about it!

• Rank Reward (extension) has been added so it automatically grants staff a monthly reward based on their rank.
• The Admin page sidebar has been reworked making it more organized, and roles have been adapted to encompass specific powers like design approval or masterlisting.
• Staff can now search and filter prompt and claim submissions by user and prompt.

Another day another slay

Another late-ish update, but this one is more minor, with quick UIX fixes and a very small extension addition that is also meant for display rather than complicated functionalities like we've had in the past.

So, what's up doc?

Not a lot lately, as we've been working less on Lorekeeper lately, as it's been stabilizing slowly and smoothly. However there were a few changes to the frontfacing experience, notably with Lyuna theme.

• There was an issue with the text-muted property being hard to read (text used for "X character found" or the co-own bottom text on character pages. It's more readable on the Lyuna theme now!
• The top navigation bar is seeing some changes, with "Guidebook" being changed to "Lorebook" for less confusion about guides being under Help instead. There is now a quick access to the Design guide and the Beginner guide in the Help menu, with an All guide section leading to everything. As soon as the TOS are ironed out, they will join that dropdown.
• That top navbar is now somewhat scrollable on mobile, it's not the best but you can scroll through the dropdown menu (not the entire nav itself) when they drop down, which is an improvement from no scrolling at all!
• There was a known issue with draft submission when they were canceled - this is fixed! You can now edit a submission that was cancelled and sent back to you withtout any issues.
• There is still an issue with Pairing + - Parents selection is iffy but the names were changed from Father to Partner (this was an old residue from the older Pairing extension), it's being reviewed and fixed as we speak, but I can't say when it'll be working properly.

A new extension approaches

With our ARPG allowing IP based characters and designs (designs based on pre-existing IPs like Hatsune Miku or Sukuna) we are aware it can be an issue if an IP based Alumy is traded, and the receiver is not aware of said inspiration. It can be an awkward feeling to receive a character based on something that already exist without knowing about it, and that it might be an IP you don't like or don't want to do anything with.

That's why we are bringing "IP Inspired Character Labels", an extension by Newt that adds a labelling option for IP based characters or "imports" (pre-existing OCs that were imported or have an alternative version in a species).

This isn't a shame cone or anything, but more to be transparent about where the inspirations are from, and if a character is an import in the case it gets traded! Some people might be uncomfortable with the idea of getting an IP based characters without knowing about it, hence the transparency. This is set by masterlisters and isn't fully retroactive (it'll be for designs that are very obvious on IP base and if our staff knows / are certain of the source) but you can request it to be applied on your character in the discord or contacting an Admin / Masterlister for it!

Sailing towards new seas

We've received feedback on the change of alt palettes being mandatory to be seen on the Image, and alt forms not being allowed as of yet. We do have plans for that to arrive, but it needs time (let us cook!!), there's an extension available for something similar called Character Transformation but it has not been tested on here so we cannot say for sure it will happen. New updates from SUPERCOOL (the dev behind it) looks like alternative views with the same traits are possible, so we could include palettes! It's still something that will need futher discussion from the staff team, so hang in tight.

There's more extensions plans for the future, that might be added depending on their compatibility with V3.0.0 (the version this server runs on):

• Birthday Rewards
• Design Terms
• Character Warnings
• User Shops
• Selected Character
• Prompt Prerequisites
• Encounters
• Alternate Character View
• Weather and Seasons
• News Widget

Some might never be added, some might take time, as extensions are very diverse in terms of functionality and size!

That's it for this week's Dev Log, keep an eye out for the next one / any new updates!

Welcome to the first Dev Log ever!

It took ages (2-3 weeks) from the creation and official release of a compatible version of the Dev Log extension with LK v3.0.0, as well as some bug fixes, but it's now done! It was planned to be sent much earlier, but due to a lot of issues I faced merging new extensions and bug fixing, I had to halt the bulletin release up until now.

In any case, hello hello! This is a new feature I worked on (with AnimatedCritter's permission, the original creator of this extension) to bring back to the most recent version of LoreKeeper, so we could have it in our own site. What started as simply fixing the extension ended up in the rabbit hole of me actually working on it.

What is Dev Log, or Development Log?

Dev log is a completely new News section made for the more technical and development side of Alumy World, and LK in general. This bulletin will basically run weekly or bi-weekly depending on how many updates we get per week, to keep those curious updated about extensions, bugfixes, problems etc that aren't necessary for a News report but still deserve their own section. It is currently maintained by MarskyMessier (hi, it's me!) as the main dev on Alumy World, and will follow LoreKeeper's update schedule with one day gap, as LK updates release every Sunday, and Alumy World will have its updates release on Mondays.

DevLog also has notifications similar to News, but doesn't outright shows up, that's because you can disable the notification via your settings if it's not to your liking! It is on by default, but can be turned off. -> https://alumyworld.com/account/settings

What's new?

This week has been a fun ride - we kicked up with Character Pairing +, an extension that allows a smoother and autonomous experience for Lineages and Pairings ; it basically allows Eyestones to be used as items to use for Pairings 2 Alumies and create an MYO with it, with the parent's traits and provide a more accurate experience to pairing and breeding characters. For now the extension is limited to 2 parents, as it is quite an extensive one to edit and I am still new to lavarel, but we are actively looking to provide up to 4 parents able to be added. There's also Lineages, which show up as a separate section under a character, and you can link that to other pre-existing Alumies or ones that don't exist either. I have no tinkered with it too much, so it might be glitchy, that's a surprise for later :').

Pairing + gave us some challenges, as it was in conflict with both Multiple Character creation and Co-Owner extensions, and I had to run to Newt and Moif (LK dev contributors) both for help (and a huge thanks to them for helping me fix those issues).

Aside Pairing, there were also a few issues, more minors and Admin-oriented, as this week was primarily focused on extension. A new power has been added for design approval specifics, which doesn't concern the wider audience but does affect the Staff.

UIX changes

Nothing drastic changed in terms of themes, but I worked on having our sidebar have the title and home button as a customized title with an animated FontAwesome Icon, to make some place for the navigation menus and declutter it a bit. It's still the default on mobile view, but desktop get the shiny view!

The issue where FAQ was placed instead of Species Shop in the market dropdown is fixed, you can now access shops!

For Staff, the Admin bar has been reorganized and changed for easier navigation in mind, it should be a tad easier to go and search thru it now.

More to come in the upcoming weeks, as the most urgent fixes have been cleared, however as we do not have too many plans for more extensions aside ~ 5-6 more, it might take a bit of time for another bulletin to come through.