Answers from the Developers

February 2023

The Bitcraft developers are active on the official BitCraft Discord server and often answer community questions. To join the conversation and to read new answers first, join https://discord.gg/bitcraft

What software are you using to create the world biomes/ terrain, and is the world fully processual by the world-generating software?

The code for the world generation is written by Clockwork Labs and runs in Unity. We also use Unity to preview and tweak the procedurally generated territory.

The procedural generation does the heavy lifting of creating the raw geography and populating the world with resources and points of interest. The arrangement of biomes is done manually and there is always the option of detailed modeling of special areas we want to stand out.

Where will all the map data and player data be stored? After all, in games with procedural generation, everything will not disappear, but will only expand.

Maps and player data are stored server side. It is worth mentioning that while the BitCraft world is mostly procedurally generated, this is not happening on the fly. The world is finite but can be extended by adding additional land mass whenever the player density requires it.

So a player will not be able to force the procedural creation of new territory just by walking forever in a straight line but there is no hard limit on how much land we can add to the world later on.

What type of background music will we hear?

There was no sound enabled during previous BitCraft pre-alpha tests but very exciting things have started on the audio front. We are looking forward to sharing it all with you and we will have a big announcement in a few months.

To give you an idea of the general direction we are heading; we don’t want music to overshadow the natural sounds of the world and instead utilize music to highlight poignant moments that players will remember.

Will certain regions be only to grow/produce items in that area, so towns can trade with each other?

Many naturally spawning resources can only be found and gathered in specific regions. The reason for this is, exactly as the question suggests, to enable trade between regions.

During pre-alpha, the production of material or harvesting of cultivated resources is not affected by the location of the production facility.

For example, farms can grow all kinds of crops, no matter where located. We are prepared to adjust this based on future testing and feedback.

Does the alpha tester application get reviewed in groups or is it individual? Been waiting for quite some time now.

For most of the previous pre-alpha test waves we randomly selected invites from the list of people who signed up on our website. We did not review or pre-select testers individually or based on a group. The only exception has been a Discord-exclusive test wave, where testers could signup on a first come first serve basis.

For reverence and to understand why so many people have not been invited yet;
We have been able to scale the tests considerably since we started. For the first test, we invited a few dozen testers, by now BitCraft can comfortably hold hundreds of testers and we will soon be ready to invite several thousand, but there are 752.000 applicants on our list.

Will you put the changing seasons with the real-time as animal crossing?

Of course we like the idea of this, but it’s not core to the gameplay of BitCraft, so it’s not something we would be looking at adding to the game during Pre-Alpha.

Will we be creating and wearing outfits, or will there be individual pieces we can mix and match (jacket, pants, shoes, hat, shirt, accessories…)?

A little of both! You will craft the various clothing pieces in BitCraft, and can mix and match them to your liking.

Are we able to make our own servers? I really would like to play on/make a roleplaying server.

BitCraft will only be available on its official server, but we are making sure to keep the roleplaying crowd in mind when we design the game, so everyone can enjoy their ideal experience.

Will there be bigger ships in the game and will one person be able to sail them or will You need a crew of other players / npcs to sail them?

There will certainly be different sizes of ships. Requiring multiple users to sail is something that has not been decided on yet, but has definitely been mentioned more than once. Balancing the experience of crewing a ship, and the difficulty of having multiple users online at once to sail is something that will need to be taken into careful consideration.

Is there going to be an emote system? Or some other form of non-verbal communication?

Yes! Our goal is to give players plenty of ways to communicate themselves in-game, to support both non-verbal communication and roleplay.

You mentioned buildings and roads, but will these be upgradeable, like starting at a dirt road and advancing to stone etc. Same with buildings, start with a small wood/thatch building, and upgrade to a larger better built stone/wood building?

Progression is as much about your character as it is the things you can build in BitCraft. We are working hard to make sure there are both functional and aesthetic progression for the things you can build as a player. All that said, you will not be walking around on dirt roads forever… unless you want to.

Will wind direction be a mechanic in the game while you sail?

We are exploring wind direction as a sailing mechanic to make it more interesting. It is not currently a high priority, but we would really like to do it!

How much can you tell us about the Claim Totem?

Claim Totems are planned to be a placeable structure, that can be constructed to protect an area from both the elements and other players’ encroaching “home renovations.” In exchange for their functionality, players must work to maintain their claim status, or they will fall into disrepair and cease functioning.

Will there be in-game writings (letters, notes, scrolls, books, etc.)?

Yes!