Morterra adds jumping, headshots and bandages for PvP

In April 2021 Morterra added jumping, arrow drop and headshots that deal double damage. We wanted PvP in the browser survival MMO to depend more on skill, and the same update brought bandages, a field of view setting, a second world and the first support for game controllers.

Skill-based PvP had been our next goal since June 2020, when we listed stronger bows, crossbows, sneaking, jewelry, bandages and blocking with shields. Stronger bows, crossbows and jewelry came in August 2020. This update added bandages, and sneaking and blocking stayed on the list.

Servers

We upgraded the server for World 1 and opened World 2, hosted in US East.

Combat

• Jumping. You can't jump onto objects, but you can jump around during a fight.
• Arrows drop over distance, so long shots take more aim, and a headshot deals 2x damage.
• Bandages heal 20 health.
• The Elo PvP rating is fixed, so most players stay between 500 and 2,000.
• Player name tags no longer show above heads.

The PvP rating itself was only a month old. We added it in March 2021, modeled on Elo ratings in chess.

Settings and other changes

A field of view (FOV) setting lets you change how wide your view is. We also added basic support for Xbox and PlayStation controllers. It still needed a lot of work, especially on the inventory screen, so full controller support went on the plans list.

The diamond necklace perk is supposed to stop tools from wearing down, and we fixed a bug that let them degrade anyway. We also adjusted the mining rates for sulfur, which goes into explosives, and for gems, which go into jewelry.

What we planned next

• Farming
• Bears
• Optimizations so low-end devices can play at 60 FPS
• Full controller support
• VR support
• Sneaking and blocking
• A bounty board and coins

Farming and bounty boards had been on our long-term list since 2019. Bears were in the game by the Christmas 2022 update, which fixed their spawning.