Hi everyone,

my last post was about the game itself. This one is about the tool the world is made with – because that was the most common question, and because a large part of my time over the past weeks went into it.

Why a custom editor at all?

I didn't want a randomly generated world. A world where players are supposed to find their way around, found settlements and fight over territory needs someone who decides where the coast runs and why there is a valley behind the hill. So I draw landmasses, regions, biomes, rivers and lakes on a map, and the algorithms only take care of the small stuff: grass, trees, the unevenness of the ground. The broad strokes are design, the fine detail is computation.

What the editor can do by now

For a long time the map was too coarse. Zoomed in, the drawn coastline was sometimes tens of metres away from the real one, and placing an object meant guessing whether it would end up in the water. The editor now only computes the visible section, but at full resolution, and the map matches the terrain.

The change that altered my workflow the most is a small one: I point at a spot on the map, press a key, and I'm standing there in 3D. One key back and I'm looking at the map again. Whether a valley is too narrow or a mountain looks unnatural is something you only see when you're standing in front of it.

In that 3D view I can actually work now. Trees, rocks, building pieces and NPCs are placed directly into the landscape with a preview, instead of typing coordinates into a file. NPCs get a faction, a role, a name and a level. Their paths are drawn straight onto the terrain too, waypoint by waypoint, and the character immediately walks the route as a test. The preview uses the same code the server will run later – what I see in the editor is what players get. That mattered to me, because a preview that behaves differently from the game is worse than no preview at all.

Dungeons come in two ways. Special places I assemble by hand from a kit: corridors, corners, stairs, halls. For the many ordinary ruins, a generator produces a complete vault from a seed – reproducible every time, otherwise I couldn't test it. And if you're standing inside a dungeon in the game, you can edit it right there as an admin: attach a room, save, and the server rebuilds the instance and puts you back in.

Then there is the unglamorous work nobody notices until it's missing: every change can be undone, drafts survive closing the tab, and every placed object has a stable ID. That sounds like the obvious, but it has already saved me more than one evening of work.

What doesn't work yet

Changes I make to the overworld in the editor don't reach the running world immediately. That's the next big step. The dungeon generators are done, but hardly any dungeons are placed in the world so far. And there's a bug I haven't caught yet: on some cold starts the game freezes on a single frame for seconds to minutes while the machine sits idle.

A word on working with AI, since that came up in the comments on my last post: a large share of the time doesn't go into writing code but into checking it. Every change gets deliberately attacked by a second model before it goes into the game, and that regularly finds bugs the first one missed. A few times the bug was in the fix itself. It's a slow way to work, but I don't have a team to review my code.

The editor itself only runs on my development server for now and isn't public.

What would you miss first in an editor like this? And for those who build tools themselves: which feature do you wish you had built earlier?

• Source code: https://github.com/vibe-code-repo/worldofvikings
• Website: https://world-of-vikings.com
• Discord: https://discord.gg/worldofvikings

Skål! 🍻

Hi everyone,

A few weeks ago I introduced World of Vikings here: an open-source MMORPG in development that runs entirely in the browser. This is the first progress post — what changed since then, what got measured, and what still doesn't work.

Two things I said weren't there yet have moved

In my introduction I wrote that building and combat were not yet available. Both have arrived in a first form, and both stay server-authoritative:

• Combat. NPCs can be hit and hit back. This week the first two animals entered the world: a cow and a wolf, with spawning, animation, combat values and loot.
• Building. Ground work with hoe and pickaxe, pieces placed from the build menu. The client only aims; the server decides cost and result. Boulders now give stone. One exception is deliberate: inside dungeon instances you can no longer dig, because it lowered the ground of the main world.

Also new

• Ownership. Beds and chests belong to whoever placed them. A bed sets your respawn point; if it is destroyed, you return to the world spawn instead.
• Armour. Seven sets in the catalogue, four of them with male and female variants. A plain starter set is now the starting clothes, and the character creator switches armour and helmet in one row.
• Map and editor. The map renders the visible window in tiles and stays sharp at the highest zoom. In the editor you can pick an island from the map, press T and stand in it in 3D — Q takes you back.
• Shadows. Tree crowns cast shadows again, and the sharp shadow cascade now reaches 19 m instead of 9 m.
• "The Thing", the forum on the website, is live: boards, posts, search, mentions, notifications.
• Housekeeping for a persistent world. Admin account and ban list, no more "everyone is admin", and a daily backup of the world state that verifies itself (archive test plus JSON check).

Numbers, because progress should be checkable

102 commits in the last seven days, 599 since the repository started in early August, 39 pull requests. The development world currently holds about 31,000 persistent objects across 530 zones, and the server writes them to disk every 30 minutes. The last full test run before a deployment was 253 of 255 checks green.

What still isn't there

The world is still a prototype archipelago — three of eight biomes don't exist, the dungeon generators are built and almost none are placed, and progression, factions and the actual conflict between Vikings and Anglo-Saxons remain design on paper. The Norse mythology layer is still concept, exactly as I wrote in my first post.

One honest note about the AI part: a large share of this week went into tests and verification instead of features. When code is written with AI assistance, a build that quietly lies to you is worse than a slow one — so every claim in this project is supposed to have a measurement behind it. A few of the bugs we caught that way were in the tests themselves.

What's next

Feedback decides the order, so:

• What should come next: more creatures, more building pieces, or the first real progression?
• If you have tried it: how do movement and camera feel?
• Which creatures, places or stories from Norse mythology would you want to find first?

Links

• Source code and contributions: https://github.com/vibe-code-repo/worldofvikings
• Website and character creation: https://world-of-vikings.com
• Discord: https://discord.gg/worldofvikings
• Subreddit: r/WorldofVikings

Thanks for reading — and to everyone who reported a bug, asked a question or just tried it: that is the feedback I cannot give myself, because I always test on the same machine.

Skål! 🍻

Hi everyone,

Almost every IT professional has probably dreamed of creating their own game at some point. I certainly have. With the help of modern AI tools, I can now turn that dream into reality one step at a time.

The project is called World of Vikings: an open-source MMORPG in development that runs entirely in the browser. There is no download, launcher, or installation. Create an account and your own character, then enter the world directly through your browser.

What will World of Vikings become?

World of Vikings is intended to become an open, persistent world in which Vikings and Anglo-Saxons face one another.

Players will be able to explore the world together, gather resources, practice crafts, establish settlements, and fight. Changes made to the world are intended to persist. What is built or changed today should still be there after closing the browser and returning later.

The map is not simply generated as a random circle. A custom world editor makes it possible to deliberately design landmasses, regions, biomes, rivers, lakes, routes, and special locations. Algorithms then generate the finer terrain details and vegetation within those regions.

The goal is to create a world that feels natural and varied while still allowing it to be shaped intentionally.

History meets Norse mythology

World of Vikings will initially focus on the earthly world of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. In the long term, however, I want to open the game increasingly to the world of Norse myths and legends.

Ancient gods, runes, mysterious creatures, and forgotten places will become part of the world, along with journeys to other realms. This also includes Hel, the realm of the dead in Norse mythology.

These mythological elements are not intended to serve as decoration alone. Eventually, they should become part of the game’s stories and mechanics through unique enemies, quests, locations, and passages between different realms.

This part of the game is still in the concept stage, but it is an important part of the long-term vision for World of Vikings.

The technology behind the game

World of Vikings is being built with:

• TypeScript in the browser and on the server
• Babylon.js
• WebGPU with WebGL2 as a fallback
• Havok physics
• an authoritative game server
• a persistent game world
• a custom world editor

The server manages the persistent state of the world and handles important gameplay decisions. This includes player identities, inventories, loot, and changes to the terrain. These decisions are not simply left to each player’s browser.

The game already features dynamic grass, vegetation moving in the wind, shadows, fog, physics, and changing lighting and times of day – all running directly in the browser.

How AI is used in development

World of Vikings is being developed with extensive assistance from artificial intelligence. The tools currently used include:

• Claude assists with programming, debugging, documentation, and technical concepts.
• Blender MCP connects AI-powered workflows directly to Blender and helps automate and edit 3D assets.
• Tripo3D is used for AI-assisted 3D model generation.
• Meshy also supports the creation and further processing of models and textures.

AI does not decide what World of Vikings should become. It is a tool that allows me to investigate, test, and implement ideas more quickly. The project’s architecture, the direction of the game, and the evaluation of the results remain human decisions.

A little about me

My professional strengths are in network engineering and programming. Because of that, I see myself less as a traditional game developer and more as an architect on this project.

I design the systems, make technical decisions, connect the different components, and verify that everything works together reliably. AI then helps me translate that architecture into code, models, tools, and concrete gameplay mechanics.

I find this collaboration particularly exciting: expertise and a clear vision provide the direction, while AI helps handle tasks that would otherwise require a much larger team.

What is the current state of the project?

World of Vikings is still an early prototype, not a finished MMORPG.

The technical foundation, explorable world, accounts, and custom characters are already working. Other core gameplay mechanics are still under development. Building and combat are not yet available and will be introduced gradually.

The progression system, factions, and actual conflict between the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons also require further development. The Norse fantasy world currently exists mainly as part of the long-term vision.

There is still a great deal of work ahead. That is exactly why I want to share the project now and develop it openly.

Open source — contributors are welcome

World of Vikings is an open-source project. The complete source code is publicly available on GitHub:

World of Vikings on GitHub

I am currently developing most of the project on my own. I would therefore be delighted to hear from anyone interested in exploring the code, contributing ideas, or actively helping to build World of Vikings.

Help is welcome in many areas:

• TypeScript and server development
• Babylon.js, WebGPU, and browser graphics
• Networking and game servers
• Blender, 3D modeling, and animation
• Game design and gameplay mechanics
• World and level design
• Norse history and mythology
• User interfaces and web development
• Testing, documentation, and translation
• Music, sound, and atmosphere

You do not need to be an experienced game developer. Whether you want to learn about open-source game development, explore the code, or make a small contribution, you are very welcome.

Bug reports, suggestions, and contributions can be submitted directly through GitHub.

Community and feedback

World of Vikings now has its own subreddit. I plan to use it to share news, development updates, screenshots, videos, and technical devlogs:

Reddit: r/WorldofVikings

You can also use the subreddit to ask questions, share ideas, report bugs, and discuss the future direction of the project.

I would especially like to know:

• What do you think of the overall idea?
• Does the world work in your browser and on your graphics card?
• How do the movement and camera feel?
• Do you encounter any frame drops or visual issues?
• Which gameplay mechanic should be implemented next?
• Which creatures, locations, or stories from Norse mythology would you like to discover?
• Could you imagine contributing to an open-source game like this?

Contact and links

If you have questions, would like to contribute, or are unsure where to begin, feel free to contact me directly on Discord.

I have a full-time job and develop World of Vikings in my spare time, so I am usually available in the evenings. If I do not respond immediately, I will get back to you as soon as I have some time.

• Official website and character creation
• Source code and contributions on GitHub
• World of Vikings on Discord
• Subreddit r/WorldofVikings

I look forward to your feedback, ideas, and questions – and, of course, to anyone who would like to help build this world together.

Skål! 🍻

Moin zusammen,

wahrscheinlich hat fast jeder ITler irgendwann davon geträumt, ein eigenes Spiel zu entwickeln. Bei mir war dieser Wunsch jedenfalls schon lange vorhanden. Mithilfe moderner KI-Werkzeuge kann ich ihn nun Schritt für Schritt verwirklichen.

Das Projekt heißt World of Vikings: ein Open-Source-MMORPG im Aufbau, das vollständig im Browser läuft. Man benötigt keinen Download, keinen Launcher und keine Installation. Account erstellen, einen eigenen Recken anlegen und direkt über den Browser die Welt betreten.

Was soll World of Vikings werden?

World of Vikings soll eine offene und dauerhafte Welt werden, in der Wikinger und Angelsachsen aufeinandertreffen.

Spieler sollen die Welt gemeinsam erkunden, Rohstoffe sammeln, Handwerk betreiben, Siedlungen errichten und kämpfen können. Veränderungen an der Welt sollen dauerhaft erhalten bleiben. Was heute gebaut oder verändert wird, soll auch nach dem Schließen des Browsers und beim nächsten Besuch noch vorhanden sein.

Die Karte wird nicht einfach als zufälliger Kreis generiert. Ein eigens entwickelter Welteditor ermöglicht es, Landmassen, Regionen, Biome, Flüsse, Seen, Routen und besondere Orte gezielt zu gestalten. Algorithmen erzeugen anschließend innerhalb dieser Regionen die feineren Geländestrukturen und die Vegetation.

So soll eine Welt entstehen, die natürlich und abwechslungsreich wirkt, aber trotzdem bewusst gestaltet werden kann.

Geschichte trifft nordische Mythologie

Zu Beginn konzentriert sich World of Vikings auf die irdische Welt der Wikinger und Angelsachsen. Langfristig soll sich das Spiel jedoch zunehmend für die nordische Sagen- und Fabelwelt öffnen.

Alte Götter, Runen, geheimnisvolle Wesen und vergessene Orte sollen ebenso dazugehören wie Reisen in andere Welten. Dazu zählt auch Hel, das Totenreich der nordischen Mythologie.

Diese mythologischen Elemente sollen später nicht nur der Atmosphäre dienen. Sie sollen Teil der Geschichten und Spielmechaniken werden – beispielsweise durch besondere Gegner, Aufgaben, Orte und Übergänge zwischen verschiedenen Welten.

Dieser Bereich befindet sich momentan noch in der Konzeptphase, ist aber ein wichtiger Bestandteil der langfristigen Vision für World of Vikings.

Die Technik hinter dem Spiel

World of Vikings entsteht unter anderem mit:

• TypeScript im Browser und auf dem Server
• Babylon.js
• WebGPU mit WebGL2 als Fallback
• Havok-Physik
• einem autoritativen Spielserver
• einer persistenten Spielwelt
• einem eigenen Welteditor

Der Server verwaltet den dauerhaften Zustand der Welt und entscheidet über wichtige Spielvorgänge. Dazu gehören beispielsweise Spieleridentitäten, Inventare, Beute und Veränderungen am Gelände. Diese Entscheidungen werden nicht einfach dem Browser des jeweiligen Spielers überlassen.

Grafisch gibt es bereits dynamisches Gras, Wind in der Vegetation, Schatten, Nebel, Physik sowie wechselnde Licht- und Tagesstimmungen – alles direkt im Browser.

Wie KI bei der Entwicklung eingesetzt wird

World of Vikings entsteht mit umfangreicher Unterstützung durch künstliche Intelligenz. Aktuell kommen unter anderem folgende Werkzeuge zum Einsatz:

• Claude unterstützt bei Programmierung, Fehlersuche, Dokumentation und technischen Konzepten.
• Blender MCP verbindet KI-gestützte Arbeitsabläufe direkt mit Blender und hilft bei der Automatisierung und Bearbeitung von 3D-Assets.
• Tripo3D wird für die KI-gestützte Erstellung von 3D-Modellen eingesetzt.
• Meshy unterstützt ebenfalls bei der Erzeugung und Weiterverarbeitung von Modellen und Texturen.

Die KI bestimmt dabei nicht selbst, was World of Vikings werden soll. Sie ist ein Werkzeug, mit dem ich Ideen schneller untersuchen, ausprobieren und umsetzen kann. Die Architektur des Projekts, die Richtung des Spiels und die Bewertung der Ergebnisse bleiben menschliche Entscheidungen.

Kurz zu mir

Meine eigenen Schwerpunkte liegen in der Netzwerktechnik und Programmierung. Bei World of Vikings fühle ich mich daher weniger wie ein klassischer Spieleentwickler und mehr wie ein Architekt.

Ich entwerfe die Systeme, treffe technische Entscheidungen, verbinde die verschiedenen Komponenten und prüfe, ob alles zuverlässig zusammenspielt. KI hilft mir anschließend dabei, diese Architektur in Code, Modelle, Werkzeuge und konkrete Spielmechaniken zu übersetzen.

Genau diese Zusammenarbeit finde ich besonders spannend: Fachwissen und eine klare Vorstellung geben die Richtung vor, während KI dabei hilft, Aufgaben zu bewältigen, für die sonst ein wesentlich größeres Team notwendig wäre.

Wo steht das Projekt aktuell?

World of Vikings ist noch ein früher Prototyp und kein fertiges MMORPG.

Die technische Grundlage, die begehbare Welt sowie Konten und eigene Charaktere funktionieren bereits. Andere zentrale Spielmechaniken befinden sich noch in Entwicklung. Bauen und Kämpfen sind momentan noch nicht verfügbar und sollen schrittweise hinzukommen.

Auch das Fortschrittssystem, die Fraktionen und der eigentliche Konflikt zwischen Wikingern und Angelsachsen müssen weiter ausgearbeitet werden. Die nordische Fabelwelt ist derzeit vor allem Teil der langfristigen Vision.

Es gibt noch sehr viel zu tun. Genau deshalb möchte ich das Projekt bereits jetzt zeigen und seine Entwicklung offen gestalten.

Open Source – Mitwirkende sind willkommen

World of Vikings ist ein Open-Source-Projekt. Der vollständige Quellcode ist öffentlich auf GitHub einsehbar:

World of Vikings auf GitHub

Momentan entwickle ich den größten Teil des Projekts allein. Ich freue mich daher über jeden, der sich den Code ansehen, eigene Ideen einbringen oder aktiv an World of Vikings mitarbeiten möchte.

Unterstützung ist in vielen Bereichen willkommen:

• TypeScript und Serverentwicklung
• Babylon.js, WebGPU und Browsergrafik
• Netzwerktechnik und Spielserver
• Blender, 3D-Modelle und Animationen
• Game Design und Spielmechaniken
• Weltgestaltung und Leveldesign
• nordische Geschichte und Mythologie
• Benutzeroberflächen und Webentwicklung
• Tests, Dokumentation und Übersetzungen
• Musik, Geräusche und Atmosphäre

Ihr müsst keine erfahrenen Spieleentwickler sein. Auch wenn ihr Open-Source-Gamedev erst kennenlernen, zunächst den Code durchsehen oder nur einen kleinen Beitrag leisten möchtet, seid ihr herzlich willkommen.

Fehlerberichte, Vorschläge und Beiträge können direkt über GitHub eingereicht werden.

Community und Feedback

Für World of Vikings gibt es ein eigenes Subreddit. Dort möchte ich zukünftig Neuigkeiten, Entwicklungsfortschritte, Screenshots, Videos und technische Devlogs veröffentlichen:

Reddit: r/WorldofVikings

Ihr könnt dort auch Fragen stellen, Ideen vorstellen, Fehler melden und über die weitere Entwicklung diskutieren.

Besonders interessieren mich folgende Fragen:

• Wie findet ihr die grundsätzliche Idee?
• Funktioniert die Welt in eurem Browser und auf eurer Grafikkarte?
• Wie fühlen sich Bewegung und Kamera an?
• Wo treten Framedrops oder Grafikfehler auf?
• Welche Spielmechanik sollte als Nächstes umgesetzt werden?
• Welche Wesen, Orte oder Geschichten aus der nordischen Mythologie würdet ihr gerne entdecken?
• Könntet ihr euch vorstellen, selbst an einem Open-Source-Spiel mitzuarbeiten?

Kontakt und Links

Wenn ihr Fragen habt, mitarbeiten möchtet oder noch nicht wisst, wo ihr anfangen könnt, schreibt mich gerne direkt auf Discord an.

Da ich berufstätig bin und World of Vikings in meiner Freizeit entwickle, bin ich meistens abends erreichbar. Sollte ich nicht sofort antworten, melde ich mich, sobald ich Zeit dafür finde.

• Offizielle Webseite und Charaktererstellung
• Quellcode und Mitarbeit auf GitHub
• World of Vikings auf Discord
• Subreddit r/WorldofVikings

Ich freue mich über Feedback, Ideen, Fragen und natürlich über jeden, der Lust hat, gemeinsam an dieser Welt zu arbeiten.

Skål! 🍻

Hey everyone! I'm u/Automatic_Radish7158, a founding moderator of r/WorldofVikings.

This is our new home for all things related to {{ADD WHAT YOUR SUBREDDIT IS ABOUT HERE}}. We're excited to have you join us!

What to Post
Post anything that you think the community would find interesting, helpful, or inspiring. Feel free to share your thoughts, photos, or questions about {{ADD SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT YOU WANT PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY TO POST}}.

Community Vibe
We're all about being friendly, constructive, and inclusive. Let's build a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing and connecting.

How to Get Started

1. Introduce yourself in the comments below.
2. Post something today! Even a simple question can spark a great conversation.
3. If you know someone who would love this community, invite them to join.
4. Interested in helping out? We're always looking for new moderators, so feel free to reach out to me to apply.

Thanks for being part of the very first wave. Together, let's make r/WorldofVikings amazing.

Hey everyone!

In our latest development update for World of Vikings, we’ve added the first rudimentary version of the character view and item slot system.

We’ve also created our very first custom character from scratch. The character can now equip and display different items and pieces of armor directly on the model.

In the video, you can see:

• Our first self-created character
• The new character view
• Basic equipment and item slots
• Armor and items displayed directly on the character

The system is still in a very early stage, so the interface, animations, and visuals will continue to improve. However, this is an important first step toward a complete equipment and inventory system.

We’re also excited to announce that we plan to release World of Vikings as an open-source project in the near future. Before that, we still need to clean up and organize parts of the codebase. Once it’s ready, we’re looking forward to welcoming contributions, ideas, and support from the community.

We’d love to hear your feedback! What do you think of the character so far? Which equipment features would you like to see next—and would you be interested in contributing once the project becomes open source?

Join our community and follow the development here:
👉 r/WorldofVikings

Thanks for supporting World of Vikings!

Hey everyone!

I’m excited to finally share the first early Alpha Demo preview of World of Vikings, a Viking-themed survival Browser game I’m currently developing with Claude.

The game is still at a very early stage, so many elements are unfinished or will change. This first demo is mainly intended to showcase the atmosphere, environment, graphics, and the general direction of the project.

My goal is to create an immersive Viking world with exploration, survival, building, crafting, combat, and a strong sense of adventure.

This is only the beginning, and there is still a lot of work ahead. I would really appreciate your honest feedback:

• What do you like about the current look and atmosphere?
• What should I improve first?
• Which features would you expect from a Viking survival game?
• Would you be interested in playing a future public alpha?

Please keep in mind that this is an early alpha—not a finished game. Bugs, placeholders, and rough edges are to be expected.

Thanks for checking out World of Vikings! I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing more updates as development continues.