Summary: In which I fall sick; a work-in-progress foe is completed in prototype; two new enemies are prototyped; and enemy-prototyping may be near-done!

Greetings and salutations!

This week’s screenshot shows another new enemy prototype:

The week just past was a bit of a short one for me, I fear, as I was hit by two separate ailments (if, I think, both minor), and some concomittant loss of sleep.

As a result, work was a bit slow near the middle of the week, I feel, and I took Thursday and Friday as sick days.

(Thankfully, I do think that I’m slowly recovering!)

Still, somewhat did get done:

I mentioned in last week’s blog post, I believe, an enemy that was part-done: a plant that grows explosive bulbs at random points across its area. In the week just past, then, I completed the prototype of that foe!

Next, then, was a foe rooted to the walls–but not as limited by them as one might think.

This is a carnivorous plant that bites at passing prey with a single snapping tendril. The tendril is usually kept close to the plant’s base, where it may be less conspicuous–but it can stretch out to some length in the attack!

(It is this plant that is shown in the main screenshot above.)

And last of the enemies prototyped in the week just past is another plant with tendrils.

This one, however, suspends them in a grasping curtain, thus to catch and strangle prey that strays amongst them–a little like a (non-venomous) sea anemone.

(In addition, while its tendrils can be destroyed, the plant itself is invulnerable, and further will regrow destroyed tendrils.)

This plant, I will confess, proved tricky to implement in some elements! I remember, for one, struggling a bit with the procedural “strangling” animation for the tendrils. This as a result, in part, of my misremembering how I’d implemented their motion in the first place!

On the conceptual side, I also gave some thought to potential enemies for the Plant Moon, as well as potential things to do in regions of the moon with few opponents.

On another note, with these enemies done I’m actually, I think, fairly close to completing the process of prototyping the game’s currently-intended enemies! (Of course, it’s possible that more will be added at a later stage, but that’s–naturally–unknown for now.)

That, then, is all for this week–stay well, and thank you for reading! ^_^

Summary: In which the final boss may be fully prototyped; a new demo is begun; some enemies gain tweaks and fixes; and a performance issue is addressed.

Greetings and salutations!

This week’s screenshot shows a new location! Albeit one not intended for the final game…

The week just past was one of both creative and technical work:

I mentioned in last week’s post, I believe, that I had worked on the final boss. That work continued in the week just past–and indeed, I think that I may have the prototype of the boss completed!

It now awaits the opportunity for testing by and feedback from someone other than myself, to determine whether it’s ready as-is or whether more development is called for…

Staying with creative work, in the week just past I made a start towards a new demo… o_o

In short, it’s designed primarily to show to potential publishers some of the content that has been created since the first demo–in particular a selection of enemies and bosses. Secondarily, it’s designed to tease some of the locations intended for the final game.

Plus, it should have the advantage of letting them play with a version of the game that includes recent changes, such as the revision of the use of mana and the rebalancing of weapons.

And furthermore–if all works as intended!–it should provide a demonstration of the game supporting DLC!

That said, this demo is currently not intended to have “proper” assets: I feel that it’s not wise to spend too much time and energy on those when they won’t represent the actual intended art or art-style of the game.

Instead, I mean to have simple stand-in assets, and to be explicit that they are so.

And it is this new demo that is shown in the first screenshot above; specifically, the nascent level that is visible there is an entryway to the two main parts of said demo.

Here below, then, let me show part of another (very work-in-progress) level, as seen within Blender:

In certain cases, the process of adding the new enemies to the demo–of bringing them into actual production–uncovered issues of one sort or another. Thus a bit of time was spent on tweaks and fixes by which to deal with those issues.

In technical matters, in the week just past I addressed a performance hitch in the Crystal Moon.

In short, the initiation of the combat encounter in that moon has reliably caused a brief-but-noticeable pause in the game. Nothing catastrophic, but not something nice, either.

So I investigated, and the problem seems to have arisen from a confluence of multiple issues. Offhand I recall: A font at overly-high resolution; the sound-system taking up too much time; and the reading of an overly-large texture.

The first and last of those I think that I’ve noticeably improved; the second I might have an idea for…

And lastly, there were a few things done in the week just past that don’t seem worth detailing here!

That then is all for this week–stay well, and thank you for reading! ^_^

Summary: In which an apology is given; explanation is made for a missed blog-post; enemies continue to be prepared for the demo; a foe becomes visible in the aethereal; and a matter of damage sees change.

Greetings and salutations!

This week’s screenshot shows some further prototype-art:

Phew! My apologies for having not posted an entry last week! To explain:

On the Sunday before last–that is, not the day prior to my writing this, but one week before that; the day prior to when I would usually have posted–I fell horribly sick. What’s more, the week that followed proved to be a stressful one for me.

As a result, I fear that I wasn’t in much of a position to write on Monday of last week. :/

Indeed, given the way that things were going, I elected to just take last week off of work, as sick leave.

In any case, I’m feeling largely better now I believe, and can report on the week before last, at least! And it was a week in which some things got done, I daresay:

As before, progress continued in the matter of creating prototype depictions of enemies, and of incorporating them into my new demo-level. And, of course, in implementing tweaks and fixes as I did so!

And indeed, I attended to a fair few enemies during that week, I believe!

I don’t think that I’m quite done, but I do think that I’m close! ^_^

(Of course, a selection of bosses awaits to be dealt with…)

Here then is another collage showing a few of the prototype representations made during the week:

I also went back to one particular enemy–the ghostly Shroud–and implemented an intended feature:

You see, this foe has a tendency to fade in and out of visibility–it is a ghost, after all.

But conversely, the player has access to an ability that allows them to see into the ghostly aethereal–and which should thus allow them to see an otherwise-invisible Shroud.

So I implemented this! It called for some changes to the code of the enemy, and for some reworking in my “Aethereal Object” classes, but I believe that it is now done!

But not all work of that week was applied to enemies: I also attended to a matter of gameplay, of implementing a change that I’ve had in mind for a while.

Specifically, I removed “continuous” damage from the game.

You see, as I had it, certain attacks were dealt over time: the longer the target was affected, the more damage was dealt.

And this is fairly natural!

But is also has some drawbacks: For one, it calls for additional complexity in both handling the damage and producing a visual response to it, and for another, it means that such attacks may become negligible if passed through very quickly.

So, I have now replaced such damage with “pulsed” damage–damage that is dealt much as normal damage, but with rapid repetition.

The effect is very similar–but done thusly it works with the base damage-mechanics and effects–and furthermore at least deals a reliable minimum of damage.

That, then, is all for this week–stay well, and thank you for reading! ^_^

Summary: In which death- and damage- effects continue to be added; two more enemy-attacks gain effects; explosive seeds may be shot; bosses gain prototype art; and bosses also gain effects for attacks, damage-taking, and death.

Greetings and salutations!

This week’s screenshot shows one of the prototype bosses, now with prototype art!

The week just past was perhaps to a large degree another effects-week–but with other things done besides:

To start with, work continued on the addition of death- and damage- effects to various standard enemies.

And indeed, I think that I now have this task pretty much done! (Barring at least one minor revision that I have in mind.)

Here below, for example, you should see a centipede taking damage and then dying:

Furthermore, I added effects to some enemy-attacks that had been overlooked–those coming from two plant-enemies, one that produces exploding pods, and one that produces exploding “helicopter seeds”. (The latter, to clarify, being those one-winged seeds, produced by certain plants, that spiral slowly to the ground.)

And if I recall correctly, it was in doing the above that the idea came to me to make those “helicopter seeds” shootable.

This allows the player to potentially clear their path through the hazard. But conversely, the seeds explode immediately on being shot, meaning that some care might be called for in which seeds to destroy…

(And concomitantly, I increased the rate at which those seeds are released.)

But it was not only the standard enemies that saw work in the week just past–indeed, I moved on to work on the bosses that I intend for the demo!

Specifically, I’ve begun adding prototype art for them, as well as effects for their attacks, their taking damage, and their deaths.

Thus far two have seen work: One is the dragon shown in the first screenshot above. (Although it should be noted that much of the work on its model had been done previously.) The other, then, is a thorny guardian that should be shown below:

And finally, there were a few things done that don’t seem worth detailing here: tweaks to prototype art and to shaders, and a little bit of work on the level in which the new demo carries its standard enemies (including some partial and tentative lighting).

That then is all for this week–stay well, and thank you for reading! ^_^