'Sup. So, this next update is the final update before I delve into the Academy and all of the bugs that will create (did I say bugs...? I mean 'features'). So... what's the goal? For the last several months, I've internally dubbed this next update 'Operation First Impression'. I intend to bring all of the oldest visuals in the game up to my highest standard, overhaul the UI with visual and convenience features, and expand the prologue to give new players a representative taste of the general feel of the game before they get thrown into the full gameplay loop. I think we can all agree that currently, the worst part of the game is the first things people see... creepy little Lani and dead-eyed Bess. Gonna make that better.
I've actually been planning this update for a long time, so it's a big deal for me. The nebulous backstories for Lani and Marla have long been finalized in my own head and notes, and putting their basic versions (before Liam's eventual meddling) into the game is something I'm really excited to do.
But this log isn't really a breakdown for the full list of planned changes. Instead, I'd like to spotlight the things I've worked on over the last week and give you guys a feel for what's on my plate.
Screen Overhauls:For those of you not in the Renpy ecosystem, a 'screen' is the pop up menu that appears outside of the story/dialogue elements of the game. The mirror, the cooking menu, the inventory... all of those things are 'screens'. When I first began the journey of making this game, I was an absolute novice at literally all of the coding aspects (honestly, creative writing is the only thing I have a history doing... 3D, coding, UI, they were all new to me... and it shows). The first screens that were made for the game are extremely basic, and while I've been updating them as I go, they still have the underlying backbone that was made in the very beginning. This next update is going to greatly alter that. New buttons, new functionality, some little animations; my goal is to make the entire gameplay experience feel crisper and more intuitive.
New Inventory: Keep in mind, these are still very early versions. I've only been able to work on this for the past few days. The new inventory has a number of already-implemented improvements. The sort options allow for alphabetical, type (the type is a bit strange... it groups collection materials, mob drops, equipment, and tent supplies), rarity (I've altered some rarity values), resell value, and finally combat power.
I've also gone ahead and made an auto-equip function that looks over the currently selected character and equip the highest valued combat power item into each slot (it then goes through the next party member and does the same with the remaining equipment). This function may be expanded with player-controlled options once more equipment variety is added into the game.
Finally, the spin animations have been changed. They now load into memory as the game begins (it's only about 30MB worth of RAM usage, so I don't know why I never did that to begin with) so that they no longer sputter along when selected. This also removes the glitch that caused the spinning to speed up when clicking around the screen.
New Cooking Menu: This one is closer to the final version. All of the new features are in place and operating as intended.
Some changes to mention:- The recipe list is now sorted into three groups: known recipes that can currently be made (with a star) at the top, known recipes that can't be made, and then the unknown recipes at the bottom.- Recipes that can be cooked now have a one-click fill button (the arrow) that will put them into the pot automagically.- Ingredient items now have a poison value that is specifically defined (previously, they were given a poison value based on rarity... which didn't make much sense).- If Lani is in your party, you will now see a 'disgust meter' with her portrait and a circular graph in the background. Her expression will change based on what you're putting in the pot, and the color of the graph behind her represents her overall opinion of your meals (blue is neutral, green is negative, and pink is positive). These are all previously calculated variables, but they are hidden in the existing cooking menu.
All of these are long-standing feature requests, and I'm really pleased that I can finally add them.
Other screen plans:No screenshots on these yet, but I intend to do a full overhaul of the Soul Box next. There are requests to add favorites (or to somehow specify items to always go into the box). I want to correct that issue where the Soul Box item list doesn't update until you've clicked it twice (damn annoying...), and to add an options panel for players to decide what to do with items that aren't in the Soul Box (use skill books or sell them?). I also need to make a quick pop up confirmation button if the player leaves behind a major item, like their Dungeon Tent. Gotta make sure that was on purpose.
Next, the mirror screen needs to be split into two versions: Before and After Liam earns Self-Appraisal from the Succubus Dungeon.
After that, I intend to remake the maps for Home and Town. They're literally the oldest things in the entire game.
And the Guild and Temple:The Guild and Temple are part of a larger reimagining for the Quest System as a whole. I'm not going to go full-on with the customizing of the Adventure Guild in the next update, but I do intend to create an actual quest board with a greatly expanded list of quests (some random and some time-sensitive). Part of that will be giving the Temple a lot more attention, as well. As I mentioned earlier in this post, this is all about improving the prologue and the overall impression of the game, and I do intend to render out Liam's Awakening Ceremony as part of the effort. Along with that modeling work, I'll finally be creating a legitimate environment model for the exterior of the Temple, and I plan to integrate the Guild and Temple quests into a unified Quest System that will allow players to collect quests and then complete them at their leisure (or collect items in one life and turn them in for quest credit in the next, for example).
I'm posting up progress shots in Discord as I go to gather player opinion, so feel free to drop by and give notes (or you can request features in the comments).
And that is my update. It's a lot of stuff, but I've been making some really solid progress so far. That said, my kids will be out of school starting in two weeks, which will greatly limit my work time. I'm going to sneak up into the office to code all of these changes in little bursts when I can, but I don't expect to get a lot done before August.