- The new procedural navigation model has been instantiated. It's a bit rough but it will allow for real time dynamic smart navigation as environments dynamically change. - Keyboard Toggle has been moved into the settings sub menu along with volume control
You can now dash, default key right trigger on xbox controller, or mouse 5 on keyboard, control customization coming soon. It's a bit broken in terms of it's speed but boy is it fun (You can also still dash while whirlwinding). I'll leave it as is for now and let people whiz around while I focus on making new content. I'd imagine people are bored with the same two dungeon levels by now.
Year End DevLog - New AI Navigation Model, Minions, Cave Tileset,
Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!
I am now officially done my Cyber Security course which means more time to work on the game. One of the great things about taking the CS course was that I learned some good ways to write programs that are designed to work over network so hopefully that could potentially translate to some potential new features for the game at a later date.
Anyways, I've decided to incorporate A* Pathing and dynamically generated navigation grids into my AI model. What this does is that it allows me to procedurally generate navigation allowing for more dynamic level interaction.
The solution is done by Aron Granberg, you can buy his stuff on the Unity Asset Store. It's a fantastic model and I highly recommend it especially if you plan on having a lot of modular moving components in a level area, very easy to modify.
Using this method solved another issue with navigation meshes and more or less removes many headaches in regards to linking navigational meshes together(many of you will notice that mobs in a room are more or less restricted to that room and cannot chase you past it due to how the rooms are generated).
This made minion following procedures another rudimentary task.
Classically speaking, skeleton minions are just a summon skill that you equip to your bar in many hack and slash RPGs. As the restless undead of the depths is actually it's own faction that you'll be able to build reputation with, I will be going into a more original direction with how you interact with that feature. You'll be able to see them dynamically pop in and ambush opposing slime monsters while also having your own reliable skeleton companions that you can rely on. Faction battles will help add some life into the tileset and it's always neat to see things fight amongst each other.
Last but not least, a common requested feature was some sort of dodge/roll to get out of an enemy attack so I finally spent the 20 seconds it took to get a working model going.
The dash is given it's own designated button which used to be the dual strike button (you no longer have a designed dual strike button, instead you need to press both the left and right attack buttons together to dual strike). This will further fill out the control scheme and should be a welcomed tool. It will be offered with the ability to dodge in the direction that you are moving, if you would like another option, please let me know.
It also still works while whirlwind is active. Technically you still need to commit the stamina needed to use the maneuver combination and it was kinda fun to play around with so I'll leave it in for now, let me know if it's too powerful once the patch is deployed.
Thank you everyone for your patience and I hope to get this to you guys ASAP. In the mean time enjoy your new years!
Sept 18 2022 - Live Branch Update
Hi Everyone,
Thank you guys for your continued patience as always. Production has been slow due to some real life circumstances but I hope to pick things back up soon. I'll also be heading back to school this winter but still plan to commit my evenings to the project.
The second level has been released, this tile variant features other elemental variations to the slimes along with a more tight nit flow and more traps.
Dancers attire is a new "armor"(it's not really armor) set that allows the user to forego all physical damage reduction in an attempt to reduce weight. As weight penalties will soon be introduced, this allows players to still wear gear with stat rolls on them while managing their weight more freely.
New Slime Elemental Variants.
Red Small Slimes move much more quickly than their green variant, Blue Ranged Slimes are equipped with a frost bolt which can more easily interrupt your attacks.
Sept 1 - Beta Branch Update
My apologies for the long hiatus. This past month has been "interesting" to say the least.
Level 2 should be available once the slime king is defeated. Simply head to the sewer gate on the top left of the first entrance to enter. Level 2 features some elemental variations to the slimes and a more linear trap filled room tile. As mentioned prior, each level will have various changes to the flow of the level design to help break up and diversify the minute to minute gameplay to keep things varied and fresh. Other designs will be featured in later levels including physics puzzle based, dark room, and nemesis style encounters.
Added a new type of armor weight class known as "Array". This new weight class features equipment that has no weight penalty due to the scantily clad nature of the armor but also features no physical defense. This armor is designed for those who don't need the damage reduction but still want stat prefixes (or for those who want to have a sexier look).
Thank you everyone for your patience and I hope to see you guys soon.
July 4th - Beta Branch - Optimization, Hub area adjustments
Happy 4th of July for you guys in the States, I hope your holiday was enjoyable. Along with a lot of bug fixing, I went ahead and spruced up the Hub Area a bit with some new foilage.
- A whole new line of shrubbery have been added to the hub area to occupy the space. These new assets amount to around 1/4th-ish of the previous assets effectively cutting the load in more than half while providing more things to look at. - The minimap has been disable due to an optimization issue, will return soon - Optimized AI in a few areas to increase speed and reduce CPU load.
For those of you down south still enjoying your holidays, always remember to drink responsibly and don't drink and drive!
Live Branch Update Notes -
Thank you everyone for the continued support and interest in the game. Wishlists continue to grow and it makes me happy to see people interested in the game.
Work continues on improving the under the hood components of the game to ensure an enjoyable and stable performance throughout the game.
- Artwork for the UI has been replaced with some new painterly original work. - Fixed some issues with panel priority when using the controller. - The rarity of the color should correctly display on item pickups. - Optimized lighting and shadows in various areas to improve performance.
New Feature - Rotating Camera!
You can now freely move the camera in a 360 degree radius to improve navigation and line of sight. Right now this is bound to middle mouse when using M/KB and pressing on the left thumb stick, then rotating with right thumb stick when using the microsoft controller.
Button Mapping options is still being worked on along with graphical settings to provide the player with those industry standard options and will get those out as soon as I can.
Thank you again and hope to see you in game!
June 11 2022 - Beta Branch Small Update
Hi everyone,
Work continues on the under laying systems to allow easy and optimized generation of different tiers of levels. The next levels will be unlocked as new bosses are introduced into the game.
Beta Branch Small Update Notes:
- Life, Mana, and Stamina Leech attributes now scale with the amount of damage done per hit. - Weapons should now correctly pool with elemental damage modifiers from armor. - Prefix and Suffix item attributes should correctly display their stat bonuses on the item description window - Moved level generation to a modular table for ease of management
May 27 2022 - Live Branch Patch Notes
Moved all changes from beta branch to live branch along with some additional changes.
- Fixed various issues with the controller including Hotbar deselection. You should be able to fully play with the controller. Please note there is a known issue in which you will have to close the menu and reopen it again when first loading the game to use it with the controller. A fix will be coming soon. - Removed various buttons and pooled the stat, inventory, and equipment panels together for ease of use with the controller - The Bow can now drop off of regular enemies with magic and rare rolls, and yes you can dual wield bows viably - Normalized various prefixes and suffixes across the board to follow a level standard, they will now increase with potency when rolled on higher level items (coming soon). - Prefixes and Suffixes should show up in the shop menu. - The player inventory has been doubled from 4x4 to 4x8
May 26 2022 - Beta Branch Update Notes
- Items can now drop with random prefixes and suffixes, adding powerful modifiers to items.
Unfortunately at this time, the stats from the prefixes do not generate on the inventory item tooltip but they should still correctly apply their stat buffs to the weapons and character.
- Item Description should properly link to the Equipment Panel - Added rarity color functionality to pickups and the Item Description Panel - Character Stats should correctly update when adding stat points to the character panel.
May 23rd - What to expect from the first content update Blobs N Bones
Hi Everyone,
Thank for your interest in the game as always. Your time is much appreciated.
I've got some exciting new things coming down the pipeline and I can't wait to release it when it's ready.
We've got some new spell classes in the works including elemental tornados, slow moving wide ranged projectiles that creep forward and deal damage to everything along its path.
The alliance system continues to see development. We'll see some neat random encounters in some of the dungeon areas and you'll be able to recruit various followers through the game's Einherjar system!
Slime variations will be seen in the higher level dungeons. These are not just elemental swaps. Fire slimes for example will move much faster than their Green Apple variant and will explode when killed. Ice slimes although will move slower, will pack a harder punch through increased slow ability via cold attacks.
I can't wait to show you guys more and look forward to the next news post!
