Category: Progress Reports

We are back to work, baby!

Yes that’s right, after spending about 8 days recovering, I am now able to resume work on Pandemonium. And let me tell you how much it sucked not being able to do that.

For those of you worried about me, I’ve overhauled the ergonomics of my desk, including getting support cushions and literally propping the entire workstation up on bricks because it turns out it was about half a foot too low. So I was hunched over all the time and that’s just terrible for you back.

Programming and Art

Say hello to the latest addition to the team, Koops. Koops will be helping Chickenwhite with design work, speeding up the process by producing sketchwork.

Koops is a volunteer but a talented artist who works very well with Chickenwhite. To maintain the game’s visual cohesion, Chickenwhite will be drawing finalized versions of design sketches made by Koops.

Here we see a Lord Golem with a dress designed by Koops. We’re still working on it (I personally think it’s just a little too on the nose) but this should give you an idea of what’s going to happen in Prototype 5-3.

On the programming front, I’m about halfway through the backlog from Prototype 5-2. The current plan is to clean up the outstanding bugs, release 5-2c, and then promote the game on various websites to try to drum up some more interest.

5$ Patron Steering Poll

If you’re a 5$ patron, you should head over to the Patreon and vote in the poll! It’s a pretty short poll to decide what I’m going to be focusing on for the next prototype and which features I ought to cut. The poll closes next week and I’ll write a wrapup post detailing the results.

If you’ve got any bug reports or suggestions from the 5-2 release, be sure to get them to me on the forums so I can get them cleaned up for 5-2c. Otherwise, back to work.

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Update: Patch v1.05b is now out. Get it here. Saves are compatible between the two versions.

That’s right, it’s out. Months of freakin’ work and multiple 12-hour days of coding madness, and Prototype 5-2 is now available for the patrons.

If you’re a Patron, just head over to the link I sent you. The password is unchanged. There is a sort-of changelog available on that page.

If you’re a member of the general public and want to give v1.05 a whirl, head to the Downloads page, or click right here.

What’s new in v1.05

So, the first and most obvious thing is that the GUI has been completely overhauled, and it’s still incomplete. I have a lot of changes I want to make, from alignment shifts to border changes to making it animate slightly when you press keys… but it’s largely in the game and workable.

Combat has new animations and flows much more smoothly with the new UI. The combat balance has also been changed a great deal. Chapter 1 is now probably really easy.

Several areas have been revamped and expanded. This includes the starting dungeon, the Quantir mansion, and sections of the Evermoon forest.

Gem socketing and Gem cutting are now in the game, replacing the upgrade system. There is a gemcutter NPC in the southeast corner of the map (read Nadia’s signs to help find her) who can upgrade your gems and sells some of the basic types. You can socket gems from the equipment menu.

Because the upgrade system is gone, there’s now a lot more equipment to be found in many areas. There are also 5 new pieces of Mei-only equipment you can get, one for each of Mei’s monster forms. Some are easier to find than others, but each one has a monster form you must acquire in order to find it.

Some of the dialogue has been changed. There is a sliiiight expansion to the Quantir mansion storyline (it’s not huge, don’t fret).

What about Chapter 5?

Chapter 5 is now about 60% complete by my estimate. With the GUI and the Mines out of the way, it will probably be a few more months before the whole shebang is completed in scripts. Anyone’s guess in terms of the art, those slacker artists.

Can I get Prototype 5-2 to play Chapter 5?

Yes you can! First, go to the Patreon and pledge there. I will be putting a post up shortly detailing how to get Prototype 5-2.

Or, if you have more patience than money (I do, so I know the feeling), you can wait until July 26th, 2018. At that point, Prototype 5-2 becomes available to the public.

Are there any known bugs?

Tons. Some of the larger known bugs are alignment problems in combat and with the GUI. The SDL versions of the game do not correctly read keys when you’re entering names for your save game (I’m working on a fix, don’t worry), and the FMOD version sometimes repeats sound effects for no reason.

Also, some cutscenes have text that runs slightly off the bottom of the dialogue box. That will be fixed… someday.

Where can I discuss this if I have problems, and report bugs?

We have a discussion thread on TFGamesSite. I check it fairly often when I’m working and try to answer non-spoiler questions as best I can.

You can also leave comments on the Patreon page and I’ll get back to you when I can.

Prototype 5-2 is due out next week (not necessarily on Monday)

Unfortunately, Chicken will not be providing any of the nice-to-have arts. We have the minimum mandated art. Fortunately we have plenty here to whet your collective whistles.

On the programming front, I am just now wrapping up the vendor UI. I am going to attempt to get the gem socketing interface into the game before Prototype 5-2. I expect that will take a full day of work to develop and test. After that, I need to fix a couple bugs in the random level generator, and review the balance of Chapter 5 so far.

Chapter 1 has received a few map reworks, including a new NPC added. You’ll be able to meet a world-famous gemcutter in Evermoon forest. I’ve also completely reworked some maps as requested by people on the forums (thanks guys!) and we’ve improved the boulder and tree tiles. There is juuuust enough new content in Chapter 1 to warrant a replay for veteran players, but juuuust enough that skipping right to Chapter 5 will be viable.

The UI is looking great, and Patrons are going to get a preview this week. I’ve redone the entire thing, greatly improving the functionality. The save menu doesn’t look like crap anymore, and the string-entry UI also looks almost tolerable. The main menu of the game hasn’t been reworked yet, that will probably happen in Prototype 5-3.

News on the Linux Front

I have just built my new computer. It can run Doom on the highest settings with no FPS stutter, but more importantly I have enough hard drive space now to dual-boot Linux. However, I am not making that a priority for Prototype 5-2. It will probably be introduced in a patch later on, after 5-2 but before Prototype 5-3.

If you’re a Linux user, I will be requesting your help testing it. I’m going to be building it on Ubuntu as I’ve heard that’s the best for development across the Linux variants. If you’re a more experienced Linux developer I’d love to hear your thoughts on how I should go about this.

Until then, get psyched for Prototype 5-2 next week.

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Text Adventure Mode is pushed back to Prototype 5-3

Yes, you read that right. I have decided to move the Text Adventure optional quest to Prototype 5-3. It will not be making an appearance in Prototype 5-2.

My reasoning for this goes thusly: I have about two weeks to finish everything for the prototype, maybe a few more days (I update on Mondays but I don’t have to release on them). I could rush this out, but I’d rather spent those two weeks polishing the game and improving it. It’s better to get all this polish and balance work done rather than release in a shoddy state but with more content.

For reference, this is due to A) the GUI and B) the increased length of the Tellurium Mines. Originally, the mines were just the randomly generated levels plus a small Steam Droid encampment where you could turn in quests and chat with NPCs. The Tellurium Mines is now a full-fledged side area, with a Steam Droid city, about a dozen cutscenes, a small dungeon, the random level generation, and new areas added around Regulus. It’s much better than before and really suits the story’s themes, but holy cow did the scope expand.

If I have spare time, I may try to squeeze the gemstone upgrade system into this prototype, but that depends on how long I spend on everything else. I have a few maps I need to finish and I have to write a few more scenes, as well as fix some bugs in the random level generator, but it’s mostly POLISH WORK.

If you are interested, please tell me what parts of Chapter 1 I should focus on.
I want to redo some of the older maps. Which maps did you think sucked the most? Those are the ones I’ll redo or expand.

Boring Update Stuff

As far as programming goes, see above. It’s mostly polish work from here on out. Because I changed how the program handles naming, I have to go back through Chapter 1 and fix various objects now showing up with improper names, such as (Thought: when reading the signs.

On the art front, everything I had mandated for Prototype 5-2 is in. Everything past this point is nice-to-haves. I’d really like to get Darkmatter and Steam Droid Christine images into this prototype if we have time. Chicken is on vacation until the 18th, meaning there’s juuuust enough time to get those out.

The new UI is artistically completed, and all I have to do is code it in.

On the spriting front, I am currently forcing Urimas to revamp some of the older tiles to make them look better. He just finished trees, and we’re doing boulders next.

Checklist

As you can see, we’re mostly done. Just gotta balance these things and revisit old code to address bugs.

• Serenity Crater (Reviewing Balance)
• Tellurium Mines (Mostly Done)
• Golem Transformation images (Done)
• Latex Drone Transformation images (Done)
• Enemies for Serenity Crater (Done)
• All running animations completes (Done)
• New UI Overhaul (Done, Implementing)
• Eldritch Dream Girl Transformation (Complete)
• Work Credits System implemented and balanced (In Progress)
• Next balance pass of Chapter 5 (In Progress)
• Darkmatter Girl Transformation (Complete)
• Steam Droid Transformation (Complete)

 

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Programming and Design Stuff

So, we’re most of the way through the Tellurium Mines. My goal is to have that wrapped up this week, along with Serenity Crater. As is so often the case, we’ve expanded the area a little bit to make it better. It now features a mini-dungeon and some other surprises that I’m not going to spoil, in addition to having a large NPC town and randomly generated dungeon. And all this for an optional area!

I’ve also settled on the equipment upgrade system we’re going to be using. I spelled it out here but, in brief: Equipment can be socketed with items (tentatively called gems) which provide stat increases. Gems can be upgraded with adamantite. You can swap gems out of your equipment. Some equipment has more slots than others.

This system will not make it into Prototype 5-2, but I should have it done for Prototype 5-3.

Art Stuff

Chicken just got me the last piece of art mandated for Prototype 5-2. Everything after this point is a nice-to-have but isn’t on my list of required pieces.

Hund also just finished the runic animations, which Patrons will get to see next week.

Urimas is getting me some more tiles. Because that’s what he does.

Rune is doing character design work for Chapter 2. Izuna the Kitsune is looking good!

The New UI

I’ve been promised that all the remaining UI parts will be given to me this week. I’ve coded most of the UI in as I’ve received it so far. Once it’s done, I’ll be putting up some screenshots for all to enjoy.

Please note that none of the UI is considered finalized at this point, I often edit little bits to make them look better or fit the text better. I’m considering creating an entirely new font for the headers, for example, so take all things with a grain of pepper.

Prototype 5-2 Checklist

My current target for 5-2 is the end of June. I want to spend some extra time testing and balancing the prototype, hence why I’m allocating a month for it instead of two weeks. I could very well rush it out in two weeks, but then it’ll suck. So, nope.

• Serenity Crater (Reviewing Balance)
• Tellurium Mines (Mostly Done)
• Text Adventure Subquest
• Golem Transformation images (Done)
• Latex Drone Transformation images (Done)
• Enemies for Serenity Crater (Done)
• All running animations completes (Done)
• New UI Overhaul (4/5ths done!)
• Eldritch Dream Girl Transformation (Text only, Complete)
• Work Credits System implemented and balanced
• Next balance pass of Chapter 5 (In Progress)
• Darkmatter Girl Transformation (Complete)
• Electrosprite Transformation (Text only, no images)
• Steam Droid Transformation (In Progress)

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Linux Build Coming Soon!

I ordered all the parts for the computer I’m building, and I will have them in early June. I’m going to be dual-booting Linux and Windows on this machine, so hopefully Prototype 5-2 will have native Linux support. Hooray!

Programming Stuff

Most of the way through Tellurium Mines’ scenario. Rather than rush to complete it, I took some time to put the UI in more thoroughly.

And let me tell you, it’s worth it. The UI overhaul makes the game so much more enjoyable, if for no reason other than it’s much cleaner to look at.

It’s still a work in progress, as not all of the text/images are aligned correctly and some parts are not finished yet. But it looks so much better oh my god.

Artistic Stuff

The needed character designs for Prototype 5-2 are complete, and Chicken is finishing up the Latex Drone sequence. Everything else is a nice-to-have.

Hund is now working on making some pretty runestone animations. They look great and I’ll probably wind up posting a sample when they’re ready.

Urimas, as always, is spriting. His next task is to get me sprites of the Steam Droid characters so I can finish the cutscenes therein.

And what’s that? Rune is back to work? Yes, Rune is doing some character design work for Chapter 2 and will be making promotional materials for the big release of 5-2. Much excite!

Checklist

• Serenity Crater (Reviewing Balance)
• Tellurium Mines (Mostly Done, unbalanced)
• Text Adventure Subquest
• Golem Transformation images (Done)
• Latex Drone Transformation images (In progress)
• Enemies for Serenity Crater (Done)
• All running animations completes (Done)
• New UI Overhaul (4/5ths done!)
• Eldritch Dream Girl Transformation (Text only, Complete)
• Work Credits System implemented and balanced
• Next balance pass of Chapter 5 (In Progress)
• Darkmatter Girl Transformation (Complete)
• Electrosprite Transformation (Text only, no images)
• Steam Droid Transformation (Text only, no images)

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Programming Stuff

I’m about halfway through the scenario of the Tellurium Mines. I’ve gotten the new enemies I needed for Serenity, just need one more sprite sheet and I can start balancing the area.

I would be further along the mines, but I had to spend some time putting in new UI. The new UI is now about halfway complete. Get psyched!

Artistic Stuff

There are actually three enemies that I needed for Serenity, but I’ve gotten two of them. Chicken is now going to be designing the special NPCs for the Tellurium Mines section. We’re probably going to be doing the transformation art last before Prototype 5-2 comes out.

All the combat animations that I needed are complete, and they look spectacular. Hund is now going to work on redoing the rune animations that are used in a few spots in Chapters 1 and 5. We also have new runic designs as opposed to the placeholders that were there before.

Urimas, as usual, got me sprites. Running animations are done, he’s now getting me enemy sprites and tiles.

Other Stuff

We actually got a musician to make some music for Chapter 5! He did it because Chicken is a friend of his, which is good because we sure don’t have the budget to pay for it. If you’re a patron, you’ll get to listen to it in this week’s Patron Bonus Stuff.

Prototype 5-2 Objectives

Quick Update Stuff

Coding is on schedule. I worked out the kinks in the random level generator, see below.

Art is coming along nicely. I got the combat UI two days ago and we made several improvements to the status UI. All but two of the combat animations are complete. Urimas is currently finishing item icons, and Chicken needs to get me 1 more enemy design before I can finish up Serenity Crater.

The Random Level Generator

I just finished putting together the basic exporter for the RLG. It still needs to generate useful enemy and object data, but the really complex texture mapper is complete.

The RLG was designed to be used in both auto and manual modes, to better allow me to identify bugs. So, here’s screenshots of it in action. To use the RLG, you just press the number keys and the generator stops at each stage.

Stage 1: Rolling Sizes

Not much to look at, but the red border indicates the sizes. You can use the arrow keys to scroll around in-game.

Stage 2: Generate Rooms

Here we have generated the ‘rooms’, which are just core points. The rooms are not necessarily connected. The green dots represent a room center, and the rectangles mean a room is elliptical.

Stage 3: Tunnel and Distance Check

Next, we “dig” between each room. Starting at the entrance (white square) we mark all connected tiles. If a room’s center is disconnected, the closest room is found and we dig a 1-tile wide tunnel to the nearest connected room, and then run the algorithm again until no rooms are disconnected. This guarantees it’s always possible to navigate to each room.

Stage 4: Spawn an Entrance

Here we have moved the entrance point to the top middle white square. This is because the entrance is always on a north wall, as it’s a ladder. An exit was also generated but is not yet marked on the map, as well as treasures being generated.

To generate the exit, we take a position that is 75% or more of the maximum distance away from the entrance ladder and modify it to be an exit. You’ll see it on the screenshot below.

To generate treasures, we find the shortest path between the entrance and the exit. The exit is in the bottom middle. Then, we take all locations on the map that are 17 or more tiles away and make them treasure candidates.

Treasure candidates are selected with weight being placed on the most distant ones from the shortest path. Sometimes a candidate is picked that is closer, but it’s usually an edge tile. Then, we find the shortest path between the treasure and the entrance-exit axis and mark it, and then find the distance for all tiles and this new, branching path. Then we run the algorithm again until there are no more tiles that are 17 or more spaces away from any path. The result is the above diagram.

Stage 5: Texture Everything

Programmatically the most complex part, the program checks pit, wall, and floor values and assembles texture data for the renderer. Now you can see how it’s an actual level with pits and walls. Presently the RLG does not place interesting objects and doodads, but it will later.

Stage 6: Generate Enemies

Enemies are purely object data and could theoretically be generated externally, but I decided to build their paths directly into the generator. Essentially, each room is given a priority value and enemies are rolled to spawn in each room. Each time a room gains an enemy spawn, it decreases in priority. The enemy will then mark a path to another room selected at random, decreasing its weight as well. Thus the enemy population is distributed fairly evenly amongst the rooms with some getting little attention by sheer chance.

Note that these are path candidates, and most levels will not have a full complement of enemies. Towards the bottom of the mines, you can expect all the slots to be filled, though. Waiting around corners and ambushing isolated patrols is still the best strategy.

So that’s my random level generator. I’ve already hooked it in to the game’s engine, I just need to generate objects and then I can finish the other half of the Tellurium Mines’ scenario work.

 

Programming Stuff

I do so love getting sick. I only spent about three days last week actually working on Pandemonium. But here’s some of what I got done.

I have almost finished the level generator’s basic parts. It still needs to generate treasure and enemies but it currently generates entrances and exits and does so fairly naturally. The entrance is in the top middle and the exit the bottom right. Exits are generates at 75% or more of the maximum walkable distance in the map, which means I can put treasure at the 95% mark and enemies in between.

There is a 10% chance that the level generated will be a cavern. Here, pits account for most of the blockers as opposed to walls, but the other properties are exactly the same. It provides visual variation.

I do intend to put in more types of generators to give more variety, but I’ll retrofit those later. This week I will be adding treasure, enemy patrols, and then actually convert the level generator into usable levels.

Artistic Stuff

Urimas has finished the running animations and is now making tiles for the Steam Droid parts of the mines. Once I get those, working on the scenario for the Tellurium Mines is my next objective.

Hund has been working on the combat animations and should be done the main ones this week. He’s now adding coloring and shading. They look pretty darn good.

CocoMint reports that the UI has its parts complete. We’ll be going over the finalized layouts on Wednesday.

Chicken has nothing to report. Shame!

Prototype 5-2 Objectives

When everything is checked off, it’s release time, baby.

• Serenity Crater (Mostly Done)
• Tellurium Mines (In Progress)
• Text Adventure Subquest
• Golem Transformation images (Done)
• Latex Drone Transformation images
• Enemies for Serenity Crater (In progress)
• All running animations completes (Done)
• New UI Overhaul (Mostly Done)
• Eldritch Dream Girl Transformation (Text only, Complete)
• Work Credits System implemented and balanced
• Next balance pass of Chapter 5 (In Progress)
• Darkmatter Girl Transformation (Text only, no images – Being Edited)
• Electrosprite Transformation (Text only, no images)
• Steam Droid Transformation (Text only, no images)

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