BLOG ENTRY 37 - 12.16.2021

DEV STATUS

Well, I’ve failed with posting more, but that’s ok, because I’ve gotten so much done and I’m so excited to keep going. I know that I’m getting pretty close to finishing traversal mechanics, weapons and inventory systems, but they’re still a lot more to do. And I have to say that despite knowing that there is a lot more to be done, I’m very much hyped to continue working on the game. I might go radio silent for the holidays but here’s some updates I’m really proud of.

RELOAD FUNCTION & DAMAGE NUMBERS

I have finally gotten around to coding the reload function on the master weapon. It now actively consumes ammo and uses a different amount with the alternate fire. It will stop shooting when the clip is empty, but you can reload before.

With the base functionality done and transferable to all other weapons I need to work on the active reload part of the function, as well as set an animation montage so it looks like the character is reloading. I have to design a lot of stuff for the active reload as I know it’s a fun minigame within combat, but I need to make the function worth doing it, and that’s gonna take me putting on my designer hat more often than my coder one.

I think I will continue my work until I finish the coding part before trying to design the fun reward for nailing the active reload. It’s going to take some work as I really want to make the weapons distinct, and there’s a lot possibility space, I can make the weapon fire extra shots, deal more damage, instantly apply elemental damage, stun, penetrate shield, there’s so much that can be done, I have to really study it before attempting to implement them.

ELEMENTAL PROJECTILES AND ALTERNATE FIRE.

I’ve finished the base elemental projectiles for all elements, and finished this gun I wanted to do for a while, a weapon that it’s alternate fire is just to switch element. If I balance it well It could be a gun that could be part of a lot of peoples build, a reliable side arm for any situation. So I have a use for it in the final game, as well as test each individual element and find bugs with a single weapon. Neat right?

I am also having thinking hard about the tangible difference for each elemental effect. I’m already cooking up a rock paper scissor graph to make sure I don’t have unnecessary overlap of effects. but that’ll wait for a bit until I’m done with the base functionality. I already have the code and tutorials that I need, I just need to get around to implementing them.

EQUIPMENT AND INVENTORY UPDATE

I also finished the inventory toggle so now it returns properly, I had a bug where after you returned you could not rotate or fire. With that fixed I will continue working on the individual components so I can keep everything neatly organized. I also have to decide how much inventory is enough inventory. That way I can set a reasonable amount of slots and see if they fit the screen clearly.

I also have to work on being able to pick up things like currency and weapons. but that in itself is a long process, so I’ll try to take it easy and get small wins at a time. I’d rather make sure that all my code is as clean as possible right now so I don’t screw future me too badly.

NEXT STEPS

I will continue focusing on finishing the main bits of the game, as I’m very close to finishing this as an MVP, but I really want to take it further, and that’s going to require some work, and that takes time, but once the base is fully done, I can just dedicate myself to making content and refining combat mechanics.

As I mentioned earlier I’ll probably go afk for a bit but I’ll keep working. I keep forgetting to update the page because I’m hyperfocused on my progress. It’s good though, I can literally see the difference between a few months ago and now and it’s really coming along. It’s nice to feel proud of your work.

Patting myself on the back.

Pat, pat.

Daniel “Freaky” Aguilar

Game Designer

Plasmapunk Studios

Lock and Re-Load