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Thanks! Yeah, I hope once we get the vertical slice done it'll be (relatively) smooth. I'll be doing dev streams in the coming days from 20:00 to 22:00 CEST intermittently on https://stream.shinmera.com or https://twitch.tv/shinmera Streaming right now with some pixel art. I'll announce it here when there's further streams or link the archive when they're done. E: stream's done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgFKUiwAWWI Did some rough passes for profile animations for Fi. Shinmera fucked around with this message at 21:01 on Oct 18, 2020 |
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Oct 18, 2020 19:21
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Alright, another stream today. This time I'm doing some coding, wrapping up the rewrite of the lighting engine! This has been a long while coming and I almost got it down now. Shadows and light interaction should look a lot more convincing once I'm done. Edit: that was a successful stream! Got things done as well as I care to for the time being: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP7efR30gbs Shinmera fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Oct 22, 2020 |
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Oct 22, 2020 18:43
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Refined the lighting a bit more still And meanwhile Fred went to town with new animations: https://twitter.com/Shinmera/status/1321083349243465733 Gonna have to get back to making enemies/dummies to actually test the combat system with next. E: Also working on the first NPC, Fi. Shinmera fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Oct 27, 2020 |
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Oct 27, 2020 14:53
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Joey Steel posted:I don't have much to say, but I'm deffo following this. Neat to watch the development of a game project.
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Oct 28, 2020 19:01
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After months I'm finally getting back to working on the combat stuff! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nv_WhN0p48 Thanks to Fred's animations it's looking a lot better already. Don't mind the weird lanky thing, that's just a placeholder to test with.
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Nov 1, 2020 15:13
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Alright, here's the monthly update for November: https://reader.tymoon.eu/article/390 Tim, the writer, has also already started working this week, so hopefully we'll get some good progress on story in soon!
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Nov 7, 2020 15:08
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Digging that stretching/idling animation.
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Nov 13, 2020 19:40
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Yeah, Fred has been doing some real good stuff! Sorry for the lack of updates in here, we're busy prepping everything for a new demo, a steam page, and a mentorship application that's all due end of the month. Have some art I made in the meantime:
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Nov 19, 2020 17:40
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Streaming some art today: https://stream.shinmera.com Edit: stream's over, recording should be live here soon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObfPYYbR-DA Provided it doesn't get copyright blasted into oblivion, that is. Shinmera fucked around with this message at 17:35 on Nov 20, 2020 |
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Nov 20, 2020 13:48
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Alright, a quick update: we're preparing everything for a public Steam page. If all goes well it should go live along with a new demo and a new monthly update next weekend! I'm announcing this early, since the Steam algorithm is particular about the launch day of the page, so having enough traffic on there is important to get it to care about the game. Wouldn't want to get memory-holed out the gate. That said, I'd appreciate it a lot if you could help spread the word when it comes out to get some traffic onto the page. Wishlisting also helps out a ton. I'll be sure to make a post here as soon as it's live, so please keep an eye out!
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Nov 28, 2020 09:56
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Shinmera posted:Alright, a quick update: we're preparing everything for a public Steam page. If all goes well it should go live along with a new demo and a new monthly update next weekend! Yeah I mean I'll list it. It looks interesting so far.
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Nov 28, 2020 18:15
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Thanks! Finished the final piece of art for Steam today: This'll be shown in the Steam library when you select the game.
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Nov 29, 2020 18:02
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That's some gorgeous art!!! Will get this on the wishlist today.
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Dec 1, 2020 23:11
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It's not on Steam quite yet, sorry! This weekend though, I promise.  I was working on a new tileset today, and also goofed around with enemies a bit: https://twitter.com/Shinmera/status/1333768285612077058 Oh, and I feel kind of bad posting updates over myself, so I was wondering if there was something I could do to make this thread more interesting for you people? Would you be interested in lore discussions or things like that?
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Dec 1, 2020 23:29
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I've been reading this since your original post, just not really responding. Were I you, I'd consider this almost a dev blog with interactivity occasionally intersped!
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Dec 3, 2020 01:15
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Alright, I'll try to post more of the dev update stuff here, then! As we're wrapping up the work for the update and the Steam page I'm trying to make the desert environment look as presentable as possible to get some more varied screenshots. I'm starting to like what I'm getting together now.   I'm trying to keep to having more esoteric colouring schemes for each environment, with the tundra being purple, the desert blue, etc. Will have to come up with a way to make the underground look interesting, too, once we get to hammering that out.
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Dec 3, 2020 11:34
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Got the Steam page done today and it's looking pretty good, I think! The only problem is that I forgot Valve requires a manual review for every page the first time before it can be published, so now we're waiting for that to happen. If we're lucky it'll happen tomorrow before the weekend hits, so we can still properly launch then. If not, I guess it has to be pushed out into the week 
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Dec 3, 2020 22:35
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Shinmera posted:Oh, and I feel kind of bad posting updates over myself, so I was wondering if there was something I could do to make this thread more interesting for you people? Would you be interested in lore discussions or things like that? Your thread is interesting as is, I just haven't been posting because not really sure what I can add, other than stuff looks awesome and that the game looks like it'd be fun to play. Lore and stuff would be interesting for me as well. Honestly, just reading through the game design document was fascinating.
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Dec 4, 2020 06:51
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Thanks! If it wasn't clear, you can get an early demo download to try out here. There should be a new release for that on Sunday. We've been working on story stuff in the background a bit, but due to the mentorship application and Steam kerfuffle that got pushed back slightly. Tim has been mostly busy with marketing material and the new quest for the demo. The remainder of the month will be spent doing planning and such, especially for the overall story structure and world building though. I did start on a lore document in the meantime, but it's pretty brief still.
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Dec 4, 2020 12:13
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Ayy, got our Steam page approved just in time! Phew, that's a load off my mind. Now we just need to get some feedback from our testers, implement the necessary fixes for that, and we should be all set for the soft launch on Sunday!
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Dec 5, 2020 09:48
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Didn't expect valve to check anything manually nowadays. What with their shop offering me anime dating games (no english language support) for "strategy games" and all such.Shinmera posted:I did start on a lore document in the meantime, but it's pretty brief still. Wipfmetz fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Dec 6, 2020 |
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Dec 6, 2020 00:17
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To be honest I don't know how much they actually /do/ manually check other than some intern briefly glancing at the ticket, shrugging, and clicking the button. For all I know that might be all that's involved. I know of Metro of course, but haven't played the series myself, so it's not a direct inspiration. I can't deny that there's similarity, though. My thoughts on the world building were that in the future housing would expand in two directions -- upwards on the surface for the rich people that can afford sunlight -- and downwards into the ground for the poor people that can't, and have to do dangerous maintenance jobs to keep things up above running. This leads to a wide and deep web of tunnels for all sorts of things. With the surface mostly pulverised in the calamity, the underground system is the only part that's still somewhat intact by the time the game takes place.
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Dec 6, 2020 00:32
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Alright, our Steam page is now live! Page views and wishlists are much appreciated! Oh, and thanks a lot to everyone here following along. It's always really encouraging to see the support!
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Dec 6, 2020 18:57
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Wishlisted!Shinmera posted:Thanks! If it wasn't clear, you can get an early demo download to try out here. There should be a new release for that on Sunday. Downloaded and looking forward to checking it out this weekend!
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Dec 7, 2020 13:30
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Leng posted:Wishlisted! Looking forward to some impressions, then! The Steam launch in general has gone pretty well for the minimal amount of marketing we've been able to do so far. Reached 177 wishlists this week. We'll need a lot more than that ultimately, but I think it's not a bad start. Otherwise we've mostly been doing concept work -- working out the setting, world building, culture, and so forth. I hope to have more of that in a presentable format next week, currently it's all on sketch pages and in google docs. I also started work on menuing, so there's now a simple pause menu and an options screen for video/audio/etc configuration. Oh, and I added this shockwave effect: https://twitter.com/Shinmera/status/1336421255134769153 Still need more pizzazz in effects and such, but it's amazing how much something like that changes the feel of the game!
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Dec 12, 2020 13:33
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Streaming some character design stuff today. https://stream.shinmera.com E: stream's over Shinmera fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Dec 13, 2020 |
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Dec 13, 2020 12:02
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More character design work today: As well as some sprite tests:
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Dec 14, 2020 18:18
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Yesterday I got some bad news -- our mentorship application got rejected. We were not told any more details than that, so I don't know what they were looking for that we failed at. I was already not doing great that day, so hearing that in addition didn't make it any better. It's depressing, not necessarily even because we didn't get the benefits of the mentorship, though there is that too, but mostly because it means our project did not appear promising enough to them. I'm not sure what to make of that, honestly. Well, whatever the case, we're now winding down for Christmas holidays. I got two more days of work left, but I might cut things short tomorrow already. Mostly been working on minor features and things and on the lore and story background together with Tim, but it's been hard to find the motivation. Instead of struggling to output anything for one more day, it might be better to just relax and clear my head instead. I'll try my best not to work on the project during the holidays and focus on other things. Hopefully that should allow me to get back into it with more enthusiasm again next year. Anyway, there'll still be a long yearly review post in a week or so and I'll be here to chat, too, of course.
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Dec 17, 2020 23:20
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This looks like he has a huge blue dong hanging out. I think it's where the thigh of his left leg starts.
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Dec 18, 2020 11:50
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I just wanted to update this to say that Goons are great and I got some stitched versions of The Stranger and Fi for SASS!
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Dec 24, 2020 11:27
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The year is drawing to a close, so I wrote a wrap-up for the entire year, discussing most of the big events that happened throughout. And there's quite a few, so it got a bit lengthy! Oh, and here's the bonus header image that I drew for it:
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Dec 31, 2020 19:13
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We're very busy working on the vertical slice. There's a ton to be done, but the AI and quest mechanics are coming together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ZiZnS_2WQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THJF6OifDSo Next gonna have to focus on the design of the hub and first region.
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Jan 23, 2021 16:59
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Shinmera posted:[movement-AI]
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Jan 24, 2021 22:36
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Based on the solid geometry it computes a navigation mesh. Whenever it detects an edge it scans the vicinity in direction of the edge for other mesh points and then runs a simulation to see whether it could jump there (within the allowed jump strength). If so, it makes a connection with the appropriate jump strength set. Whether it decides to make a jump or not is then dependent on the pathfinding through the mesh. Simple weighted A*, jumps are penalised a bit so it doesn't always jump like crazy. Pattern recognition and such don't work because the path you need to take to reach the intended goal might require back and forth. It's not visible in that short video, but the AI can find its way through any number of complicated, winding paths. Shinmera fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Jan 25, 2021 |
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Jan 25, 2021 00:10
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https://twitter.com/Shinmera/status/1355553497870196737
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Jan 30, 2021 18:19
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Alright, it's a new month, so here's another status update! It's quite lengthy, but with plenty of videos and pictures this time around. I was actually surprised at how much had happened, so it's been really nice to write it up! https://reader.tymoon.eu/article/393
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Feb 8, 2021 16:35
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More work on the narrative tools. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86cd17njrAU Should make escort missions a lot more interesting, at least!
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Feb 13, 2021 17:42
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Getting the new environments together is taking a long rear end time. Level design is time intensive! But, I do have some screenshots to share hot off the presses:    
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Feb 27, 2021 16:55
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I like the ruined office (?) or the mushroom graphics, they trigger some deep nostalgia in me. The mixed lighting styles seem kinda awkward, though. There's some very soft blue lighting in the office screenshot, and that contrasts with the hard (real-time?) lights elsewhere. Doesn't seem to be intentional, just an artefact of one being real-time and the other drawn manually.
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Feb 28, 2021 00:10
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Wipfmetz posted:I like the ruined office (?) or the mushroom graphics, they trigger some deep nostalgia in me. Yeah, not much we can do about it though. Doing soft real time shadows is way out of my league, and having hard lighting on the rest is weird. Got around to doing some more profile animation sketches today.
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Mar 5, 2021 17:47
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