Entry #8 - Work, work, work

Last month was all about continuing work on game visuals and presentation.

Workspots building state

Workspots need to be constructed by a character before they become operational. So after player places a construction site, character needs to come and spend some time building the workspot. I've added some quick proto meshes to visualize this state. Also destroying buildings is added, to allow better space management when player discovers that his previous plans need to be readjusted.

Ugly map performance

I've decided to disable a lot of effects on my current maps to improve performance. It's not ideal, maps are still visually far from what I intend them to be but I guess it has to be enough for now. Until someone more skilled than me takes a look at that.

Defense turrets and enviro models

I've reached out to some 3D artists that could potentially do some work on workspot models and enviro models for me. So far i didnt like any of them enough, so my gf is helping me with some basic stuff to finally get rid of all the white boxes. It's going surprisingly well, considering she's never done anything like that. Im also adding some visual effects and simple animations.

Progression - wider perspective

Some people playtesting the game pointed out that even at the current proto state, some clear motivation to keep playing is missing. Some form of goal or even random gratification. So I've started working on the objectives system, that helps players motivate staying in the game a bit longer, solve another issue and feel a sense of purpose. Next on the list is proper "level finished" flow, that communicates the win and allows players to move to the next map. It includes transfering core base buildings and meta map progression, so it can be a bit complicated. But I think i should get there in a week or so.

Character actions

I've designed a set of additional actions that each profession can perform. These include a basic attack and a player-activated action. This should allow players to handle most critical situations a bit better. Right now, character can't fight at all so even the smallest mistake can be fatal, if even one enemy gets pass the defenses line. It will also make profession choice more significant and add some depth to professions. This whole system is quite complicated and touches many different features so i dont plan to implement it just now.

Oh, but I have a new profession choice ui.

Another playtest

A friend of mine played the game lately. He saw it for the first time so it was interesting to watch. He had a completely different playstyle than anything I've seen before. He also raised some good points about better player gratification. Other than that, there are still some ux issues that have to be smoother and better polished. A bunch of small, annoying stuff.

Steam release process

I've spent one evening reading about the Steam requirements and release process. It feels simple enough but I think I still should reach out to some taxes / business advisor to figure out how to best set it up.

Lastly I've spent some time thinking about the game visual style for logo, name etc. Finding a proper name is sth I least expected to be such a pain but there it is. Still no idea what it should be and "just wait and it will come to you" apparently doesnt work.