Update (no new version)

There won't be a new version this weekend. I worked on a few things that ended up being a bit annoying, but they don't amount to an update by themselves.

Before, a "patch" (the light green parts of the map) contained one area. Every tile of it would lead to the same area. Tiles outside this space contained no areas.

Now, patches contain multiple areas. That means that even at your starting patch, there are 9 areas, where before there was just 1.

This way the player will also have more to do in any given area of the map, rather than moving between multiple patches in quick succession. It will also make each patch feel like more of a "place" rather than just one big long 2d screen

The other change to patches is that you can now enter a tile with no patch.  These areas will be tiny, and will contain little to nothing. These areas will be used for things like setting up temporary camp, events, or if a battle takes place on the tile. If enemies ever appear on the map, interactions with them may also take place here.

The other change is that the player will no longer start the game on the world map. Instead, they will start the game within their house. This ended up being the annoying part, since the way the game works you can't just "teleport" to a room easily, you must go through each room that leads to it, so that level generation and such could play out for the first time. After a few error messages and flying houses, though, it works now.


I'm still trying to decide how I want the initial gameplay loop to work, though the change to patches will make this much easier. Initial goals will likely involve gathering food while cutting down trees, which will lead to the ability to travel farther on the world map. Ideally, I should be able to make it so there's stuff to do in the initial area, and as development goes on, the goals that are added will involve going further and further from the home patch, until eventually there's enough content that it's more dynamic, and unpredictable.

Anyhow, that's all for now. Next weekend will be an H update. Maybe fruit bushes, finally.

22 comments:

  1. What do you have in mind for objectives that'd require moving further away from the home patch? Because considering we even have a starter house, it feels like we could just go out to get food and then go back to it, though that wouldn't make for a very fun game admittedly...

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    1. Resources to upgrade your house or create other buildings would only be found far away. Better items, weapons, and types of biomes would also only be found in more risky patches.

      Players would leave the house merely at the promise of more enemy types, so there isn't much to worry about.

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    2. Will houses be player customizable or while it be a linear type house upgrade?

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    3. That makes sense, I was wondering in which angle you were tackling this with. Thanks for the answer.

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    4. The current plan is that houses will be specific types that you plop down (stick hit, shack, low level house, etc), and the inside of them will contain any objects or furniture that you place in them. However this is not set in stone.

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  2. Ungodly Amount of Ass Ham23 February 2020 at 14:04

    nice to hear some updates! looking forward to the next one :D

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  3. Will the big vore guy spawn on every map and/or every day or will there be a specific event related to it. Like a moon cycle or a certain day a week?

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    1. Looks like a "Reaper" archetype, so it may be planned to spawn only if you're careless enough to explore very late at night (when there will be more night baddies to take it's current place). But yeah, would make sense it only appear on special conditions like "new moon" or "foggy days".

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    2. It will appear later at night than it does currently. There will also likely be ways to ward them off. (For example dropping a certain item in the holes that form, or placing structures/objects)

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    3. "or placing structures/objects"

      just build a new house over them as they spawn in

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  4. There's no need to deviate from the standard mine and craft formula. Just look at Terraria.
    Chop down trees, build a hut, make a crafting bench, get better equipment from the bench and then get to exploring. It's the tutorial, basically. Except in Lufu the draw is not building custom houses, but more H - found through exploring.
    Let's say the item you need to explore further is made on the crafting bench, and it needs a component from a nearby tutorial boss. A backpack upgrade or something, so you can bring more food. Or a lantern. Whatever.
    That way, the start of the game is: chop wood, kill a few mobs to survive, make the bench, scavenge for food so you don't starve, get better equipment, kill boss, explore. Add more bosses if needed.
    After that, player gets more advanced resources from nearby areas and they can focus on whatever they want - farming, building, clearing monster lairs, repopulating the world, etc.

    Will we be able to make settlements? Like, plop down a few buildings and invite/make creatures to live in them?
    They could provide free basic resources over time (food, wood, stones etc), so the player doesn't have to gather it all herself lategame.
    And will tiles be destroyable? I'd prefer to flatten the ground around the shack, those one tile jumps are annoying.

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    1. Tiles will not be destroyable, however you will be able to put your house wherever you want, as well as place new houses and buildings of various types. You will also be able to destroy, create, and re-randomize patches.

      You will be able to offer houses and such to monsters, and they will attempt to move into empty ones on their own. Enemies will also be able to build buildings themselves.

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  5. For the patches themselves, something made me believe their size may lead to show if the platform section is short (single patch) or continue for multiple rooms. Looks like for now we will be able to enter any sub-patch level/room instead of having such chains of rooms? That's not bad for a start (can't expect more from phase 1).

    Later, such chains of rooms can be a big risk-reward thing. Especially if time go way slower in a level than on the map. Moving on the map would make everyone move one tile each time, but attempting an "empty" level or a chain of patches would make you save enough time (2 rooms = 1 ennemy move on map?) to intercept baddies soon enough.

    If there's a way to mark patch/rooms you successfully explored, and maybe the type of ressources found in the said patch, that can be used for planning exploration. It also help identifying when there is a cave entrance hidden as secondary path, since (for exemple) you complete only 3/4 instead of 4/4 of the 4-patch. It gives to the player a reason to replay the zone and explore further.

    Can't wait to discover what Phase-2 have in store, and how different than how everyone imagine it the game will become.

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    1. Initially, large patches would have meant larger screens. However that is not the case anymore. Size will vary, but they will all be larger than they are now. sub patches are essentially separate areas that all follow rules of the patch type (biome, level, enemy type, etc). Then beyond that, persistent enemies can move to any sub patch.

      Enemies will probably only move and be assigned goals when you sleep.

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  6. Here's hoping next week's H is giving the cat the ability to dominate.

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  7. Looking forward to the farming mechanics.

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  8. I think it would be fun if there were a boss type enemy in every biome roaming around the world map that you should avoid at all cost

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    1. Princess Mononoke + Shadow of the Colossus

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    2. Like a "master of" the zone? As a twist, some could be benevolent to specific tribes as well (ex: "master of forest" allied to "elves") and to you as long as you're not allied with the monster tribe always perstering them.

      If later we need mcguffins to unlock the last dungeon, it would be really nice indeed. Either farm better equipments until you're broken enough to fight back, or lewd the different tribes in order to be accepted and retrive the mcguffins in a pacifist, diplomatic way.

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    3. I was thinking more about the imagery and aesthetics. I like the idea of there being weird and cool looking bosses out in the wild that you might not even want to kill. Though, maybe I should just learn how to develop my own game.

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