Summary:
In which a proof-of-concept moon is upgraded; a "vertical slice" moon is begun; currents are implemented; menu-art becomes more dynamic; and a "depiction of the game" gif is shown.
Greetings and salutations!
This week's screenshot shows an upgrade to a moon that's intended for use in a proof-of-concept for DLC support:
The work of the week just past was primarily given to four salient changes: Two moons, one matter of visual-art, and one new element of gameplay:
Moons in Crystal has, at least in the basics, support for DLC. Oh, I don't presume that there
will be opportunity for DLC, but I do want the functionality to be available should such opportunity indeed arise.
And I want to show this functionality in my intended vertical slice.
To that end, I have for a while had a little proof-of-concept "DLC Solar System" implemented, containing just a single, simple moon.
Now, previously this moon was a garish thing, containing little of real interest.
So, in the week just past I upgraded it somewhat: it has become now a "Whirlpool Moon", a vortex that sucks the player spiralling inwards--potentially dashing them against jutting rocks along the way. And at its centre now waits a quest-item, a small pearl.
What's more, a little scripting has been added: when the pearl is taken, some enemies are now spawned around the moon in order to harass the player.
It remains simple, but perhaps now a more engaging and pleasing demonstration.
The result (minus the pearl and enemies) can be seen in the main screenshot above. And further, here below you should see a view of this reworked moon from space:
Speaking of moons, and of the vertical slice, in the week just past I began implementing an entirely new moon. This is the "vertical slice moon": a showcase for those things that I want to have present in the vertical slice, but that don't seem to have a natural place in the content that I intend to otherwise include.
And one of those things is a new gameplay element, implemented in the week just past: currents!
These are, simply put, streams that push the player along, either boosting their speed forwards or hindering their progress.
And they proved quite tricky to implement, as I recall! From the complexities of reading the current-strength at a given position having only collision-data, through questions of velocity-handling, to the matter of how to represent these currents, there were a number of points that called for a bit of thought.
But done it now is and working to my satisfaction, I do believe!
I mentioned last week, I believe, that I had instated new art in the main menu.
In the week just past, then, I enacted some touch-ups to that art.
But perhaps more interestingly, I changed how it's used in the main menu: no longer is it a static backdrop.
Instead, each moon-depiction is now a separate thing, and as the mouse is moved they move with it, according to their "distance". The result then is a dynamic, parallaxing backdrop!
And as is often the case, there were miscellaneous tweaks, fixes, and changes that don't seem worth detailing here!
Finally, in the week just past I put together a short gif for Twitter, intended to convey some of the game's state at the time. Let me then share that here, too:
That, then, is all for this week--stay well, and thank you for reading! ^_^
