The weekly blog lists of what I do each week aren’t particularly exciting and I don’t think anyone reads them anyway. I’m going to try a different approach, a short sentence or so explaining the main/most interesting thing I’ve been doing along with a screenshot if possible.
This week it’s visual effects. Fighting clouds spawn depending on how much damage is being done to each animal. So the more clouds you see, the heavier the fighting!
For the week from 14 Sep to 20 Sep I’ve been working on:
The most exciting change in this update is the introduction of huts! You can now build huts out of wood or bone, depending on what is more readily available. Huts take many resources and a long time to build, so they are not essential to your tribe’s survival. If you want to play as if your tribe is nomadic, you can do so. However, huts have a large storage area and your Pokians will sleep in a hut if there is room.
Last update I introduced the first pass of an objectives system. In this update I’ve improved upon that. Requests can come from either your Pokians or foreign tribes (once they are discovered). If you complete the request, you gain a minor reward. This can be for example, everyone crafting faster for the next 48 hours. My favourite request at the moment is sacrificing an animal carcass at an altar.
I’m always trying to think of new, fun objectives to implement. Also, I’ve changed the way fires light up the surrounding area so it’s softer and looks better. Wild fires also spread up to two hexes away, which means more FUN when things get out of control!
Finally I’d like to mention animations! When plants spawn or die there is now a short animation that plays.
A full list of changes for Alpha 9 is below:
If you would like to support development you can purchase and play the Alpha or sign up to the newsletter
Twitter – ParsleyPWG
Website – PokingWaterGames.com
For the week from 7 Sep to 13 Sep I’ve been working on:
For the week from 31 Aug to 6 Sep I’ve been working on:
For the week from 24 Aug to 30 Aug I’ve been working on:
For the week from 17 Aug to 23 Aug I’ve been working on:
For the week from 10 Aug to 16 Aug I’ve been working on:
This update features smoother transitions for animal movements, changes to the way objects are displayed, an improved system for constructing buildings and a new plant generation algorithm.
The tough part in making smoother animal movements was in the way I was calculating movement. Previously if an animal decided to switch directions mid-movement, it could do that straight away. Now the animal needs to complete any movement it’s already started before it can change directions.
All objects placed out in the open now show up on screen at the same time. This makes it easier to see objects at a glance.
You can now select from multiple images for a single building where available. For example, building walls you can choose the orientation of each piece. The behaviour and underlying properties of the wall pieces will be the same.
Finally I’ve implemented a new plant generation algorithm. For each hex there is a chance of a tree or bush growing, which is checked regularly. If the check passes, then an allowable plant grows on that hex. The probability is affected by factors like amount of soil, fertility and water saturation of each hex. I’ve found this creates an interesting dynamic where plants are much more likely to grow right after it rains, when the soil is most saturated.
If you would like to support development you can purchase and play the Alpha or sign up to the newsletter
Twitter – ParsleyPWG
Website – PokingWaterGames.com
For the week from 03 Aug to 09 Aug I’ve been working on: