Developer's Log

[CraigStern]

I'm fixing up a few final things with procedural level generation, then I'm going to add in a function to the computer AI that has it rotate characters to avoid being backstabbed after moving.

[CraigStern]

Procedural generation; fixed! Working on some rotation routines right now.

[CraigStern]

The AI now intelligently rotates characters to face an appropriate direction after moving!

The AI will turn the character's back to a wall or the edge of the screen if it can; if it can't, it'll try to face what direction the closest enemies are predominantly in.

The installers have been updated online; alpha backers are encouraged to update their installs and try it out! ;)

[CraigStern]

I've been wanting to make it so you can create custom AOE configurations in the game for some time now; I've started work on making that happen. ;)

[CraigStern]

Well! That was much easier than expected. Once I update the game again, you'll be able to customize the game's AOE reticle patterns and add your own by editing the new AOEPatterns.xml file. Each pattern looks kinda like this:

Code Select Expand

<Pattern name="single">
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,1,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
</Pattern>

This is basically meant to represent a top-down view of the spaces surrounding a red attack tile. (The center of the array is the spot where the attack tile is.) The 0s denote spaces where no reticle is placed; the 1s denote spaces where reticles are placed. As you can see, the "single" AOE pattern simply places a single reticle atop the attack tile.

Here's another one:

Code Select Expand

<Pattern name="row_split">
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,1,0,1,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
  <Reticles>0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Reticles>
</Pattern>

The "row_split" pattern is used by Split Shot; it places two reticles, one on either side of the red attack tile.

Get the idea? Go through AOEPatterns.xml and experiment!

A COUPLE OF BIG, IMPORTANT CAVEATS:

(1) you should never edit or delete the "single" pattern. The game is hard-coded to use that pattern for things like giving items, opening doors and activating switches. Screw with that, and you risk making the game unplayable!

(2) if you're making your own campaign, make sure you copy-paste AOEPatterns.xml into your campaign folder, or your campaign's scenes won't load anymore!

In fact, I'm going to delay updating the installers with this feature so I can make sure to get the word out to everyone about that second caveat--I don't want a ton of people updating and having no idea why their custom campaigns suddenly don't work. ;)

[CraigStern]

Now working on adding sound effects to attacks. :)

Creating a "Dodge" sound effect.

[CraigStern]

Attack sound effects are now supported! I'm adding some into the game right now.

Also: fixed a bug where trying to grab an item sack from on top of a bridge tile would result in the character grabbing the bridge tile instead of the item sack. (Whoops.)

[CraigStern]

Added more sound effects; fixed a few bugs.

[CraigStern]

Bug fixes: bridges now allow characters to move between spaces of drastically varying elevations. Also, bridges built across a wall will now stop a falling character that crosses their path.

[CraigStern]

I posted the monthly update today, and recorded a video showing the common inventory system in action for inclusion there. I also sent out some emails hitting up RPG websites about the game's progress.

Lorne emailed me the expanded Snow tileset earlier; I'll need to take some time to go through it and make sure we're not missing anything. Currently, however, I'm sitting down to sketch out the game's cast of unique characters in greater detail.

[CraigStern]

Created and added: sound effects for Stone Golem, Engineer and Lizardman skills.

[CraigStern]

Tested and gave artist feedback for the Snow tileset.

[CraigStern]

Working on a proper stand-alone, in-game Tutorial for Telepath Tactics. ;)

[CraigStern]

The tutorial is coming along.

Fixed a bug that was causing characters' turns to end after using non-turn-ending attacks if they were then counterattacked with a turn-ending counterattack.

[CraigStern]

So, I thiiiiiiink I might have just simultaneously fixed a whole bunch of those really irritating bugs where the AI will suddenly freeze up or do weird things for seemingly no reason, particularly where it only has one character left on the field. We'll have to test it to make sure, though. :)