Together in Battle Dev Log

[CraigStern]

-- you can now flag a battle as "proc gen"; if you do, the map editor will save the most current "Generate Map" settings in the map file itself so the game can use them to generate a new map whenever the scene is loaded.

-- the game can now save proc gen settings to XML and parse those settings upon loading the level.

-- the game can now randomly place items into the inventories of characters within proc gen armies in a manner similar to that of proc gen destructible object groups.

[CraigStern]

-- you can now load a level marked as proc gen within the map editor, and it will both generate a new map within your specifications and also auto-populate the Generate Map window with those same settings for editing.

-- chests are now treated as having move-and-attack range of 5 to ensure that they never spawn within 5 spaces of the player on a proc gen map.

[CraigStern]

-- the battle generator can now place bridges onto proc gen maps!

-- the battle generator now defaults toward orienting player deployment spaces vertically when they are closer to the left or right edge of the map than to the top or bottom edges.

-- the battle generator will no longer spawn characters on spaces where they have no moves available.

-- all characters placed by the battle generator now spawn facing their closest enemy rather just facing the center of the map.

-- reduced the maximum health on trees to make chopping them down less slow and burdensome.

-- fixed: it was possible for destructible objects to spawn on the same space as a deployment tile.

[CraigStern]

-- got proc gen battles generating and loading in the main game (as opposed to just the map editor).

[CraigStern]

-- destructible objects created in proc gen maps are now automatically tagged so that the AI will consider them viable attack targets if a) they contain items, or b) they have health of 12 or less.

[CraigStern]

-- fixed a bunch of bugs in procedural battle generation.

-- adding "threat" to objects and units can now be accomplished via the BaseThreatRange tag. For example: BaseThreatRange,6 will make it so that the tagged unit or object will never spawn closer than 6 spaces away from the player in proc gen maps.

[CraigStern]

Continued AI work!

-- fixed a typo in the AI code that was responsible for making units run toward healers when low on health.

-- optimized the base target value lookup routine in the computer AI code.

[CraigStern]

-- I've got a new, important AI feature working; when a unit has no moves available to them because they're blocked in by destructible objects, the game will now "sniff out" multiple blocked paths that the unit could take to a desired target; the unit will then target those destructible objects with attacks to open up a path! (They will do this even with objects that are not player-created or tagged with TreatAsArmy.)

See: https://twitter.com/sinisterdesign/status/1315806939037790214

[CraigStern]

-- renamed the shopkeeper from Ghani to Nihal based on feedback.

-- new parameter added to the NewBackground/ChangeBackground script action: skip transition. A boolean that either causes the background to transition normally (if left false), or to flip instantaneously (if set to true).

[CraigStern]

-- you can now mouse over physical attributes in the character screen for a tooltip explanation of what each does.

-- you can now mouse over physical attributes in the recruitment screen for a tooltip explanation of what each does.

-- updated physical attribute descriptions to be more accurate and comprehensible.

-- fixed: the game no longer waits until a cut scene has finished fading in to run dialogue actions, thereby allowing the "lights to come up" on a scene that's already been altered by script actions.

[CraigStern]

-- added the first true proc gen arena battle to the level progression.

[CraigStern]

-- fixed: the game was initiating the first turn prematurely in battle after running OnLoaded dialogue.

[CraigStern]

-- the proc gen map algorithm now favors placing player deployment spots closer to the edges of the map.

-- proc gen maps now support an integer range for the variables hazard frequency, hazard area, maximum elevation, elevation smoothing, and number of deployment spawns, allowing for a greater variety of possible results from any given map.

-- added a new "grouping size" parameter that periodically reverses the "proximity to allies" placement bonus to encourage enemy clusters in distinct locations around the map.

-- fixed: the proc gen map algorithm was inappropriately disregarding player deployment spots when placing enemies in-game.

-- fixed: the proc gen map algorithm was failing to consistently test proximity to all player deployment spots when placing enemies in-game.

-- fixed: the game was inappropriately placing hazard tiles at the same elevation as the bridges above them when generating proc gen battlefields in the main game.

[CraigStern]

-- player deployment spawn points are now factored in when determining initial enemy facing in proc gen maps.

-- fixed: player deployment spawn points weren't being assigned a facing direction in proc gen maps in the main game.

[CraigStern]

-- worked on the AI some more.

-- wrote a little in-battle event for flavor and plot in Battle at Double Bridge.

-- fixed a visual glitch that was causing the victory box banners to appear onscreen for a fraction of a second at the start of battle.

-- fixed: the "background chatter" sound loop from the Adelbrae tavern scene was continuing after the first encounter with Gunther began in The Vengeance of Emma Strider.