Weekly Dev Log for March 29th, 2019
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for March 29th, 2019, detailing all the changes that have happened since March 22nd, 2019. Note: Devs that don’t appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn’t need to be detailed.
Update 0.7.0.5, 0.7.1.0, and 0.7.2.0
We’ve been working hard on many projects this week. Many of the things will be in the next update, the progress of which you can see here.
As a side note, most likely with the completion of Event Horizon, Update 0.7.0.5 will end up turning in to 0.7.1.0.
Fishing would then be relegated to Update 0.7.2.0, but don’t worry, we’ve got some fishing updates for you below.
Fishing
This week a bunch of work for Fishing was completed. There are over 95 individual species of fish, and all of them have been defined in our item manifest. This week alone, the last 60 of them were rigged, meaning all fish are animated now.
We also came to a decision about how players could obtain special ocean animals, as we felt fishing up Dolphins, Seals, and Sharks was a bit morbid. Instead, we came up with Sea Dollars, which are a random item that can be obtained while fishing. These sea dollars can then be exchanged for Dolphins, Seals, Sharks, and other special animals.
Fishing: Sea Dollar WIP
Another system that was worked on was boats. Players will be able to rent a boat from the Boat Rental store shown last week, and drive it around the Ocean near the Plaza in the search for fish. Players can invite their friends along as well. Boats are unlockable with EXP, so as the player earns EXP while fishing, they can unlock larger and better boats. At launch, this system will only be in the Plaza, but boats for Condos will be worked on in the future.
Fishing: Boats WIP
Work on the Fish AI continues, currently we’re working on making the fish swim up and down without colliding with the terrain and other objects.
We’ve also decided that lures and bobbers will be upgrades, and therefore completely cosmetic, to allow players to customize their fishing lines. Instead, bait will be used to attract different types of fish, which the player will have to purchase. One bait is exhausted when a fish is caught. The bait will be relatively inexpensive, except for the higher teirs. @joshua is currently working on new bait and bobbers.
Fishing: Bobber Physics WIP
On the gameplay side of Fishing, many things have been changed around, and the gameplay is nearly finished. Fish no longer sit in just one spot when they are being caught. Instead, they swim around and tug on the line. Of course, this is still under development. With this change, new camera angles were created for when the bobber is being cast, so the player can view the bobber for any fish that might swim by. The HUD will be worked on next week, as it’s not entirely done.
Fishing: EARLY ALPHA GAMEPLAY WIP
Private Theaters
@Johanna has been busy creating some private theaters for use in the plaza. These theaters are rented out to players, who can customize who is allowed to enter the custom theater.
Private Theaters: Demo WIP
Group System for Lobby
With the introduction of Rentable Boats and Private Theaters, work has begun on a Group System for Lobby. At launch, this will work only for the boats and private theaters, but we hope to expand it to other facets of the game in the future. You can create a group and invite others, which allows the other people in the ground to be able to join the private theater or boat without having to ask permission. These groups only last for the duration of the session while in the Plaza.
Updated Target Practice
The targets for the Target Practice minigame have been updated. They are no longer 3D models, instead they are 2D, and are not affected by lighting for better visibility. A progress circle was also added, so players know when certain targets are about to be removed.
Target Practice: Updated Targets WIP
Animated Canvas
@macdguy began prototyping an Animated Canvas, that would allow GIFs to be played. This system is very experimental, and we have no release date at this time.
Animated Canvas Prototype Demo WIP
Upgrades
A bunch of work this week was also done on Upgrades. We have been adding our own ideas and ideas from the community, and placing them all in on giant Trello list, which you can check out here.
Ball Race Upgrades
@Johanna spent a lot of time this week creating new Ball Race Balls, Ball Materials, Glass Materials (the windowed parts of the ball), and Pick Up skins (to replace the melons).
Each ball can have a Ball Material, Glass Material, and a Ball Shape, so these upgrades can be combined to create all sorts of combinations.
Ball Race Upgrades WIP
Zombie Massacre Upgrades
@Johanna also spent some time creating some new upgrades for Zombie Massacre.
Zombie Massacre Upgrades: Survivor Shield Upgrades WIP
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since March 22nd, 2019 at PixelTail Games. See you all next week!
