Blood Ledger Blog

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ArtimusBena
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Blood Ledger Blog

Post by ArtimusBena »

Well, it was inevitable.

Updates soon.
Last edited by ArtimusBena on Sun Dec 15, 2019 10:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
ArtimusBena
Slime Knight
Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

I'd like to encourage more people to try the game, so I'm doing a playthrough on youtube. Sound and music! 7 videos coming, with three runabouts on the three-level mansion floorplan.

https://youtu.be/Nx3Guq_2mbI

https://youtu.be/xVNhvNvkC04
ArtimusBena
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Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

Some of the developments since 1.1 release:

* Brightened the game a bit. It was a little too dark in general
* Updated HUD
---- Removed sidebars in favor of a transparent top bar, taking advantage of new opacity feature
---- Cloaking (player hide) now focuses player view to limited range
* Sprinting extends camera a ways in player direction
* Game messages at the bottom no longer re-display if already on screen.
* Started implementation of live walkabout animation testing. Only looping animation supported
* Set up a YouTube channel
* timeout timer implemented: long period of no inputs auto-pauses the game
* peek cam distance extended
* cam looks slightly in player direction while moving slowly
* working on having guard footstep sounds only while in proximity of the player
* pause screen now fades to reddened palette, instead of abrupt change.
* pause screen now pauses all sounds and resumes them on game resume.
* added different footstep sound effects for each player speed. This was a really positive change. You feel agile and swift now.

Overall a lot of face-lifting and sound design, which had been neglected for a while. But some practical changes as well, like letting the player see even further, and the game helping you out with an auto-pause if you happen to step away. And there's the significant gameplay dynamics change of having your view limited while you cloak.

Soon it will be time to start doing a massive amount of art. Tiles, animations, etc. I know I can pull it off, but I'm dreading the effort haha.
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Last edited by ArtimusBena on Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:26 am, edited 7 times in total.
ArtimusBena
Slime Knight
Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

A lot of enhancements and bug fixing lately, but I haven't pulled the trigger on building the first beta. A couple of unforgivable issues that need to be addressed before that time. Also, I'm pushing for the final versions of all the Vikings music (75% done!).

More updates, and probably some more videos after that, just to kind of cover what we've missed for those who haven't tried the alpha and just want to window shop. Cheers.
ArtimusBena
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Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

Somebody give me a 2-3 line meme and I'll post it! If there's enough participation, best 3 get their memes packaged with the next release.
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Last edited by ArtimusBena on Sun Jan 26, 2020 9:38 am, edited 3 times in total.
ArtimusBena
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Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

Emphasis placed lately on text. Text seemed really important so that I can convey story and give the player information about the world, whether through direct conversation or overhearing NPCs.

There are now two main messages: game message and dialogue. So I can have both going at the same time without interrupting each other. The third is anchored text, like you see on the character himself -- 2-3 words that don't merit "dialogue" and still give you feedback.
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Bob the Hamster
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

This looks very cool. The style of the different types of text seems fitting
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Mogri
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Post by Mogri »

Yeah, I really like the anchored text.
ArtimusBena
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Posts: 251
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Post by ArtimusBena »

YT had its way with the video quality, but here's the montage I've been working on:

https://youtu.be/RDHqB2WJWK4

Slap some likes on it.
Last edited by ArtimusBena on Sun Feb 23, 2020 1:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
ArtimusBena
Slime Knight
Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

Gearing up for the design of a full mission. HERE'S AN UPDATE

New stuff:

*Game brightened! (Yes, none of you have said it, but we all know the damn thing's too dark).

* Rewrite of the pebble code!
-- Wall detection is much more accurate
-- Graphical embellishments whether it's hit a wall or ground
-- Throw distance depends on player speed

* Menus reorganized to all stem from a MAIN menu.
-- Appearance selectable here. Player can now rotate the character while he selects a palette
-- Settings menu includes controls schematics and sound customization

* Player can hear guards' footsteps just before they enter screen (up to three at a time)

* Game messages
-- Game messages, dialogue, and anchored text to player character give you three sources of text. Each operate independently, with timing, styles, fades, etc.
-- Dialogue from NPCs are only shown when npc is on screen, so you have to position yourself strategically to hear conversations!
-- Box styles implemented on text and HUD icons

* Roguelike room wall generator greatly improved to make more sensible wall structures

* All known run-game errors fixed

* And a bonus!: CHEAT CODES!!

_________________________________________________
Check out the video above for anything I might have missed.
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Last edited by ArtimusBena on Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
ArtimusBena
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Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

Two really nice developments this week!

* A sequential dialogue system, (with talk bubbles of course) so that npcs can have *conversations*. This will evolve into a universal system for any sequence of timed events.
-- Some more work done on the text frames - most notably Ledger's anchored text. Pretty cool effect.

* Fog of war minimap!

I've also done some substantial work framing the story for the first full mission.

Cheers, see you all next week.
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Last edited by ArtimusBena on Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:32 pm, edited 4 times in total.
ArtimusBena
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Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

I'm a week late on an update here, but that's only because I had some pretty tough stuff to accomplish. And they're all cool, so here we go! (gifs here are arranged to correspond with each bullet point):

* New, animated torch that looks badass

* Diagonal movement. Yes, sir. You read right. Wall collision was a b****

* Updated the splash screen sequence to look a lot creepier

* Pebbles can now bounce on the ground, not just the walls!

* Re-positioned the HUD and added a frame to the whole play screen

* Added INVENTORY -- but not just that. You can arrange your items so that the first four items in your inventory can be scrolled through on the main HUD -- forward or backward. (Also, food is now a store-able item you can use any time)

* Converted a lot of old stuff to slices, including the run animation! This means that there will no longer be weird frame jumps while speeding up or slowing down

Wellp, gonna go wipe the sweat off m'brow and get some other work done. In the meantime, stay dangerous.
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Last edited by ArtimusBena on Sun Mar 29, 2020 7:54 am, edited 3 times in total.
ArtimusBena
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Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

Playtesting for alpha 2 began today! Considering an entry to Steam for this:
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steam ... 0743413917

But there's a steep hill to climb! Ready for the challenge, and feedback is proving every bit as crucial for success as the professionals say.

If you'd like to help out, join the 14 or so playtesters in the discord:
https://discord.gg/hAMefh

Or send me a PM. See you again soon.
ArtimusBena
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Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

It's been three weeks or so since the alpha test, and I've been taking that time off from Blood Ledger. In the past, if I had taken this much time off from a project I'd be tempted to quit altogether. In reality, I fight every day *not* to work on the game. Instead I've been focusing on Vikings music. And there turned out to be more work ahead there than I had thought! (Isn't that always the way).

Anyway, that's going well and it's a reassuring sign to me that I've been on a rest period that's more strategic in nature than due to any burnout. Blood Ledger will return to a regular production schedule on or about the 22nd :)
ArtimusBena
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Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:22 am

Post by ArtimusBena »

Been a while since I put up an update. Here's what's new in Ledger's world (gifs uploaded in order of the bullet points below):

* Sliding occurs on diagonal movement now
* Standardized short and normal range throwing, and set up a visual targeting system

One of the biggest complaints from testers is how hard it was to use the projectiles. Instead of doing something convoluted where your speed determines throwing distance, you can throw really far IF YOU'RE RUNNING, but for any other speed, the distance is the same. Also, now, when you go to throw something a graphic lets you target where it will land. It's not bugfixed yet, but the targeter also stops short at walls.

* Improvements to AI
- sight cones appear when close to a guard
- new chasing behavior, where they stalk you until you decide to run. (If you don't run soon, they'll certainly get you).

* event sequences
- I've put in an automated system where I can just give the game a sequence of events, and it executes each line at whatever pace I want. This is useful for stringing dialogue together, making cutscenes, or literally anything. It can be triggered by anything I want, as well. In the gif here, a conversation between guards is triggered by moving across a certain area. Ledger even turns to the camera and comments on the conversation.

* visual cues for useable items
- Items on the map that can be added to inventory now light up when you're near them. (And go back to normal when you walk up to them)

* smooth hide cam
- While cloaked, you can move the camera freely around you, to a certain distance. It used to look pretty basic, but now the movement of the camera is as smooth as the normal camera. This was pretty easy to implement, and looks great.

Filling out the menu system
* brightness control
* fullscreen / windowed option put in
* Controls are now customizable! This will be a relief to those folks who tried to play Blood Ledger with a different controller from mine. Customized controls are remembered for each preferred input, so you can switch back and forth without having to remap.

A couple major bugs were hopefully addressed. One, I think was caused by unsaved tags. So I've devised a way to save tags in my custom save game scripts! And it turned out that there was a fundamental flaw in the AI that I've hopefully fixed (pro tip: declaring a local inside of a for loop does not mean that it's 0 again!)

Thanks for checking it out, I'll see you next time.
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Last edited by ArtimusBena on Thu Aug 06, 2020 4:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Do you make love with the same urgency you make games?
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