0.16.6 Build Notes

Hey there!

Progress made! Little by little as it is, I'm really proud of the interaction systems I've built. For my first attempt at this style of interactables, I couldn't be more proud. Anywho, here's the notes:

Changelog - (0.16.4-0.16.6)

• Corkboard Interaction: This is where I started and where all the subsequent systems where built off of. Needless to say, this was the bulk of my dev time this week. Very proud of the outcome and it's consistency. When the player interacts with the corkboard, their fps camera is swapped with a static camera perpendicular to the Corkboard object. This camera can be controlled using the middle mouse wheel to pan left/right/up/down, similar to the camera you would see in a typical 90s era RTS. The player can also zoom in/out, which will be helpful to take a step back and view their clues/connections while retaining the fidelity of the actual printed images, which may be slightly lost by the perspective of the regular FPS camera. I also began work on implementing the system for planting images onto the Corkboard, but it's a lot more difficult than I first thought. I'm thinking of working it similarly to how I got the printer to function, but much more work is going to be needed to get this where I want it. Interaction controls otherwise are identical to the Computer. Just press "E" while looking at the Corkboard within the correct distance range to enter the Corkboard, and simply Right Click while active to return to the FPS camera, leaving the Corkboard, retaining whatever information has changed during the interaction.
• World Map Interaction: This was actually extremely easy as I just copied the framework from the Corkboard and tweaked it to be relevant to the World Map Object. May tweak the min/max zoom settings, but overall it's looking very much as intended.
• Case Notes Interaction:  Somewhat straight-forward, only took ~8 hours to code. Interacting with the Case Notes folder on the table deactivates the FPS controller's movement and activates the interactable Case Notes canvas. Full audio implementation, with framework for randomized sounds for page turning, adding small flare to keep the system engaging to use.
• Minor Tweaks: 
  • Player camera head-bob has been slightly smoothed.
  • Player camera motion blur has been lowered.
  • Minor environment changes.

Next Week's Goals:

1. Complete the interaction system for the Corkboard, allowing the player to post pages printed from the computer directly to the board, move pages freely after posting to the board, and connecting two pages on the board with a thread.
2. Create a framework for World Map, allowing placement of various pre-drawn icons directly onto the world map object (circles, squares, etc. etc.), connecting two stencils with a computer-drawn straight line, and a free-draw mode. Want this to be optimized to allow multiple colours to simultaneously exist on the map.
3. Create a base framework for the Sanity system. Not sure how far I'll get in this as this is probably the most complex system I plan to create. This will be the framework that creates the timing, urgency, danger, and fail-state for the player. This system is what will vary each player's experience and generates the ooga-booga scares in a natural and engaging fashion.

That's all for this week! I can taste the finish line from here! :D Once I've finalized the Sanity system, which I'm hoping will be by 0.18, I can finally start to populate the content of the game and begin private beta testing. Let me know if you're interested in taking part and I'll try to squeeze as many people as I can in. Super happy about the feedback you've all been giving me, and I hope to deliver a truly special experience for as many of you as I can. Thanks again for your support, don't forget to download 0.15.1 below and let me know what you think! See you next week!

Jusqu'à notre prochaine réunion!

- Tyrell