May 25, 2023

Love Exalt 8372 - Disappointment

Hey. We just dropped the first major content update for Love Exalt 8372! With TWO new beefy scenes, a new minigame, scene selection menu, script import system, and emotional effects, we blew past our original estimate of 1-2 months and went 3 months deep on this one. We think it was definitely for the best to spend a little extra time on the update that takes the game out of demo status and into "totally real game" status.

Here's a bunch of dev thoughts on what we changed and added!!

GOLF

From the start we knew we wanted a new minigame, and, with the complexity and time-to-beat of the other minigames in mind, we settled on minigolf. We considered making it 3D, but two things held us back:

1. We don't have a 3D modeller, and learning to 3D model is hard...
2. Godot's 3D is a bit subpar in the browser, and we wanted to add the new minigame to the HTML5 demo, too!

We have played around with 3D before-- here's a prototype we had for Deadghost's dice ability, which would have rolled around on the 2D screen before landing on 6, 6, 6.

But, ultimately, we decided to go with 2D.

For the golf ball we use a random badge sprite, but everything else in the minigame had to be built from the ground up like we were making a whole new game-- the tileset, track designs, sound effects, hit particles, portals, and boosters, everything took a ton of work. Even then, we had to tweak the physics a ton to get the minigame to feel satisfying... though the right sound effects and particles helped a lot there too.

Originally the shot indicator (that dashed line) showed the angle of the first bounce, but it was always off by a bit, which was frustrating, so, in the end, we scrapped it. We made 18 tracks, but only 8 of them are actually in the random minigame pool, because the others are a bit complex or tricky. But don't worry! You can still play these tracks...

... from the new Intermission menu!

INTERMISSIONS

This menu allows you to replay the previous chapters of the story, play the other golf tracks, and read the lore bits you have previously discovered. There's also special music when playing golf from the Intermission menu... pretty sweet.

You get access to the Intermission menu between the chapters of the story. If you decide to go back and replay previous chapters, you can go back to the intermission menu anytime-- however, it won't be available when you're playing through a new scene.

IMPORTING DIALOGUE

Another massive change was an internal one: I created a tool to import lines of dialogue straight from text files. In the previous dev log we mentioned using Godot GUI to add lines manually... but with the wordcount tripling this update, Veki needed some way to do it automatically, and along the way I added sweet extra script functions like the ability to set character sprites, sfx, music, and backgrounds. The format is pretty simple and is based on how Veki actually wrote the script in his text editor. It looks like this:

Ch = Chef --- Ch: (img=scared, break=flash, emotion=Exclamation, sfx=hurt) ...!

The first part before --- is the character definition, which links the two-letter shorthands (like Ch:) to their full names. To set Chef's sprite to a scared expression, you can just throw img=scared in the parentheses, and the import system will grab that character's sprite directory and set it in the Portrait field for that line in Godot. Anything that comes after the parentheses will be the actual text displayed on screen. Nice, simple, and slick!

Most importantly, though, the actual lines of dialogue in the engine are still special godot resources, so we can still adjust them manually if need be, and this is still how we do special effects like Deadghost's dice, or branching perspectives-- but without this import system, we would've had to add almost 3000 lines with clicks, alt+tab, and copy and paste, which was a truly untenable prospect.

I've cobbled together a little tool that shows a preview of the whole thing, too. (Text is blurred because spoilers!)

EMOTIONAL EFFECTS

This update breathes some visual spice into the game with new character sprites and backgrounds, but also with new animated particles like spirals and flowers which pop up over the character sprites to better convey their emotions. We've also updated the intro chapter to include these.

I think they're pretty fun and add a lot, especially when combined with the new character portraits and sfx.

CONTINUES

Oftentimes people would accidentally close out of the game or return to main menu, and it wasn't clear to players that the game autosaves, so they didn't realize they could just use the REMEMBER button to load up their most recent save. To help solve this issue, and for the juicy convenience, we added the PERSEVERE button to the main menu, which works like a continue button that will load your latest save.

This is all I can remember for now... we hope to keep going until the eventual full release of the game and add a lot more fun things, so stay tuned for the next update. Thanks for playing!

-- Vaartis

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Yo, Veki the writer and other stuff guy here!! Dude I'm actually the real him!!! And my story actually goes somewhere now!!!! That's sick!!!!!!!

The actual writing part of this update only took about a month, though, which is both good and bad... it's good because it means that it really won't take too long in terms of pure wordcraft to bring ACT 1 to a satisfying close, but it's bad because it means that for every hour I spend on writing, I'll probably have to spend 2-3 hours on other stuff, so the progress of the story will be kind of held back in that regard. Ah, but who cares though?! The writing is nice and all, but the game is the game, it's more than just a damn gay novella. It's a gay experience.

Bro let's really even get into it with some categories. Who's reading this, anyway? You want categories again, like Vaartis's part? Those categories which I added, myself, into his own part, which was his, but I still added them in there, for him, with my own hands? Sure, I'll re-add them into my own part, in keeping a mirror tandem with his part-- part of which I did do in due part.

THIS IS THE FIRST CATEGORY

INTERLUDE 1

Here we go. Within this initial category I'll speak of the raw initial drafts; the first words placed after the roaring, somewhat hurried ACT 1 SCENE 1: LAST CALL, in which twelve un-exposited un-introduced characters and twenty-four unique original concepts are thrown at you in about thirty minutes of reading.

I was very unhappy with the writing in the demo, I'll say that much. It needed another draft, probably two, but to get a serialized story off the ground you just have to ignore some problems in each stage and commit to move forward, or else nothing will get anywhere. Plus, I mean, ya gotta write the damn story to find out what you like about it and what you want to fix or change; until it's on paper and you can compare it to your newer stuff, the "problems" might actually be just a baseless vague of malaise, whereas the "epic parts" might appear lame to you later, once you find out what the definition of epic truly is. Regardless, I knew that I had to slow the pacing down, and give players something to hang onto in this crazy world, so the first thing I wrote was--

[expand type=spoiler]
-- Act 1 Interlude 1, a brand new type of thing that's NOT a scene!! And this Interlude included flashbacks for Tank and Chef which give a little more context to core aspects of the world like monsters and badges, which were both pretty vague concepts in A1S1 (Act 1 Scene 1).

Also wrote the Officiary and Deadghost part of the Interlude to help the pacing a bit, giving the player some time alone with the Officiary for ruminatory purposes, and then some time with Deadghost to re-solidify the reality of the death game, which originally felt very "ok I guess this is happening now" in A1S1. More on that in the ACT 1 SCENE 3 category.
[/expand]

ACT 1 SCENE 2

It's kind of neat re-reading Act 1 Scene 2, because there are parts of it which are much older than others, and they're mixed in chronological order; in general, the action scenes are new, and the non-action scenes are older, and I can really see the difference as I got better and better at writing this cast-- in short, I think the parts of the scene in which goals and conflicts are most clear-cut are the best parts by far. When writing A1S2 I made the mistake of letting characters just talk to each other about scattered topics-- which can be good for worldbuilding and slowing the pace down, but it's not good for engagement... not one damn bit...!

Thankfully, once I had finished writing A1S2, I refused to let the update launch with such a muddled, peaceful vibe. So I cruised by for another dip... a true dip. You might even call it a True Dipper's Dunk... into the true nature of this death game.

ACT 1 SCENE 3

By the end of A1S2 I had placed a poultice to the pacing and plunged some leagues deeper into the game's world, but now a new issue had really started to get noisy and angry at me in the background: what is this dumb death game stuff you're trying to do on top of all this other stuff...?! Well, it's supposed to be the premise for the story, and it's supposed to serve as a hard, thrilling structure for the rest of the entire game... and yet, essentially, the only part of the story that really had anything to do with it was a long explanation from Deadghost at the end of A1S1, and some characters ruminating and discussing it in A1S2... which meant it was talked about and insisted upon by the writing, but never actually WRITTEN!!!!! BLAST!!! CURSES!!11 Come on dude, grow up. Get real.

Act 1 Scene 3 takes what I learned (remembered) about the importance of goals and conflict and centers its whole dang self around that stuff; the death game finally begins to feel real, I hope, and the story switches from worldbuilding and characterbuilding to the conflict of eleven souls trying to survive and to strategize in a life-or-death situation. I'm quite happy with the pacing and the story moments in this scene. It's got some issues, especially with trying to juggle six different plotlines at once, but for the most part, I think it's pretty exciting, emotional, and feels like a good payoff to the buildup of the first two scenes!!

THE NEXT SCENE...

Stories where a small group of characters are trapped in a location together... in a closed circle... these stories graph a distilled network of conflict where the rules of engagement are simple and known by everyone; and yet, each person approaches these rules with their own strategy, in accordance with their nature-- a rainbow of tryhards, if you will, forming alliances and making enemies. I just love watching all the moving pieces come together and bounce off of each other in this place where no institutions or hierarchies of power may interfere... it's so dope. So, for the next update, the story will most likely go in this direction-- now that everything has been fully established, and the rules of engagement have been made clear, it's time...

It's time for some plays to be made.

Hope ya enjoyed the update, you handful who played it! <3 Seeya in the next one!

-- Veki

May 25, 2023

0.20.8 (May 25)

Rising Lords - Argonwood

0.20.8 (May 25)

Pushing the changes from the beta branch to the default branch!
Thanks for everyone playing the beta branch and giving us feedback.
Let us know if you encounter any problems with the new version :)

New:
- Added zoom closer toggle to graphical settings as requested in the forum
- Added gamepad's right-west, and right-north buttons to jump to taxes and rations.
- Fixed gamepad for mouse click being inconsistent, some were set to be MBR as right-east, other times as right-west.
- Added SL + SR gamepad icons to loading screen tips.
- Added SL + SR gamepad to cycle through loading screen tips.
- Added gamepad jump to region overview filters.
- Added gamepad support for escape radial menu in battle. (system to close is a bit broken)
- Added SL + SR gamepad icons to map change in scenario setup.
- Added SL + SR gamepad icons to map change in mission story.
- Allow players to have no start region in story editor

Fixes:
- Fixed lost peasant not reflecting change unless clicked / small outline color bug in shader
- Fixed screenshots not capturing all of the Army menu items.
- Fixed tutorial so you end the game if you flee in last battle.
- Fixed render chunk crash when canceling a house build
- Fixed a rare crash when going to battle in small and odd regions
- Fixed slow pan screen (hold ctrl + pan screen) from glitching and going backward fast.
- Fixed gamepad holding center-right to end turn.
- Fixed tokens above temporary fog layer
- Fixed raiders from crashing sometimes when they do not advance immediately.
- Fixed drinkers on construction sites after load
- Fixed partial half-house fix that forces neighbor tiles to update after fade
- Fixed several potential event card bugs due to missing sanitization
- Fixed some shortcuts still activating in editor while typing map names
- Fixed a rare town guard army crash.
- Fixed gamepad allowing jump to rations + taxes + end turn when in menus.
- Fixed SL + SR gamepad icons not showing on merchant menu.
- Fixed gamepad hints for zoom + slow cursor being reversed.
- Fixed rare hover over raider army crash
- Fixed flood-fill region type in editor not updating all chunks visibly
- Fixed units falling incorrectly again due to the old runtime
- Fixed some other minor problems with the old runtime we had to revert to
- Fixed AI armies in castles ignoring when enemies are in their regions.
- Fixed overlap of gamepad hints when overview dialog is up.
- Fixed overview dialog hint always showing when gamepad hints are visible.
- Fixed pause menu from opening after it was just closed, which disables gamepad's hold center right to end turn.
- Fixed 'radial controller mode' not resetting after closing escape radial
- Fixed AI double_ration_turn_amount requiring happiness to be used.
- Fixed auto-govern still using neutral AI when it is first pressed.
- Fixed hard lock in a user made map when going to battle in a small region
- Fixed runtime related crash without message when loading a scenario map
- Fixed global morale bug when adding units in army menu
- Fixed incorrect error message when saving a battle map of less than 7 tiles in a region.
- Fixed crash going back from hosting MP battle
- Fixed +/- button in army edit not updating slider limits
- Fixed dynamic player objects not properly rendering boats
- Fixed testing map from editor and returning breaks map render
- Fixed player reported negative drinkers bug
- Fixed sea battle (from river) not allowing placement on water
- Fixed castle battles always executing auto-battles

Changes:
- Speed up menu.
- Modified gamepad taxes + ration decrease button to be right-east.
- Modified gamepad hint for options to be + rather than -, because the button has changed.
- Modified wanderers to spawn 5 - 25 seconds in cases of low FPS (under 50 - under 30).
- optimized cam-shake code (valorous attack)
- changed many editor-specific tile details cached to chunk surface for faster rendering
- Modified auto-govern (player AI) to allow double rations if it has 4 seasons worth of double rations to try to get to 50% happiness.
- Added % to sword description.
- made neutral regions accumulate less wheat over time
- other minor auto govern improvements
- hide GUI tool tips when player uses invisible GUI.
- AI to prioritize clearing wastelands when there are no available fields.
- changed neutral AI to not have huge amounts of wheat in stock after a while
- Disabled mercenaries for raiders and invaders
- removed 'X' button from border army menu
- optimization for castle battle tile calculations