Please wait, Prototype / Demo loading....

At this point, I've created a short list of about 50 bug fixes and changes that need to be completed for the prototype / demo. Once that list is completed, I can then move on to tweaking game mechanics and completing the design of the demo level. The goal for this stage is to make a highly focused playable prototype that is reasonably fun.

The demo will be missing the exploration and interaction tiers of play, and it won't have a story or any of the 4x survival elements I have planned. Professional assets and animations will also be missing.

To that end, I've made significant progress. Over the last two weeks, I fixed a large number of issues and added a few new features.

Piggybacking in a TBRPG?

My first round of testing revealed that my path-finding system allows you to piggyback on top of other creatures. I could work on this a bit more and make it into an actual feature, opening up unique solutions to combat encounters. Of course, I'll have to be sure that if the flying creature dies and falls tot he ground so does everyone on top of him. Lastly, I might have to limit how many creatures can piggyback on top of each other. Should I allow all six characters to stand on each other's shoulders?

Regardless, I'll be disabling this feature/bug for the demo.

Object Interaction / Realism

One feature I'm going for is a high degree of object interaction. Characters can now spend action points to pick up and equip items directly from the ground. This might seem rather standard, but it was a ton of work to get it all functional. Over half a dozen different sub systems all have to talk to each other in some way or another.

This feature will also allow me to create disarm and fumble actions. In the case of a fumble, weapons can go flying in random directions and possibly hit other creatures (causing damage). Targeted disarm actions and explosions can do the same. In fact, I can't wait to program the AI to disarms you and tries to kill you with your own weapon. :)

Content Pipeline

Lastly, I'm now starting to build editor tools. One tool I created creates item icon assets directly from 3d objects. Unity's post processing effects (boom, grain, ambient occlusion, etc) work quite well for this purpose.