Archive:

"Character Actions Polish"

Posted: 26 June, 2020

I've been fighting the urge to lounge around in the sun for most of the week, so it feels like it's been a bit of a slow one. Looking through the list, I've done some boring jobs that I'd been putting off for ages, so maybe it's not as bad as I thought...

It's a marathon, not a sprint ;)

Company Stuff / Misc

• Did a bit more styling on the blog. Still need to put in the footer, and the 1990s web-ring. And maybe a hit counter.
• Bought a little air-conditioner because wow, it's hot and sticky in here.

Cecconoid

Good news from the chaps at Thalamus. Everything is basically done, so if it's not in lot-check at the time of writing, it will be soon. I'm quite looking forward to Eugatron on the Switch!

Lumo

• Signed an extension for a small round of physical editions in the UK
• Switch version lives again, transfer from RSG has been completed

Maenhîr

• Made a particle effect for charging the Spin Attack.
• Made a particle effect for the Spin Attack
• Re-wrote sword interaction. Previously, when you did anything with the sword a single sphere was cast in front of the player and anything within it would be asked to react. Now, the check is animated around an arc, roughly in line with where the sword is. For swipes this is a subtle, but nice, change that I've wanted for ages. For the Spin Attack, it's essential.

• Refactored the rest of the object interactions -- lure impacts, thrown objects -- to use the Damage System and custom DamageTypes. I must have been on crack not to have done this in the first instance, so that's a day of my life that I'm never getting back...
• Day / Night controllers now update 10 times a second, rather than every frame.
• Fixed the position of the character's head in a few of the blend poses. This highlights the fact that I'd be much better off with some head tracking, so that's been added to the list.
• Implemented half-height trees that can only be cut with a Spin Attack.
• Half height trees have STIPPLE ALPHA BABY as they fade out.
• Re-animated the basic dig. The old one dug a hole about 1cm in front of the player and always looked rubbish. The new one has a better range, still looks a bit rubbish, but is Good Enough.
• Made a hole that can be spawned anywhere the player has dug. Initially implemented this using a custom depth pass, to make a cutout in the ground material, but unfortunately this only works with transparent materials. Transparent materials aren't lit in the same way, meaning the ground became flat. Boo. Binned all that and went old-school with an object that floats above the ground... Sssh.
• Created a little Dig-Spot indicator, that's ever so slightly nicked from Animal Crossing. Cos.
• Dungeon room controllers log more useful ID information
• Fixed a crash-bug when fishing lures impact objects that don't take damage.
• Wrote down the critical path quest-line for on-boarding the player. 90% of the bits are in place, it just needs tying together.
• Started putting together an asset list for the 3 map areas I have. Or, in other words, made an art TODO list.

Friends: