Welcome to newsletter # 17, our first in the new year!
Work continues towards the store page release, much has been done but there is more to do. I’m getting closer every day and I’m really liking how its all coming together.
Last few weeks:
I’ve been working on many systems over the last few weeks but most my attention has been on UI the for HUD, mini map and hacking systems. I did take some time to make some door variants as well to help give some variety to the first area
The first thing I wanted to sort out was the layout for the player HUD, I’m still not 100% there, the icons are just placeholders but I’m liking the direction and feel like having important info on the bottom of the screen is best since there are a lot of threats above your head most the time. I want the keys for equipment activation to be visible so players can easily lookup what key activates specific abilities. The health bar will also have another bar for the current security level that moves from max down reducing your health potential as the alert level raises’
As I mentioned, I spent a lot of time on the UI (specifically the mini map) which started with creating the mini map base, floor, and higher level assets (orange bits). Then I coded it so those assets were added to the mini map camera during procedural generation. I also created the mini map assets for the doors and since mini map asset are attached to the real world assets, when the doors open you see that on the mini map as well. This will be useful if you are tracking the movements of a guard and want to trap them inside a room. One of the many tools you will have to slip through security and steal your prize. I also added visual indicators so you know when a door is locked. It will be up to you to find out how to hack your way past, or acquire a key from an unsuspecting guard
When your hacking a terminal or just need a birds eye view you can hit the ‘R’ Key to expand your mini map to full screen. I had some issues setting this up originally as I wanted it to not be rotated and have the same direction as up. My initial idea was to rotate it to an aligned position right after opening but that turned out to be confusing. In the end I found the best way was to just put a view cone out that pointed the direction you were facing when you opened the map. When you hack a terminal you will see the other nearby terminals you can connect to and try to gain access to. When you enter a security system a ping is sent out that will echo back one terminal location. You can try to gain access using that initial terminal or see if there are other ways into the system. Every run is different and the path through isn’t always as it seems
With the mini map being generated along with the procedural level the next step was implementing a fog of war system since the player shouldn’t be able to see areas they haven’t visited directly. There will be other ways to reveal the map aside from walking through the level but you’ll have to stay tuned to learn more about that. In the example below I have the large HUD mini map open to show how the fog of war gets revealed but typically you can’t move when this map is open. You do see glimpses of the map revealing in the smaller mini map but only for a split second. There will also be ways to increase the size of revealed area as you move using special abilities but more on that later as well!
The last thing I worked on over the past few weeks was the terminal. I needed both a 3D asset for the terminals on the walls that can be hacked as well as a 2D icon that would show up on the mini map. Terminals will be a key element in your strategies to infiltrate security as a way to gain intel on rooms and areas before you enter. They are connected to the security devices around them and can be used to reduce alert levels when you need to cool things off after getting caught. I really like the way these turned out!
Push to store page release continues:
Still working through my todo list, many things have been crossed off. A few more things have been added but overall progress is good. Probably won’t get the store page up until mid February but I’m doing a lot of extra work that will make the demo come out that much faster
That is all for this update!
Tony D
Cronoforge Studios Inc