Ezy
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Episode 4, Update #29
🕑 Added 2024-10-20 12:17:20 +0000 UTCHey all,
I decided to make a small change to submissions. Previously, there were only 2 renders depicting the submissions, but since there are 3 stages, it only made sense to actually have 3 depicting them. On top of that, I also wanted to show tapping out when succesful. So, instead of previously always being just 2 renders, each submission now needs 4 renders. It's not a great deal more, but it looks so much better. I also added some sound effects for failing and succeeding. Some standup strikes now also have at least 2 renders to make them look more interesting, and show the motion of them better.
Implementing this and making it work correctly took a little longer than I predicted, but it's now sorted. Same with the new evading and blocking mechanism, but overall I'm very pleased with how it turned out. The red sparring match is now the first completed with all the discipline moves unlocked, the extra features and the removal of the closed guard options on the ground. This gives me a good idea how many renders an average a match is going to be in the future. It came down to 170 renders, but that'll vary slightly, depending on the disciplines and moves of your opponent. Judokas have their various throws and Thai boxers have their own unique clinch etc.
I'm almost done with the blue branch training sessions (thank fuck for that!) and then the only annoying thing left is the sparring match. It won't take as long as the red one, since all the new features are in place. The way it's set up, is a simple render swapping system triggered by a single variable. I won't be doing that match in one go, as I have some environment work to set up for the final scenes, so I'll be swapping in between them to keep my mind from going completely insane.
I've started a bit of work (writing, environment setup and clothes) on one of the final LI scenes already (as the training sessions were driving me bonkers), so the next couple of devlogs will likely show a lot of scenes going "in progress" as I swap between the work.
As mentioned previously, I'll be out abroad for work this week, and won't be getting much done on the project. It'll give me a nice break and hopefully clear and freshen my mind a little. Good news is that I'll be back before the weekend and also have the following Monday off work, so I can get a lot done!
Ezy
Comments
Ezy
Nah, no need for that. If you didn't know, you didn't know! 😊
J-Leaf
Oooooh... Okay, you can hand me my "dunce" hat now.
Ezy
LI is short for "Love Interest". Some scenes are slightly or heavily different, depending on your relationship with them. You can either be friends or lovers.
J-Leaf
Aight, that's fair... One question though, and I hope this doesn't make me seem stupid or anything but uhhhh... What does "Li" mean? Cause in the progress image you see a bar tagged "FRIEND/LI SCENE" and I have no club whatsoever what or who a LI is.
Ezy
Maybe, maybe not. The in last scenes I expect to be big. I might finish the story, but I have many small things to sort out after (rewards, unlocks, etc). This release is massive compared to any previous ones, which also needs thorough testing. I expect that to take some time too, depending on the availability of the people.
J-Leaf
If you were betting man, (I assume you're not, but hey maybe you're 3-time global poker champ for all I know) when in time could you see a potential release date. I know you said that you're looking for end-October date for episode 4. But since you're going on a break and the fact that the month is a week and some change away from ending. Would you see early November as the release date?
Ezy
I want to improve, I want to learn and get better at different things and I want this to be an overall great experience. In my job, I'm locked to doing what I must, within a very tight deadline. Thus any interesting ideas or pipeline changes hardly ever make it into the final product. With an early-access product like this, that's not so much the case, though I try to keep the changes as reasonable as possible as to not add +5 years to development time. Though sometimes it feels like I am adding that at this pace... Believe you me, the first time I started constructing the outline sheet, no one was more overwhelmed than myself. Looking at the rough outline on paper and my Trello board, looks so much simpler. This kind of diagram shows more of the reality of it. It's so close now compared to July, I'm no longer stressed about it and I'm almost at the homerun point! 🥳 I can tell you, I'm sick of gyms and I'm glad the final scenes don't involve them (much)! 😁
Merlin
I am always impressed about how you are always thinking 🤔 of how to make the game even better. These changes sound fantastic. The outline sheet back in July looked a little overwhelming, I won't deny. It looks so much better now. I am not going to Li (pun intended). That section of the outline sheet has a ways to go, but after short break, you should be clear headed enough to get back to all the fun 😄.
