Anon42
patreon
SO much stuff + resolution increase WIP
🕑 Added 2022-04-02 21:56:45 +0000 UTCHey everyone. Jesus, where to even start this post? I'll start off with the good news that I've been able to get back into CPE work pretty successfully! I haven't quite stuck to my proposed work schedule, but not because work was difficult, rather things have just been SO busy that I wasn't able to work every day I intended. Because of the limited work days, I haven't gotten a ton of stuff done yet, but I've gotten a good chunk of work on something that I think you guys will be excited about - increasing the screen size in CPE.
Embarrassingly, the screen resolution in Crisis Point (640x480) was chosen because.. it's the default resolution in my engine, and I just never changed it. So, if any of you were ever wondering why our screen resolution and aspect ratio is a little odd, that's why lmao. I've considered changing it for a long time, but so much of the game has been built around that size that I wasn't sure how good of an idea it was. I decided to tinker with it this week for fun, though, and even though there will still be some oddities (like some rooms are the exact size 640x480, so making the screen bigger than that means those rooms will have blank space at the edges), it already feels SO much better to have more screen space that I'm okay with the slight imperfections.
To be specific, my plan is to alter the screen size to 960x540 - exactly half of the standard 1920x1080 resolution that most hardware uses. This means the game will upscale more consistently on most systems, as well as giving you more space to see while you're exploring the game world. Keep in mind we are NOT changing the game's art assets, so don't worry thinking that this will take an absurd amount of effort - we'll need to update some things, like our UI and some backgrounds, to match the new resolution, but 95% of the game's art will stay as is. It's a lot of effort on my end to update things and make sure there are no issues, so I'm not sure if this will be done in time for the next playable release, but here's a before and after screenshot in the meantime so you can see just what sort of a change we're talking about:
Before
After
Please forgive the debug numbers and the background being cut off; the art hasn't been changed to match the new resolution yet, these screens are just to show you how much more space there will be. Hopefully the screenshot gives you a good idea of it, but it really feels amazing to run around the game with so much more visibility. Platforming and combat are both easier than ever, and even though I've still got a LOT of work to do to make it playable with the new resolution, I can already tell it'll be worth the effort.
So, aside from the work things, there are a LOT of life updates to talk about. Like, a lot, these past two weeks have been absolutely insane. I'd be here writing for a few hours if I went into depth on everything, so I'll just drop some bulletpoints here;
-Obviously, I've been able to start working consistently again, which has been great. Work isn't feeling so hard anymore, and I expect to be able to deliver more consistent weekly updates now.
-In general, my mental health is in the best place it's been for a LONG time, which is great because..
-Our landlord informed us that they will not be renewing our lease once it runs out in June, not because we did anything wrong, but because they want to sell the house we've been living in. Thus, we have about 3 months to pack up and move to a new house. Development of the game may stay just a little slower than I'd like for a bit, because we're going to have a lot of work cut out for us to move the entire household - we were planning on staying here for years, so we have a lot more stuff than usual.
-As an extension of the previous point, me and Puffernutter have been talking seriously about buying a home, instead of finding another place to rent. There are basically no good rental options in Anchorage - they're all not only worse than our current place, but they have HIGHER rent as well. So, it's very likely we'll be putting a downpayment on a home within the next 3 months.
-On another note, Puffernutter and I are now officially engaged, after living together since before Crisis Point was even started! Neither of us likes being the center of attention, so the wedding is going to be a VERY low-profile affair, but we've been talking about the idea of marriage for years and we both knew we were in for the long haul. We were already considering doing it soon, and once we got the news that we were going to have to move, and likely end up buying a house, we decided it would be a good idea to have it done before that happens. We don't have a date picked out just yet, but it's a pretty limited timeframe since we want it done before we move.
-I signed up for lessons, and am finally going to start learning how to play bass guitar, which is something I've always wanted to do but never knew how to start! My therapist recommended I find more hobbies, especially creative things, that are disconnected from my work - and finally taking the plunge to learn an instrument seems like the perfect option.
-Our household, which currently consists of 4 people (myself, Puffernutter, Orexius, and a friend of ours), all signed up for a gym membership and a month of small-group personal training. We had our first two sessions earlier this week, and despite it being a harder workout than I've ever done at home, I felt fantastic afterwards, so I have high hopes for us sticking with it! We did well when exercising as a group before, since we're all accountable to each other for staying on track, and so far it seems to be working great. Not only are we doing regular exercise now, but we're also drastically cutting down on how much food we order out, so we're eating a lot better too.
-Even though I just said our household has 4 people in it, we're about to get a 5th, because my mother will be moving in with us once we settle in to a new place. She WAS going to move in with us this week, but we got the news that we were being kicked out of this house shortly after the decision was made, so we're delaying having her move in so she doesn't have to basically move twice. I don't want to be specific out of respect for her privacy, but she needs to get out of her current living situation for her own mental health, and every one of us agreed immediately that we'd be happy to have her living with us.
-I don't think I've mentioned anything about this before, but I finally got to see a podiatrist, and it turns out my foot pain while standing/walking isn't just me being crazy. I have flat feet and mild metadductus (google that one if you want specifics), so I'll be getting some custom-made orthotics to help alleviate my foot pain, which should make exercise all the easier. It certainly explains why I've had trouble with walking and standing in the past, so I'm relieved to finally get some answers there.
So I said two weeks, but really the majority of all that happened in just the past week. It's been a crazy busy time, with appointments out the ass and lots of big life changes being thrown at us. Normally this kind of thing would've overwhelmed me and made me shut down for a while, but I'm honestly doing pretty well despite all of it! Therapy has already done wonders for my mental health, and things like exercise and getting out of the house more have had me more energetic and motivated than I've been in years.
I'm sure there's still some things that I've forgotten to talk about here, what with the sheer amount of events happening, but I've written enough for one day. Thank you guys so much for reading - and again, thank you SO much for being so patient with me while I get myself in order. It's taken a good while, but the result is an Anon42 that's gradually becoming better at dealing with the stresses of life in a healthy and constructive way, moreso than I've ever been, and I'm eternally grateful to you guys for sticking by me and allowing this to happen. Even beyond the development of games and having steady income, you guys have helped improve my life more than you'll ever know, and it means the world to me. We'll see you again in the next update!
Comments
Nathan Phoenix
As a fellow flatfoot (men's double wide 15) I'll give you this advice. Check Amazon for some $10 pairs of extra size memoryfoam shoe inserts. Buy 2 pairs, stack them together, and scissor to size. It will make a world of difference at the end of the day
Anon42
The second screenshot is automatically squished by Patreon because it's too wide, the art is the exact same size as it is in the first screenshot. It's literally just extra screen space, altering the art to be smaller would take us astronomically more work, so we're not going to be doing that. We already have zoom-in on H-scenes too
Matthias Zimmermann
i actually like the smaller screen version better, you can see everything better. sticking with the new version might need a zoom in function
![[NSFW] sfmtraining from gumroad](https://patrefans.com/kistorage/106068.jpg)
