Tavern Ventures: Guilds & Tales News

[p][/p][p]Welcome to another update on Tavern Ventures: Guilds and Tales![/p][p]We have spent the last few weeks refining the animations of our main character—the bartender, who plays a key role in the game. We want his movements and behavior to reflect the character of the owner of a bustling tavern, which is the heart of adventures and stories in the world of Tavern Ventures.[/p][p]
[/p][h3]Movement animations[/h3][p]Until now, our bartender could only move in two directions, which limited the sense of space. We are now working on an animation system that allows him to move not only left and right, but also deeper into the tavern and toward the player. This will make the scenes inside the tavern more dynamic and spacious.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]To achieve this effect, we have prepared a complete set of animations for turning and moving in different directions. This also required the creation of new graphics showing the character from every angle — we are happy to show you the first results of this work![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Conversation animations[/h3][p]But movement isn't everything. We are also currently developing a set of animations depicting conversations between the bartender and tavern guests. We want his dialogues to look natural and reflect the character's personality – from calm exchanges to more emotional moments. It is these details that will bring the interactions in Tavern Ventures: Guilds and Tales to life.[/p][p]
[/p][h3]What's next?[/h3][p]This is only the first stage of our work on bringing the tavern in Tavern Ventures: Guilds and Tales to life. Each new animation brings us closer to creating a place that players can truly feel—bustling with conversation, movement, and stories. In future posts, we'll show you more of the results of our work. [/p][p][/p][p]Check back on the devlog — more updates coming soon![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]
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[p][/p][h3]Let's return to the topic of animation. [/h3][p][/p][p]Today, you will see one of the characters in our game from the start to the animation.[/p][p]It is a waiter. It has not been shown yet, unless you spotted it in one of the graphics. As the name suggests, the waiter serves dishes to our customers. [/p][p][/p][p]Let's move on to the first video, where you will see the process of drawing this character. [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]For the purposes of animation, he was lately drawn from a different perspective, and drawings of the food eaten by customers were also created. [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h3]Finally, you can see one of our waiters' animations. [/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]If you are curious about the future developments of the game, we encourage you to join our discord server and add the game to your wish list so you don't miss out on future articles.[/p][p][/p][h3]See you back here![/h3][h3]
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[p][/p][p]There's been a lot going on in the back of production lately. Currently on tap we have a complete overhaul of in-game animations using the tools previously described, but also-[/p][p][/p][p]We changed a few things in the game:[/p][h3]
The innkeeper[/h3][p]Moving the innkeeper has been changed - from now on we move on the WSAD keys. Yes, W and S also move the innkeeper. Forward, backward, left or right the character will go where you want.[/p][p][/p][h3]Action dots[/h3][p]Points have been added to the game to mark places where interaction is possible. To interact, all you have to do is walk up to the spot where the marker is.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]There are many items and decorations in the tavern. We decided to add a feature for some of them that is not limited to visual aspects.[/p][p]
[/p][h3]New management view[/h3][p]You will immediately see two places that have been enhanced with the aforementioned action dots. Not only has this changed, but also the appearance of the window that this place opens. [/p][p]
[/p][h3]Innkeeper's counter [/h3][p]From now on, this place also functions as the management of the inn. Here you can manage your employees such as waiters. [/p][p]
[/p][h3]Menu[/h3][p]Approaching the menu hanging on the wall opens the possibility to change the dishes that your inn serves.[/p][p]
[/p][h3]Even so, [/h3][p]As you can see, the innkeeper's animations are not yet as we would like them to be. However, you know from the previous publication of progress, that we are working on it. We hope that soon we will be able to present you new, and better character animations in our game ;)[/p][p][/p][p]See you next time![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]
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Today a slightly different topic. It will be about the problems we encountered and what we are doing to solve them.
As you already know, we are working on improving the animation at Tavern Ventures.
Unfortunately, things do not always go as we would like them to…



At first, we created animations in Moho and Adobe After Effects - tools that offer extensive editing and customization of character movement (Moho and Adobe After Effects are popular 2D animation programs used in both - film and game production).
We later decided to switch to Rive because it provided better control over the interactivity of the animation thanks to its state machine system (the state machine in Rive allows you to create dynamic animations that respond to user interactions, which is particularly useful in games and interactive applications). Unfortunately, Rive has a relatively limited set of animation tools, which became a challenge for us.



We tried to work around these limits by using pre-prepared animations in the form of image sequences (PNG sequence), but the files turned out to be too large, resulting in long loading times and unacceptable performance. (PNG sequences are often used, but many high-resolution images can put a significant strain on the application's memory and loading time.) Therefore, we decided to fully redesign the animations in Rive to better match the tool's capabilities.

However, after a lot of experiments, analysis, and code work, we were able to develop a solution that allows us to combine animations created in other programs with Rive smoothly. This allows us to use more powerful animation tools and then export the effects to Rive in an optimized form. This will greatly speed up our workflow and allow us to create high-quality animations faster.

What will come out of this solution? You will find out in one of the next updates on our progress.
See you there!

We come with an update on the progress of our steps. Work is in full swing, and today you will see the changes that are taking place at Tavern Ventures.

[h2]MAP[/h2]
Work on the map is still in progress, but you can already see what changes are coming. Almost everything is being redrawn, and when each of the elements is in its final place, you can be sure that we will present it to you without delay. Before looking at our “work in progress”, let's take a look at how the map looked before we started working on it.



[h3]Okay. Now we can already look at how it is changing.[/h3]



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


[h2]What else?[/h2]

[h3]Animations[/h3]
The changes do not omit animations as well. The innkeeper will receive fresh animations, but not only. Animations are also created for the new character, which has not been presented yet.

[h3]Upgrades[/h3]
We are taking the first steps to upgrade the system. The first outlines of the operation and visual concept have been created. For this month we are introducing and testing the system in the form of described rectangles, and when we are satisfied with the operation and its visual aspect (which we can't say at the moment) you will see the effects of our work.

[h3]See you soon![/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2437180/Tavern_Ventures_Guilds__Tales/