Cosmic Construct News

[p]This is the 51st week devlog for Cosmic Construct. There was no progress on the game this week that I could deliver with any measure of confidence. This entire week was a wash for me due to a bunch of reasons.[/p][p]To follow the game's progress you can join me at:[/p]

• [p]My bluesky account which gives more frequent updates.[/p]
• [p]The Cosmic Construct community discord server.[/p]
• [p]Also Wishlist Cosmic Construct on Steam and follow it's steam page.[/p]

[p]---[/p][p]I was supposed to do some structure art this week, and I sort of got started with the library which is rather complex, but didn't get far.[/p][p]Like many 'mericans, this week we had Thanksgiving dinner, which takes up some time which I'm sure if you live in the US you are aware. [/p][p]What really killed my week though was getting very sick. Likely COVID. I'm still sick right now writing this, and I'm not in the mood to do much. So I can't really give a timeline as to when I'll pick up development. It might be this week, it might be next.[/p][p]---[/p][p]Unplanned Stuff[/p][p]While I wasn't working on Cosmic Construct, I did work on side projects. So I'll share those with you. I found that while sick my hands are shaking because of shivering and the like. It's just a wholly unpleasant experience to try to do art right now, and likely anything I make I won't be happy with. Instead of hating what was working on, I went to some back burner projects. I hope you don't mind something a little different.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a card game I've been rapidly prototyping called Natural 10. We've been developing it among our friend group for a long time. I'd like to crowdfund it or something. It's hella fun, every time we do playtesting. Its deckbuilding and gameplay systems are pretty different from every card game on the market, and it kinda simulates DnD / RPG mechanics and feel.[/p][p][/p][p]I used AIStudio to develop a card ruletext parser and my it did an amazing job. It looks fantastic on every card. The only thing holding the cards back is the crappy placeholder vector art. Otherwise I would print this to play as is. It looks amazing, at least to me.[/p][p][/p][p]The second side project I worked on this week was an in development superhero themed tabletop roleplaying game called "Orros". I wrote a new LaTeX style so that it looks more like a "modern comic superhero" color scheme. The grey border area you see is just a placeholder image where I can put page art without interfering with the body content.[/p][p][/p][p]I finally finished the powers list. Its the most content heavy section of the book. Now that its done, I can focus on the rules, and continue with the playtesting phase. After which the book will be available for purchase on DriveThruRPG, and updated indefinitely. If you purchase the book on release, you should get all subsequent expansions of the content free. (At least, I believe that is how it works where I upload replacement PDFs, and send out emails saying a new edition is available. I'll do what I can.)[/p][p]---

With all that said, I can't promise I'll return to work on Cosmic Construct for the next few days or week. It depends how long this sickness lasts. When I do return it will be on structure art. You might get another devlog of me working on side projects. Sorry about that.

- Structure Art[/p]

[p]Man it really has been 10 days huh? Sorry about that. Sometimes you have good weeks, sometimes you don't.[/p][p]Welcome to the 50th week devlog for Cosmic Construct! Thank you for sticking with me as I slog through this. It really isn't all that fun, but it has to be finished.[/p][p]To follow the game's progress you can join me at:[/p]

• [p]My bluesky account which gives more frequent updates.[/p]
• [p]The Cosmic Construct community discord server.[/p]
• [p]Also Wishlist Cosmic Construct on Steam and follow it's steam page.[/p]

[p]---[/p][p]Structure Art[/p][p][/p][p]There were three buildings almost fully completed this week. The Terraformer (above) which allows you to change the biome within an area around the Terraformer. Changing its terrain generation, spawns, and ground appearance. Allowing for multiple biomes to be mixed within the same area.[/p][p]I have the Auditor building about as far along as the Treasury. There isn't an image here as I am intentionally hiding it. I can't reveal everything about the game to you or there will be nothing about the game for you to discover yourself. In fact...[/p][p][/p][p]... This image of the Centrifuge is not complete. There are some details and effects that will be added that wasn't shown off here.

We are starting to get to the point where there are "spoilers", and I want you to play my game to see that content.[/p][p]---[/p][p]I also had some unplanned game development work. With the release of Gemini 3.0 Pro, I decided to try vibecoding out for the first time. I did enjoy it, although I don't quite think it's ready for[/p][p]Utter Lunacy[/p][p][/p][p]This is an idea I've had for a while, and wanted to use AI to rapidly prototype and visualize it.[/p][p]This game concept called "Utter Lunacy" replicates many of the tabletop roleplaying game systems. It has a full affix loot system, similar to diablo.[/p][p][/p][p]There is overworld "exploration" which generates events, though it is rather primitive.[/p][p][/p][p]The events are handled with a nearly full dungeons and dragons like character sheet.[/p][p][/p][p]As well as a 2D turn based combat systems with die rolls.[/p][p]Tramblight[/p][p][/p][p]I made a second game "Tramblight" which was much more fun to play. This is a rather complex engine building idle game, where the player manages many different resources. I might actually publish this one out, so I don't have too many screenshots for you.[/p][p]---[/p][p]As with previous weeks, I am still doing structure art. About 3 buildings will be done per week until they are all finished.[/p][p]- Structure Art[/p]

[p]Welcome to the 49th week devlog for Cosmic Construct. There wasn't much done for the game during these short several days, but I'll give some updates as to what is going on.[/p][p]To follow the game's progress you can join me at:[/p]

• [p]My bluesky account which gives more frequent updates.[/p]
• [p]The Cosmic Construct community discord server.[/p]
• [p]Also Wishlist Cosmic Construct on Steam and follow it's steam page.[/p]

[p]---[/p][p]Structure Art[/p][p]No new buildings were worked on or added, but incomplete buildings were worked on a little bit. Mainly the Guildhall and Treasury buildings which are nearly finished.[/p][p]---[/p][p]Arrow Firing Bug[/p][p][/p][p]There was a bug with the bow firing animation appearing whenever the player make a right click on any menu element. That has been fixed.[/p][p]Clutter Reduction[/p][p][/p][p]Buildings obstructing the view of objects behind them has been a back of the head concern of mine since the start of development. I've implemented a transparency toggle to hide buildings directly in front of the player. This will be selective to large structures. Smaller non-obscuring structures won't have this effect applied. Only buildings larger than the player.[/p][p][/p][p]With that little test neighborhood I made, everything is looking rather nice. It's easy to tell what is where and where the player is going. This will not work so well for the pawns, but knowing where they are at all times isn't too vital, as they return home, to chests, and to leisure rather frequently.[/p][p]---[/p][p]This upcoming week will return to the regularly scheduled list of structure art tasks.[/p][p]- Structure Art[/p][p]Again, I'll be doing a couple more months of this before returning to the more substantive gameplay developments.[/p]

[p][/p][p]This is the 48th week devlog for Cosmic Construct. I really am getting behind on these so the next one will come out in just a few days. Then probably the same afterward.[/p][p]To follow the game's progress you can join me at:[/p]

• [p]My bluesky account which gives more frequent updates.[/p]
• [p]The Cosmic Construct community discord server.[/p]
• [p]Also Wishlist Cosmic Construct on Steam and follow it's steam page.[/p]

[p]Each week I go over development goals set up during the previous devlog post.[/p][p]---[/p][p]Import Buildings[/p][p][/p][p]The Casino, being a multipart structure has 3 placement parts in the build menu. There are two tabs in the build menu near the top on the right hand side of the pane. I will be extending that list down to better sort out the build menu later. So that the player isn't overwhelmed by build menu options.[/p][p][/p][p]Many of the other structures got imported as well. You can see that the Abattoir has a mass of grubs behind its fence, which will be passively producing meat, bone, and hide. Housing is in, as well as the Courthouse and Restaurant. The other buildings aren't quite ready to import yet.[/p][p][/p][p]It's nice to be able to make a small neighborhood now and have it look rather "correct". I screwed up the scale on the front doors again. I'm going to have to remove the steps and re-export the Residence and Bungalow. However, its nice to finally see them in[/p][p]---[/p][p]The Infinite Floorplanner[/p][p][/p][p]Again I have unplanned work that ate up time, but I'm glad I've done it. My tangent side project is now live.[/p][p]If you play DnD, Pathefinder, or other tabletop roleplaying games, I've recreated a truly massive tileset from contributions to Dave's Mapper. It will keep growing as time goes on, but it is more than useable at this stage. With 500 tiles, which are made up of 300 main, 100 side, and 100 corner variations. You can turn and fit them together in any orientation for your dungeon creation needs.
[/p][p]https://soaringmoon.itch.io/infinite-floorplanner[/p][p][/p][p]---[/p][p]This upcoming devlog, like I claimed the last one to be will actually be a short week.[/p][p]We are back to doing just the structure art. I'll try to get as much as I can done within the next few days.[/p][p]- Structure Art[/p]

[p]Welcome to the week 47 devlog for Cosmic Construct. I am now very late on this one, so the upcoming "week" will be just a few days to catch up, and that still won't have it back on track. I'll get there. The steam page looks like it hasn't been updated in two weeks despite the last post being 8-9 days ago.[/p][p]To follow the game's progress you can join me at:[/p]

• [p]My bluesky account which gives more frequent updates.[/p]
• [p]The Cosmic Construct community discord server.[/p]
• [p]Also Wishlist Cosmic Construct on Steam and follow it's steam page.[/p]

[p]Just like last week, and the week before. I am getting much if not all of the structure art done. Which will be happening for quite a bit, before I'll get back to coding the game features. This is my fault for making a game that requires so many assets.

---[/p][p]Structure Art (Finish Observatory, then Courthouse, Guild Hall, Treasury)
[/p][p][/p][p]I did more work on the detail of the building, but I don't really like the whitespace (or I guess blackspace) areas. There is something about this I just can't translate in my head for some reason. No other building I've had this problem with. Anyway, its still not done. I need to finish animations for it.[/p][p]The Observatory will generate research and an end game material.[/p][p][/p][p]The Courthouse was probably my favorite of the buildings to work on this week. It is modelled after a particular real world Courthouse, not exactly but close enough people could probably recognize it if they lived in the area. The justice statue was fun, though the copper looks a little like vines, which I've heard from a couple people, but that's because you can only do so much with contours.[/p][p]The Courthouse is a pawn punishment and administration building.[/p][p][/p][p]The Guild Hall I believe is the game's largest wooden structure. The animations aren't quite finished yet, but it's mostly just cloth banners that need to be put on the outside.[/p][p]The Guild Hall will share half the player's skill levels with the pawns of the settlement.[/p][p][/p][p]The Treasury didn't get finished, as it still needs detail and interior animations. I like the stonework, and its the shape of the US Treasury building. I just like its pillars.[/p][p]The Treasury will store the currency so it doesn't take up storage space and displaya new UI feature that shows the settlement economy in real time.[/p][p]---[/p][p]Dungeon Tiles
[/p][p][/p][p]It's been a while since I've had unplanned work I've wanted to show off. Here I have been redrawing many of the titles from Dave's Mapper from a long list of various creators, to make them a little more standardized and add a grid to them. This should make them a little more useful for tabletop and printing. Making them all standardized.

I'll have this set of dungeon tiles available for free on itch, over the course of the next few months. Look out for that.[/p][p]---[/p][p]This upcoming week will be very short, so I am going to relegate this time to importing some of the finished art into the game and make the buildings placeable, and get their structure icons into the build menu.[/p][p]Import Buildings[/p]