Cosmic Construct News

[p]This is the 53rd week devlog for Cosmic Construct. After a couple weeks of personal trouble I'm back to the regular development of the game[/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]I did the bulk of the work on the Embassy building which will control visas and tourism for the city. This is control the number of tourists and generate a small amount of revenue. In a way, the late game of Cosmic Construct is sim city like, so there will be diverse buildings like[/p][p][/p][p]Another, important building is the Auditor. I've done most of the detail of the building already, it just needs interior animations. I'm still not sure about the building's shape, but I made it to be similar to the Embassy, and uses the same color scheme as most of the government buildings. With decor the player will be able to make a "government sector" which should be stylistically univ[/p][p][/p][p]I didn't quite get the animations done for the Guild Hall, so I was also working on those. A few other buildings still need interior animations as well, and that is kind of time consuming. We'll get there. The Library has taken a while to get done, but I should be able to show it off next devlog.[/p][p]Indie Dev Practice

[/p][p]Have this cute little ascii dungeon crawler testing out some pieces of a complex concept that will look nothing like this when I actually get around to making it. Eventually, I'll have to make a game after Cosmic Construct, and this is for that project.[/p][p]---[/p][p]As has been the usual, I need to finish the Structure Art before I can flesh out the gameplay. I'll aim to get 3 parts of the structures done, and try to finish up the multipart Library so I can show it off.[/p][p]- Structure Art[/p][p]I know this is dry an uninteresting, but it's got to be done. The vegetables before the dessert.[/p]

[p]Welcome to the 52nd week devlog for Cosmic Construct. Thank you for bearing with me during this week of my being sick. I still am a little sick although I've just about recovered. So the development will return to its normal scheduled updates.[/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]As I stated at the end of last week's post I wasn't going to promise any progress made on the game, and I didn't make any. Instead focusing my energy into text based projects that don't require fine motor skills like drawing assets.[/p][p]So just like last week I have a couple of productive side projects you can explore while you are waiting for me to get back to scheduled upa[/p][p]Substrate

[/p][p]Substrate is an SCP-like liminal narrative worldbuilding project set in a future where benign artificial intelligence builds a megastructure under the Earth. There is a wiki for it located here...[/p][p]https://substrate.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page[/p][p]...feel free to explore it at sure leisure.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a largely "AI generated" project, but as with most of my AI generated projects I try to keep them very logically consistent all the way through. I ask that you give them a shot, and that this isn't a "bog standard" AI generated fictional work. It has more depth than you might expect hearing that.[/p][p]Azure Sun[/p][p][/p][p]This is a unique TTRPG project I've been working on that is largely complete. It's got a lot of AI assisted formatting and game balance, but looks quite good. Gemini is doing a great job laying the book out (although it is a bit colorful).[/p][p][/p][p]Azure Sun is a sci-fi cyberpunk roleplaying game based in a world where companies have constructed a solar energy collection array so large it creates a second sun in the sky.[/p][p]---[/p][p]Over this next week I will return to structure art, where I should be able to get 3 buildings done during that time.[/p][p]Obvious as indicated by the last two devlogs, the progress has been delayed so I expect to have all of the structure art done before the end of February. Based on how fast I churn out the art. Could be later, just being honest. You will have updates through that entire process.[/p][p]- Structure Art[/p]

[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]