Progress Update: Expedition Overhaul
Hi there!
Here's a post about the new expedition system, with a video showcasing some of the progress :)
Not gonna lie, it took a while to get things rolling (so to speak).
My approach to code tends to be very "top-down". Meaning that I rarely have something to show until late in the development of a specific feature. The upside is that as soon I reach this stage, progress happens at a very fast pace.
As such, most of my time since last patch was spent figuring out a new way to handle the world map, making a more powerful save system able to digest the changes (and future ones) without the need for me to edit it constantly. And "mapping out" the required structure for all the planned content. Basically, the kind of stuff which ain't really fun to code or to talk about.
[h2]What's done so far[/h2]
With that out of the way, I can work on the features proper and I even have a very early preview of the new system. Please note that everything in the following video is very alpha, played in debug mode, with hastily made menus (and sprites). It should still put into video format most of what I explained in the previous article.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
So expeditions are launched from the garage buildings (1 group per garage). An expedition is comprised of an obligatory transport (you start with a default one, the old car) and 2 slots for optional items.
- The car/transport determines the maximum amount of people you can send, the cargo capacity and the movement speed of the expedition. It can modify other stats like offense, scavenging or defense too.
- The optional items can modify each of those variables. For instance in this demo, the detailed maps will slightly increase movement speed, the metal detector improves scavenging. Of course the released version will feature a lot more items (and probably an additional slot).
Anyway, once satisfied with the settings, you can assign people to the expedition and launch it. People will move the required items (and, weirdly enough, the car too) from storage to the garage. As soon as it's done, the selected group will get into the car and exit the map.
Then, from the world map, you can move expeditions individually (like you would with people in combat mode). Move a car to a point of interest, and its menu will adapt to show your available options. If it's defended, you can attack it, and if not you can loot or claim it.
Note that destinations can now be looted until they are empty or the cargo hold is full, whichever come first. If a (or multiple) survivor(s) is found, they will be sent to the base through a delayed recruit event (scheduled to happen a few hours after the search is over). You don't need to bring them back manually. However, you'll have to bring back the expedition to deliver its loot.
Oh, and it'll be possible to discard loot you don't want, so you don't have to come back each time you find 40 stones :)
That's the gist of it for now.
[h2]Current To-Do List[/h2]
I will definitely have to make this stuff a 2 part overhaul if I want to publish the next update in a timely manner. First, most of the map stuff (basically what you've just seen, but you know, completed). Second, the combat layer, roaming hostiles/neutral groups, and polish.
Regarding this first part, I want to have more interesting 'travel events' (you know, the 2 headed cow, snipers, caches,...) by making at least some of them interactive. For instance the group could come across some booby-trapped loot. You're given a choice to try your luck (or the skill of whoever is the most skilled in electronics, with a visible success chance) or to ignore it and go on your merry way. I just need to figure out a format that won't be too much of a hassle to use for modders.
I still have to finish up some menus, add some widgets to track the expeditions from the base, add some items, alter the tech tree, and test all that in a full game. But it nothing too complicated.
I don't have a precise ETA for the first part, but unless something exceptionally unlikely happens, it should be there within a few weeks :)
Thanks for your support!
Here's a post about the new expedition system, with a video showcasing some of the progress :)
Not gonna lie, it took a while to get things rolling (so to speak).
My approach to code tends to be very "top-down". Meaning that I rarely have something to show until late in the development of a specific feature. The upside is that as soon I reach this stage, progress happens at a very fast pace.
As such, most of my time since last patch was spent figuring out a new way to handle the world map, making a more powerful save system able to digest the changes (and future ones) without the need for me to edit it constantly. And "mapping out" the required structure for all the planned content. Basically, the kind of stuff which ain't really fun to code or to talk about.
[h2]What's done so far[/h2]
With that out of the way, I can work on the features proper and I even have a very early preview of the new system. Please note that everything in the following video is very alpha, played in debug mode, with hastily made menus (and sprites). It should still put into video format most of what I explained in the previous article.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
So expeditions are launched from the garage buildings (1 group per garage). An expedition is comprised of an obligatory transport (you start with a default one, the old car) and 2 slots for optional items.
- The car/transport determines the maximum amount of people you can send, the cargo capacity and the movement speed of the expedition. It can modify other stats like offense, scavenging or defense too.
- The optional items can modify each of those variables. For instance in this demo, the detailed maps will slightly increase movement speed, the metal detector improves scavenging. Of course the released version will feature a lot more items (and probably an additional slot).
Anyway, once satisfied with the settings, you can assign people to the expedition and launch it. People will move the required items (and, weirdly enough, the car too) from storage to the garage. As soon as it's done, the selected group will get into the car and exit the map.
Then, from the world map, you can move expeditions individually (like you would with people in combat mode). Move a car to a point of interest, and its menu will adapt to show your available options. If it's defended, you can attack it, and if not you can loot or claim it.
Note that destinations can now be looted until they are empty or the cargo hold is full, whichever come first. If a (or multiple) survivor(s) is found, they will be sent to the base through a delayed recruit event (scheduled to happen a few hours after the search is over). You don't need to bring them back manually. However, you'll have to bring back the expedition to deliver its loot.
Oh, and it'll be possible to discard loot you don't want, so you don't have to come back each time you find 40 stones :)
That's the gist of it for now.
[h2]Current To-Do List[/h2]
I will definitely have to make this stuff a 2 part overhaul if I want to publish the next update in a timely manner. First, most of the map stuff (basically what you've just seen, but you know, completed). Second, the combat layer, roaming hostiles/neutral groups, and polish.
Regarding this first part, I want to have more interesting 'travel events' (you know, the 2 headed cow, snipers, caches,...) by making at least some of them interactive. For instance the group could come across some booby-trapped loot. You're given a choice to try your luck (or the skill of whoever is the most skilled in electronics, with a visible success chance) or to ignore it and go on your merry way. I just need to figure out a format that won't be too much of a hassle to use for modders.
I still have to finish up some menus, add some widgets to track the expeditions from the base, add some items, alter the tech tree, and test all that in a full game. But it nothing too complicated.
I don't have a precise ETA for the first part, but unless something exceptionally unlikely happens, it should be there within a few weeks :)
Thanks for your support!