Hi everyone,
it's time for a new update and this here is about the preparation of the alpha test version, animal attacks, the new time manager, the plant info menu + regrow system and more.
Alpha Test Preparation
In the last weeks I've worked a lot on the project to get a playable alpha version of the game.
There is still some stuff to do, but it looks pretty good far.
Already done:
- Main menu is finished for a test version now
- Added a start screen which shows the latest updates
- Added a 'game over' event when all colonists are dead
- Fixed a lot of bugs while testing
- Added sounds (UI, working, weather, etc)
- Removed a lot of personal debug checkboxes, buttons, etc
Still to do:
- Alpha Trailer
- Hostile colonist attacks
- Better event manager / handler
- Balancing bleeding damage, resource costs, work times, etc
Tutorial
To make the game a little bit more comfortable to learn for players which are not familiar with the genre, I have added a short tutorial menu which will be shown when a player starts a new game.
Animal Attacks
Yes, animals can attack now. I have added a new event which get triggered by a certain chance when a colonist is attacking or hunting an animal. At the moment the chances are:
- Chicken (5%)
- Fox (25%)
This event is not only triggering a single animal, but also every other member of the group. If that happens, they are attacking every colonist (doesn't matter of which player) which comes to near to them. The event ends if some time without any colonists interaction has passed or if the player is killing every member of the group.
Time Manager
The next point on the list was the finishing of the time manager and the connected network timer.
For test purposes I have set the time span of 1 year to 30 ingame days.
Network Timer
The network timer was a little bit complicated to implement because it's not so easy to find a good way for 2 players to control the time. In the end I implemented the solution that both players can set their speed state how they want. But the real ingame speed will always be the lowest one of any player.
That means, if player1 (green icon on the left side) is in stop mode and player2 (violet icon on the right side) is in fast mode, the in-game speed is set to stop (middle icon). If player1 would go in play mode now, then the game would run in the general play speed. If player2 would get in stop mode then, the game would go back in the general stop mode.
Additionally I have added a function that a player can notify the others with a sound by pressing 'M', when the chosen time modes are not the same.
Age Weakness
In connection with the new time manager I have also implemented the age calculation for the colonist as well as for the animals. If the age reaches a certain threshold a new status effect, called age weakness, is applied which has a negative impact on the run speed and the general work speed. With higher age these values are increasing. If the final age is reached (for colonists it's 80 years at the moment), the death is unavoidable.
Additional Stuff
Plant Info Menu + regrow functionality
While testing the game via steam I've noticed that it's not very good to click on plants and get no information or menu. The only way to see how much a plant has grown was over a plant zone but only with a very general and decent information. Therefore I have reworked the plants, gave them colliders and implemented a plant info menu which shows all related stuff now.
In addition I've added a regrow functionality for the plants which works in a similar way like for the trees.
Updated item zone menu
The menu of the item zone is updated now, so that it's much better ordered and divided into sections for the different types of items. It's also possible to check now, if you want decomposing animals or colonists in your zone + if you want your own dead colonists or the one of others in the zone.
Note:
I have seen now, that I wrote Ohers instead of Others :p
Food Poisoning
Usually your colonists are eating meals which were cooked on a campfire or a kitchen. But sometimes there are not enough meals available and in case of an emergency, your colonists will eat the ingredients. At the moment the following food can lead to a food poisoning:
- Raw meat
- Raw human meat
- Raw potatoes
A poisoning has a negative effect on the run and general work speed and will also impact the mood.
Small Updates
- Added colors for the blueprints of different players
- Disabled interactions with building components of other players
- Implemented a better transparent mode (to go through the layers of buildings & terrain)
- Auto save option on exit game
- Added decomposing textures for animals (very simple ones)
Hope you have enjoyed this update,
Cheers!
Links:
Discord