It's been a bit of a lighter week for me because I've had a lot of stuff going on, particularly additional choir practices and working on an update to another game. However, I was still able to push out some stuff.
Customizable controls were added this week. Please, tell me if the interface is not working for you. I spent a lot of time working on it to get it just so, and I need to know if it's good enough or if there are bugs somewhere. A departure from normal design is that I don't allow you to create a key conflict, so if you want to be able to (temporarily) create key conflicts, please tell me.
In related news, I added a new control set for users who prefer to use a number pad, bringing the total number of control sets up to three. You can customize each one how you like, but the amount of options for defaults should make that task a lot easier on you.
The bugs on the docket this week were a few nagging bugs in lairs. Particularly, faster monsters didn't look like they were getting pushed back because of the logic surrounding how player turns worked. Now, any mob must wait for its turn until all narration blocks are gone.
Formerly, the flow went:
- Land a blow on the monster and push it back
- A narration pops up that the monster has been pushed back
- The monster moves toward the player
- The player closes out the narration
Now the flow goes:
- Land a blow on the monster and push it back
- A narration pops up that the monster has been pushed back
- The player closes out the narration
- The monster moves toward the player
This simple change actually had a great side effect of allowing the player to control when the monsters take their turn in basically all situation, which improves the perception of game flow, in my opinion.
I also fixed a few rendering bugs involving running away from monsters in tunnels. Previously, you wouldn't be able to see monsters in certain situations. Scary!
And finally, I've received some feedback that the traditional English coinage system is a bit opaque to understand. My first thought was, "That's a good thing." But I relented and made color-coding in shops, inns, and railway stations to more descriptively show you how many of what type of denomination you're spending. Now, players unfamiliar with pounds, shillings, and pence can at least see gold, silver, and copper coloring on store UIs.
The shiny new store UI, complete with colored numbers
Next week, nests are going to get some more love and attention. And I've had some requests to add in some sounds and music early, so I will probably get around to that. Remember to email any questions, comments, and prayer requests you have to [email protected].