Here we are again for our monthly update. April has flown by it was a month of many highs and lows, but nonetheless full of achievements for Deity’s.
Last month, I mentioned a few small changes I wanted to make to player progression within the game. I went ahead and implemented them, and the new Faith-resource mechanic has proven very effective.
This month, I applied another series of changes that I personally felt were essential in a game like this. From the very start of development, my goal was to create a game without a permanent on-screen UI. However, during development that principle wasn’t maintained mostly because quick solutions were needed to display essential information. So I took some time to revisit the UI and its usability in order to bring the game back in line with that original goal. I’m well on my way: most of the process is complete, though a few tweaks and decisions remain. I expect to finish these changes in May.
Now that information is scattered around the Island, I’ve also added a “fast travel” system accessed via a radial menu. After discovering points of interest or building specific structures that you’ll need to visit often (for example, the warehouse), the menu will show dedicated inputs to move you quickly to those locations.
Continuing the polishing work we began last month, I wrapped up the road-building system adding a much more elegant preview, implementing an actual construction cost, and fixing a large number of related bugs.
But the biggest challenge these past weeks has been the pathfinding. Almost every tester reported citizens getting stuck or endlessly falling. I investigated thoroughly and discovered that, after a variable amount of time in the shipping build, pathfinding nodes weren’t always updating correctly after buildings were constructed. Solving this turned out to be lengthy and complex, but it has eliminated most of the citizen-movement issues.
I plan to spend all of May refining the UI rework and polishing the critical points identified in previous tests, while continuing to push out fixes. I’ll likely limit testing in May to those who already have access, and if all goes well in the next devlog I’ll open testing to new users.
So please keep following the project and spread the word. See you soon, little deities!