Greetings Pergonauts! Welcome to another Tuesday dev blog for Dandelion Void.
This week we are showing off a new terminal-controlled device, as well as discussing the role of the Pergola’s computer and mechanical systems in our game.
But before that, we’d also like to celebrate a milestone – the Wishlist trailer for Dandelion Void now has over 100,000 views on our YouTube channel! It can’t be said enough how grateful we are to have a community that has so embraced our game. We will continue to work hard to deliver an experience worthy of all of your attention!
tggl
Many four letter words were used during the geopolitical conflict on the Earth that the Pergola left behind, as well as during its controversial construction. One that you might not expect, though, is tggl
As you may have seen in a previous dev blog, the Pergola is littered with terminals that allow you to access information and control systems using a command line interface. Each command has a four letter key; for instance, list shows you the contents of a directory and/or file. tggl is short for “toggle,” which flips the state of terminal-controlled devices!
For the modding-curious, here’s a look at our map editor. When a terminal is selected, you can preview all connected devices.
The lights are a good early use case for this system due to their simple purpose and easily visible state. Players can now illuminate rooms as they explore to make loot more easily visible, keep their bases illuminated for comfort, or turn the lights out before they go to bed! This command already works with doors, and down the line, there will be a variety of other devices that respond to the tggl command.
The world of Dandelion Void is built around a dichotomy. On one hand, your environment has returned to a state of nature. Like premodern humans, you must gather food, seek shelter, and defend yourself from wild creatures. On the other hand, a ship is still a ship, overgrown or bare. The electricity still works (for now), the doors are powered, and the player will encounter a variety of manufacturing and life support equipment. Mastering these systems is essential for you to not only survive, but thrive aboard the pergola.
Fans of Brian’s modding work might already know that electrical and mechanical infrastructure can be just as much fun when it doesn’t work as when it does. Down the line, you might find that terminals and/or their controlled devices need to be repaired or serviced before you can get what you need out of them – but that’s a topic for another day.
Next Week
We have some infrastructure tasks coming up which are crucial for the game but not particularly exciting to look at. They’ll take more than a week to finish, so we’ll update you on them when they’re done.
To fill the gap in next week’s dev blog, we’d like to highlight some incredible Dandelion Void fan art! We already have a few in mind, but if you have anything you’d like to be featured please share them in our Discord’s #fan-art channel.
Until then, it’s time for us to tggl off!