Hello Steam friends.
I was hoping to start posting an update every few weeks to a) let everyone know what we’re up to b) let you know we’re still alive. Now – apologies if these posts are on the lean side – since there are only 2 of us on this game I might not spend as much time writing this as wish I could. Still, updating all of you is probably #1 on my “TODO” list so time will be found!
Alpha Version 2
MT and I have Alpha Version 2 (AV2) as our next major milestone. Basically this means we’ve put a hold on adding new features and going back through older features to make them more awesome. With that said I’m sure MT will ninja in a few features as we go along.
Update 001 Topics
A few select topics we worked on recently:
- Exhibit Privacy System
- Dynamic Water
- Dino Skins (Shader)
Exhibit Privacy System
An important aspect of designing your Dino exhibit(s) is privacy. Your Dino friends are affected by privacy; now, some Dino species are more resilient to hoards of guests gawking at them; but all of your Dinos require some down time. How much privacy your exhibit has depends on the shape of your exhibit, materials used around and within your exhibit among other factors. In the picture above is an exhibit demonstrating privacy: the privacy toggle is on so you see a privacy heatmap within the exhibit showing what parts are private, and what parts are not private. Understandably areas near guest viewing areas (paths) are not private, so you can immediately see how you decide to design your exhibit directly impacts on your Dino’s privacy.
Dynamic Water
We now have moving water! First it looks cool. :) More importantly though, water is an essential aspect of your exhibit. The amount of water in your exhibit transforms the type of biosphere thereby being more suitable for one type of Dino species versus another. Water also dictates what types of trees, plants & rocks you can successfully grow in your exhibit.
Dino Skins (Shader)
We really want people to see each of their Dinos as unique and special. Therefor we made a cool shader (a shader is a special piece of programming code that does something specific with game graphics) that gives the skin of each Dino a unique look and color scheme. I probably linked the least cool of the results I’ve seen for far in the game, but it hopefully gives you an idea.
Thanks to all you early Parkasaurus Warriors
If you’re reading this, then you’ve decided to give some of your valuable time to a couple of devs following their dream – so thank you. We can use ALL the help we can get so please Wishlist us, follow us on Twitter or post about us when you can. Thanks!
Disclaimer: Any crazy features we write about might change by the Early Access version
