Good day keepers!
As we mentioned in our last dev log, there was no dev log for last week. It's a shame but we did have some priorities which needed to be addressed which were not really very exciting to write about. But we're back now (albeit a day later than expected) with the sixth installment of our dev log saga.
Just to let you all know that while development is going very well, we may hold off on revealing the big features each week to truly make the release much more special. Over the next few weeks we're going to be spending our time polishing what is already in the game and will be responding to feedback from the community. So without further ado, let's start this blog post!
Animation variations
We will be looking at adding animation variations for each action the player is able to perform. So a swing may have three types of animation that will play randomly. This makes the character movement feel less monotonous and adds just a little bit of polish. This should also be in some way represented in third person for other players to see in online multiplayer, but we will get to that so do not worry.
Trinkets
Trinkets will be a series of random items that you'll be able to find, craft or order. The biggest use for these types of items will be to boost a players personal stats in various situations. As an example, a trinket may be able to boost your broom so that you can clean more efficiently or improve the repair rate of your hammer to fix furniture pieces faster.
Weight
We have been thinking about ways that will allow players to organise and prevent them from carrying an overwhelming number of items at once. In Shoppe Keep 2, players will have an amount that they are able to comfortably carry, but should the weight of the items in their inventory exceed this, they will find that they will move much slower. To combat being over encumbered, the player will need to place their items in a chest for safe keeping or even equip trinkets which will negate the eight of the items in some way.
Shop Visuals
Everyone loves customization! In the shop management UI you'll be able to customize the very shoppe itself. From foundations, floor, ceiling, roofs and walls, we are sure that you'll find the right look for your shoppe. During development we will be creating texture packs which will allow players to continue decorating their shoppe.
Localisation
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to show off progress for localisation with visuals, so allow us to explain what's been worked on via text! Localisation has taken quite a big bite out of our weekly workflow but we are confident that we have 90% of the current content + ALL items, ALL Quests, All Dialogs localized. What does this mean? Well, we have a folder which is generated when the game first launches called Languages. Within that folder if you add a new text file with a name Language_.txt the games splash screen will check it and if it has text inside it that represents Shoppe Keep 2 localisation, it will offer you the option to choose it. The game will then be translated into the language you have chosen. We will be getting professional translators for a few major languages at launch, but if any players want to translate the text into another language (or even adjust it so that everyone talks like a pirate) They are free to do so.
The main English language file will be available to everyone and as we add more to the localisations and new features evolve, a new file will be supplied which will show what new additions have been made. This means that translators will be able to quickly translate it. We are currently looking into Steam Workshop integration with this system too.
So there we have it. The sixth installment of the dev log comes to a close. Do let us know if you have any thoughts or feedback and stay tuned for next week when we'll be sharing more details of the development process. Thank you all for the support.