Dark Space Friday #2

Overview

Today I will talk a bit about the upcoming Woods update. The update will add a new building, items and a storyline which will tie everything a bit more together.

Progression

The new addition is mandatory to further progress. You will also need to find a bunch of items and put them to use like fuel and a generator to turn on the light inside.

Therefore I also implemented a small system that essentially lights are controlled by light switches and these have the requirement of electricity coming in this case in form of a generator. This system can be reused in various ways, light switches and generators could look, work and be animated differently, it could also mean in the future multiple generators or levers are required to turn on electricity somewhere.

I will probably add more of that in the next updates so that there is just much more to do and find. At the same time I always want to base everything off of a story. Those stories can be either smaller side-stories or be part of the bigger picture.

Storyline

I won't really spoil too much, just a general overview but if you do not want to know anything just skip this part.

The storyline is about a couple that wanted to use the opportunity of the rumors about the crystal woods to attract people and give tours through the woods and castle but as always certain events occured and they had to make some grim decisions.

Building

Here is a first impression of the new building. I tried to make it fit in with the ruins but at the same time make it look a little different too, since it is from a different time then those ruins.

First Version with streetlamp:

Second Version without:

And just another moody shot:

As you can also see the door has some boards in front of them which you have to rip off. Right now you can just do it but I might add something like a crowbar of some sort that you have to find first which will be reused at some point throughout the game I guess. I think it would only make sense to introduce an item and mechanic if you have to reuse it.

Planned Release

The next update is currently planned for mid next week. I'm adding a lot more than I initially anticipated which includes the creation of a lot of new assets, a few items and some smaller systems that I need to implement. There will also be various improvements in other areas like new lighter animations where the hand doesn't look as scuffed anymore, some smaller events, drawers and doors work better even if you do not look directly at them.

So that's it for this week.

Cheers, Leon Drace