Weekly Devlog #1 - Sep 1

This week, the team made avances across various facets of development. Programmers focused on improving gameplay mechanics, enhancing enemy behaviors, and updating the game's effects and animations. Artists made progress on character animations and environmental designs, while the UI team refined multiple interface elements.

Artists

Directional Flight and Gun Range

• Progressed on animations for left, right, back, and forward directional flight, enhancing dynamic movement visuals.

• Continued development of the gun range area, broadening the game's interactive environment.

Boss and Enemy Design

• Conceived and developed concepts for Phase 2 tentacles of the Biome 2 boss. Included pixel art versions to finalize the design.

• Completed sprite design for the special enemy/boss in Biome 04, advancing it to the animation stage.

Animation Development

• Completed 80% of the walk animation and drafted ideas for transformation animations.

• Refined the directional flight animations of the boss from Biome 2, Phase 2.

Environment and Prop Design

• Polished the textures for a destroyed hangar and its accompanying props, enhancing the environmental storytelling.

• Continued detailing wall elements, bringing the worn appearance of the hangar to life.

Challenge Area Development

• Finalized the challenge table and exporter settings, moving forward with animated candles for challenges.

• Completed and exported the difficulty machine, with adaptable color variations for enhanced usability.

Hangar Destruction Detailing

• Made significant progress on detailing the destroyed hangar, focusing on textures for destructible props and environmental integration.

Enemy Animation

• Prepared animations of the spawner enemy for export, completing this segment of enemy development.

Boss Phase Design

• Finished the base design for the boss Phase 2, sketching animation concepts to visualize future movements.

• Implemented concepts and designed the cooling machine, with animations currently lacking export.

Blob Enemy Development

• Achieved finalization of the Blob enemy's projectile mechanics and shooting animations, enhancing enemy engagement.

• Released completed Blob enemy animations, including an impact splash, to augment combat scenarios.

UI-Artist

UI Adjustments and Mockups

• Refined the UI design for the Route Map on tablets and enhanced the minigame timer animation.

• Continued work on the UI menu for 'Death V 3.0', ensuring a comprehensive user experience.

• Adjusted the mockup for the Party Settings UI, focusing on assets for better user interaction.

Party Panel and Asset Delivery

• Made the final touches to the Party Adjustment Panel, ensuring the delivery of clean assets.

• Held feedback meetings to discuss the integration of new UI elements and received approval for asset redesigns.

Difficulty Panel and Icon Proposals

• Refined the difficulty panel for both single and multiplayer games, optimizing assets for clarity.

• Proposed new icons for in-game saving animations and orientation cursors, enhancing navigational aids.

Programmers

Lava and Explosive Elements

• Completed the final adjustments to the lava fissure and projectile effects, making them ready for implementation.

• Refined the behavior and visual appearance of explosive fruits, ensuring their functionality is polished and consistent with game dynamics.

Guided Bullet and Boss Scene Updates

• Developed and tested the Ultimate Guided Bullet v1.0, ensuring it operates correctly for both clients and host using controller and keyboard-mouse inputs.

• Made minor adjustments to the boss scene, enabling smooth gameplay without disruption.

Cinematics and Animation

• Enhanced the boss scene's cinematic flow, successfully integrating an incomplete cinematic that transitions into the boss fight. Visual details similar to the door cinematic are still pending.

New Gadgets and Player Effects

• Created data for new gadgets and updated the particle effects for players.

• Updated location fields for items called Spores, enhancing item management and display.

AutoAim and Gadget Visuals

• Implemented an AutoAim feature that targets where the player is looking and highlights the target.

• Added new visuals for recently introduced gadgets, improving clarity and player interaction.

Ultimate Abilities and Common Enemies

• Reworked the Ultimate PushAway ability and developed the Ultimate Vortex, making it ready for player testing.

• Addressed configuration issues with the Ultimate Guided Bullet, resolving client discrepancies.

• Updated enemy systems to support the new ultimate abilities, ensuring seamless integration and functionality.

Effect Management and Store Integration

• Configured new effects such as Discount, Ultimate OverTime, VitalityDrain, and DeathGrenade, integrating them into the existing effect manager.

• Integrated the Discount effect within in-game stores, offering players helpful benefits during gameplay.

New Enemy and UI Enhancements

• Developed and integrated the new Blob Splash enemy within Biome 1, preparing it for player testing.

• Progressed with UI contractor updates and the first round of ultimate ability visual and code updates to support new animations.

New Stat Integration

• Introduced new stats including VitalityDrain, Ultimate OverTime, and Discount.

• Integrated the VitalityDrain stat into PlayerAttack and the Ultimate OverTime stat into the Ultimate Controller, ensuring comprehensive stat management.

Gameplay Mechanic Enhancement

• Advanced the lava fissure mechanic to near completion at 90%, enhancing environmental interactivity and challenge.

Ultimate Ability and Player Stats Updates

• Integrated a functional player AutoAim feature that adapts to mouse and gamepad inputs, with separate activation settings.

• Began updating Player_Stats to include new stats, refactoring the controller for easier stat management.