I hope you're all doing well! I've been keeping busy as always, and managed to make some pretty solid progress on Polymino's Puzzle Mode this month.
Full notes
Full Polymino update
Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.
What changed
0 fixes2 additions1 change0 removals
Gameplay
Events
addedI mentioned in the last update that the level editor was advanced enough that I could pivot to working on the game itself again, making sure it was able to support everything implemented in the editor. Turns out, it didn't take long at all to get to that point: the game can now load levels exported by the editor, and junk modifiers from Junk Attack are now supported by the game's engine regardless of mode, allowing junk pieces in puzzle mode to use them!
changedSo, the next big feature I've been working on recently for Puzzle Mode, and the reason there's a bunch of empty space in the menu, is custom rules! In version 0.9, puzzles are going to have custom objectives, as well as modifiers which provide extra challenge. These rules are going to be what occupy the extra space in the menu seen above, as well as stats for completed runs (score, number of moves made, etc). Since this system doesn't exist in the editor or the game yet, I've returned to the editor to implement them there first. Here's a sneak peek at how that's looking so far:
addedIf you look at the bottom of the "Level Settings" panel in the screenshot above, you'll notice there are a variety of different "goals" available, which determine how you actually complete a puzzle. In this example, I've chosen "Destroy target junk", which means the level ends when the selected junk pieces are destroyed. You can tell which targets they are by looking at the settings on the right, but I'll be implementing an overlay to highlight them on the board so it's more obvious. I've also enabled the "Max moves" extra rule, and entered a value of 1, meaning you can only make a single move to solve this puzzle. The solution to this puzzle is pretty obvious, since this is just a simple example, but hopefully it does a good job of illustrating the potential for Puzzle Mode!
Polymino changes
addedI mentioned in the last update that the level editor was advanced enough that I could pivot to working on the game itself again, making sure it was able to support everything implemented in the editor. Turns out, it didn't take long at all to get to that point: the game can now load levels exported by the editor, and junk modifiers from Junk Attack are now supported by the game's engine regardless of mode, allowing junk pieces in puzzle mode to use them!
changedSo, the next big feature I've been working on recently for Puzzle Mode, and the reason there's a bunch of empty space in the menu, is custom rules! In version 0.9, puzzles are going to have custom objectives, as well as modifiers which provide extra challenge. These rules are going to be what occupy the extra space in the menu seen above, as well as stats for completed runs (score, number of moves made, etc). Since this system doesn't exist in the editor or the game yet, I've returned to the editor to implement them there first. Here's a sneak peek at how that's looking so far:
addedIf you look at the bottom of the "Level Settings" panel in the screenshot above, you'll notice there are a variety of different "goals" available, which determine how you actually complete a puzzle. In this example, I've chosen "Destroy target junk", which means the level ends when the selected junk pieces are destroyed. You can tell which targets they are by looking at the settings on the right, but I'll be implementing an overlay to highlight them on the board so it's more obvious. I've also enabled the "Max moves" extra rule, and entered a value of 1, meaning you can only make a single move to solve this puzzle. The solution to this puzzle is pretty obvious, since this is just a simple example, but hopefully it does a good job of illustrating the potential for Puzzle Mode!
I hope you're all doing well! I've been keeping busy as always, and managed to make some pretty solid progress on Polymino's Puzzle Mode this month.
I mentioned in the last update that the level editor was advanced enough that I could pivot to working on the game itself again, making sure it was able to support everything implemented in the editor. Turns out, it didn't take long at all to get to that point: the game can now load levels exported by the editor, and junk modifiers from Junk Attack are now supported by the game's engine regardless of mode, allowing junk pieces in puzzle mode to use them!
This is going to open up a lot of possibilities for hand-made puzzles, like chain reactions being set off by explosive junk, or using blocker junk to create indestructible obstacles (by making them a color which isn't used for any blocks in the puzzle).
I also have an early prototype of how the puzzle selection menu will look. It's got a lot of empty space right now, for reasons I'll explain shortly, but the basic structure is there, including a preview generated for each level:
So, the next big feature I've been working on recently for Puzzle Mode, and the reason there's a bunch of empty space in the menu, is custom rules! In version 0.9, puzzles are going to have custom objectives, as well as modifiers which provide extra challenge. These rules are going to be what occupy the extra space in the menu seen above, as well as stats for completed runs (score, number of moves made, etc). Since this system doesn't exist in the editor or the game yet, I've returned to the editor to implement them there first. Here's a sneak peek at how that's looking so far:
If you look at the bottom of the "Level Settings" panel in the screenshot above, you'll notice there are a variety of different "goals" available, which determine how you actually complete a puzzle. In this example, I've chosen "Destroy target junk", which means the level ends when the selected junk pieces are destroyed. You can tell which targets they are by looking at the settings on the right, but I'll be implementing an overlay to highlight them on the board so it's more obvious. I've also enabled the "Max moves" extra rule, and entered a value of 1, meaning you can only make a single move to solve this puzzle. The solution to this puzzle is pretty obvious, since this is just a simple example, but hopefully it does a good job of illustrating the potential for Puzzle Mode!
That sums up what I've been working on this month. If you want to follow my progress on the editor while I work on it, it's open source! You can view its GitHub repository here. Until next time!
