Weekly Changelog: v0.8.21

This month, it's been exactly 3 years since development started on Sinking Eternity! It's been a lot of work since July 2023 haha. But we're almost there! :)

For this week's update, I thought it could be fun to look back at what was built during the first year, and then go through years 2 and 3 in the next weekly updates.

I've kept a development log of over 10,000 lines since day one, so it's funny to look back and see how everything started.

The first year wasn't really about building giant underwater bases or huge creatures. It was mostly about creating the foundation that every other feature in the game relies on.

If there's one thing I learned from previous personal coding projects, it's that the code foundation and project structure are incredibly important. If those aren't solid, everything becomes much harder to build on top of them.

Core Gameplay

-The first systems I worked on were player movement, the first-person camera, object interactions, the analysis system, the air meter, and many other gameplay mechanics that make exploring the underwater world possible.

Building the World

-The game slowly evolved from a flat sand terrain into the first playable version of the Shallow Waters biome. During that time, I also added the first water system, underwater ambience, music, skybox, random loot placement, and the first fish and sea creature.

User Interface

-Most of the menus players use today were also created during that first year, including the inventory, crafting, quest, save/load, settings, difficulty selection, pause, and basic HUD. FYI, menus and UI take a lot more time to develop than people (including me) might expect. It was at least 6 months of work, in that first year.

Exploration & Progression

-I also started building the quest log, discoveries, popups, shelter upgrades, storage system, and the first pieces of diving equipment, which slowly transformed the prototype into an actual game.

Looking back, it's amazing how many of these systems are still at the core of Sinking Eternity today. Most of them have been expanded and polished many times since then (and thanks to your great feedback!), and they all started during that very first year.

Also, back to the present: This week I'm working on some giant sea creatures. We're still on target for a launch by the end of the summer! :)

Thanks so much for all your support!