Hi and welcome to a new dev news.
Currently I’m somewhere in the middle of Version 0.2 and I thought it would make sense to give an overview over the past few weeks.
On my way to 0.2
The next version will feature better collision avoidance for the camera and more character customizations.
Additionally I decided to include the GUI 2.0 update. Primarily because I don’t want to force any tester to deal with my development GUI. The following version (0.3) will then be mainly focused on making the game ready for playtesting. Including an online patcher and player profiles.
In view of this I thought it would makes sense to tackle the GUI better sooner then later.
The Camera
The third-person camera controller is one of my favourite game elements. It looks so simple but in fact requires a lot of clever ideas to make it work right.
Previously the controller was just able to avoid clipping and keeping a free line of sight but could act quite erratic when moved through rough terrain. Now a system checks a volumetric area for obstacles that might come into view. It calculates a sweet spot of avoidance and follows it smoothly.
Developing a camera controller is an invidious task. If you do a perfect job the majority won’t even notice your efforts. But if just one small element does not work correctly everyone is complaining about you. So just let me say: Kudos to all the camera devs out there!
Comparison between old and new camera collision avoidance
Character customization and a short inventory preview
One thing first: My current intention is not to create an action-RPG-like amount of items. Instead there is a list of distinct equipment. Each with a clearly defined role (e.g. a breathing filter for regions containing contaminated air). Nonetheless, most equipment should be visible on the player model. So some kind of customization system was necessary. I decided to build a more generic one which allows to add any type of equipment or item. Mainly because of the enormous amount of work I decided against a full scale face and body customization system (most likely there will be a set of avatars to choose from, bit like in Torchlight 2).
But it’s possible to dye items with up to three colours.
Now what does this mean for the inventory? Currently the player can wear a full set of garment containing boots, trousers, chest pieces, shoulder pads, gloves and helmets and there are slots for various bags. Additionally some items allow attachments (e.g. some helmets can carry mine lamps).
But: Like with many other aspects this might change during development.
First preview of character item customization
And now..
Directly after writing this news I’m going to start fleshing out the engineering update. It includes all the required steps to build up a first settlement. More details about it will come with the next news. This is a mayor gameplay element and I can’t wait to get my hands on it :)
So stay tuned and thx for reading!
