ghosttie

https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@ghosttie

Coder, gamedev, writer

PRONOUNS: he/him
My Weather Website: https://temperature.report/

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npub1gk5qqr4wyrqldl4ff393fpvdu633khw3xcz7dm065hp3u9jsgcyqec7k6m

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nprofile1qqsyt2qqp6hzps0kl655cjc5skx7dgcmthgnvp0xaha2tsc7zegyvzqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dslnt8qm

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relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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npub1gk5qqr4wyrqldl4ff393fpvdu633khw3xcz7dm065hp3u9jsgcyqec7k6m

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Last Notes

2026-09-27 15:16:46 GMT

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isn't modern anti cheat a separate process running as root, monitoring the game executable to make sure you haven't loaded any foreign code into it? That won't be affected

2026-08-05 16:04:25 GMT

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could you do the painting as a wallpaper or something?

2026-05-31 02:15:10 GMT

These are results for <thing you didn't search for>
Search instead for <thing you actually searched for>

2026-05-27 01:24:26 GMT

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if something is free you are the product, but if something costs money it doesn't mean you aren't still the product

2026-02-26 00:00:09 GMT

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ctrl+c is the shortcut key for copilot now 🤡

2026-01-11 00:35:36 GMT

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heard of it, not tried it

2026-01-03 02:55:27 GMT

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motorized pepper grinder?

2025-09-06 12:31:21 GMT

So you could block them but you're choosing not to? 🤔
You're deliberately allowing phishing emails to be sent to your customers?
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/115/157/357/741/716/770/original/2483fb4048c18f34.png

2025-05-23 18:47:57 GMT

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oh no

2025-04-24 21:59:04 GMT

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holy crap

2025-03-20 15:39:19 GMT

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just anywhere, doesn't matter

2025-02-25 23:29:39 GMT

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https://youtube.com/@splattercatgaming?si=A0yUpONvTgVGy6EK

2025-02-21 20:32:06 GMT

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runaway fire extinguishers

2025-02-15 15:56:20 GMT

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what percent is full fat?

2025-01-15 22:47:16 GMT

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what

2024-11-26 00:47:37 GMT

I've added ducking! Not that kind of duck.
When the mouse cursor is near a tall sprite, only the bottom part of the sprite is drawn, to eliminate problems with not being able to see what you're doing.
It's not as pretty as transparency or even dithering, but it is FAST and today fast wins.
🦆
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/546/481/574/866/085/original/84f40e1786783eb0.mp4

2024-11-22 16:45:20 GMT

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I had an idea for a game where you're maintaining a small space ship by yourself while it travels from one place to another, and various things go wrong along the way
I imagined it being in zero-g so you'd have to push off of the walls or pull yourself along railings to move around
It's nice seeing how that kind of movement would actually work

2024-11-22 01:37:13 GMT

The good news is we now have per-pixel selection instead of counterintuitively having to click on the tile that something is on in order to select it
The bad news is that we lost 15FPS
I could say that hopefully we'll get that back somehow, but I really can't think of a faster way of doing this
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/524/034/247/501/491/original/ec3195ac5ea46439.mp4

2024-11-21 02:34:08 GMT

It's now possible to shoot the gambling machines if you're morally opposed to them or you don't want the evil corporation to make money from them or you're a bad loser
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/518/586/467/740/096/original/2249ca6150d56242.mp4

2024-11-19 02:08:35 GMT

We have fully functional gambling - if you win it generates a cartridge of the appropriate rarity and you choose whether to keep it
It turns out I don't have to mess with the probabilities to make it unlikely to win - the actual probability is so low that I don't know if it'll ever happen (realism!)
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/507/120/512/494/343/original/b10b86b44adde7a0.mp4

2024-11-18 03:03:38 GMT

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well we know stormtroopers can be killed by ewoks so I figure the armor was designed to protect them from something less scary than a teddy bear

2024-11-17 03:01:52 GMT

Progress on the gambling machine
I've been having a harder time maintaining momentum this week, not really sure why - Dayjob stress, state of the planet, don't know
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/496/036/426/424/151/original/e7c742b086442508.mp4

2024-11-09 19:13:45 GMT

As part of procrastinating on more important things I created a sprite for a slot machine/fruit machine/one armed bandit
Since I'm morally opposed to gambling, this is going to be tilted so that it punishes rather than rewards the player for gambling - every time you use it, it will add to the corporation's share price (i.e. you lose score) and there will be very low odds of you winning anything
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/454/510/656/391/906/original/f0d4e5c914fa3139.mp4

2024-11-08 02:18:08 GMT

It's now possible to recruit civilians (if they're happy)
I think there needs to be a way to fail at recruiting, because right now you just destroy the pump and you get a free unit
I was going to have them run from gunfire, which would make it more difficult, but that might make it impossible
The original idea was to degauss and reprogram the civilians, but I decided it wasn't consistent with the theme of the game
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/444/884/361/295/498/original/8e79083905aca9ab.mp4

2024-11-07 00:47:17 GMT

And now there's a way to cheer the civilians up - by destroying the pump and bringing the trees back!
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/438/904/855/050/330/original/c85bf890020d4b16.mp4

2024-11-06 00:54:41 GMT

The good news is that we have now have civilians in the game
The bad news is that they have ennui
Can't blame them, really
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/433/260/514/802/223/original/9b98cc382cc008e8.mp4

2024-11-05 01:44:33 GMT

I did versions of the rifle sprite to show rarity, and I added a sprite for the shield in the inventory.
I also added "unarmed" sprites so the game doesn't crash if you lay your weapons down
Next up civilians and recruiting
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/427/801/613/084/698/original/c2722b710ac03157.jpg

2024-11-02 15:53:44 GMT

I think this is the kind of refactor I need to do, but it would be SO disruptive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcHlg7YhPg
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-10-30 23:47:31 GMT

Oh that's better - made the weapon and cartridge sprites transparent and added a border around them
Note to self - always add the border around things
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/399/022/578/721/681/original/b022f32f53faf914.mp4

2024-10-30 01:39:40 GMT

Drag and drop in inventory!
Looting is now functional, all hail the loot 💰!
I want to do more with the loot sprites, and the game currently crashes if a unit is unarmed (sacrilege!) but it's good progress
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/393/802/025/212/306/original/d85f1ee865044767.mp4

2024-10-29 01:06:43 GMT

When units die their corpses now contain loot 💰!
You can't actually take it until I implement drag and drop, but every day we get closer to the light of loot 🙏🎇
I had to cheat a lot in order to be able to kill the enemy easily enough to test this. I have a feeling it's going to take a lot of time to balance health/accuracy/damage so that it's fun to play.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/387/758/231/153/973/original/2810d8a290f2ea4f.mp4

2024-10-28 01:54:42 GMT

Made some progress on the inventory screen - you can show it, hide it and click on items to see their details
Spent a bunch of time getting it to format and concatenate strings without allocating 😬
Still have loot on the ground & storing the inventory to do, but the biggest remaining thing is drag & drop - so much of gamedev is reinventing the wheel
I decided to be stingy with how much you can carry because it's not a game about loot, so no kitchen sink
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/382/521/147/013/291/original/e1387f8fc2532e3d.mp4

2024-10-26 01:45:24 GMT

Things are kind of in construction right now because the next step is "do the whole inventory UI" so here's a mockup of the loot/equip/inventory UI
You can have one weapon and up to two cartridges equipped, each item can have zero or more attributes (positive and negative) to add item variety and give the player more choices
As an aside, I was dreading drawing the rifle but it turned out pretty well
The cartridges I'm less happy with, we'll see whether I can improve them
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/371/143/397/442/840/original/83521db3b6700c9d.png

2024-10-25 02:10:43 GMT

Added an important ability to the game - the ability to miss.
Weapons now have accuracy, and bullets can fly past their target instead of always hitting either the target or cover.
Weapons having attributes leads to looting 💰
The math was crazy and I still don't really understand how it works. I don't know if it's always been this bad or whether the death of Google has made it worse, but I feel like there's a big hole when you need to find out how to do something...
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/365/603/999/904/009/original/5f065528504c0cab.mp4

2024-10-21 00:22:16 GMT

The computer can now use overwatch, and I added a little status icon over their head to make it clear that they're in overwatch mode.
Next I feel like implementing the cartridge system (modular upgrades) which will lead to inventory and looting 💰
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/342/532/659/095/768/original/b37f64adc819b50b.mp4

2024-10-20 01:47:08 GMT

Overwatch is functional!
(although only for the player - I can ambush the computer but it can't ambush me yet)
I had to commit some code crimes to get it to work, and it's actually distressing me because the only way to avoid this is to completely rebuild how actions are done and the problem will only get worse the more actions I add
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/336/581/714/230/946/original/9865d12f511984d7.mp4

2024-10-18 01:15:44 GMT

Today I started adding one of my favorite turn based tactics features - overwatch!
So far all you can really do is start choosing which direction you want to watch, but that's more than half of the coding and all of the "art". I was surprised that I was able to create an OK eye sprite at the correct angle!
Overwatch in all directions would have been a lot easier to implement but I think having to pick a direction is good because it gives the player more decisions to make
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/325/744/466/716/339/original/7b0f1cfa597277ab.mp4

2024-10-16 01:15:04 GMT

Shields are now mobile cover for other units!
It's best demonstrated with the player units because it's not always clear why the enemies are standing where they are (I had to check the code to verify that they were actually using friendly shields as cover)
This has actually caused me a sprite problem - until now cover could only be in cardinal directions but units can face all eight directions so the cover could be in all eight directions...
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/314/400/088/098/463/original/763731fcacd2713e.mp4

2024-10-15 00:22:56 GMT

Shields are now bulletproof and I've taught the computer how to use them
The enemy brain is pretty dumb because I just copied and pasted the ranged attack brain, but it's surprisingly effective anyway
You can actually play a little cat and mouse game with it, trying to get behind the shield without getting close enough for it to melee you
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/308/553/888/753/105/original/78f325ad82d327f4.mp4

2024-10-14 01:03:29 GMT

I added the second weapon in the game - a shield!
It's only partially implemented at this point - the player can use it as an awkward melee weapon but it doesn't do any actual shielding and the computer can't use it at all
Eventually it will also act as mobile cover for other units
I'm really just procrastinating on the all the art I need to do for the ad server, which didn't work out so well because I had to do a lot of artwork for the shield...
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/303/046/168/178/024/original/114587ca09814b74.mp4

2024-10-10 02:04:08 GMT

I added sparks to the broken ad server, I had to create a whole particle system to do it
I'm not sure it was worth the effort but it's done now, at least as much as needed for this case - it's nothing like as comprehensive as particle systems in proper game engines
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/280/653/621/446/586/original/d4b7ecfc01e47b3c.mp4

2024-10-09 00:19:47 GMT

One more step in the unstoppable march of progress - you can how shoot ad servers to stop them from serving ads!
Cathartic.
The destruction isn't as juicy as it will eventually be, but I'm doing this in my spare time, give me a minute.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/274/569/166/545/804/original/e23ffa983aa9a1ad.mp4

2024-10-08 00:48:19 GMT

I added another ad to the ad server
I think this font looks more like something they would use in an ad, but it's also a bit less readable once it's shrunk down and at a funny isometric angle
I think that's enough ads for now, now that I've figured the process out it's not difficult but it is tedious.
I don't need to buy tedious, I have tedious at home.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/269/023/696/386/156/original/92d543bb277797a3.mp4

2024-10-06 00:35:30 GMT

I got the death animation and corpse tile sprite done so you can now kill enemies and they can kill you.
I really liked my first attempt at the death animation but it was just too big to fit on the tile.
Unfortunately I haven't done the looting or inventory systems yet so you can't loot the corpse.
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/257/644/333/501/836/original/a47c057ed70151bb.mp4

2024-10-03 00:23:59 GMT

Working on the death animation, I don't think it's too bad (considering how bad I am at art)
The only real problem I have is that it doesn't fit on the tile
The only thing I can think of is to have them break apart and end up as a smaller pile of parts, but that's a whole different animation
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/240/562/356/754/634/original/0901debbeba4aaa1.mp4

2024-09-29 22:59:28 GMT

I added sprites for when a unit ends a move next to some cover so it looks like they're taking cover, not just standing there like dorkbots.
I think it adds quite a lot, given that it's only four new sprites. I think I need to switch which side the weapon is on in one of the sprites so you can see the unit's team color.
Also improved the enemy speech some but it still needs some work.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/223/288/645/646/914/original/b1b0ab83c9b10bad.mp4

2024-09-28 23:27:22 GMT

I fixed the units pathing through each other and got the enemies to telegraph their intentions.
That one required a big change to how coroutines work to allow coroutines to call other coroutines, I've been trying to figure that out on an off since I added them in the first place.
I only have one piece of text for each intention but the code's all there to randomly pick from a list so it won't be so repetitive.
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/217/733/855/061/656/original/2e5b7eb8779c68d2.mp4

2024-09-26 01:16:05 GMT

I changed it so that if you miss a shot the bullet hits the cover instead of just disappearing (realism!)
And more noticeably I added speech bubbles so the units can telegraph their intentions, communicate their hopes, dreams, fears, and the innermost desires of their cold robot hearts.
So far they can only say "ouch" when shot, which aren't very imaginative first words.
Maybe I should hook an LLM up to them to generate dialog (this is a joke - cease fire)
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/201/166/644/610/539/original/a5b3ade5e7018ca8.mp4

2024-09-24 00:30:03 GMT

Well I finally made a video that's too long to upload to Mastodon, so it's on YouTube. It went on forever, I think we have too much health.
Also te random cover isn't much fun to play with.
I've fixed the enemy prioritizing safety over aggression and cover now actually has an effect on whether you get hit.
Also the pathing needs to be fixed because at one point the enemy pathed right through me (!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32XC2efNEjk
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-09-22 19:45:05 GMT

Well it's taken a whole week, but I've got the enemies attacking and moving
This is way harder than it looks - managing the turns is hard but getting it to be able to do all the things you'd expect it to be able to do, let alone to appear "smart"...
I guess the things I know about #gamedev now consist of
1. everything is an illusion
2. that's harder than it looks
Speaking of which, the enemies prioritize safety when moving, so they always run away 🤦‍♂️
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/182/910/320/431/456/original/55643dd23361029b.mp4

2024-09-18 01:04:40 GMT

Since the scammers and trend followers have poisoned the word "AI", my enemy units don't have AI code they have "brains"
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-09-17 01:39:24 GMT

I changed the blue color on the unit to be a solid color, which let me do a color swap to add enemy units.
From a design point of view it's not ideal for the enemy to look the same as the friendlies but you're going to be able to convert the enemies so it's kind of necessary
Because of the way I wrote the attack/damage code, that all just worked without me having to do anything.
Having said that, changing teams at the end of the turn no longer works, but that's fixable
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/150/308/842/964/936/original/786eaf7f529c215c.mp4

2024-09-14 21:00:43 GMT

OK I did actually do something screenshottable today - I animated the "infinite energy" indicator
Not sure whether it's too fast or not
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/137/902/106/732/637/original/1f6b53945b953a13.mp4

2024-09-14 17:23:31 GMT

#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/137/053/277/744/841/original/eeaf9272e6fab391.png

2024-09-13 01:12:56 GMT

All right, I finally did the pump smash/tree grow animation, and it wasn't that bad - I'm pretty happy with the result.
The smash animation doesn't look like smashing, it looks more like it's deconstructing and sinking into the ground, but that'll do for now
I really like the way the tree flickers like a fluorescent light, that was an image in my head that I really wanted to make happen
As usual the hologram effect doesn't really come out because it doesn't record at 60FPS
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/127/560/303/500/234/original/fd89f7829183904c.mp4

2024-09-12 01:25:06 GMT

I've added a bullet hit animation and little health bars that follow damaged units and other damageable things around.
The bullet hit animation required rewriting a bunch of animation stuff, but on the up side that now means it's all better.
Do we think the hit animation needs to be bigger?
I've put off the pump destruction animation about as long as I can, so I guess that's next.
Maybe I'll reward myself with refactoring the event system to use delegates afterward 🍦
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/121/936/709/996/424/original/9cc6e795ebb077f2.mp4

2024-09-11 00:28:51 GMT

It's taken me four and a half months to get this far and what I have is nowhere near a game (there isn't even an enemy yet).
I don't know how people make games in a week or a day, it's like a whole different world
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-09-10 01:08:29 GMT

Now there's a projectile!
It seems like a small change since last time but it's an important one. I had to add a lot of code to get projectiles to work the way they should, and for all the other systems to play along nicely.
There's still more to do on the projectile (a hit effect).
I'm putting off the pump destruction animation because I'm scared of it, so I added an infinite energy indicator to the status area and made the share price go down when you destroy the pump.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/110/534/954/553/544/original/a560bece77195578.mp4

2024-09-07 21:47:47 GMT

Now you can go into attack mode, target a pump, attack it to reduce its health, and destroy it to turn it back into a tree.
I spent a bunch of time arguing with arctan and radians and wasted WAY more time because I messed up a simple "if" statement like a professional.
The next steps will be adding a projectile and the animations for the pump getting destroyed and the tree regrowing.
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/098/399/044/474/391/original/f953e079e0899f09.mp4

2024-09-05 23:51:18 GMT

I've been working on getting attack mode working
I decided to use Symmetric Shadowcasting rather than Bresenham's Line algorithm (which I've used in the past) because it isn't symmetrical
Unfortunately the sample code is written in Python (which I don't speak) and the online converter I used just skipped things it didn't understand (!?) so for a while it was just wrong with no obvious reason but seems to be working now
https://www.albertford.com/shadowcasting/
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-08-31 22:38:40 GMT

The next major milestone is attacking the pump to destroy it and return it to being a tree
Which means I need to be able to attack
Which means I need to be able to choose different actions
It took a bunch of changing the code around, but choosing actions is now working
I haven't done the icons for them yet, and after that actual attack mode, pump damage, pump destruction, tree regrowth...
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/058/989/287/896/559/original/87426116982f806a.mp4

2024-08-30 23:44:32 GMT

I changed the unit sprite to be less colorful but also have an identifying color so it's easy to distinguish friend from foe. It's a bit Tron inspired but probably too small to tell
I also changed the pump sprite, removing the battery since the shop tiles do a better job showing the same thing
I wish I'd come up with a less manual art pipeline but it was so difficult to come up with something that I didn't hate the look of that I'll take tedious over impossible (for now)
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/053/612/110/557/327/original/f54be7361ca2c2f8.mp4

2024-08-29 01:37:11 GMT

This may not be very flashy, but I've refactored the game manager to have events, which cleans up some spaghetti. This also meant it was easy to add an indicator when the unit loses EP.
Additionally, "buying" EP by ending your turn on a shop tile now raises the enemy corporation's share price (which is the opposite of what you want) and this is visible on the screen.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/042/705/121/456/952/original/83434e3515c2bdf2.mp4

2024-08-28 01:47:02 GMT

Today I improved the pump shop UI a bit and implemented part of the shop functionality - if a unit ends its turn on a shop tile it gets its energy refilled.
There's still the other half of the shop functionality (paying for the energy) to do, also the timing needs to be improved so the Play Turn message doesn't immediately cover what's happening.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/037/100/336/002/734/original/cf4b7d2b1caf031e.mp4

2024-08-27 00:23:38 GMT

So I spent a couple days trying to draw what I wanted isometrically. Then I gave up on that and tried drawing something else isometrically. Then I gave up on that and wrote a program to help me draw isometrically. Then I gave up on that and drew something really simple isometrically
Finally today I threw that away and drew something that I like better both thematically and artistically, and had an idea to sync it with the pump animation which really puts it over the top 👍
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/031/105/273/121/386/original/f38d03a16b71c81f.mp4

2024-08-26 22:34:26 GMT

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nowadays bluescreens usually only happen with drivers because they run in the kennel but security apps can also run in the kernel so that's another possibility

2024-08-25 21:28:34 GMT

Once again I have run face first into a wall called "art"
I've spent days trying to draw the thing I want and I even gave up and tried to draw a different idea, and it always just ends up looking like a dropped pizza
I've even wrote a program to help me understand the relationship between 2d pixels and where they end up in isometric, but I can't make anything look good
At this point I feel like the only way I'm going to be able to progress is to just do something different
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/024/756/996/595/831/original/06b0b84d8c7ca931.png

2024-08-21 01:13:49 GMT

Ah user interfaces - the Notorious F-U-N
At least all that math I did in school is being used (to calculate how to center things inside of other things)
I've got the turns cycling (with appropriate messages), AP and EP being deducted and replenished appropriately, and an end turn button for when you're too lazy to tell a robot to walk.
Good progress, I am satisfied.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/997/327/048/751/038/original/d85eed36373b48aa.mp4

2024-08-20 18:05:00 GMT

I've had a wonderful terrible idea
What would make my game look a lot better (i.e. more like Tron) is if the ground was reflective
I think all I have to do is every time I draw something also draw a 50% alpha version upside down underneath it
Of course drawing two of everything would halve the frame rate
And then drawing things with opacity would lower it even more
And I'm sure it's not as simple as that to make sure everything ends up in the right z-order
maybe later
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-08-20 00:17:54 GMT

I've got to the point where I need to be able to end the player's turn and it turns out (haha) that turns are complicated.
This is another case where gamedev is counter to Dayjob best practices - things that are very unrelated need to be talking to each other to coordinate what's happening.
Now I understand the signaling/messaging stuff that engines talk about, so you can have things talking to each other without being tightly coupled.
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-08-18 17:39:28 GMT

Because I replaced the status bar over the unit's head with a status panel in the corner of the screen, I had to replace the "drained battery" indicator.
I decided to make it look like the empty battery icon on a phone rather than try to invent something new so it would be instantly recognizable.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/984/188/380/676/334/original/e4370879c448a106.mp4

2024-08-18 00:19:47 GMT

I thought of a cool way to make the hologram tree look like a hologram without alpha blending - only draw it every other frame, old school style
The video doesn't really capture it because I guess it doesn't record at 60 FPS, it looks better in real life
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev
#indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/980/139/091/510/443/original/c3bd16d5857ce721.mp4

2024-08-17 00:47:09 GMT

I've replaced the energy bar over the unit's head with a status panel in the bottom-left of the screen.
I'm mostly happy with it, although it's tanked my FPS because drawing a lot of tall, thin sprites is not optimal.
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/974/583/902/496/003/original/e1f3477fc4be5d1f.png

2024-08-16 02:18:00 GMT

I decided that the status display I just added is too big - I need to add more things to it and it's gong to be huge.
So taking inspiration from other games, I decided to add a status area in the corner of the screen where it doesn't overlap anything and there's a lot more space.
Here are some mockups I came up with in the process of figuring it out. It's complicated because the total amount of HP etc. can change depending on items you have, so it needs to be adaptable
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/969/286/162/954/496/original/6a11bcb73fc4dacd.png
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/969/286/840/352/585/original/bed01738f51d9906.png
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/969/289/463/476/473/original/954f520694326503.png
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/969/290/641/658/807/original/c8859f58f519f357.png

2024-08-15 23:50:53 GMT

I was looking for screenshots of turn based tactics games to get ideas for dealing with a UI problem I have, and holy crap I love Pathway so much 😭
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/968/711/529/179/417/original/33916664aaaae0eb.jpg

2024-08-15 01:25:51 GMT

I did the next step in the energy mechanics - showing the energy bar over the unit, having it deplete as the unit walks around, and having the unit collapse if the energy runs out.
It looks pretty much like I imagined, but I'm a bit worried about how much space it takes up because I'm not even displaying their health or anything else yet.
Also I'm not very confident about the mechanics of buying energy from the pump, I have some ideas but we'll see how it works out...
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/963/380/410/905/093/original/dabf4b017bb07943.mp4

2024-08-12 23:46:57 GMT

Well it took quite a few attempts, but I've arrived at an animated voxel version of the three that my brain isn't forcing me to spend more time fixing.
In isometric the lines bump into each other so animating the lines helped, then moving them further apart.
Finally I had to lose the bonsai shape because when you can't see the whole shape at once it just looked like a glitchy mess.
It's not really what I was picturing but it'll do. Next I think pump/tree/energy mechanics
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/951/675/628/828/427/original/1fda9c61e6fe4ff4.mp4

2024-08-10 21:24:05 GMT

Today I did the animation for the pump. Although I wanted it to be symmetrical I added a battery off to one side because I needed a way of showing the energy going somewhere. It overlaps the side of the tile so I may need to change it in future, but I think it's working for now.
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev
#indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/939/813/900/860/938/original/1bc4378bc2c5c34f.mp4

2024-08-09 01:16:56 GMT

I did the model of the pump today. I didn't really have an image in my head other than something that moved (like a pumpjack except it needs to be symmetrical) and that looked creepy and if possible gross
I haven't done the animation yet but the gears at the bottom will counterrotate, the legs look like spider legs and the middle bit will go in and out like it's... fornicating the energy out of the ground...
I don't know if I'm completely happy with it but it's not too bad
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/929/385/777/998/675/original/ac8adbc11bb0a72a.mp4

2024-08-08 01:15:43 GMT

Instead of enemies and shooting I decided to work on the tree.
I had a picture in my head of what I wanted it to look like - I thought I'd gotten the idea from Satellite Reign but it turns out their hologram trees look completely different.
Anyway, to my utter shock, I was able to create the picture in my head on the first try!
I had some trouble getting it into the game because rendering it isometrically means you lose the scan lines so I put the 2d straight in
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/923/711/608/417/389/original/ab7e2934ec719449.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/923/711/648/601/466/original/46515204fd7436c9.jpg

2024-08-07 00:14:57 GMT

Well this took a long time - I got stuck trying to make art.
I eventually gave up and came up with a different way of making the unit art - it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the aesthetic, so I might have to redo everything else (sigh).
In any case the functionality to animate walking around is now done 👍
Next up, shooting, maybe? Doing the enemy sprites is going to be harder now that I can't just recolor the good guys 😕
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/917/810/329/571/613/original/c7fcf13489782a0d.mp4

2024-08-02 23:21:26 GMT

Every time I work on the code of my game I feel so happy and every time I work on the art I feel so bad
It's really difficult to force myself to spend time on it but one way or another the game needs graphics 😭
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-08-01 00:00:10 GMT

My robots are too flat
Maybe they need... robo butt cheeks...
#gamedev #indiedev
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/112/883/815/160/828/349/original/9ac5ece3ed9ff0fb.png

2024-07-31 00:44:57 GMT

Had to fix diagonal moves being faster than orthogonal ones
That is a Doom-ass problem to have
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-06-09 17:32:29 GMT

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in America the rule it that you always go to the right
In England you have to figure it out on the fly