And everything changes again.

I LIVE!

A week after the Covid-19 lockdown my laptop's HDD died, and swapping it out was a pain. A few other problems arose and my three-year-old HP laptop dies completely. I was able to cobble together a desktop without internet access (no service where I live). My cousin's phone gets crap reception in my room (but it gets reception); a dongle and tether later I'm able to access the IRS webpage.

Let me spell it out.

Due to my heart condition\s, and the Covid-19 crisis, I'm unable to have gainful employment. I'm also not disabled enough for any kind of help (major vital organ, really?).

My heart is good, just has some electrical problem due to a previous surgery from birth, and other developing problems (my left arm is a bit numb).

I have a lot of aggression. I'd consider it "anger issues" if I didn't have control (I'm being reminded that laziness isn't control). Sterilize-the-planet levels of wrath. This aggression is great for my focus, not so great for my health or control. After the loss of my laptop (and most of my data) I'm livid.

The government stimulated me, so I have a new laptop. I'll spare the details, it's last year's model so I could keep some money. I've meds to buy and plans to lay.

Now where was I?

Little One may have had some files corrupted, I need to re-assemble the project from backups (Always keep multiple backups). I've got some ideas for Adventures' EDGE (I didn't plan well enough for that) and ideas for future projects.

For now I'm just going to try putting all my focus into my projects, and hoping it doesn't hurt me too much. My focus and aggression can cause chest pains, but I'm not sure the precise trigger. Time for some pomodoro rushes.

Pomodoro rush:

The use of several pomodoro intervals (four or more), each focusing on a different task (two or more) in rotation. Breaks optional, but suggested.

So now, my plans:

Little One need to be brought back up and finished, need to ease into that.

Adventures' EDGE might be going 2D. It'll probably get a turn-based battle system as well.

Resources (2D & 3D) might be created and uploaded to OGA.

Eclipse

This post will contain gamedev tips, some concerning Godot, after my depressing rant. I'll pound the area around the rant with some octothorpes.


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Shortly after the corona virus restrictions went into place, my laptop died. First the HD, after I replaced that the wireless and memory failed. In the end my HP laptop fully failed and I lost most of my files. Thankfully, I had backed up the most important files.

I pieced together a desktop running windows 7 for now. I don't have the money to get internet access where I live, and last I checked I don't get service here anyway. I live in a dead zone and have to choose specific phones and services to even get a small signal. After using my phone at a WI-fi hot spot in town to gather drivers and service packs, I was able to run the godot engine and play some games. During some gameplay on my cousin's Xbone, we discovered his phone gets signal in my room, in a very specific area. I'm now connected to a hot spot that isn't much better than dial up.

I'm going to gather my files and try working on games again soon, but with my more limited resources, I'll have some difficulties uploading updates until I can either get better internet or a laptop. It doesn't help that my focus seems to cause delayed chest pains. Since I have no idea how to avoid that, I must fight my own coping methods, ignore the pain, and push myself. While not the best idea, I haven't many other options.


Aggression is great for forward momentum. More dangerous and stimulating than coffee.

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Since I'm slightly depressed I guess, not feeling myself, I'm going to take a break from Little One and fiddle around with Godot some. I'm interested in procedurally generated maps, mostly 2D tile maps. There are great tutorials on using noise to make these maps, mostly.

I found using the help search in the script section of the editor rather useful. Mainly I just generated a flat map that sets either dirt or stone based on the height. This is slightly randomized and doesn't use noise, but noise could be used. I've got a function that makes noise for the caves and removes tiles based on the value when I get the 2d noise of an area. It has seriously reduced the amount of code I need and the map looks better.

For ores I'll be using different noise, choosing an area, and setting ores by height. Overlapping the ore heights will make things look more natural. I'll mostly be replacing solid blocks in chosen areas, with numerous areas randomly sampled or sampled through another method. Once I have the noise modified the way I want, I'll use different noise to shape the hills.

The map will be in three layers; land, fluids, and backgrounds. Fluids will be randomly placed and filled, but will also rely on the land map for placement and flow. Trees and plants might be on the BG area. I'm not concerned with good-looking details, and much of the gameplay will be a mix of minecraft (water,trees), starbound (mining, tools) and terraria (combat, weapons) with some mechanics from interesting mods and myself thrown in (tool modifiers, bombs).

For falling blocks (sand, gravel) I'll most likely remove the tile and add a kinematic object that becomes a tile again once it stops falling. Liquids will be handled as closely to minecraft as possible. Block placing will remove liquids and infinite pools will be planned. Mostly this is because I'm lazy and I don't think godot has fluid dynamics.


There are ideas and plans for this project, but for now it's just me tinkering. Now for some tips.

The noise seed can either be randomized, or you can use a specific world seed.

Write different noise functions to generate noise for different parts of map generation.

Creating functions to generate noise based on parameters will allow easy modification.

Tile Maps can use kinematic physics, or the parent  node's physics. This should allow an area to be used for the liquids.

A tile map's tile set can be changed or modified during game play.
 Swap a tile and nobody cares, swap a sprite in the tile set and the whole map updates.

"invx128y32" Use similar keys in a dictionary of inventories to keep track of chests at almost any position. I just hope some player doesn't try filling the world with chests. X & Y should correspond with the chest's position.

If the map is modified by the player (mining, bombs) write a function to check surrounding tiles for any actions they need to take (flowing, falling).

Liquids should try flowing down first, then sideways. I'll most likely place iquid tiles below and flow tiles to the side

Create dictionaries and lookup tables to keep track of tiles and what can affect them.


And finally:

Map generation can take some time with all the loops and actions. Rendering the map as it is generated can cause even more lag and freezes.

Set the tile map's visibility to false before generating the map, then back to true after. The map generates far faster with no visuals.

What a suck up

This entire first month was a bit rough so I haven't done much on my projects. I'm attempting to add new habits (good ones) like drawing. Gardening is something else I enjoy and I'm getting prepared for spring, when I can.

For this blog post I'll be going over a few things from Little one, such as the vacuum, crafts, and material drops. Should be a lot of fun, or at least interesting for other developers.

Vacucel:

The vacucel is the item that vacuums and collects items. Objects that can be sucked up are in a group called "Vacup" and they're all rigid body objects (nodes). In the player's script I use apply_central_impulse(power)  to pull or push the objects. Power need to be a Vector3(), so here is how I calculate it:
var power = (grabber.get_global_transform().origin - scIns.get_global_transform().origin)*-200
Grabber is the node (area) that collects the objects. There is a spatial node that I "emit" objects from. The scIns variable is the object being "emitted". This "shoots" the object after it has been added to the scene.

To attract objects, I have another area on the vacucell that adds objects that enter it to an array (list). When the mouse button is clicked, I go through the list calculating and applying the power. I replace the scIns variable with the objects I'm looping through and change the -200 to a positive number. Care has to be taken on how much power is used, lest the objects go flying around.

Crafting:
I'll start with a craft recipe:


partCraft["SignalRadio"] = {}
partCraft["SignalRadio"]["Iron"] = 2
partCraft["SignalRadio"]["Plastic"] = 5
partCraft["SignalRadio"]["Silicon"] = 1
partCraft["SignalRadio"]["Carbon"] = 1


There is a dictionary of the materials that uses the material names as the keys with the amount being an integer. I just loop through the partCraft["SignalRadio"].keys() and check if the same key in the materials has enough. When all the material needs are met, the item can be crafted with a single click. Then the materials are subtracted and the menu is refreshed.

In my next projects, crafting will have more limits on materials, this one would be fine though.

Material Drops:

These are spread throughout  the map, three for each material. A few should drop items each day. Items dropped are children of the material droppers. These child objects are counted and that number is saved. On load the material dropper will drop the saved amount of items.

Code Down Vector Y Up

That's how we develop.

This month has been slammed to the wall. I've just now gotten everything corrected from how the holidays wrecked it. Since the year started in such a [expletive] state, I'm going to finish up Little One. It didn't help that rushing myself can cause chest pains and I don't know how exactly they are triggered since I'm keyed up with no pains right now.

For Little One I've got some things added. Thorns (they hurt) are added, but I haven't spread them around the maps. Grass is mostly done, but not in the map yet. There is a tent with beds to sleep in when you click on them. Press forward [w] to get out of the bed. The beds speed up time, restore health, and fill energy. I'll probably work on the beds a bit more later.

I've modeled most of the parts for Little One. They'll be added later, but at least I only have to make the textures. These parts might also be used in other games I make. Little One also has the lose conditions added, but I've unlinked them since there is no way to avoid those conditions.

After I add the parts I'll finish the plants and start on the critters. The building upgrades still need to be modeled and added. I still have to do the opening, ending, and possibly losing images. Beasts will also be added, but that could be a while away.

For the thorns, I used a multi-mesh node to populate an area with the meshes. An area causes damage when the player enters or exits. The grass has a material with a greenish layer. When it rains I intend to have the grass turn greenish, then slowly brown over the days. This will be done via a single copy of the material. Since materials are shared between objects, modifying one copy alters all of them. Materials can be copied as a new instance that is not connected to the other copies if needed.

Fragmented Post

I'll be posting on a few different subjects in this post, so scroll to the bolded area that interests you.


Game Optimizing Tip: Conga Loading

Adding and removing objects from a game can cause a bit of lag. This is evident when dealing with numerous objects that need to be loaded/unloaded. This is why I usually just move existing objects around, like raindrops or particle effects. The bigger problem comes from objects that have to be swapped out, like NPCs or monsters. You don't want enemies milling about hundreds of units away from the player, and capping the spawn rate makes this worse. Still, removing all those unrendered  monsters and adding fresh could cause a dip in frame rate. Why not deal with them singularly?

The idea is to connect signals between the monster and a router node. The router node can be anything, but it needs a script to handle signals and connecting them. Signal connection via script is a bit tricky, so I won't go over it here, but it is a great skill to learn.

When the monster/NPC need to be unloaded, or a node needs to load an entity, it first polls the router with a signal containing itself and a request for the action. The router then adds this node to a list of either incoming, or outgoing. While running, the router swaps between out or in (boolean value) every tenth or twentieth of a second. If there are nodes queried,  then a signal is sent allowing the node to either add something, or remove itself. This allows for a single-in single-out entity loading system, reducing load.

To do something every second, or second-fragment, use a delta timer. This is just a variable that has the delta, or frame time, added to it. Once it reaches a specific amount or greater, an if statement allows some code to be run and the timer variable is reset to 0.

Who Duolingo: Tips for Duolingo

I use the Duolingo app to learn Spanish. While it won't make you a pro, it will give you the skills to converse a bit in another language. Here are several tips and things I've noticed.

Start with small daily goals until you get used to the app. Daily goals can be changed in the app settings, usually a gear or those three dots. I started small and worked my way up to the highest amount.

Double mint lingots.With a few exceptions, you get lingots when you meet daily goals or complete a level. You can sometimes watch an ad to double those lingots. When on wi-fi, go ahead and double the lingots. On data I don't watch the ad unless I am doubling two or more lingots. Lingots are useful for doing tests, getting a few extras, and getting more lingots. If you have plus, lingots lose some of their value. I think you can also give lingots to others by upvoting their comments on a lesson (the speech bubble when you complete a lesson).

Gotta do my stories. Sometime around the second section, I unlocked the stories.These are short stories that are easy and short. They tend to give over twenty XP for each one and usually take a few minutes. Since you can re-do the stories, this is the bet way to get plenty of XP. However, reaching the daily goal this way will NOT earn any lingots. Using it to get close, then doing a lesson or practice for the remainder, will give you lingots. XP boost does not work with stories.

Double XP may not be free. Occasionally, the shop will allow you to get double the XP from your lessons, but it is a bit complicated. Reaching your daily goal under this juice won't net you any lingots. reaching another level will get you lingots. Using the XP boost doesn't work on stories. I'd avoid using the XP boost until you have reached the daily goal, to maximize points and lingots.

Testing 1-2 testing 1-2. When you start a lesson, or course, there is a light-bulb and a key. The light-bulb opens a primer on the lesson, giving you tips. The key allows you to take a test and level-up the course. For just five lingots (or zero with plus) you can level up your skills. This is useful if you are good at a course and are getting bored, but sometimes it is better to do the entire course instead. A successful test nets twenty points, failure nets a disappointed Duo. If you fail, either finish the course normally, or try again later (like a day or more).

The hard easy is an easy hard. You may notice that some lessons are harder than others. Tests are no exception, so it is better to take a test after a hard lesson. This gives a greater chance that the test will be a bit easier. There is no guarantee, but it can help.

Slow and steady wins the test. Slowing the dialog on lessons that have dialog may be annoying, but don't take chances during a test. You may think you have the listening skills down cold, but some vocalists are better than others and I've let my pride fail me a few times. Personally, I'd take every hint that Duo gives, especially when I'm a little unsure. Since tests don't have many hints, I'd slow the dialog for a slight edge.

You know nothing, and the birb knows it. Each section has several courses. At the end of a section, there is a test. In my foolishness, I assumed I knew some Spanish. From ZERO to TEN I chose one and was promptly put in my place for my pride. Starting at zero, especially for the first section test, is advisable.

Report it. Duolingo isn't perfect. Sometimes it gives you wrong hints or an answer you give should be accepted. At the end of a lesson, you can ether see user's comments (text baloon) or report a problem (flag). If there is a problem, flag it and explain it. Together we can make Duolingo better. Try to be respectful, unlike me; I tend to have a temper.

Green and red. Correct answers get a green popup while wrong answers get a red popup. Those popups can obscure your answer, hindering learning. Touch a blank area of the popup to slide it down. Now you can check how wrong you were and learn from it.

Play for me, Little One

I had a plan to finish Little One by the end of 2019. That didn't pan out like I had hoped. Most of the items left to add are minor and I could add two or three per day. Since there is another project I wish to get started upon, I'll probably default to adding an item to Little One each day and focus on my next project. For now I'm just trying to make sure Little One is in a beatable form before the next update. The ending will be sparse, and I'll add both it and the opening later, but it should be completable.

My plan is to rest for New Years (eve, day, and day after). I'll try to upload a build on the last day of 2019, but I have to pick up some medicine that day and this post won't be tweeted until that day or after. On the days I'm resting, I'll flesh out the plans for my next project. The ending scenarios are planned, so I'll work back from those. Mostly, I'll be listing the mechanics and writing pseudo-code for them.

The openings and endings of my project may be done with vector art. It seems easier to make several panel images and flip through them like a book. Text will probably accommodate the images. Since I'm doing this alone, and some days are better than others, I'll take the route of least resistance.

Aside from the story images, there are a few things to add before Little One is feature-complete. The critters need animations and additional coding. Beasts need to be planned, modeled, ect. Several parts will need models and textures before being added. Part droppers need to be coded and added. Player damage, sleeping, and recovery needs to be coded. Several props and a couple dialog elements are still missing. I'm going to try getting the vacucell to suck up other liquids, and the critters will bring several items to the game. Many of the building upgrades are unfinished as well, and need models, textures, and programming.


Better as of late than never.


 Yesterday (12-29-19) I felt like I was moving through molasses. I managed to get the material droppers done and in the game. These drop a few materials daily to assist with building and part creation. After a nap I felt much better, but I usually relax after I take my meds at six.

I've added quite a few things to Little One. Mostly the parts and upgrades crafting. The upgrades seemed to work well without any extra coding in other areas. Sometimes I'll go to add something just to learn it's either there already, or I've done the preliminary work; making a feature easier to add. Keeping future and related features in mind as you program will help you add the needed functions and code to support future additions. Planning can help immensely as well, and I should have planned Little One a bit more.

End of the Month Plan

I've been adding the menu systems in Little One. So far, the parts needed to win the game can be crafted, so can player upgrades. Stats, materials, and parts can be checked in the menu, and there is a save button. Now I just need to add the part objects and material and part dispensers so they can be collected. Several of the parts use a ton of materials to craft, so those will be retrieved via deployable drones.

The critters are modeled and textured, but have no animations. I might be adding them into the game late. Beasts may have to wait until much later to be added, along with difficulty. Opening and ending images need to be created, probably vectors that will be used like a comic to illustrate the story.

There are many things I want to add, and may add later if I have time. Changing the music for each area, allowing music to play during menus, difficulty, beasts to fight and get resources from, ship interior and monoliths. I'll add these features if I have time while I'm doing a new project next month. My main goal is to make Little One beatable and add the story elements.

NPC dialog is in the game, but I'll be modifying it to output different dialog from dictionaries. This will give the player tips, as well as adding some character to the NPCs. Most of the dispensers are done, and much of the coding is also done. I'll be setting up the last mechanics by copying needed code and modifying it. Actually, I might just take the mat collector/storage for collecting parts and dispensing built drones. One less thing to model/create (It's really just a collector attached to a giant egg).

Little One took longer than I thought, but it was interesting and I learned a lot. It has also given me numerous resources to use in my next project, and I can modify those objects for more resources. The next project will use many things from Little One, but it will have many new additions. This will allow me to reuse many elements and mechanics from Little One, making creation faster and easier.

I'll probably make a sequel or two later on.

The Next Project:

Blue Bloom will be a game full of monsters, crafting, and adventure. Using different items, you'll be able to modify the function of different workstations.  Different workstations may even assist each other. Hydroponics allows the player to grow needed food indoors, while the repellent globe wards off vicious monsters.

The vacucell from Little One makes a return, and may have extra upgrades. Joining it are numerous weapons to insure your survival, or hinder it. Modify your environment suit for different challenges. Repair laboratories and get them running again for extra advantages. Use the technology at your disposal to help clear out an invasive fungus.

Rush is quite a drug.

You've put it off long enough. There is a stack of work to do and the deadline is fast approaching. Past self has played and laughed and it's time for future self to pay up. In a fit of panic you get started and do three days worth of work in a single night. The quality is fair, the efforts exhausting, and there is little time to rest. At least you had fun until then.

Usually this can be avoided if you just start small and work your way up, but it was my favorite way to work. That strung-out feeling is adrenaline, a chemical your brain produces in response to threats. I'd agree that a deadline is a threat, but it was made that way through the magic of procrastination. While I enjoy rush jobs, I have a problem.

The adrenaline my body produces causes chest pains. Sometimes it's discomfort when I slow down, other times it's terrible pain a day or two after. Here are the two major problems. Little one has about a week and change to be completed, and I'll be trying to build a bigger game within the space of a month. Add to that the last bits of planning for my next project has to be done this month.

Little one doesn't have too much more. The NPCs are done, player seems solid, critters are coming along. I'll have to finish up the critters, add some props, add the parts, and program the upgrades and part fabricators. Most of the programming is already done, I just have to make a ton of assets to add.

Textures and animations will take the most time. I might drop some features and add them later. Beasts and difficulty levels seem like the first to be dropped. The parts needed may be dropped to 20. Simple upgrades will include inventory cells, energy and health boosts. This week is going to be hard.

My next project was to make a game in two months; one bigger than little one. I wish I had spent more time planning, but I should have plenty of resources. Some of the things made for it will be added to Little One and vice-versa.  The map needs added detail and grid separation. For brevity, I'll put together the endings and work backward from there. This game's current design is just a list of notes.

The final two days of this month will be used to flesh out Little One a bit. I'm hoping I can get the opening and ending scenes together, but they'll probably just be vector images. New year's and the day after will be filled with numerous tests and final planning to get my next project up. Once done, I'll furiously prep the player and several resources, mostly from other resources I have. My collection of failures will help this next project succeed.

Everything is burnt.

The wired mouse I normally take with me is failing. It could only be used on flat surfaces, but now it keeps disconnecting. I'm currently using a wireless mouse, but its middle button doesn't really click with me. There is another wired mouse at home, but I don't want it to fail. Either I'll have to acquire a new mouse, or deal with the wireless one when I'm in town.

I haven't been doing much on Little One these past two days, mostly my fault. Pushing myself too hard in any endeavor causes chest pains and burns me out. A health-protecting system my subconscious uses to prevent this pain is just to use burnout and depression against me. Sure, the pain isn't good, but I want to finish Little One this month.

The NPC accessories, animations, and textures are mostly done. Importing and assembling won't take long, but the dialog should still be written. Saturday I'll rest a bit, but I'm just going to ignore my body's protests and slowly pick up speed. The real problem is getting started, once I get momentum, I'm near-unstoppable.When my coding reaches 88 lines per hour, you're going to see some serious bugs.

I'll probably do a ton of planning on my two-month project this weekend. I'll have to get the planning done on that by month's end as well. Normally that would add more work and stress, but zero-sort is another stress reduction method.

Zero-sort operates on high-low impact balancing. If something causes higher stress than benefits, ignore it or break it down. Low-impact (result) options can also be chucked. When the value isn't worth the effort, postpone or chuck the idea. Bundle many smaller tasks into a relaxing time of fixing things. This is the low-stress low-value tasks that seem too small until enough pile up; it's like dusting off crumbs.Blog posts are low-stress but can have a nice impact. Rushing a few features to get a timely release is high-stress. If you have been regular with your updates, skipping one isn't a big deal.

This method is useful in decisions or cleaning/sorting items. Mainly, make any indecision into a specific answer, like yes or no. If I'm undecided, I almost always choose NO. When cleaning/sorting keep the things you want and get rid of the rest. If you just get rid of the things you don't want, you'll have a lot of maybe items that take up space. If it's clearly useful, keep it. If someone else can use it, pass it on.

I may be my own worst enemy, but I'm one of the few people I can fully depend upon, even if I cant always understand myself.

Yadda Bla Bla Bla Bla

Dialog systems tend to be as complex and as varied as inventories. Once you've created one, others are easier to make. Giving the player choices, branching dialog, or changing variables from the dialog system all make it more complicated. Little One's dialog system is just going to be a direct info dump. There will be text, and a done button when you are finished reading.

Godot has two of my favorite nodes ever, EVER!. The resource preloader contains assets for later use so you don't have to write all the paths out. The rich text label is a force unto itself. With BBCode, word wrap, scroll bars, and metadata links, you only need this node for dialog output. Text can be set as a meta-link that can pass a value via a connected signal. You can then do various things depending on the meta value passed.

My main dialog output setup consists of a panel with the rich text label as the child. The panel has the script, but the rich text label does all the work. I usually set a custom font since Godot only has one tiny, terrible font. The meta link is underlined by default, but I add BBCode color and center it to make it more visible. Several meta links can be added to the dialog and consist of the data passed and each attaches to the next text or BBCode string added.

The worst part of a dialog system is actually creating the dialogs. I'll be using a preload script with dictionaries and functions to randomly select text strings. Day zero will mostly consist of hints and tips for the game. Just make sure that if you pause the scene, you don't pause the dialog output.

I usually connect a signal from the player to the NPCs and from the NPCs to the player. If you have limited NPCs and everything is grouped correctly, this can be done at the start of the level/game. If the NPCs are numerous or randomized, this can be done when you interact with the NPC. Just remember to check if the signal is connected, godot doesn't like reconnecting existing signals.

With this basic setup I signal the NPC (and pass a value so only that NPC answers) to talk. The NPC then gets the text and signals the player with the required information. Now the player passes the data to the dialog system to format and output the text. I've started just calling a function from the dialog system in the player's script. Since I've learned that you can just call the functions from a node's script I might connect and use signals far less.

Direct-calling functions might replace generated signals, but it cannot replace all signals.

Player: ReLoaded

Finally got the player model imported with animations. At first, I just added the animation setup to the player scene, but I knew I'd need to refactor the player. Starting with a copy of the animation setup, I copied the script and test room then started working. Referencing the original player, I added all the accessories and gave them the groups and signals needed. Since so much had changed, minor edits were required for the script's copy.

Initial tests went well. Objects fired at near-lethal velocities, so I had to scale back their speed. Vacucel aiming was a bit off, so I adapted it. Items were collected slightly better and faster. All the buildings and menus thus far work.

The major problem came from the water pools. Water was being spawned, but it kept falling into the pool before collection. Most times it wouldn't seem to appear. After some debugging (print statements) the problem was located. For some reason, the water was spawning too low. I just added an extra unit to the spawn's Y axis for a quick fix.

I'm not looking forward to adding the dialog system, but that may come next.

Tutorial, How to Debug Code:

Most times when there is a syntax error, you either get a warning or a crash. Most script editors take you somewhere close to the offending line so you can find the problem. With godot, the error is usually above the line indicated. Most flaws are within a few lines of the line indicated, if not the line itself. Remember, these editors are making a best guess, so they can be a little off.

However, sometimes something doesn't work for any number of reasons. Sometimes you cannot see the error because it's logical (and that skill may need a few levels). If a specific mechanic isn't working in a game, your first option is to check the area of code for that mechanic. Usually, this is contained in a function for ease of use. Often, just looking will reveal the problem.

If not, I like to add print() statements in the code and output different strings or values. hen the statement at the top of a function doesn't print, then the function isn't being called. More code to check, but you could have forgotten to call the function. This is also useful to check if statements in a similar way. When the requirements of an if statement are not met, it won't activate.

Printing variables can help determine if they have the correct values, or that they are being used. An errant or empty value can cause much mayhem. Bad incoming variables are also problematic, so check them if you have them.

If all else fails, get a rubber duck and read the code's lines to it. Then kick yourself smartly when the solution is obvious. The solution is almost always obvious.

Burnout 2019

I probably won't release a new version of Little One this week, or at least not today [12-03-19]. I've been fixing thee map some and adding features to the save/load system. Gates and pools will be saved so you don't have to break or drain them every play. There was a cargo spacecraft I've modified and added. It was an old resource I made for another project. This is why I encourage you to keep resources of failed projects.

The player and NPCs are coming along. They have simple animations and textures, but lack accessories or a good material. I'll try adding the player and getting them fully working in the game, but the Vacucell needs textures first. Ramps and a few other things need to be added to the maps, and the caves need editing. Resource droppers will also be added, they already exist in the next version's save file.

The old save file will probably be useless, but I doubt many people have played the game. I'm also feeling a bit of burnout from pushing myself so hard. There haven't been many chest pains, which is good. I want to complete this game so I might cut corners and add those later.

There are several ship parts planned, both recovery and crafting. I'm thinking of having twenty to forty, but I'm not sure how many yet. The player will also get upgrades. In the end it should be a light, easy, game to play.

Not like the horror of my next plan.

Grain Drain

I added a save function to Little One. Most of the data was just easy to write to the file, but the buildings had to be formatted. Writing the dictionary for the buildings didn't take long, but I've had to add values throughout. A dictionary for the wild plants was also needed. Then I had to make sure the build platforms saved their own values while the buildings saved their values.


The fields seemed like a good start, both wild and domestic. They mostly went off without a hitch, but I had some bugs when I programmed out an exploit. Storage was next, and I gave it little thought before moving to the critter pens. Those pens had a few bugs, but the critters were missing. I had to modify the re-parenting function so they'd work, but the critters never seemed to load. Turns out, they did load, but kinematics and rigid bodies don't like each other and critters got flung.

Last night I checked to make sure everything was working, and the storage buildings were not. I was trying to get values from an empty dictionary within a dictionary. Putting the storage cell generator in the global dictionary worked, but I had to modify a few things. Today I added a few new grain plants just for something new. Most of the plants are modeled, but I need to tweak them.

After all that, I'm going to rest before I add more content. This whole project has taught me valuable lessons I'll carry into the next project.

The Rain in the Game Falls Mainly on Nothing?!

There are many ways to do rain and other weather effects. Some games use particles, which can clip through objects. A few just add/remove objects, but the physics needed and constant object flow causes lag. In 2D it can just be a screen effect. A few use shaders or have dedicated weather systems. For newer developers, that don't have the resources or experience, rain systems can seem awkward.

Either you have particles or objects, but those either clip through objects, or cause lag. I've found another way. First, a little advice and an example. Everyone seems to think the rain needs to fall, preposterous. Take two coins, fairly new ones, and stack them between your thumb and pointer finger. Now rub the coins together, slowly getting faster. If done correctly, three coins should be visible. It's an optical illusion, the same as an after-image that some anime characters can create.

How does this help us create a rain system? By taking several rain meshes and shuffling them around the player, we can cause an illusion of rain. I'll walk you through the steps.

First, make two rain objects, a drop and a splash. We'll add them to a parent object/node as meshes with a basic water or blue texture, no colliders or transparency needed, just meshes. I like to add each to a different group or have some other way to grab them from code. Don't try to grab them directly or through paths, we're going to copy them. The scene should be a parent node with a few dozen drop/splash children.

Make a few dozen copies of the drops and splashes. Add the scene to a scene, preferably as a child of something positioned at (0,0,0). Now let's create a new scene with any positional node. Since I'm doing 3D I'll use a spatial node. This can also work in 2D with minor adjustments. Add a raycast and make sure it is casting down (-y) by about 300.  Move it up to +y 200/250, make sure it is active as well. Create copies and change their x/z to whatever you feel like. Keep them relatively close to the center, but not on the center.

About 12-32 raycasts should be good. Add a script to the top (parent) node. The scene should be a parent node with a few dozen raycast children. On ready you should get the splashes and drops from the scene tree using groups. If you've added the raycast scene to the same parent you added the drops scene to, you can just get the parent and then the drops scene's children. Either way is good.

Get the raycasts as well, you can just add the children to a variable. Get the player node/character as well. You should have two main functions, shuffle_rain and unshuffle_rain. The unshuffle_rain function should just get all the drops/splashes and place them somewhere hidden. I suggest changing their translation to (0,-200,0).

The shuffle_rain function is a bit more complex. Grab a random raycast, drop, and splash. Check that the raycast is colliding and get the collision position. Place the splash at the collision position, and the drop at a higher position. You can add a random number to the position's Y axis.  You would do this several times a frame, feel free to experiment.

The final things to do is to get the raycast parent to rotate and change it's X/Z translation to that of the player. Randomizing the Y rotation can help make the rain move more randomly. Now all you need is signals/Boolean to start/stop the rain.

No odd clipping, no lag, no physics, easily editable. It's a good rain system if you want something easy to implement.

Worst Laid Plans

I'm starting to see the working on video games needs a bit of balance. It takes planning, resolve, and steady progress to complete a game. Little One needed more planning before I started, but I'll put more into planning with the next project.

I should plan the critters and beasts, along with the parts needed. Some parts you'll have to find, others need to be fabricated. I'll have to model, texture, and animate these things as well. Minor static objects are not that bad, but animated, organic, or complex objects take the most time. Tubes and gears are easy, engines and ants tend to be more complex.

The player and NPC animations are simple and mostly done. Usually you can get away with just a walk animation for NPCs and maybe an attack animations for enemies. Bosses take far more work, as much or more than the player. The textures are also basic and need some work, but I still need to model NPC accessories.

Plants and resources need to be distributed across the map for the player to find. I might have a ship somewhere on my PC, along with some other resources. Might take stock of, and arrange all the old models I've made. It's time I gathered my resources and started a collection for later projects.

That's the good thing, even in failure you learn and gather resources. I advise keeping models, textures, and sprites; they may be useful someday.

Posts Versions: RED & BLUE

A Small Matter

It always seems like two steps forward, one step back when you are a singular gamedev. I'm having problems with the textures/materials in Little One and there is still so much to do. Sometimes I wish these problems didn't happen, but I enjoy solving problems. Once the material problem has been corrected, and I know a good way to correct it, I'll start adding and testing the final mechanics.

The dialog system is in another project and needs to be modified for Little one. Player and NPC models are mostly done, just need textures, animations, and a few minor accessories. Critters need some more programming and they'll give way to beasts within the game. Building upgrades need to be modeled, textured. and fully implemented. There needs to be a way to dispense materials from destructible objects. Many of the parts and player upgrades need to be coded and implemented. Opening and ending scenes need to be done along with success/fail conditions. World data and save/load systems need to be finished.

I should do some planning on the final parts needed. Most of the player upgrades are partly implemented. There is a collection on open game art that has resources for Little One, as well as what I'm making now.

Speaking of planning, I'll be planning a project a bit this month. If I finish Little One this month (November 2019) I can work on another project in December. Little One will have taken about five or six months at the end of November 2019.

I wonder if I can make a bigger game in two months if I planned it well.

It's a cube, it's a sphere, it's a placeholder!

Added a build system to Little One. I'm currently using placeholders for the upgrades and a couple of buildings. So far it is going good, but there are only upgrades for one building. The upgrades are hidden below the building and moved up once activated.

As you can see, the buildings can be created, deleted, and one can have upgrades. The final version will require materials to create the buildings and upgrades. After the upgrade placeholders are done, I'll add the actual upgrad objects and material requirements.