Adding Some Fluff

Time Worked:

- 2/8/24: 7 hrs, 22 min

- 2/9/24: 2 hrs, 41 min

- 2/10/24: 3 hrs, 45 min

It's been a good week. I have still been struggling to get in time on days other than Thursday Friday. I have been better I think about handling stuff on those days, and I also have been relaxing on those days. So maybe that's okay. 

Anyway, this week I got some pretty good work done. I cleaned up that Scriptable Object Comparer inspector script and I think it works really well now. Still can't modify complex types like sprites in it, but that's okay. It's really the most useful for balance, etc. But I will continue to develop it as I go.

I also, after a friend pointed it out to me, decided to prioritize theme (i.e. Fluff) in the game. I have been so focused on the basic gameplay, and for good reason - if the basic gameplay isn't good, it's not worth playing. However, perhaps I was undervaluing thematic stuff. I always loved customization in games, and I had it on the backburner, but kind of considered it a secondary task. However, I took a look at the "feeling target" I have for this game, and it goes like this: 

"Feelings of tension. Triumph in the face of danger. The situation being dangerous. Characters becoming someone you know. Devastation when loss happens. Tension. Connection. Camaraderie."  

I remembered some of the things that inspired me, such as the book/movie The Outpost, and the true story behind it. You can't have any of these feelings I mentioned without the guys having faces. They have to be made more than just little "units".

So, I decided to go ahead and implement backgrounds. There are 3 right now - Prisoner, Laborer, and Mercenary. The tiers go up from left to right, i.e. Mercenary is the best background but most expensive. These are kind of just prototype - things are going to change and their effects are going to change. I want the backgrounds to be a major system in the game, like in Battle Brothers. But for now, they are just some description flavor, and stat rolls.

I also finally implemented unique faces for each character. I increased the size of the character head as well in order to give more room for details and personality. They are still pretty damn small as is clear, but then again this is an RTS, and you need a bird's-eye view.

Finally, I decided to make a test scene for missions, so that I don't need to click through a bunch of screens if I just want to test a new weapon, or really anything that is just in-mission. I can spawn enemies and friendlies and do basically anything with a button click, which is really nice and a big time saver.

Anyway, this is one of those times where I feel really good about things. There is still so much to do, I have a feeling there will always be so much to do. But I really feel like it's coming together. Sooner or later I'll need to see the final form of things. But I have the foundations in the game and they are looking kind of decent.