Blistering Beach preview #1

 Hello all!

I appologize for the lateness of this, not that anyone is waiting with baited breath for these, but I got a new work laptop for modeling while away from home and while that has been helpful in speeding up the process of creation, it has had a bit of a learning curve. I suppose that I am saying that I blame the laptop for the lateness of this, which is absurd, but here we are.

Alliteration plays a large role in the naming conventions for levels in ASU, to be honest, that's where most of the ideas for levels comes from. I take a place that one could find in another video game, like the ocean, and then play with alliteration until I come up with something that both includes the original idea and satisfies my annoying desire for the name to only start with one letter. Anywho, that's how we arrived at Blistering Beach. 

The original idea was a level that took place both above and below water level. 

Below water level

Above water level

The above and below sections will serve different functions for traversing the level itself. With underwater being the main area that you'll spend your time in, whereas above water will function as a way to scout ahead, along with find different treasures and whatnot above the waves. 

All the creature designs, as one would expect, are based around underwater creatures, but with the Saren Glass mutation twist that you've come to expect from the likes of the hawog or hanged acacia. 

I'm still working out the idea of this dang blog, but I'll get it one of these days. I suppose I could post it as a companion to my Steam updates, but, we'll figure it out. 

In any case, this was a short-ish one, but here we are!

Until next time,

-Lucas

Project Director

A Storm Unsung #2

 Hello all!

Since this is a development blog, I figured this next post, with a very creative name, would go over some in-development screenshots that have been taken and I could talk a bit about them and whatnot. I'm still not sure what I'm going to be talking about here, so, bear with me. 

This is the very first screenshot I could find of ASU. It was a bit of a teaser, I believe, for my wife. Because I was talking about showing off the bush there in the front, which some of you may or may not recognize as one that was used in Wind Carrier, but as the eagle-eyed among you can see, there is our first character there, Whispering Willow, hiding out in the grasses that would end up making up the Into the Rushes event in the Putrid Plains.

Next up, we have the very first iteration of our dungeon system. Well, you know what I mean. Originally, there were going to be objects blocking each ending of a tile, denoted by the garishly colored rocks there, but I opted for leaving them open ended and added a bit of a rounding to the edges instead. I believe it's good for looking out over the horizon. But, yeah.

For those of you who don't know, ASU uses dungeon tiles, basically large mini-sections of an area and weaves them together randomly to create unique dungeon experiences each time you go through a run. 

These screenshots are raw, as I'm sure you can see. But, this is the first screenshot of the dungeon system working with actual tiles. I think this also incorporates the cap tiles as well, which are like normal tiles, but only have one entrance to the tile, instead of four, and they end up as the 'caps' of certain other tiles. Not all tiles exits will have caps, but, yeah, more variety, I believe, was the idea that I was going for with that one. 

Variety is the name of the game in ASU, with each dungeon having unique: enemies, traps, events, and tiles. I'm a sucker for variety in my games, and that's why ASU has so much of it. 

Here we've got Tabitha the Phoenix fighting an in-progress Overgrown Sentinel. The Sentinel is the first boss that you'll encounter in ASU, not necessarily the first in any given run, but he was an important step. Especially since I can't just make things that deal damage, they have to do other things to keep it interesting. 

For example, the Overgrown Sentinel deals large amounts of damage with that breath attack there, but also summons permanent traps along the path that the breath takes. 

But, yeah, you can see the in-progress UI there as well, along with a name above Tabitha's head. There was a moment in time when I was considering making ASU multiplayer, but I ultimately decided against it, thus the names were removed. 

This is the first pass of the character changing widget from the inn. The format has remained, essentially, unchanged, but the proportions and the general in-progressness of it have been improved. 

For frame of reference, this is the current widget. Now that I look at it, I may want to make it larger to hide the other character names there in the back so it's less distracting. Anywho!

And here we've got the first iteration of the inn! Which also is largely unchanged. Got Tabitha there as the innkeeper, not that she'd make a good one. But, it stayed this way for a very long time. It wasn't until relatively recently that the innkeeper became her own character and the inn itself was populated a bit. 

And there it is as of now. Still not thrilling, but I feel like it looks a bit better. Y'know, I feel like I could stand to add more decorations, probably in general, to all of ASU. I'm going to write that down: 'Decoration Pass.' Something that I need to do once we're getting closer to full release, I think. 

In any case, that's all I have to share today, so I hope you enjoyed our little trip down memory lane. Next week, I'll probably be talking about upcoming things, like the next level that will be released, the Blistering Beach. 

Until next time,

-Lucas

Project Director

A Storm Unsung

Hello all!

Been a bit since I've posted anything here. I am here today to talk about our new, current project, A Storm Unsung, ASU for short. If you are interested in what happened with Wind Carrier, I will be adding a section near the end of this post for that. 

A Storm Unsung

ASU is an action rogue-lite game in which you play as different characters that are all distantly related by blood. Levels are generated procedurally from sets of 'tiles' and all the action is directed by a bot that I have named Glass's Eyes. 

Glass's Eyes chooses which tiles to spawn and where, what enemies, events, and traps as well. All of this is determined by various parameters that run the gamut from the player's current vital statistics to the amount of time that you have spent in any given level, with, of course, random added to the top for a nice seasoning. 

All the characters feature different strengths and weaknesses. They all have unique abilities which can be upgraded in various ways, some of which can vastly alter the way that certain characters can function. 

ASU features four difficulty settings along with infinitely scaling +1 levels called hymns. The difficulty system doesn't simply affect the stats of the enemies either. It changes everything from which abilities are available to certain enemies to trap density to spawn timers for events. 

ASU has been in development since, wow, the end of 2020, as it turns out. I had no idea that it had been that long. I suppose that means ASU has been in development for 4 years, but as most of 2022 and 2023 were a wash for personal reasons (in the span of two years, my father, grandmother, and dog all passed away), I will say 2 and a half years. In any case, the tentative plan is to have ASU finished here in the next year to a year and a half. It's mostly adding levels and all the things that go with them - enemies, traps, events, bosses, etc. 

But, yeah, I'm uncertain why I decided now to start blogging about it, it's on Steam and everything at this point, but maybe part of me was worried about it ending up like Wind Carrier did and I didn't want any one to be disappointed again if it were to end that way. I can say with as much certainty as I can that it will not, however, and it will be completed in a timely fashion. 

I'll be updating links and whatnot as time goes on - I kinda need to relearn blogger. I will likely be posting here most Sundays. I'm not 100% sure what I will be discussing, but I find that Steam updates don't really feel like they are the best places to discuss some things at length. Any who, yeah. 

Wind Carrier

Wind Carrier has been shelved, as I'm sure you all have figured out by now, assuming there are any of you left reading this. I realized at some point in 2019 that Wind Carrier was going to take me a ridiculous amount of time, some 10 years by my estimation, to finish. I would like to return to it, or, really, something like it. ASU was supposed to be a quick project, a kind of a pallet cleanser, but we see how that turned out. It seems I am incapable of simple, but I suppose that's why people enjoy the things that I do - I put everything I have into projects that I make, even if it's not the wisest thing to do.

Anyway, the realization that Wind Carrier was going to take some much time crushed my spirit and in some way made me lose interest in game making as a whole. In fact, it was about a year and a half after the shelving of Wind Carrier that I started working on ASU. ASU has blossomed into something that I can say that I am proud of, even if it's not really anything like Wind Carrier at all. They're set in the same world, as everything that I do is going to be, but at different times, of course. I'm rambling and losing the point besides.

I apologize for not posting an update about the shelving. It was wrong of me and I deeply regret that. There were actually a few of you who reached out to me, some years late, wondering about Wind Carrier's fate and for that as well, I am deeply sorry. I should have treated you all better. 

Until next time,

-Lucas

Project Director

Wind Carrier, Alpha 31.7.19

Hello all!


I only managed to get the creature and enemies that I spoke of last week up and going - the transformation card will be finished for next week.

Not a ton of other changes; it was hot as hell here this last week and I had trouble focusing on anything for more than a few minutes at a time.


Changelog


Enemy Updates:

-Added Roura
-Large terrestrial bird
-Doesn't spawn normally, spawns occasionally in a swarm of minor creatures by the same name


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a visible hitbox for the Ilhkor'sei
-Fixed a few bugs with the new skill menu

A male Roura with a group of smaller females. 

The roura are a common sight in Goldrath, found from the west coast all the way to the edges of the great desert that lies in the east. The female roura pose no threat to anyone, but the larger, more vibrant males are very territorial and will attack intruders on sight. 

The Zin'ahlope learn from a young age how to transform into the creatures. They themselves are quite slow, being barely taller than most other sjjena's waists, but with their mastery of transformation magic, the Zin'ahlope can pose a large threat indeed.

The male roura spawns in a different way than most enemies do; it spawns from the spawning of the female minor creatures. It ends up with them spawning in surprising places. I found it rather interesting myself - I may just have to play around with unconventional spawning more in the future.

Anywho, until next time,

-Lucas Cady

Project Director

Wind Carrier; Alpha 24.7.19

Hello all!

Been working on a new enemy/minor creature/transform card this week. Not quite ready to show it off, but other than that I didn't accomplish a ton.

I did make a couple of significant changes though. I'll let the changelog speak, then I'll talk below about them.


Changelog

-Merchant stock now updates every morning

-Removed the crafting bench from the player's home

-Changed the color of AoE around EIR encounters


Player/Civ Updates:

-Added Miner's Mark, Chopper's Mark, and Trader's Mark skills
-5 level each
-Miner's: Increases drop rates for stone and clay
-Chopper's: Increases drop rates for hides, produce, and lumber
-Trader's: Increases drop rates for mana crystals

-The player now gains skill points at every level

The first larger change I made this week is that now the player gains skill points every level. To me, it feels like there is more customization this way and it allows the player to make choices at every level, as opposed to every so often. It also allows for more skills to be created in general and allow the player to tailor themselves more how they would like.

The other, probably larger, change is the removal of player gear crafting. Wind Carrier isn't so much about the player herself, but rather the world and the impact that she has on it. With that in mind, I thought it better to remove that aspect. The player can still find and purchase new gear, of course, this way, however, all of their resources go to improving their civilization as opposed to themselves. And since improving the civ improves the player, it puts more focus on the civ than there was before, making it more important. This may turn some players off, but it feels like the right thing to do in my eyes. To be honest, the player gear crafting never really felt like it fit as far as I am concerned. 

Anyhow, I'll be working on the aforementioned creature this next week along with probably working on the decrepit influence levels. 

Until next time,

-Lucas Cady

Project Director

Wind Carrier, Alpha 17.7.19

Hello all!

I noticed today, when I went to put this blog up that I never informed that I was going to be taking a short vacation. I suppose I had just thought about it enough to have convinced myself that I had done it. I apologize for that.

Anywho, this week there are a few changes, some restructuring, same old, same old, more or less.


Changelog

-Added icons for transformation HUDs

-Updated the transformation HUD to reflect the updated normal HUD

-Added day/night transitions

-Added a particle effect to the card projectile

-Updated the weather effects for the following conditions:
-Rain
-Fog
-Arid

-Weather is now hidden when placing/managing buildings

-Made AoE markers more visible in general

-Followers no longer block the player's movement

-Followers now take damage over time, which can be reduced by taking different skills

-Followers which heal allies passively no longer heal themselves

-Added the ability for civs that have reached a higher influence level than their current to spawn 'decrepit' levels in accordance with the highest influence level they have attained


Player/Civ Updates:

-The building upgrade widget now has insufficient material amounts displayed in red for better visibility

-Ritual of the Dancing Shrines can now be taken at level 1

-During character creation, can now control the alpha level of the player's markings

-Updated the way that taking skills works
-Skills only need be hovered over
-Clicking will take the skill

-The player no longer naturally regenerates health during combat

-Updated the skill system to stack the multiple levels of skills as opposed to having them all spread around the skill widget

-Added the skill Sate the Spirit
-Reduces the spirit burn of allies
-3 levels


Card Updates:

-PackHound now only spawns minions on transform if there are fewer than 6 followers following the player


EIR Updates:

-All EIR encounters which have negative effects on the player have an AoE around them, encounters changed where:
-Beehive
-Black Arrow Offshoot
-Lavaleaf


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed the scale for the Builder's Hut
-Fixed an oversight, where the follower icons in the HUD would not carry over if the player used a transform card or de-transformed
-Fixed a bug where the old, broken hut wasn't despawned when the quest A Lost Staff was completed
-Fixed a rare bug where a follower bot would despawn for one reason or another and their widget would not get removed
-Fixed the scaling issue with the follower widget

The new, cleaner skill menu - with a new color, might I add! Green indicates a skill that you have taken at least one level for which you can take the next level of. 

The change comes after discussing with a few people about how they felt the skill page looked. It looked messy to me as well, I just needed enough people to tell me to fix it, I guess. :p

It seems that that is the only screenshot that I have this week.

This update seems larger than it really is. Most of this was done the week prior to my vacation, but next week it'll be back to regularly scheduled updates.

Until next time,

-Lucas Cady

Project Director

Wind Carrier; Alpha 19.6.19

Hello all!

I am back from my bit of a break and come bearing some updates!

I spent about three hours one day playing Wind Carrier without even noticing that it was that long. To me, that is the mark of a good game: you feel like you've accomplished something and it has held onto your interest without seeming like time was moving at all.

Anywho, changelog!



Changelog

-Added gravesites
-Have a chance to spawn after any enemy is killed
-Can be desecrated or prayed at for 30% of the enemy's influence
-Interacted with by some spells

-Increased day speed

-Upgraded the minor creature spawner to increase usage speed along with increasing the variety of random creatures that can be spawned in any given biome

-Updated the stone material nodes to increase visibility

-Greatly increased the amount of spawners for:
-Stone
-Minor Creatures
-Flying Creatures
-Eir Encounters
-Random Encounters

-Added Wandering Allies to the random encounter spawner pool

-Increased the speed at which the music changes from Day to Night

-Added a night post processing volume which actives at night


Player/Civ Updates:

-Lowered the out of combat regeneration from 3x to 2x
-Also lowered the in combat regen to 0.5x the displayed amount of regen


Card Updates:

-Added PackHound
-Transformation
-T2
-Transforms the player into a hound which also summons 3 faithful hounds as it does

-Added Horned Charge
-T1
-Spawns horns on the player's head which increase their MDM plus replaces their jump with a charge
-Charge has a small chance to stun

-Added Blast of Bone
-T1
-Creates an explosion of bone which scales with the number of gravesites nearby
-Causes negative influence for each gravesite


EIR Updates:

-Added a new completely random spawner type

-Blackarrow
-Offshoots now stun as opposed to paralyze


Bug Fixes:

-Fixed a bug where if the player returned a building to their inventory after starting to place it, but before actually placing it, the player's civ points would not properly reflect this
-Starting civ points are now correctly displayed
-Fixed the scale for the item type pickup icons
-Fixed a bug where the Vulpine fishing village of Tonorhanko would spawn without the prerequisite quests being finished
-Fixed a bug where the Oriilound's death animation looped incorrectly

A gravesite.

The idea totally didn't come to me while designing Blast of Bone. It's another way that the player can make up lost influence, however, so it's a win in my book because there needs to be more ways for the player to affect the world around them.

Horned Charge

The wife designed this one. As I said above, the player's jump is replaced by a charge which does scaling damage and has a small (10%~) to stun.

There is also some art for it which is almost complete. I will show it off once it is done.

PackHound

A transformation card, upgraded from the common Faithful Hound Card. Spawns three Faithful Hounds along with it.
Taking this screenshot, I realized that the transformation HUD could use some work, even ignoring the fact that they attack icons have not been properly made yet.

And here is the card art for PackHound, credits, again, to the wife.

And that's all I have for this week. I think I'll try to make it a habit to play Wind Carrier for an extended time at least once a week, because I noticed tons of issues which weren't brought to my attention, probably because they are tiny things that I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't the one that designed them. I've still a ton of things on my to-do list from my last play time which range from quality of life, like making the number of resources red when a player doesn't have enough of them to perform the function that they are looking at, to bigger things, like the follower's AI still getting stuck if there are too many enemies around them at once. 

I've still a long road ahead of me, but at least I'm learning shit to make the next one easier to create.

Anywho, until next time,

-Lucas Cady

Project Director