Introduction

Here we are again! My name is Sindrex and this is the third entry in Boolean’s devblog! While I hoped to get more done, I am happy that the component system’s functionality is almost done. There are still small bits and pieces I want to improve and I hope to be able to do it on the side while studying for my exams. These past two weeks’ progress is listed below.

Stick to Grid

When making the component-placing mechanic I found a way for it to stick to the grid before placing. I liked this so much that I copied it to placing and moving tiles. This is kind of a quality of life / usability change, but it is very welcome. Done by raycasting from mouse and set the tile’s position to the floortile you are hovering over. Relatively simple

A lot of progress on the Component System

I made a component UI using scrollable list in the same vein as the saved worlds. You can make new components, name them and then load them again. In the UI, when hovering over a component, a tip will show up with the name, the height and length, and the number of tiles. By clicking on a component in the UI you will be prompted to place it. When placed, they act as regular tiles. By clicking the “overlay” button the tiles will be hid behind an overlay. The overlay shows the component’s name. You can move the whole component by dragging the overlay around. The component-instance will be broken if you move or destroy a single of the component’s tiles. I’ve also added that you can write letters on each of the overlay’s tiles, but it is not 100% yet. It was pretty fun making this system, as not everything was straightforward and I’m glad the system’s functionality is in. The visuals are another story and I am going to come back to it eventually.

Next up:

I will make the “write-letters-on-overlay” functionality actually work and fix bugs and visual misalignments. I also plan to make it so signs only show their text on a right click and perhaps do something with layers (as sometimes the UI is underneath tiles, other times you can click through the UI, it’s weird). With Alpha 1 finished, I intend to make a video featuring all the features of this update. Then I will begin Alpha 2, which I am really looking forward to! Also, here at my university they offer entrepreneur counseling (they call themselves Spark*), where you get to talk to a counselor about your idea and get tips and help about entrepreneurship. I will be meeting with such a counselor next week. I hope to soon contact the university or faculty through one of my professors to be able to pitch the game as an educational one as well.

Until next time.

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