State of the Game (build 0.31):
- Lots of optimisation and consolidation of useless or repeated variables going on (i.e making my code not look like an arse). Unity has a wonderful bug where if you write too many OnGUI() methods it will kill the CPU. I plan on purchasing NGUI in the future (allowing it to make only one draw call, as opposed to up to 1000).
- Majority of basic maths works- the few technologies I have implemented work well, though horribly balanced (Nereides are enormously overpowered).
- AI works to an extent- it will assess the systems it owns, and then either improve planets or colonise new systems based on their potential earnings. AI can also make 'mistakes' which prevents it from steamrolling the player.
- Planets and systems can be improved, but I am unhappy with the current way in which planetary improvements work- I am planning an 'Ownership' mechanic, in which the % Ownership of a planet increases over time. The % Ownership dictates how much SIM (of the total potential SIM output) is produced. Planetary improvement then increases the maximum % Ownership. This would also allow races to coexist on a single planet (exciting!).
- Heroes are proving troublesome as they have a fairly unique behavior compared to the rest of the game. I have the Merchant hero type working, and have made changes to the way in which heroes are recruited (see diagram below). Generic heroes are now recruited, then Galaxy Points are spent to specialise the heroes abilities and give it access to unique ship types. Lots of work required to make this feature easy to use and flexible, but without introducing annoying micro management (I'm looking at you, ship design in Endless Space!).
Tiers of hero improvement- basic in white, 1st specialisation in green, final specialisation in orange.
- Unsurprisingly the graphics are not that great at the moment. I've been doing a bit of concept art to get the kind of feel that I want (at some point I will try and find a professional to do some real art), and it's very stylish- not something I've seen before in a game like this. Below is a simple gas giant idea that I knocked up in paint.net to see how my design looked in colour.
I'm not looking to do flat shading in the actual game, I just don't have the time to make textures and program/design the game.
And that's it for today. Feel free to comment below, and I hope you enjoyed reading again!
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