Consider listening to this song while reading.. I am currently dance typing.
Saturday, February 1st 2020
Due to the Chiefs going to the Super Bowl, I had to work the whole weekend doing my day job. Saturday, is normally a day off for me and one that I get a lot of work done. This time however it was quite unproductive. I was able to do a little hacking away at my new tile generation method but nothing worth showing. I think it is important that no matter what I accomplish something every day, even if it is just a little.
I was exhausted..
Sunday, February 2nd 2020
After getting off work I joined my girlfriend and her Dad watching the Super Bowl. I wanted to get something accomplished after having such an unfulfilling Saturday. I brought my laptop along and decided to take another stab at our logo design. I ended up with something that looks like a family crest. I posted an image below but it is only a rough draft. I would love to know what you think about it. I know that If I go with it I will need to update the fonts on the website to match and make it look much more crisp and clean. The Chiefs won so we drove home to the sounds of a war zone.
Monday, February 3rd 2020
I saw an advertisement for a Unity add-on that caught my eye. Unity is the game development engine I use if that is unknown to some. Unity has an asset store where you can purchase and download models, tools, helpers for your game. I have had very mixed results using the store. I have purchased numerous assets that claim to do exactly what I need and then I get into using them and it turns out to be more effort dissecting the add-on to determine how I can alter it for my cause than it would be for me to just make the tool from scratch. In this case I saw an add-on called Tessera (Link). It is really a neat piece of code that generates a 3d random procedural anything based on what objects you set up for it. I strongly considered using it and purchased the simple version to play with.
Tuesday, February 4th 2020
Other Strange Brother Micheal came over and we did our weekly update and discussion. We talked about some of the responses we had to our weekly poll. Our Strange Cousin Robert answered our poll as an avid listener of game music. He really likes the classic Halo soundtracks. I could not agree more that those games music is perfectly timed and appropriate for every activity and event in the game. We also discussed an idea one of my coworkers (Tanner Willyard). had about adding "shanties" to the game. He referenced how in one of the Assassins Creed games that you can find shanties for your crew to sing while you sail. Obviously having pirate shanties in our game is ridiculous but coming up with some new takes on old songs that fit into our universe that the soldiers may be caught singing or the population is a great idea. Micheal also has been working on the Council members. Below are three of the potential council members for the game.
Wednesday, February 5th 2020
I have been working late on Wednesdays at work which has cut into my dev time. Wednesday is also my house cleaning day and it was a bit more of a challenge this week. I was able to get some outfit concept sketching done though. It is really quick rough work. We have been watching Project Runway at night before bed and it inspired me to look at our main soldier outfit again. Also, for the record, watching that show was my idea. I love garbage tv and it actually is really neat to watch the design process. I love passion and design in any form I guess.
Thursday, February 6th 2020
I had the full day off work so I gave the tessera addon a true evaluation for use. It really was fun to play with but turned out to be exactly like all other major addons I have tried. I spent most of the day reading over tutorials, software documentation and tweaking. It looks to be very versatile for someone who wants to procedurally generate something with limited control. The issue is that I need total control. I have lofty ideas for the procedural generation process and the foundation of the game is built on this element. I did email the creator asking him for help. He got back to me right away and confirmed my suspicion that this addon would not work for me. I really need to learn my lesson about getting sucked into the quick fix addons. I did get some ideas from it though and maybe after he updates it a few times it will be more useful but I am moving forward with my own design.
Friday, February 7th 2020
So after getting home from work Friday I knew I could not post my update until I finished getting some kind of road into my world generation procedural script. Unfortunately I spent most the week on an addon fantasy. As a result I spent most of the day Saturday adding roads to the procedural design I had worked on previously. There is a video showing the current progress. The roads are obviously not done but they are there as promised!
Week Review
I felt very tired over the last week. I stayed up late a couple nights and got up early a couple times too. My work schedule was different and the game threw everything off. That being said I really feel like it was a good week. I reaffirmed my opinions on major unity addons, got some good concept work done and finally got past the procedural terrain generation. I know that is getting old and is no where near pretty yet but have faith peoples. Last week's poll was all about music. I wanted people to give me games that they felt had music that best fit that game. I had some wonderful answers that I will post below. Thank you so much for participating and check out this week's poll when you get a chance. I will make it an easy one this time.. no typing.. unless you want to.
Take this week's poll (scroll to bottom of page)
Poll Results:
Question:
"What game has music that best fits that game?"
Write in Answers only this time...
Responses:
Girlface:
"This one's difficult... Skyrim bc I am Dovahkiin. Aaa-aaah-aaah-aaah! Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin naal ok zin los vahriin Wahdein vokul mahfaeraak ast vaal Ahrk fin norok paal graan Fodnust vok zin dro zaan."
Razzle CarX Something:
" I'm currently on a Shenmue music kick, but if I had to choose a "best fit", it would have to be Halo 1 and 2. The Gregorian chants added a sacred and mystical feel, which is appropriate for facing annhilation. The synth was scant, bright, and hopeful. Finally, when you were kicking ass, the immortal, hard-hitting "Halo" riffs got your blood pumping."
- (Thanks for this great reply strange cousin.)
What I did wrong:
I am working toward, but I still do not have glasses for blue light. Boo. Also, even though it was a learning experience the addon side track was a bust.
What I did right.
I regained my momentum with my own personal fitness routine and worked art more into my routine. I also learned how to add editor buttons so that I could generate my world without hitting the play button on the scene.
Thanks for reading,
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if that is not enough for you please see our contact page and we would love to discuss any questions or feedback. We have a detailed game doc for anyone who is very curious.