v6.0 Release

 

The major implementation this time around is the ability to equip dropped weapons.  While this may seem like a very mundane feature, trust me it's a milestone from a game dev perspective.

Since different weapons could now be equipped I had to go back and change how swapping between weapons worked.  Previously I set it so pressing the Q key would cycle though the 3 available weapons, but now that weapons could be changed, I wanted to adhere to the two equipment slot rule.

The HUD also had to be changed.  Originally I had a fairly static way of changing the information on the HUD via specifically crafted functions for each weapon.  Since each slot can now have different equipment, or none, things had to be more dynamic.

I skimped out and just used a Godot panel node and label to make an info box in the inventory.  Other games like Diablo use the mouse to move weapons and items around, so a popup menu works well enough for this kind of deign.  But the inventory system I made is more static in nature and was meant to be used with a game pad or keyboard, so I felt that it would be more appropriate to have a mini HUD in the inventory menu to tell the player what it is they are focused on.  Right now it only shows the stats of items that have been selected (as apposed to showing when the cursor is over the time), but I plan to refine this, if not in this prototype, then in the main game.

The inventory controls have been revised a bit.  I got rid of the use of the C key and set the S key to invoke the exit command when an item is not selected.  I also removed the Z key from the state machine, it was meant to be a temporary way to exit the inventory before the menu, completely forgot about it. 

One of the drawbacks of the inventory system I made is it operates somewhat like Tetris, the 'blocks' are spawned in the upper left corner and then moved inside the inventory.  So I placed several labels in the inventory to designate what area does what.

I also implemented a save system.  Press the P key to save what is in your inventory.  Press the L key to load.  I recommend using this when you start a fresh game, as the save system will not remove anything that was previously gotten.  In its current state I don't recommend using it seriously.

While I still have a lot of polish to do on the enemy's state machine there was a random bug were the enemy's would get suck in the dying state.  I think I managed to get rid of this bug, but since it's kind of random I won't know until there is more testing done.  There was also a problem with the bullets having the wrong vector or the player suddenly snapping in the wrong direction during entering/exiting strafing state which seemed to happen at 'random'.  I think I got this one too.

The next update will probably feature a shop.  I went back to Blender to model a shopkeeper and other assets that I'll need.  I'll also likely work on the dialogue system too, since I want the shop keeper to interact with the player.  I'll probably be in Blender for a while, since I'm getting a little tired of programming and want to do some artwork for a change.

 

Head over to Itch or GameJolt to try it out if you want.

Version 4.0 release on Itch.io and Game Jolt

 

With this release I implemented a wheel menu, the beginnings of an inventory system and trimmed away some of the fat.​

Implementing a wheel menu was fairly easy to do as I have done one before in other demo projects that will likely never see the light of the internets.

The inventory system really had me work my brain.  I downloaded several demo projects and a few tutorials.  Unfortunately they all used code that looked like Greek to me (obviously done by people that know how to program).  Also none of the inventory systems had the functionality that I was looking for.  I'm sure if I was more versed in code I could modify the demo projects, but at this point I just want something that works. 

I took what I knew how to do and worked around my limitations in programming to make the inventory system that I wanted for this project by using bubblegum and raycast2d.  The current implementation is actually not complete as the prototype I made in a separate file has more functionally than the iteration that I put in this release.  But I felt that it was time for another release just to try and keep myself consistent.  At some point I'm sure I'll improve and be able to make a more optimal inventory system, but for now this will work (I hope/think).

I also decided to remove some of the strafing animations.  This won't really effect anything in game as I reused some of the directions and just played them in reverse.  The result was a pretty big downsizing from the previous release and if I read the console correctly the game will use half a gig less in ram.  There is also the animations for the weapons that can be downsized too.  It would be kind of time consuming and tedious, but I'm really curious to see how much fat I can trim off this project.  Although it's not really a big deal for this prototype if it's optimized or not, I might and well get use to concerning myself with how much memory I'm eating up as I will be implementing more assets in the game I have in mind after this project.

https://arkinum.itch.io/arkinums-project-magi-war

https://gamejolt.com/games/Arkinums_PMW/

Full Tilt

 

I figured it's probably a good time to make a blog update.

My employment with my day job is still in limbo as the governments of the free world continue to carry out the will of the NWO. I think its been about a month now that I've been off the day job.  Thankfully I wasn't stupid and prepared for potential loss of job and income. Still I'd be lying if I stated I wasn't a little concerned.

 

Anyway, on to game dev related stuff...

Progress on PMW is going relatively smoothly, I honestly didn't realize that I learned so much during the on and off development training that I did throughout the years.

The last update brought up the game to v3.0 (since I don't have a clear goal with this prototype I'm using whole numbers for each version). This release added quite a bit of animation, and size to the game. Full animation was added for a shotgun and machinegun, along with logic and functionality in game.  I had to create an entirely new set of animations to accommodate the different style of grip the machinegun uses.  I'll have to think of a way to lower the bulk when I work on the actual game.  For now I'm not going to worry about it as changing all those frames of animation and animation logic files in Godot would take 'forever', and I pretty much have most of the memory intense resources I need to get an MVP done.

Currently I'm working on the in game menu, which boils down to working on an inventory and other options that will need their own working systems. So far I got the options menu working with methods to end the game or go back to the main menu. Invoking the menu will also pause the game (Godot makes this easy thankfully). The loading screens needed to be reworked, but I've managed to fix the bugs and now there is good transition between the main menu and the game area.

I'm going to take a bit more time and try to get the inventory working for what I have in mind. I did find tutorials and demo projects that have solutions I could use, but what I really want is something that works like Tetris. While I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, some of the tutorials and demo projects are really not designed for learners and have a lack of commentary in the code to tell the person learning what each function or variable does. Thankfully I found a Tetris tutorial series on YouTube by a guy that goes by the handle GDScript Dude. I'm hoping to be smart enough to re-purpose this into an inventory system when I'm done doing the tutorial.

That's if for now.

Let's Go Brandon!

 

No I'm not from the USA (though I would love to move to Florida at the moment), this is just the one of the first thing that came to mind when I thought about describing my situation.

Regardless I'm making the most of my time.

So I've been busy working on the title I mentioned last time.

 

Right now it's just in a very rudimentary prototype stage and I think I went overboard with the sprite size, because the game runs like shit on my laptop <-this is a potato. I think I may have to re-size the sprites or find some way to optimize how the game runs because at this rate only people with relatively modern machines with a decent amount of power will be able to run it and that's generally a bad thing.

I've uploaded it to Itch and GameJolt, just to get use to uploading projects. Maybe somebody will even like it.

I've done some refining since I release it, but will wait till I have enough to warrant another upload.

Anyway I'm going to get back to my tutorials, that's all for now.

Here are the links should anyone coming across this blog want to try my projects out.

https://arkinum.itch.io/arkinums-project-magi-war

https://gamejolt.com/games/Arkinums_PMW/655171

When Tyranny Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty.

So it's official. I have been sent home without pay, early at that, for my 'belligerence' in failing to fill out a forum to disclose my medical information (that they had no right to ask in the first place).

As mentioned in the previous post I'll be dedicating my time to game dev.

I'll keep my eye open for group legal challenges related to this, and possibly join one or start my own. Since this is affecting a lot of people I would not be surprised if I end up grieving this as a group. It's also possible that they will back down a week or two later.

Either way I'm happy with myself for standing up for my rights.

When 99% Just Isn't Enough

Hello, it has been a while. No I'm not dead, and my (physical) health is typical.

The last two weeks have been a roller-coaster of outright threats and coercion when it comes to employment. Governments around the world have served their ultimatums to the working class. It started with the Federal workers and then oozed down into the Provencal and finally is seeping into the private. There is also a hard push to install a vax passport system, which is obviously a Trojan horse to normalize a social credit system, similar to what China has done in some localities.

While I'm not against people getting any kind of medial procedure they want, even assisted suicide. I draw the line to compulsory medical intervention of any sort, even if it's promoted to be for everyone's benefit. I have a lot to say on what I think about Vaxxines, but I don't feel like getting into it at the moment. The only thing I'll say is, that this is an outrageous overreach on personal freedoms for a threat that is less than one percent for most people, and only moderately dangerous for the older, but reasonably healthy population.

The week before last I was issued an ultimatum via email at work, take the vax or get the axe. Well, to be honest they are just threatening leave without pay as the worse and taking a compulsory workshop on the vax as the minimum. Seeing this as a blatant intrusion on my fundamental rights and freedoms, I opted for neither choice and declined to even fill out the mandatory forum, as I saw it as inappropriate to even ask people for their medical information, yet alone demand it.

I will not take the knee. If this means my dismissal, so be it.

This is a battle I will not run from. Thankfully I'm in a position to resist this tyranny. I have a small nest egg that I can fall back on and should be able to support myself for at lest 2 years, should I lose my income. I don't intend to let it get to that point and will likely work full-time on game dev and or get a part time job that is a little more open minded about the topic of disclosing personal medical information.

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In Game dev news.

Several weeks back I released an isometric tile set. 

 

It's practice art, so it's not stellar work, but I have released it for free. So you get what you get. 

 You can grab it here: https://arkinum.itch.io/isometric-grassroadcliff-2dtileset-1024x1024-by-arkinum

The last project that I was working on suffered massive idea creep and now has been shelved (that game with the redhead). So I yet again reset my goals to try and devise a simpler concept.

So I've been working on another isometric, top down action adventure. This game will contain rogue-lite, dodge & shoot mechanics and a Diablo like loot system. I've decided to just focus on the combat for now. I've got the character controller done and damage mechanics. Enemy AI will be the thing I should work on next.

My plan is to have a very basic MVP and release it on itch.io at some point. And try incremental releases for at lest the prototype.

While development is up in the air at the moment as stress related to the above mentioned and the typical lack of energy and enthusiasm when I go back to the day job had drained my will to work on something during my off days. I still feel a subtle drive to continue working on this project when I feel up to it. I suspect I'll be back at it in due time.

That's all for now.

All Hail Biden, Cheater and Traitor President Elect.

So Its finally happened, one of the worse case scenarios.

Biden cheater elect has finalized his usurpation of the seat of power. And with that, Whinnie the Pooh and the Klaus Schwab Cult have the platform and the perfect senile puppet to fuck us over once again. But with great enthusiasm this time! There was no heroic arrest of the treasonous administration or sensational event where all the citizenry, private militia groups and US military joined hands to tell the fraud Biden they would not follow his crooked party.

Fraudulent President Biden didn't waste any time tearing down all the good things Trump did in his 4 years. Canada can kiss the Keystone XL goodbye once again. The Paris accord has the US cash cow to milk off while China keeps pumping more carbon than anyone else without a care in the world. The rodent Fauci is back at his usual fear porn movie making. China will siphon more cash through the WHO now that Biden has reapplied for membership. Nation wide masks for thee but not for hypocritical politicians. Bucket loads of identity politics all-round! And a whole lot more is coming......

This may seem like a hopeless situation but I'll keep holding out a long as people are fighting. Thankfully Randy Hillier is keeping up the good fight and the whole p(l)andemic narrative is starting to crumble little by little. While this is more a Canadian initiative, I still feel this is a subtle sign that things are finally starting to swing in the other direction. Now that the fraudulent Biden administration is in they will be forced to dial back on the p(l)andemic bullshit as to not to smear Biden of the same crap paint they used to color Trump with. Things are also starting to take a turn here in Canadian politics as Castro's Bitch Son's misdeeds are now starting to be leveraged against him once again.

While this loss is catastrophic, I like to look at this like an “Empire Strikes Back” moment. We are down but not out. Now that the election is over with we can put all our focus into ending this fraudulent pandemic and then focus on its instigators and supporters.

If there is one very good thing I can say about this situation, is that a lot more people are awake now, and they are not going back to sleep anytime soon. They may have taken Trump out of the pilot seat, but now people are starting to realize what kind of cancer has been eating the prosperity of the free world for so long. Populism has been unleashed and it won't go back to sleep until the tree of liberty is vibrant once again.

Regardless of how future events play out, this is a dark day for democracy.

So the curtain fell this week on the certifying of the next American president. Beijing Biden is set to take the pilot seat on the 20^th.

Trump went though all the legal processes available only to have all his cases dropped for technical reasons.

I wouldn't call myself a Trump supporter by any means, but I do believe that he is doing his best for America and was given a really unfair portrayal by the bias, corrupt, fake news propaganda machine we call Main Stream Media.

This whole p(l)andemic has shown me all the shit that was in plain sight but was covered by a rosy sent. There is no doubt in my mind now who is committing Crimes Against Humanity.

Here in Canada we are facing a curfew in some province's, for our own good of course. It's plainly apparent that we are being herded off to our doom. The powers that be are intent on grinding us beneath their boot heels.

During Christmas break several of our dictators went to various warm vacation hot spots wile we freeze and starve during martial lockdown. There are not words to describe how appalling this is. The police seem to be mindlessly following along too.

It is apparent that our court system is either complicit or complacent in all this and we can't count on them to do right by the Constitution. The looming threat of mandatory vaccination is getting ever closer.

As the saying goes it's darkest before the dawn, and I have to say it's pretty damn dark right now. If there was a silver lining in all this, there is a rumor going around that during the massive protest on the 6^th a certain laptop was taken from the capitol building. The rumor also states that people working for/under Trump seized it.

Although it's an interesting theory, I won't be holding my breath. Even if it is true, Canada may still just do it's own thing. One thing is certain, it's very dark time for democracy.