LyLaD May Update
To recap from the start of the year, since it has been awhile:
The game systems are being remade in a new project to cut down on deprecated stuff, bad scripts, junk, etc. The results have been very promising.
Currently re-implemented before this update were these key systems:
Lilya's Parameters (attributes, skills, stats like max HP/MP, other stats like weight and fullness)
Character creation (choosing starting attribute values, major/minor skills, skill point allocation)
Quick menu for interacting with the map
Ledger menu for viewing Lilya's parameters (+more in the future)
General layout and functionality of maps (dots, moving between dots, opening up paths between dots)
What has been newly re-implemented or expanded upon since the last update:
Dot interactions are effectively complete. This means basic interactions like picking something up or opening a chest/door, as well as complex actions like lockpicking, inspecting, disabling traps, etc.
Restrictions like locks, inspect checks, and other skill checks are set up. As in a door can have a lock attached that must be unlocked before the door can be opened. There also other checks like needing an item or set of items
Traps, which were never really set up in the version before this course change, have been completed. These will trigger on designated interactions with a dot, or just in general. There is also functionality to detect when you will trigger a trap Lilya is already aware of. They can tinkered with to disable them if they are physical, or dispelled if they are magical in nature.
Stealth. Though rudimentary currently because I want it to be based on the enemies you are trying to sneak by, who aren't set up yet, the functionality is there to passively execute stealth checks while sneaking when about to trigger any encounter. This makes it so virtually any encounter set up I make in a map can also naturally be bypassed via stealth, rather than needing to manually set up that functionality like in the previous form it took.
As for why these are systems unto themselves, which I feel like I should explain since it may be confusing without gameplay, it's to make map creation and editing very quick and painless while also enabling a slew of interactions that don't need to be manually accounted for. When I was making maps without this kind of framework, it 'worked' but was basically a house of cards that was difficult to safely edit and nothing was standardized in any way. For the depth and breadth of interaction I want to create in this game, these frameworks enable standardized interactions in a form that is easy to use and edit.
Spawning content on dots. Sets up the groundwork for random events, or time-sensitive events. As in a trap that may not be in the same spot in every playthrough. Or an NPC who only shows up under specific conditions.
Minor detail: There is a new element to the clock UI, below it, shown in the second image that shows some useful contextual information about your placement on the map. If there are (non-hidden) enemies present, it will show two dots instead of one and start flashing, so you don't need to remember if there are enemies lurking nearby from text descriptions. When you are sneaking, it will be greyed out. Also when you are not 'fully on' a dot and can't interact with it yet, usually caused by backing out of a dot that Lilya knows will trigger a trap, the ring will be hollow.
Item dropping, pick up, and containers. I acquired a plugin that creates and tracks containers that can hold items, and tweaked it to fit the game (showing encumbrance, and some other improvements to the UI). The item dropping from the previous version was a little ramshackle and clunky, basically being a looping choice prompt rather than an actual menu. The version now, seen in the first image, resembles an inventory and has item categories and everything. This can also be used for things like chests, where previously that would basically just be opening a chest and immediately getting all of the contents I wanted you to receive, you now get to pick and choose. That in turn also means I get to be more liberal with what I put in chests. Since encumbrance is important, there will be a storage service you can use in the game to contain any excess items you want to keep and access later.
In-game time tracking and states. Traversing a map, interactions, and resting pass the time, which is reflected in the clock UI. In-game time is used to track durations of states and when they expire. Status menu is set up and shows tooltips to reveal their specific effects and magnitude. Inspecting a parameter in the ledger will also show what statuses are affecting it. This is now roughly up to par with the functionality implemented in the former version. It took quite a while to implement back then but the whole framework was re-implemented in about a week this time around, so re-implementation is speeding up nicely.
What remains to be reimplemented:
Curses and curse appraisal and dispelling forking off of states. Curse scenes.
This should be relatively straight forward. Scenes can basically be ported over.
Eating food, tracking fullness and bloat.
Both were very old systems that were made early on, and will be remade much better and sensibly.
Weight gain and reactions to weight gain.
Same as above, simple work.
Food and potion addiction and temptation, potion side effects.
The original system was a bit of a mess, but knowing better what I want out of it now should make it easy to recreate, and it will also be easy to port over side effect scenes.
Combat mechanics, enemy behavior and moves. Lilya's own weapons, moves, and spells.
This will probably be quite complicated as I have some bigger ideas for how I want enemies to behave, and I also want to reconsider Lilya's movesets and possibly simplify them a bit.
Perks
Mechanically simple, a menu to see their effects and requirements and pick and choose them may take a bit.
Various graphics like Lilya's sprites and face displays during dialogue, NPC sprites
Straightforward until areas where new art is needed.
A variety of items and other tools.
Also straightforward coming after everything else.
What else comes before the demo:
NPC interactions and services. Learning and asking about topics. Shops, appraisal/dispelling services, healing services, storage services.
Lilya expressions, system I want to implement to dynamically alter Lilya's expressions based on a variety of influences such as composure, shame, fullness/bloat, hypnosis, flinching. I want to make it so rather than calling on a specific face I can input an emotion for a scene and have her react accordingly while also reflecting these other parameters.
Art for the remainder of Lilya's sprites and weight tiers.
A few other minor systems and details like how random encounters will work, learning spells, counterspells and generic physical and magical traps, other graphics or visuals, etc.
Development pace this month was very fast and satisfactory, but I'm not satisfied with my art output for obvious reasons and still have a lot of things to get back to. There will probably not be any updates to the project next month as I want to really focus on art again. But I still intend to get some drawing done this last week of May, because I no longer think it's viable to have 'break months' in my current real life situation.
