Progress Post

9/2/2024

Started officially working on chunky story content. However, i had to add a few more features to make creating narrative maps a bit more managable.

Added this cause One of the campaign maps i was working on got overwritten by accident.
These backups will only save the .json file (even for zip files) and will be stored in the appdata “AutoBackup” folder (next to the “MyMaps” folder).
You can set for how long the interval for autobackups should be (minimum: 1 minute, maximum 60 minutes). The default is 2 minutes.
It feels a little more secure to work on stuff with this feature.

Added this because i usually use a string to store the current state of the campaign when i make games in other engines.
Added string DO events:
- SetString
- CheckAndTriggerLogic
- OpenStringInputWindow
Added string ON events:
- OnStringInputWindow_Submit
- OnStringEquals
- OnStringEquals_CaseSensitive
- OnStringContains
- OnStringStartsWith
- OnStringEndsWith

The event system is very basic and “hardcoded”. The goal is to keep it as dumbed down as possible to let players wire things up as quickly as possible. Instead of adding a logical operator entity, i added alternative “_false” events for each logic event.

For example…
- OnClick -> AddToCounter(< amountToAdd >)
- OnClick -> LoadMap(< mapToLoad >)

Since events will be a thing now… level loading is simply done with OnClick -> LoadMap(mapName)
Reasons why doors got removed: not useful anymore and looked out of place.
Maps look better if you make your own door… you can use your own sound, you own animation, your own preview.
Old Doors will only load in old maps. (to not break old maps)

Added a paint mode dropdown:
- All Face Properties
- Materials Only
- Colors Only
- UVs Only
This makes texturing and fixing specific areas easier.

This was needed now that you can have object hierchies.
You can switch orientation modes for the transform arrows
- Positioning: Center/Pivot
- Orientation: Global/Local

Added this because i needed a way to organize a way to load-in content as per-need basis.
- For example. On Christmas day -> Load decorations around the map.
Things loaded additively will not be saved onto the current opened map (when you press save).
You can wire events together from seperate maps
- (make sure you’re currently editing the base map you want to save).
Added “LoadMap_Additive” event (for gameplay reasons).
Added “OpenMap Additive” menu option.
- (mostly used for planning out placement of things and/or wiring stuff together)

Useful when you want to use the exact same build in multiple maps, or to easily manage a repeated build without having to copy/paste each time.
Events:
- LoadMap
- ClearMap
- OnMapLoad (waits for the content to load)

Added this purely to make it possible for the player to return back and be oriented in the correct door.
- Players have to set up this logic on their own though…

This is DIFFERENT from general global events.
Added this to make managing events between additive maps easier.
For example… When using a “train” in a bunch of maps… and you want each map to handle the “TrainDoorClosed” event differently. You can do…
1. OnGlobalEvent(“TrainDoorClosed”) -> PlayAudio()
2. OnPathReachEnd -> PopGlobalEvent(“TrainDoorClosed”)

When using “save as…” the file explorer will now automatically fill-in the current map name.
Audiosources:
- Added fade-in and fade-out parameters to PlayAudio/StopAudio events.
- Added SetPitch event
Added path event: PlayOnPath_Additive_RotationOnly_Reverse
Adjusted video player resolution texture
- The texture will now be the same resolution of the video. Added this to make low res pixel art animations watchable.
You can now use snapping increments when rotating.

Story development started way later than i planned… but the good news is actual levels and art are being made. (As opposed to sketches and planning)
Scrapped the old prologue and remade it entirely with the new level editor.

[Future chapters preview]