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[BleakProspects]

3 VBOS per chunk. Tiles, grass, and water. 1 VBO per kind of object.

[Paul Jeffries]

Looking incredible.  The way that some of the dwarf sprites seem to be tilted over looks really weird to me, though.  Are they meant to be swaying about in a drunken stupor or is it some kind of perspective thing?

[BleakProspects]

Looking incredible.  The way that some of the dwarf sprites seem to be tilted over looks really weird to me, though.  Are they meant to be swaying about in a drunken stupor or is it some kind of perspective thing?

The sprites are billboards which are always rotated to face the camera. It's just an optical illusion caused by the billboard not lining up with where we'd expect the dwarf to be if he were a real 3D model in the environment. If the camera angle is anything other than straight to the side or at a isometric-ish angle the sprites are going to look weird when they're near the edge of the screen.

[SolarLune]

The sprites are billboards which are always rotated to face the camera. It's just an optical illusion caused by the billboard not lining up with where we'd expect the dwarf to be if he were a real 3D model in the environment. If the camera angle is anything other than straight to the side or at a isometric-ish angle the sprites are going to look weird when they're near the edge of the screen.

You could try rotating the sprites manually to face the angle from the camera to the world (or world to camera).

EDIT: P.S. Game continues to look awesome.

[Dom2D]

The new art looks real good!

[Quarry]

So long since any updates

[BleakProspects]

So long since any updates

Midterms. Also I'm doing some low-level stuff that doesn't warrant screenshots. I realized that I've been making a huge performance error this whole time: I've been assuming chunks can be of any size (ie, they can change).

Since I haven't had a need for this yet, I'm enforcing now that all chunks be the same size. This allows me to vastly speed up most things in the game, since I no longer have to query an octree to figure out which chunk I'm in. Instead, going from world coordinates to a voxel is now theoretically a constant-time operation.

Unfortunately, this is a major change to the engine, so I'm dealing with a lot of annoying bugs.

[jmcmorris]

Been following this since you started it. Looking great!

Unfortunately, this is a major change to the engine, so I'm dealing with a lot of annoying bugs.

I recently went through a similar change and had dozens of bugs and continued to have related bugs pop up for awhile. You have my sympathy. Good luck!

[Pineapple]

don't worry bleak you still have my love

[BleakProspects]

Hey guys, I am going to make a website for this game soon, but I need a name! I can't decide what to choose What follows is a brain fart of names:

• DIG
• Dorf
• Mountain Men
• Mole Men
• Anvils
• Saga of the Small
• Mountain Hall
• Song of the Hills
• Children of Stone
• Stonemen
• Picks and Hammers
• Merry Midgets
• Runes
• Ore and Industry
• Dwarves vs. Goblins
• The Founders

Also, I just learned some *OTHER* Df/Minecraft hybrid called "Timber and Stone" made $88,000 on kickstarter. Good for them!

[beetleking22]

Imo Mole Men sounds pretty good. Its like a Megaman, Supermario, Owlboy. Simple name but easy to remember.

[Pineapple]

"Bedrock"?

[Seiseki]

Molemen sounds like actual molemen.. 

Pick and Hammer or Hammers and Picks could be really cool, if you made a suitable logotype.
Maybe even some funny retro posters in soviet propaganda style could be used.
Because I really think you need to come up with something to set your game apart.

What is the game world like? The background setting?
It doesn't seem to be mythical fantasy, but more like a semi-modern fantasy world. (those helmets)
How much focus are there on the actual Dwarves?
Are there going to be a specific goal in the game, something story based?

What about some lighter names with a modern touch?

Dwarves at Work, Dwarves and Co. Dwarf Inc, Beards & Brothers..

It's really hard to come up with something without any unique gameplay or story element tying it together.

[Paul Jeffries]

Of those names my favourite is probably 'The Founders' but to be honest none of them really grab me.

How about making Dwarfs interesting again by drawing on their original mythological roots?  'Dweorg Fortress'?  or, more seriously:

'Flesh of Ymir'

(Or something like that)

[Seiseki]

I don't think the art style really supports that kind of heavy/serious mythological approach..
Which I think is a conscious decision.

[BleakProspects]

Molemen sounds like actual molemen..  

Pick and Hammer or Hammers and Picks could be really cool, if you made a suitable logotype.
Maybe even some funny retro posters in soviet propaganda style could be used.
Because I really think you need to come up with something to set your game apart.

What is the game world like? The background setting?
It doesn't seem to be mythical fantasy, but more like a semi-modern fantasy world. (those helmets)
How much focus are there on the actual Dwarves?
Are there going to be a specific goal in the game, something story based?

What about some lighter names with a modern touch?

Dwarves at Work, Dwarves and Co. Dwarf Inc, Beards & Brothers..

It's really hard to come up with something without any unique gameplay or story element tying it together.

You know, these are all really good points. When I'm thinking about the setting of this game, I'm imagining a weird pseudo-fantasy parody thing sort of like Discworld that's very lighthearted. I love the idea of a dwarf "company" actually, though the idea behind the game was to have your little guys survive hardships. Perhaps they're colonizing an unexplored area of the world on a company charter That would be neat.

EDIT: Actually yes, I'm rubber ducking here, and I really like that direction. It's like what would happen to the future of a medieval fantasy world. Flintlock rifles, coal-powered things, wizards as scientists. A dwarf company has sent you out to explore and colonize a new land and send back precious gold and mana rock. In return they will send you more colonists. But the land is inhabited by hostile creatures.

[Seiseki]

That seems like a really great and new approach to the entire genre mixup!
I love the sound of it! Really exciting stuff!

It opens up a lot of new things to base the name on.

Flintlock Frontier, Flintlock & Co. Flintlock Ventures.
Beard Corp, Graybeard Ventures.

You could even use these names for companies in the game, possibly rivals.

[Pineapple]

"Bedrock Company"

[Seiseki]

Remember, whatever name you choose you might find yourself forced to follow up on it's implications/expectations.
Which might not necessarily be a bad thing, since you'll be making the game feel more consistent, theme-wise.

[BleakProspects]

This is excellent. I think I'm just going to call it


"DwarfCorp"
Mine. Build. Explore. Survive.

Dwarfcorp LLC. has been expanding to new areas of the world since 1453. There is no mountain too high, nor climate too inhospitable, nor country too goblin-infested for our brave dwarves to tame. We are the anvil of dwarven industry! (DwarfCorp is a proud affiliate of Greybeard and Sons)