next »

[nuno]

Nice one. I really like the growing animation - like how the last segment "seeks' a new position until a new section pops out of it,

here's a better one

[Prodigga]

Sweeeeet! is there a way to make it so that it isn't an upside down triangle? Maybe lower the chance of branching on the side branches?

[nuno]

Sweeeeet! is there a way to make it so that it isn't an upside down triangle? Maybe lower the chance of branching on the side branches?

it all depends on the genetics of the seed. so this one is supposed to be a bit like an upside down triangle. but yes, I'll increase a bit more the randomness

[nuno]

Spent a few hours today just tweaking the tree generation to avoid huge performance hits. With only 2 trees, I was getting 20 FPS Mind you, each leaf has its own individual object... which might seem crazy, but I need it for a proper autumn

right now I'm back at 60fps, with a few drops to 50 in more intense operations

[nuno]

So I finally set the release date for September 2014.
I know this might sound strange as there is so few "apparent" progress and screenies, but believe me that a lot of work has been done in the "behind the scenes" aspects of the game

In 2-3 weeks time, lots of visible stuff should start appearing!

[nuno]

got some texturing working, better organic growth and faster moving clouds(OMG!)

[Impmaster]

lovin' your sexy menu/main screen fonts and stuff.

[nuno]

new clouds and in-game "time clock"

[sidbarnhoorn]

Looks very nice! Beautiful and interesting. :-)

[mirrorfish]

This is looking very nice. I also like these meditative game concepts. Keep it up!

[nuno]

damn it.. got 2 weeks away from my dev flow, and now its so hard to get back

anyway, moved forward in a few things today.. the leaves are now having a proper life cycle, and falling in autumn
(sorry, cant record a proper video here)





full size here: http://imgur.com/a/uvO6G#4V1qsCH

[nuno]

struggling to beat inertia and working on getting the atmosphere looking pleasant across seasons

http://imgur.com/a/MuWnw

[nuno]

two more and I'm calling it a day! :D





full res here: http://imgur.com/a/zLHEK

[nuno]

Been a bit lazy on the my task to provide development news, so here's an update!

I had pretty much reached a point where I could say 90% of the game design was done, I had a somewhat solid idea of how the game would start, go and "end" (actually it never ends).

But I like to keep my mind open, because I felt those missing 10% could be rather special. And so it happened that new ideas appeared out of the blues and those new ideas where somehow incompatible with the old ones. So after pondering for a good while on it, I decided to throw out a few of the old game design ideas and am now in the process of remaking it.



In practical terms, what does it mean and what is actually changing in the game?

Well, the original idea was to have Autumn generate a virtually unlimited number of "worlds", each of them would have its own scenery and random quests/challenges. While you play each world, you collect prana which can then be spent on acquiring spiritual teachings

Spirituality and learning is the main topic of the game, so I wanted it to be even more present, than just collecting text here and there.

So, let me introduce you the I-Ching(The Book of Changes), one of humanity's most mysterious, long-lived and most widely used book, from mystics, to psychologists. Some say it is a divination book, others say it has coded the fabric of all possible experiences and outcomes, others yet relate it to quantum physics or string theory. The fact is, this 2500 year old chinese book, has a lot of wisdom in it, and I want to include that in Autumn.

Before the I-Ching is consulted, an intention/question/problem is framed in the mind of the person, and then a certain process is carried out so that one of the 64-hexagrams of the book will be selected. The interpretation of each hexagram will show to the person certain ideas and bring awareness to sides of life which he or she should pay attention to.

I thought this could be a great way to get level generation going. So before pressing "play" you will be asked to also set your intention, upon which the game will be based on one of those 64-hexagrams, and the gameplay will follow its dictates.

This is still a rough sketch of how it will happen as I still need to sort out many details. Keep tuned

[nuno]

Just added Autumn on Steam Greenlight Concepts  (not for greenlight votes).
If you are in Steam, check it out here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=260934524

[nuno]

It's been a crazy week since the last devlog update, many new ideas came and went, while I tried to find a good way to include some of them to improve Autumn.

I spent time away from coding so I could just focus on the idea and design of the game itself, and I think things are a bit clearer for now. At least clear enough that I can get back to code with some goals in sight.

 

I'll have to spend some time updating my own internal game design doc and also the public description of what is Autumn. Until then, I'll leave you with this small bits:

 

Each level starts mostly empty, and the player starts with one tree.

Each tree increases the "playable area" of the game, so that the player can do more things in the world, and advance in the level.

 

Trees (and leaves) follow a natural cycle, they give seeds, they age and die. Not taking proper care and just worrying in advancing will probably end up in loosing trees, which means loosing your source of energy that allows you to get the most important things (spiritual items for the chest).

 

As a tree matures and its health increases, its area of influence also increases. The reverse happens when its health is down.

 

Trees will occasionally give seeds, which can be collected in the chest, and planted later (even in other levels). The player can also sacrifice/push(not yet defined) a tree to produce a seed, reducing its health and spending Prana.

 

There will be several tree species, each one has its own unique characteristics like: amount of leaves, growth size, average age, deciduous or falling leaves, flowering or not, rate of seeds, and climate adaptability (each level will have its own type of climate) - this is a very work-in-progress aspect.

 

Certain objects can also be found in the levels, objects can be have certain uses or also provide help in certain tasks. (WIP)

 

There will be small quests/puzzles to solve in the levels, which can result in bonus energy or gifts of spiritual items to the chest. (WIP)

[nuno]

Got working on flowering trees and flowering cycles. Also, a different kind of tree leaves to add some more variety.
I'll work on the tree structure and branch texture later.. I know it sucks at the moment :/





Also, bumping progress to 20% :D

[nuno]

so much important code to do... and here I am working on weather effects!!     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O2sbf3c8Ao

[nuno]

As I got many people interested in the rain effects, I wrote a blog post on how I achieved it:

http://www.bitoutsidethebox.com/simulating-dynamic-weather-effects/

[PeteH]

I like your color choices. The art style itself looks like it needs a bit of development, it does look painterly but the trees don't look quite right and the ground a bit flat.

Concept is cool, looking forward to see where this goes keep it up!