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[The_Observer]

I've been sharing this screenshot around so I'm placing it here as well.
Also it's been some time since we've done a comprehensive blogpost (like these). Is there anything you'd like us to write about?

[Pixelologist]

I think in this latest screenshot the UI elements are a bit too small. Maybe try to update with some more clarity or contrast? I really like this zoomed out view and having that huge sea creature so close makes me think you would need to fight it in some way? You've really come a long way with this game.

[io3 creations]

When I first saw the image, I thought I was looking at a large ship wreckage at the bottom of the sea.  Seeing something similar to the Titanic in size would be interesting (especially with the chimneys sticking out that would need to be avoided). 

Seeing airplanes at a sunken airport would give a surreal feeling of "those should be up in the sky, flying ... not down there below).

[JobLeonard]

> Is there anything you'd like us to write about?

Whenever I see the designs for animals trapped in trash, I feel like I want to help them. Is there any such mechanic in the game or is it perhaps planned?

[gullinbursti]

Amazing art, amazing concept! Can't wait for more!

[The_Observer]

I think in this latest screenshot the UI elements are a bit too small. Maybe try to update with some more clarity or contrast? I really like this zoomed out view and having that huge sea creature so close makes me think you would need to fight it in some way? You've really come a long way with this game.

UI is something that will be iterated upon later. Right now we're focusing on getting everything in. Any particular parts that are too small? Because we were thinking about making some items smaller.

<snip>
When I first saw the image, I thought I was looking at a large ship wreckage at the bottom of the sea.  Seeing something similar to the Titanic in size would be interesting (especially with the chimneys sticking out that would need to be avoided). 

Seeing airplanes at a sunken airport would give a surreal feeling of "those should be up in the sky, flying ... not down there below).

Exactly! That's the feeling we want to give to the player, that of a forgotten, sunken world. We just started working on that so there's a lot of work left for wazeau and Juwdah. 
Wazeau did write about it here btw. Cool suggestions like the airport are always welcome as well!

> Is there anything you'd like us to write about?

Whenever I see the designs for animals trapped in trash, I feel like I want to help them. Is there any such mechanic in the game or is it perhaps planned?

We'd like to implement such a mechanic, but we still need to prototype and flesh it out further. We can definitely write about that once it's in a more concrete form.

Amazing art, amazing concept! Can't wait for more!

Thanks for the compliments! 

[jctwood]

The sense of scale in that screenshot is absolutely wonderful!

[Juwdah]

The sense of scale in that screenshot is absolutely wonderful!

Thanks!
I made a gif showing it a bit better than the screenshot, slowly starting to get a world under the water.

[oxrock]

Does that giant sea monster swim around and do stuff? Cause that'd be awesome. Would be cool if he occasionally swam in a circle while pathing around and started a whirlpool or something.

[Juwdah]

Does that giant sea monster swim around and do stuff? Cause that'd be awesome. Would be cool if he occasionally swam in a circle while pathing around and started a whirlpool or something.

Hehe, yeah the whale will have gameplay associated with him (all creatures, actually). We're still testing out different ideas/plans so I'll explain it a bit better in the near future.

[wazeau]

Our screenshotsaturday of this week! As you saw in earlier posts, we're working on the underwater world that you'll see under your town! This is a mockup of the coral reefs.

[mirrorfish]

Yeah this looks amazing guys, love the cheery, sunlit apocalypse vibe and water theme. Very interested to try this out.

[DrHogan]

I have been following this game on twitter since several months. It grows more fascinating with each update. I think it's something that I will really really enjoy playing!

[Juwdah]

@mirrorfish: Thanks man! I could eat my shirt sometimes though, getting that vibe with a small team is usually making sacrifices here and there.

@DrHogan: I was always wondering, because we share lots of different things, is it an easy progress to follow? Is there anything you'd like to see a gif from? As devs we easily lose touch on what we have shared and blatantly obvious things we haven't.

Here's some tests with an animation system that detects collision with the water:

[JobLeonard]

Is this the first time you share a gif of the characters diving or jumping into the water? The animation looks really nice!

[Juwdah]

Is this the first time you share a gif of the characters diving or jumping into the water? The animation looks really nice!

Yeah, I think it is actually.
We had a talented animator here for a couple of months and she made a lot of tests trying to get some fun, fitting to the style, quirky animations in there, one those is the gif

[lolo]

This is one relaxing looking game I want to play! There will be a sandbox mode?

[io3 creations]

Catching up time!

I also got a superlong but fishy export script that exports all models seperately, but I'm not sure if it's that great.
I'm just a beginner at scripting, so if you find a blender--->unity tool or script, fire away

If there are no major issues, then that's "good enough".

I exported a few models with skeleton/armature and it seemed like that the models stayed "upright" (rather than as someone put it falling on it's face). Right now I'm mainly focusing on creating procedurally animating characters based on a few keyframes so I only need to local bone rotations.  For that I create the animations in Blender and get the keyframes after export the animation.

We'll see later if I need a different approach for creating/eporting the models.


@Juwdah
I remembered another animation that is sort of sea related.   The style is very different, but in terms of ideas/inspiration: could be useful to create an intro scene for "How we ended up here".  Or expanding the world as: Flotsam: The Musical! 
The Tale of How

Exactly! That's the feeling we want to give to the player, that of a forgotten, sunken world. We just started working on that so there's a lot of work left for wazeau and Juwdah. 
Wazeau did write about it here btw. Cool suggestions like the airport are always welcome as well!

Thanks for the link.  That answered my question regarding suggestions i.e. is the game world set on Earth or closer to an alternate fantasy reality.  Since it's closer but not exactly "reality",
Regardless, a sunken amusement would still work.  In terms of design, the ferris wheel, bumper cars and various "attraction shacks" are very similar repeating elements so  A roller coaster might take a bit more time though.  In terms of gameplay, there could a "RNG" chance: the ferris wheel and bumper cars could give a reasonably predictable amount of resources, but the luck factor at the "attraction shacks" would be higher.  You might find something valuable or not.  Or it could be a spectrum: i.e. the chance of finding something of small value is higher than that of great value.
Also, since the game is closer to reality, I wonder if having certain buildings that look similarish-but-not-the-same as real building could work.  I'm imagining a tower that looks similar to the Eiffel tower or the Colosseum, etc.


Regarding conventions: other than the banner, do you use other game related props?

Leilani's Island at the  Norwich Gaming Festival 2017 had some nice props
https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=46289.msg1338350#msg1338350

Maybe, you could have something inflatable (boat or small pool with only the sides inflated) and people would get an "immersive" experience.

The downside might be safety considerations as it could be a "tripping hazard".   In that case, the idea could work as a "sharable funny pic" if you set it up in the office:
"This is how we develop Flotsam"    Of course, with a few similar summer clothing props ... such as a straw hat.

[Juwdah]

This is one relaxing looking game I want to play! There will be a sandbox mode?

Thanks!
Well the game never truly ends, so in a way it's always in "sandbox mode"
Unless you mean something else?

Catching up time!

@Juwdah
I remembered another animation that is sort of sea related.   The style is very different, but in terms of ideas/inspiration: could be useful to create an intro scene for "How we ended up here".  Or expanding the world as: Flotsam: The Musical! 
The Tale of How

That animation is blissfully weird! I really like how they did the waves.
Telling the story is something to consider but atm we want to keep what happened a "mystery", so that the player himself can fill in the blanks. We will give hints as to how we see it with things like graffiti decals on above-water points of interest.

Regarding conventions: other than the banner, do you use other game related props?

Leilani's Island at the  Norwich Gaming Festival 2017 had some nice props
https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=46289.msg1338350#msg1338350

Maybe, you could have something inflatable (boat or small pool with only the sides inflated) and people would get an "immersive" experience.

The downside might be safety considerations as it could be a "tripping hazard".   In that case, the idea could work as a "sharable funny pic" if you set it up in the office:
"This is how we develop Flotsam"    Of course, with a few similar summer clothing props ... such as a straw hat.

For now we only have the conventional banner, stickers, etc.
We were thinking of unique stuff to use that portrays the game (except trash, that'd be a downer to play next to) and have quite a few ideas.
Things like your boat idea seem really cool, but I'm afraid it might repel certain people who would want to try the game in a relaxed environment. I prefer the props to be low-key.

We could start taking painted 3D-prints with us, which could actually be interesting even for outsiders to check out.

[io3 creations]

Yeah, the 3d prints would be good.

Oh, forgot to mention.  Regarding post topics, I'd be interested in a "progress report".  Something along the lines of what has been implemented, what remains to do.  Possibly, what has changed from the beginning - e.g. no longer applicable.