next »

[RealScaniX]

Nice progress here, "Eye Warden" is creepy, my cup of coffee.

Thanks! 

[RealScaniX]

The "Water tower" can now move and open the other sarcophagus. This is done after the gear puzzle is solved and you are able to move the lever to the other side.
 
The movement of the pipe and the sarcophagus lid parts is using my SinusShake() to make it look a bit stuttery and more interesting. I could use the animator a lot more, but I prefer to do most of the animations per code as it is... my nature.
 
I'm sloooowly getting towards finishing the tomb, so it can be tested by friends. 
 

[JobLeonard]

I'm starting to wonder if I have to skip this devlog so that I won't be spoiled of all the surprised before the game comes out

[RealScaniX]

I'm starting to wonder if I have to skip this devlog so that I won't be spoiled of all the surprised before the game comes out

Yes, I'm afraid this is not spoiler free. My idea behind this is that pretty much none of the actual players will have read this devlog or seen my tweets. There will be a few things that I will NOT post, but I need enough material to get people or influencers interested.
And when the game finally comes out, you will have forgotten this already. Xd

PS: I'd put those things into a spoiler tag, but there does not seem to be one here.

[vdapps]

I'm sure that there'll be story behind which will definitely not be spoiled. This game asks for it.

[RealScaniX]

I'm sure that there'll be story behind which will definitely not be spoiled. This game asks for it.

Yes, trying my best to not spoil the story.

[JobLeonard]

Well, I feel like I barely have a clue so you're doing a good job at that so far! Keep it up! 

[Thaumaturge]

Those animations look really good--that stuttering and shaking is rather effective, I do think! And the sounds (granted that I was listening on my laptop speakers) seem good too, and support the actions well, I feel. ^_^

Regarding spoilers... my feeling is that a devlog is a behind-the-scenes experience; it's quite likely to be ill-advised for those looking to go in entirely blind.

[RealScaniX]

Well, I feel like I barely have a clue so you're doing a good job at that so far! Keep it up! 

lol, good to know.
 

Those animations look really good--that stuttering and shaking is rather effective, I do think! And the sounds (granted that I was listening on my laptop speakers) seem good too, and support the actions well, I feel. ^_^

Thank you.

Regarding spoilers... my feeling is that a devlog is a behind-the-scenes experience; it's quite likely to be ill-advised for those looking to go in entirely blind.

Yes, that is true. I just need to be careful to not be like those movie trailers that already contain all the best scenes. I will hide some details and scenes, so will have to actually play it to see them.

[JobLeonard]

Just for the record: I wasn't complaining about the spoiler potential, just thinking openly about what would be the best choice for me if I want to properly enjoy this game once it's done!

[RealScaniX]

Just for the record: I wasn't complaining about the spoiler potential, just thinking openly about what would be the best choice for me if I want to properly enjoy this game once it's done!

No, worries. That's what I thought. Still, it's a difficult task to decide what to show to get people interested and what to hide for people that might actually play it (if any ^^).

[Thaumaturge]

Yes, that is true. I just need to be careful to not be like those movie trailers that already contain all the best scenes. I will hide some details and scenes, so will have to actually play it to see them.

That does make sense, indeed! And I'm interested to see what details do go unrevealed. ^_^

No, worries. That's what I thought. Still, it's a difficult task to decide what to show to get people interested and what to hide for people that might actually play it (if any ^^).

I very much sympathise with this. ^^;

[RealScaniX]

Finally, I'm getting some shit done... pun intended. :D
 
This is the so called "Box of Shame" and it's the weird humor part of the tomb that I have mentioned years ago in this thread.
 
It's a box at the end of a corridor that you can (slowly) push to the backside of the gears puzzle, which will trigger a mechanism to auto correct the gears positions. You won't get the same score for doing it this way (and even more if you do it AFTER solving the puzzle including an achievement), but for players who are stuck on the puzzle it's a way to go on in a less immersion breaking way than selecting "skip" from a menu.
 
I've finished the whole sequence including sound yesterday, so I will post a video of it soon, too.
"Let's do the sounds while I drink my morning coffee! It's an easy relaxing task to look through the assets and find fitting sounds." I said. It took hours... and I'm not even confident in it.
 
Ah, well. Here it is in all its glory, the "Box of Shame":
(works best if you put it on repeat)
 

[Thaumaturge]

That is an interesting approach to a puzzle-skip! I'm curious to see how players respond to it! ^_^

[JobLeonard]

I am a bit worried what kind of sounds that box makes

[RealScaniX]

I am a bit worried what kind of sounds that box makes

I've been thinking about a squishy sound when attaching it to the puzzle, but I was able to suppress the urge. ^^

[Jayesh]

"Let's do the sounds while I drink my morning coffee! It's an easy relaxing task to look through the assets and find fitting sounds." I said. It took hours... and I'm not even confident in it.

Yeah, sound effects take lot of time. I'm curious to know what software do you use? I generally use Audacity and bfxr.

[RealScaniX]

"Let's do the sounds while I drink my morning coffee! It's an easy relaxing task to look through the assets and find fitting sounds." I said. It took hours... and I'm not even confident in it.

Yeah, sound effects take lot of time. I'm curious to know what software do you use? I generally use Audacity and bfxr.

Ah, bfxr. At first I didn't recognize that, but I had a brief look at this in the past, too. I've never used it, though. I think it is better suited for retro/8-bit-ish games? Could have used it for Spaß Taxi, I guess.
I'm using Audacity to modify or mix together sounds from several sound asset packs that I have collected over the time.
Usually I only have atomic sounds and play and modify (pitch, volume) them according to the movement by code. In rare cases I am mixing together a complete animation sequence in Audacity for stuff that has a fixed behaviour if it's easier for me.

[RealScaniX]

I've added a "dirt overlay" to the shader used in the tomb.
 
I like to soften the hardness of the #voxel patterns here & there with effects like these (or a subtle normal map).
It also adds another layer of detail that helps to reduce the repetitiveness.
 
In combination with the normal manipulation of objects (e.g. for a "rounder" shading of a ball) I think this gives my voxel game a nicer look.
 

[Thaumaturge]

I take it that this is seen in the various pixel-shades on the surfaces? If so, then indeed, I think that it provides a nice layer of detail that helps to make the surfaces feel a little more detailed, and thus place feel a bit more "real". ^_^