Trying to slide back into action. I've been working on various things lately. All of them being rather relevant but they don't bring me closer to my goals just yet.

Direct3D11 support

I've implemented a large part of the Direct3D11 renderer (currently I have only D3D9 supported fully), learning more about the new APIs and refactoring the engine on the way. This research & set of modifications will also help me implement support for other rendering APIs when it becomes necessary.

This work also includes Windows Phone support, for which I managed to compile a part of the engine.

None of this is finished, though - it was mostly done to see how easy it would be to get it done. So far the biggest issue seems to be with logistics for libraries on multiple platforms, not the coding work itself.

Decals / projectors

I've planned the development of the necessary systems to implement both decals and projectors (dynamic decals). Not quite done but getting close. I'll be using these for shadows and environment decoration. Currently the character appears to be floating in air, making the scene look less understandable. And some variety is in order, that's what the decals are going to be for.

Virtual file system

This is a way to implement loading from multiple folders at the same time. To keep things simple, currently "multiple" means "two". This is generally used to have one "common" folder and many "project" folders, one for each project, so that all of them could reuse the common files. In this case, I was going to use the structure for my LD32 game, which might just miss the deadline, and for good reasons.

However, this is also going to help me quickly prototype all kinds of things with the engine, in a minimal environment, without having to keep all the tests in game source, commented away, in case I might need them anytime soon (or not so soon).

I consider this highly necessary as I've discovered issues with me communicating the vision of my game both via the game itself and the advertising media. Until this is resolved (by working on these issues in projects of a slightly smaller scale), it would appear that working on bigger projects would be much closer to gambling and thus a waste of time.

The game that wasn't...

I was making a stealth/hacking game for LD32. Yet, as always, I was focusing on mechanics, finishing a list of things to implement, disregarding the theatrical side of it, filling it with whatever filler content I can produce. Luckily, the graphics had some thoughts put into it. Though, not enough.

For example, I have no sneaking animation. Nothing expressive enough to make player movement feel pleasant. No "serious walking" animation for the enemies, with straight legs and all. Enjoyment can't be sketched out with guidelines and filler content, all sorts of little bits of fun and theatrics have to be put here and there to make it work.

And that's exactly what I want to do now. But not in this game, it does not seem to have the necessary appeal to continue development on it for myself. It's time to go back to TACStrike, and finally complete the prototype.

 

Oh, and one more thing...

Music

Got myself a MIDI keyboard. Trying to regain some of my playing skills while experimenting with improvization, making various synths and making noise with other virtual instruments. Just over 12 hours ago tested the M1 Le synth. It has lots of good sounds I'm not sure how they even produced. They sound just right, close to perfection. Someone's clearly spent years on these, yet I got them almost for free (with the MIDI keyboard). It's mind-blowing.

Yet it makes me feel uneasy, the effort people put into the things I have founded my creations on. I can't stop wishing I used them better. Makes sleeping at night harder.

 

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If you think I can keep up the development, and if you're interested in what's going to be made here, please visit the Steam Greenlight page and vote for the game. It would mean a lot to me.