This Week (and the previous) in the Forest! #168-169!

YO FOLKS! I owe you a two-fer so here we go!

Let's start with A Word from Vixel!

9/10 weekly update:

Hey floofs!! <3 Last week I added a cool new critter follow system so Scarlett can hop along behind Rascal! :O We'll be using this system in the next part of Act 3, and a few other places later.

I also continued playtesting the data layer code updates from the last couple months. There's still some stuff acting funky, so I'll keep squashing remaining issues this week!

Made some progress coding a new tool for Carrot to streamline part of his workflow for writing & testing critter dialogue! For now it'll be a developer tool, but later we're hoping to expand and share it since it'd be useful for folks helping with language translation. (It'll let the user replay and edit critter conversation text to see how it looks in the TFOL dialogue box.) Aiming to finish the dev tool version this week so it's usable as we continue Act 3.

Boop you soon! ^^

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9/17 weekly update:

Hey floofs, short update from me!

Last week I reworked some problem code for the data layer updates I finished recently. Most of the issues I'm finding in playtesting are due to developer error, where I'm incorrectly connecting game scripts to the code that handles Conditions and Rules. I redesigned a few areas and made it way harder for me to mess it up now. ^^

Also finished a prototype of the dialogue tool! Carrot can start using this to visualize text animations and critter portraits as he continues writing Act 3. We can flesh this tool out further in the coming weeks.

This week I'm working on Act 3 story scripting! And I'll continue my playtesting/debug of the data layer scripts. ^^

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My side's been A MESS! Absolute mess I tell you lmao.

So the past couple weeks I've been having super funky computer issues! Long story short my Mobo's been crapping out, and this was basically the last straw. So a lot of time was spent on trouble shooting and swapping stuff out.

BUT, things are finally gucci. I got a new mobo and upgraded my CPU/RAM while I was at it! Goodbye 5950x, hello 7950x!

Also newer mobos come with GPU support brackets??? THANK GOD. That was the start of my last mobo crapping out. The main PCI-E slot died because of the weight of the gpu slowly bent it. Goodbye rogstrix x570, hello asrock steel legend x670! Also 10 usbs in the back. YO.

Now I'm just waiting on a CPU fan mounting kit for my noctua. I've been running a crappy fan on it meanwhile.

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OK ASIDE FROM THAT, I did the last lil' bits of Language workflow figuring out! Have a lil peek!

OoOOo!

We tested on Unity and we are ABSOLUTELY in the clear, so the full process is a go!

Part of my todo's recently have been fully prepping the dialogue for the next update. That includes the typical portraiting. but it ALSO includes this now:

• Text mark up! Now that we can support it, it's super fun and adds a lot of character to have pauses, animations, altered text etc!

• Translation of unique language! It's not needed often, but when it is needed, it's another step to worry about after the OG writing.

Portraiting and the mark up was basically me looking at a glossary of portraits/markups, and copy pasting for every line. EVERY LINE. This next update probably has like, a couple hundred lines of dialogue. More or less. So the copy pasting is a huge bitch. AND pinky things like "CTRL" or "SHIFT" aggravate my tendonitis - SO I NEEDED A SOLUTION!

 ENTER THE STREAM DECK!

I had this laying around for random shit here and there, usually for when I was streaming.

But it's the perfect tool for something like this!

So now I can type something, <slow>and then afterward go back and add the mark up</slow>!

For this set up, a quick push will be the opening command, and a push-and-hold will do the closing! This has sped shit up A TON! And it's a lot funner doing the dialogue finalizing now xD Ergonomics, Fun, Speed, Convenience - big W right here!

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I also revamped Mabel's mom!

Her OG design had some fun ideas, but the shapes and colors weren't working for me. Plus it became SUPER busy with the tattoos.

Now she's a lot more streamlined, and using the same design ideas (nature accessories. Jewelry for important figures. Tattoo cultural significance.) So I had to redo her portraits, and redo her animated sprite.

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OK that's it for now! I've got some fun 3D stuff in the works, and I still owe y'all a Judy part 2. So back to work for me!

Take care y'all <3!