End of Month Update

It's been a little over a month since I announced that I had decided to abandon Quest. So, what's the progress? Unfortunately, not a lot, while simultaneously, a lot. 

I've spent the last month studying the basics of Godot 4.0. To my surprise, it just released and is not only a fantastic update to Godot 3.0, but also, because of its newness, hasn't got a lot of user generated tutorials for it. Womp... Womp...

That being said, it's still has a wealth of documentation and a vibrant community supporting it. I've been frustrated by it and also excited by it numerous times and ways. I have to keep reminding myself that moving to a new engine was never gonna be easy and also, it's only been a month. Still, with that said, I'm pretty happy with where this project could go.

Not gonna lie, for a while there, I was feeling pretty down about the learning curve of a new engine. In the last week, though, I've overcome some serious hurdles and have felt that spark of excitement reignite. I am fully confident Godot can make the game I want to make and the more I use it the more I'll be able to implement what I want from it.

Enough wishy-washy whateverisms. What have I actually accomplished? Well, not much. I learned what atlas-textures are and that Godot's signal <> connection <> function system is weird but actually very useful. Godot also rejects global value systems, so that immediately raised both my eyebrows. Godot encourages more creative ways of saving global data, that is to say, player save data. This isn't a bad thing, but it is wholly different from anything I've ever dealt with before. I'm very used to a game engine handling save data without my input. Godot allows for so much freedom, that includes how the developer handles player save data.

So, that means, again, a steep learning curve. I'll be able to create the version safe game I want to, where a player can migrate their save file from an older version to a newer version, but it means I need some time to learn how best to write that system, because there is no built-in mechanism for that in Godot.

Godot is barebones, but also very free in that respect.

So, again.... What have I actually been able to accomplish? Well, I've been able to create a simulation of a text adventure where the player can move around a map by clicking on icons within a minimap. I also have a skeleton of an inventory and player menu system. I will share some screenshots of it, but I suspect that bigger question on everyone's mind is, when will there be, at the very least a tech demo.

Here's where I have to admit that I very quickly realized that I would not be able to transpose Quest script to pretty much any other language. So, what that means, is I'm essentially starting over from scratch. Everything from dialogue systems, to buy/sell traders, to the battle system, to inventory systems, stat systems, leveling algorithms, giant awareness/affection, level design, vigor, stamina, just... everything.

I have to rebuild everything from scratch in the new language and engine I'm working in. Some things will still transfer over, such as physical art, like backgrounds and enemy spirtes, music, and text, but everything else about how the game functions needs to be rewritten.

This is daunting, I won't lie, but it's also sort of a great opportunity to start over and use what Godot offers as a way to improve vastly upon what I was usually limited upon.

So, yeah, that's the end of month update. I've chosen Godot 4 as my game engine of choice. I am rebuilding basically everything. I already have seen some wonderful potential with Godot that makes me excited. I hope you stick with me.

It's also worth noting I don't expect a tech demo within the very least 2 months from now. I'm not gonna release a tech demo that isn't up to my own standards of atleast showcasing something more worthwhile than a screen transition.

I'll attach some images of the work I've done, but keep in mind, almost all of this is placeholder while I work out code function and experiment with Godot 4.

Got questions? Ask them. I will be more than happy to answer them.