The Knight's Path

 

Section 14 - Paundraka

 

Yo I can upload images again!!!!

 Working on the deep house.

I know. What you're seeing makes no sense.

But then again, the deep house makes no sense.

Working Towards Release

I'm working towards a probable release date. For the first time in almost 11 years I can see it.

Blogspot won't allow me to post screenshots anymore, so this is awesome.

It feels like the internet is slowly falling apart ... 

Anyway ... there's a lot of work being done right now. Altogether I'm missing two boss encounters and shit ton of QA and testing.

And I hope to set up a small publishing company in order to get some kind of legal protection before I open up the steam page.

Either way, progress is being made. I'm hoping to post more frequently again.

S.M

Blogspot Is Causing Issues

Blogspot has been acting up over the last couple of months. It won't let me post or upload images and sends me into a Google account login spiral instead, asking me to repeatedly login again, despite the fact that I'm already logged in. I hope I can post updates again soon.

I've been tirelessly working since June last year and will soon send out more updates.

Update June

I've finished the Knight's boss encounter and section 09, then started working on Paundraka (the final boss fight of chapter 01) but ran into a wall. Eventually I decided to prioritize the orphanage inside the monastery, because apart from the main shadow encounters it is also a "must-have" in a potential 2025 release of chapter 01, because it's the player's starting area.

It is incredibly difficult to create the set dressing for such a large area. Especially because I set high standards that evolved while I was watching several playthroughs by streamer Threedogg ( https://www.twitch.tv/threedogg). He is amazing when it comes to lore and analyzing setdressing. I remember I used to watch him for hours play PT, Silent Hill, or Darkwood and he would move towards every single item and put it into lore context, imagining stories and background events based on the simple placement of a specific item.

In our daily lives, each item around us didn't just fall out of the sky. There's a story behind every pen, every note, every cup of coffee. How did it get there? Why is at this location and not over there?

These questions haunt me. I try to do my best to give even every-day items in the monastery environment meaning ... but it is incredibly complex and difficult. 

There's a game of checkers on the table. Who is playing against who? And who won? If a grown up was playing against a kid, would they sit on the same size chair? Would the kid's chair be different? Would the table be lower if it was located in an area reserved for kids to play board games? What is the saturation of the color of the board? It probably has been used for many years and the monastery does not have a lot of money. So it should look a bit faded. But what about the pieces? They are of a different material, than the board itself? Would they lose color as well?

All of this used to be a lot easier when I was working on the forest environment. Yes, there are also rules when it comes to foliage. Medium trees will surround the largest mother tree and saplings will surround the medium tree. Reeds only grow at shore points where nitrogen accumulates to support their growth. Ferns grow better in half-shade, while flowers prefer direct sunlight. Then there's a certain element of chaos in everything ... depending on which types of trees died in this area, different nutrients would accumulate in the soil. But it can't really be predicted, so you just use the UE4 brush with foliage randomization over a large area and then work with what you've got.

Finding this balance, between consistency and work efficiency is incredibly difficult. But once again: We're making progress!

Update May - %''$)&`%($)%'####!!!!!

Finally making some slow progress again. I can't bring into words the amount of distractions and bullshit that haunted me over the last weeks. Did a full rework of section 09 and I'm playtesting again.

Section 09 is now the location in which the rooks attempted their first construction efforts. They learned to build monuments and structures in the name of the king, but sadly most of them were left abandoned in this forsaken place. 

I have a major issue right now: My debug log and to do list is too long and not prioritized. During gameplay I noticed a bunch of things, that impacted my enjoyment but they don't even appear on the list or only some of them do.

A new mindset is required in which I prioritize based on "enjoyment impact".

During the last couple of weeks my creativity and overall ability to let myself "fall into the world" took a major hit. I'm slowly regenerating again and the original plan still stands. I know which milestones to hit and what to do next. But many of these tasks require a clear mind and strong problem solving skills, and my mind muscles are tired. 

From experience I know that the key is to simply do "something". Even if it's just 5 minutes of playtesting. Over time, these intervals become longer and longer until one day I'll find myself in a 10 hour coding session again. But the road back is never easy and the distractions and life commitments don't just disappear. 

Patience. Slow progress. Calm mind. Low ambitions. No expectations. And room for a deep dive when the right moment arises.

This is key.