Over the last month I've been working on a mix of content and systems for the resources in the ship. I've managed to stick to a schedule of implementing features and then moving on - and so while the pictures you're seeing are still temporary placeholders, the functionality and playability of the game is progressing rapidly!
What's New this Month?
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, although please note that most of the graphics are placeholder artwork and will be polished up before release.
I've been trying to avoid complicated interface elements and have everything in-game where possible, but concluded that for some things it's not going to be possible. Countdown/progress bars for minigames is one of these, and here's a first pass at how it looks:
The progress bar appears when something goes wrong, and tells you how long you have to fix it before you face more dire consequences. I'm also adding in-game cues, such as when this piece of machinery fails:
When you hover over items in the ship, you get a small pop-up that tells you what resources it requires to use, or what you'll get by using it. Hovering over a pot of tea will give you this:
At the top of the screen, you can see what items your character currently has:
To wrap up this month's progress, I've been working on some more co-operative minigames. I've got 3 more to implement before the first story arc is complete!
Watch this Space
In the upcoming month I'll be working on yet more minigames, ironing out the bugs in the resource system, and hopefully adding more to the start and end of the game. I'm hoping to have a completely playable story arc in January.
Don't forget to follow @philipbuchanan on Twitter for more regular updates and development news!
