Dev Log August 31 2014
Implementing the inventory
Since the inventory is something better shown then told we have a video for you!We're experimenting with different styles for documenting our progress so please tell us what you think!
Filling in the Wiki
We decided to start building a comprehensive Wiki that we intend to make available when the game enter the Early Access stage!
There you will be able to find all the features that are included in the game and detailed information all the juicy things we will be implementing.
The Wiki is not ready yet and will be changed SEVERAL times before the EA stage and probably lots more after that so, we want to have a solid base before we make it available to everyone, but fear not, because it WILL be available!
Main Character
So we finally started making the character you will be playing in Shrooms World, and we decided to make it a Girl!
Since the beginning that we're going for something different and the character is no different, and well, girls deserve a chance for survival too!
We are going for a blend between realistic proportions and fantastic cartoony mood so we had a bit of tinkering to do!
The final model is finished but it's still missing the final textures, rigging and whatnot. She's also missing a kind of important thing, her name! We thought of either Jane or Eve, but what do you guys think? Do you prefer Jane, Eve or do you have a better name for her? Let us know!
Animal Design
Plants and Fungi are awesome, but a world would look empty if there were no wild life crawling around, so we are starting to focus a bit on the fauna on Shrooms!
We're starting with the toads so we knocked up some concepts of the Shroom Toad.
In Shrooms all animals will live in their respective homes, for example, felines will have Dens, Birds will have Nests and Toads will have Burrows. Bellow are some of our concepts for the Toad Burrows!
Designing the Skill Tree
So, we started tackling the problem first on paper, then jumped to the double computer screen and when that failed well, you can see the picture bellow...
And yes, that escalated quickly. The thing was that we wanted to give the most complete crafting experience to the players, while staying true to the world and foreign feeling of the world! And suddenly skills started crawling out of the wood work...
So we decided to start compressing and grouping skills, so a skill that allowed to you to make a gas mask, that used to be tier 5, meaning it needed at least 5 skills learned to unlock, it now a tier 3 skill. It's one of those times when Less is More!
So we ended up with three basic skills, that you can improve the quality by doing things related to those skills. Some skills, you can improve by crafting stuff, others by harvesting resources or other useful things, and some of them will even need you to fight and defeat animals in order to improve, but most of them will allow you to study something new in the world like a strange mushroom that you never knew what it was for, and studying is the key to learning new crafting recipes and pick a few “free” quality points!
After 8 ( technically 10) versions, we reached something that we're happy with, although it will probably change a couple more times! Bellow is the Version 8 of the Skill Tree.
The Crafting Experience
Most of the team loves crafting and survival games, and well, the CRAFTING part is paramount to the experience, because it will affect how you interact with the world and most the decisions that the player takes.
So we established a few guide rules :
The constructs and items made should feel natural – No machine guns made out of metal bars with an hammer.
Should be something that a survivor could learn – No rocket-fueled ore furnaces
The Player should have input in the crafting - No pressing a button and puff!
A crafting system could work even without these rules, but in the old saying “ There are many like it, but this one is mine!”
There are many ways to do a crafting system, and this is the way we chose!
We will be implementing the crafting system in the coming months so please do try it when it comes out!
Bellow some of the prototypes and concepts that we made to help illustrate the thought process.
The next image illustrates how the shelter should be build.
The player will first need to place the blueprint. When the blueprint is placed, only the initial materials will appear, meaning that the player must add the material in the correct sequence in order to finish the item. After all, when you build a home, you don't start with the roof!
(Please click and image to go to our image gallery and then click "view original" to view the animated .gif, since it does not work here! )
Been following your game for a while and really excited to see how things are progressing so well! But I don't think you really need to lower your game's image, your professionalism, and under estimate your audience's maturity by advertising "side-boob" as a selling feature of this update post. I love everything you guys have achieved so far, but really, as an adult and guy, I don't think there's any need to ask me to name a naked girl. I don't think you guys needed to stoop to link-baiting to get me to read your content.
Keep up the great work but could do without the obvious baiting for clicks.
Hello :) Thank you for believing in us and following our work! ( would love to see a name to thank :( )
I really think you're right! But please let me assure you that the point of the "side-boob" joke, was just that, a small joke! It was never a selling feature lol If you notice the frog and the girl in one of the images you will see that its really just a joke :D We don't even have a marketing guy :P ( Ye that can be bad but oh well, we will need to learn it too!)
So if we somehow offended and made you think something bad with that joke, let me apologize!
We hope to hear from you in the next updates!
Best Regards,
Pedro
I thought side boob was funny, nothing wrong with a little low brow humour.