//============= Update #5 Is here! ===================//
Another week and another few lines of code completed. Was a rather slow week due to prepping for my kiddos first days in school so not a whole lot of fun features were completed, but I'll give a rundown anyhow.
With the setup of some basic AI and collision completed I decided it was time to set up a proper entity manager and hierarchy system to manage the lifetimes of all my entities in each level. Entities consist of all persistent objects hanging around in the level. So far these only include characters, enemies, neutrals and summons, but later on I plan to add support for smashables/throwables as well.
With the basic setup now complete, going forward should be a breeze and it brings me one step closer to having a working demo of the first level complete. This actually leads me into some more design I hadn't planned for. How do I handle levels?
There are number of ways to I've considered doing this, although I havn't landed on one single decision yet.
-I've thought about using just massive levels, they tend to be simple, easy on the art and very easy to script. Player only goes forward and handles each event as they come. Also this tends to be much more resource heavy as I need to account for the entire level. (Think turtles in time, battletoads, etc)
-On the more dynamic side, I thought of doing each level as a series of 'rooms'. Although this does break immersion on outdoor levels, this greatly reduces the need for resources in memory as I can switch out what I need when loading that specific room. Also when it comes to scripting it would be a bit more difficult then massive levels, but still fairly easy.
-Of course there's always the idea of taking the previous two and mashing them together. Make it so outside is one long level and have branching rooms the player can go down. Increases complexity in almost every direction but adds more variety for the player.
-Branch away from only having a forward moving game, could I make the levels open explorable? Allow the player to walk back and forth, exploring their surroundings and looking for any secrets/alternative routes? At this point am I going too far down the road of scope creep and expecting too much for this game?
I still have a lot to decide, if you have any comments or ideas, don't be afraid to share. I always love hearing new ideas!
Meet two more new enemies for the first level. The SJW (Social Justice Warrior) and the White Knight!
Watch out! While they look relatively weak and harmless, these buggers tend to travel in packs and work in numbers. 1-2 might be no problem for any hero to handle, but should they call on for more help from supporters, their numbers can quickly escalate to unmanageable amounts.
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