Current Build/Game Programing/Code

[lonefool]

We are past the first build, and we essentially know what we want the game to eventually look like, so this is just for the discussion of the game's code/programing, as well as milestones.

[Mielle]

Files for this project are hosted on Soruceforge: https://sourceforge.net/projects/yukkuriraising/
Downloads for the project are here: Standalone, Web Version

[Mielle]

The game currently looks like this:

Sakuya wanders aimlessly, says one thing, and wanders some more. The tricky part was making everything work through the AI; nothing here is hardcoded. The save and load buttons don't do anything yet; they're just flavor for now. The little Yu will probably disappear and resurface as a player avatar sometime in the future.

I'm finally getting a grasp on concepts and the system Unity has set up. Things should start picking up soon.

[Mielle]

Looks better doesn't it? They move, they talk, there's music, and eventually they should fall asleep. It's all rather basic right now, but it's a decent base to build on and is kind of fun to stare at for a few seconds. The question is: Where do we go from here?

[lonefool]

I clicked on display images, but I don't see any images. Am I doing something wrong?

[lonefool]

It looks good so far, my only real concern is that a few seconds after opening the game 2 of the yukkuri went beyond the screen and didn't come back, and within a minute only two yukkuri remained. So I think a boundary needs to be set.

[poweryoga]

Think I mentioned this before but the upper and lower boundries are not set so the yukkuris can wander off. 

[poweryoga]

Also might be useful to start a Bug thread to officially track bugs you find!

[Mielle]

Google seems to be having problems with its documents or drive or something... is there a better way to embed pictures in one of these messages? If not, I'll just put links to them. The picture for 0.1 is here: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8unbN860ASwZ1VVU2FUbUllTk0

I was aware of Marisa going "Zoom zoom!" about 5 minutes after the release was uploaded, not so much on the others wandering off. I do agree on the bug thread; if that gets to be too much Sourceforge has a ticket system for tracking things.

On a personal note, if we don't get an artist soon I'm going to go crazy and end up making some real art. At least, art that I don't make while doodling idly and spend 5-10 minutes in paint on it...

[lonefool]

I'll ask Danogoat if they will be our artist.

[Mielle]

As it turns out, there was a weird bug with the way I was starting the AI. They would always pick a new path even if they had picked the standing AI, and would do just lovely things if they wanted to wander too. I made the pathfinding area a little bigger than the screen, put proper bounding on the yukkuri, and added some shadows for good measure. Hence, 0.1.1

[Mielle]

0.1.2 has the beginnings of food. Click anywhere on the screen to add a pile of it for now, and Yukkuri will slowly get hungry and tired as they move around. They may or may not appreciate not having any food. You can't kill them off by making them hungry yet, sorry. I also fixed the "Zoom zoom!" problem, the weird jumping text bubbles, Yukkuri face the right direction when they travel, and I went a little nuts on Marisa's sprite.

Screenshot: http://imgur.com/a8tdF

[Mielle]

0.1.7 has been uploaded. There's a couple problems with it, like Yukkuri breaking when their source of food disappears, but progress is there. The Yukkuri know the difference between sweet and regular foods now, and there's a temporary menu for choosing different foods. The brown spot in the lower left is a "toilet". Currently, all Yukkuri are perfectly trained and they don't learn or recognize anything... that will change once the baseline gets worked out.

[Mielle]

0.1.9, From the bug thread:
- The Yukkuri currently run around on a predefined range. I'm sure on larger resolutions they'll only move about in the center of the screen. The question is: do they wander back?
- Reimu's container was not positioned at 0,0,0. Simple fix, annoying oversight. It may or may not have fixed the speed problems too.
- Speech bubbles need to be more intelligent in general. I can make them a bit bigger, but the underlying cause isn't going to be fixed until there's a proper skin on them.
- Sakuya and Patchouli didn't have their "poo" set properly.

The current version has an early version of the save/load buttons. It's sort of stable... I'm not inclined to change what's done anyway. More data is saved than loaded, but the format looks something like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<YuRaisingSim>
    <Game version="0.1.9" />
    <Yukkuri>
        <Sakuya YuType="Sakuya" Nickname="Sakuya" Task="Wander" x="279.966156" y="-153.887344" z="-0.125890732" iStrength="0" iSpeed="0" iToughness="0" iEnergy="0" iScumLevel="0" iDisclipline="0" iNiceness="0" iMemory="0" iIntelligence="0" iSociability="0" age="0" hunger="0.700000048" toilet="0" bladder="0" fatigue="0.15" stress="0" health="0" damage="0" happiness="0" corruption="0" easyness="0" personality="" />
    </Yukkuri>
</YuRaisingSim>

I won't go into technical details about the saves, but there will be multiple files for items, world placement, player stats, and so on. Are there any objections to having the save in a plain xml file? I can do various things to the file, like encrypt or hide it, but it seems unnecessary to me.

I'm seeing no downloads for the web version the past few versions. Does anyone mind if I just release the standalone one?

[Mielle]

Writers, meet Yukkuri. Yukkuri, say hello to writers:

The Yukkuri can now have conversations. They aren't smart about it, mainly because there isn't much for them to talk about yet, but it is time to start making them think and act based on their nature. So far they've all been doing the same thing. Let's breathe some life into these Manjus, okay easy?

[Mielle]

Well I can see the pictures for a split second now... until their size turns to nothing. Is anyone else having this problem?
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8unbN860ASwWElYUThSSHlhVGM

[Mielle]

I've spent the past while designing a GUI, trying to split apart the features of Yukkuri like hair, face, and accessory, and finishing the conversation framework. The GUI turned out decent. It looks better on paper than it does in-game because of the lack of textures and such.

Splitting apart Yukkuri... well, it ate up a lot of my time and is the reason that there's been no updates recently. I broke the Yukkuri in so many ways... highlights include face-phasing, improper position layering, and best of all the split worked with the old code but not the new stuff. I have a few ideas on how to work with it, but it will require editing the free sprite code so it might take some time.

Conversations are done; Yukkuri now have an awareness of how they feel about the other Yukkuri when interacting with them. They may need more involved memories than an emotional piece, but we'll see. The last significant thing to round out the Yukkuri is training.

Expect something new in a day or two. I want to get some content in the game instead of all these under the hood changes.

[Marcopolo1613]

we can always push the face layers development back to when its relevant, but from a coding standpoint, it might work best to some how save the full layered image as a single one in the buffer, so you don't have to piece them all together every time. Just an idea. and its always something we can do later.

[Mielle]

Say hello Reimu!

http://imgur.com/1M12b

The background for the title is a picture I couldn't find a license on. I'm fairly certain that the author is Japanese, and it was in a location where people leave free art, so I'm not at all certain on it from a legal standpoint. There are a few more conversation snippets in this time, nothing too fantastic. The UI is different. It's still ugly.

The game is one big gaping hole right now. If no one has any objections, suggestions, or designs, I'm going to start changing this from a toy into a game.

[lonefool]

Sorry for not responding sooner I have been busy trying to find a job.

 I think that it would be a good idea to try and start turning it into the actual game if you have not already started. I want to apologize for not being much help, but I want the rest of the group to know that I am extremely grateful for everything you guys have done so far, especially you Mielle. Keep up the good work.

[Mielle]

Life intervenes, we understand. Good luck with your job search.

I've wanted to create this kind of game for awhile now. Yukkuri was an excellent outlet and I was completely prepared to create the game on my own. The fact that other people wanted to do the same makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

Here's an in-progress pic for the item shop http://imgur.com/vucjc
I have a few more designs and goals written down. Most of the information in this group has to do with how the Yukkuri work, not how the world or anything else works. I've been trying to fit some more of the puzzle together lately. Development should pick up soon easy!

[Mielle]

Tired of Deibu? Need more Marisa? No problem easy! Just pick a different Yukkuri from the shop and you're good to go!

http://i48.tinypic.com/29mw4cg.png

Now's the time for testing. I want to see what works, what doesn't, what you like, dislike, random comments... anything at all is okay. Do note that you can buy items from the store with negative money and the save format currently doesn't save items or any of the Yukkuri outside the default ones.

[Mielle]

Nothing screenshot worthy today. The Yukkuri are still boring, do all the same things... however, the game does save the Yukkuri and items now. The save format itself should be done for what exists, and the new buildings shouldn't be too hard to add. I'm thinking multiple save files should be possible in the future.

The scale of the Yukkuri themselves have changed. There may be some zoom in/out mechanics in the future.

[Mielle]

Take it easy! Or at least, that's what all of these guys tell me.

http://imgur.com/4c11D

0.2.4 fixes a bug with the inventory disappearing after you exit the shop with a save file. It also has a save file that resembles the picture. Next up: skills

[Mielle]

Hybrids and mutations have piqued my interest recently. Thus:

http://imgur.com/WBruU

This is still new and largely untested. We should be seeing Yukkuri hybrids of all kinds in the future.

[Mielle]

Bouncy bouncy! Bouncy Yukkuri!

Having Yukkuri move around by bouncing or the slower crawling marks the end of this line of development. The next line involves some of the real content - world interaction, Yukkuri relationships, and more of the simulation that the game should have.

It seems every new part requires more time and research than changing or extending the older parts. Attempting to build the world is less like a landscape and more like a puzzle. Each piece needs to fit in its place and connect to any other pieces in the area, every piece that could possibly interact with it, and most of all fit in with the feel of the game.

[Mielle]

It's been a little while. I've been busy with school and life, only managing to get a few things in here and there, but things are progressing slowly. First, I've adding a few things to the world. So far it's trees and sticks, but basework often looks poor to begin with. Zooming in and out can be done at will too.

http://imgur.com/6dn2F

I'm also working on expanding the size of the world. The yellow square is how large it used to be, compared to how it is now:

http://imgur.com/KI9te

I still think that's rather small, but it's a start. I've also got the beginning of Yukkuri making their own homes, and I hope to get a player in sometime soon.