Prototype QoL and Fixes


First off, let me say THANK YOU! to everyone who has played DELVE since its release on my birthday! Statistically, it's been one person per day! I had such a good time making this, but on release I thought there were too many rough edges left even for a prototype. This patch stabilises a couple features that felt held together with cellophane tape rather than duct tape whilst keeping the game in the same stage of production. A lot of work has gone into it and while most of it is invisible, here are some notable and/or noticeable changes! 

PLAYER EXPERIENCE

* You can finally hold buttons and keys to move multiple steps!
* Complete room transition rework! You're now placed at the expected entrance/exit of the new room, rather than one grid square next to it. Additionally, if a room transition is more than one grid square wide or tall, your current relevant x or y position is retained when transfering to a new room.

VISUAL

* The player sprite now sports a more clear shade of blue outside the dungeon. If you have some kind of colour-vision deficiency, it should hopefully stand out better! Palette tuning is ongoing.
* Blended the animation states for the Grand Bell to prevent it from snapping to a still.
* Tilesets have been split up and reworked, adding more visual interest and identity to many rooms. Several rooms have also been remodeled to more clearly reveal their purpose. This is an ongoing process closely tied to making the actual meat of the dungeon!

BACKEND

* Level separation. Unnamed sections A and B, as well as the crypt, have been separated from the main level to ensure faster load-times and less confusing room transitions.
* Object state-saving. A more reliable assurance that chests, doors, levers and keys are toggled as activated and acquired in between switching levels.

There's a lot left to add and adjust, with sound at the forefront, and I'm looking forward to it. If I have broken any part of the experience that went unnoticed during tests, let me know!

Files

delve_v02.zip Play in browser
Feb 18, 2023

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