The Conjurer's Curse

Duckocide

So this project is/has been my introduction and learning of Godot Engine (4+). Yes, I'm another making the leap from U***y. So it's all mostly in C#. It's not been the smoothest ride moving over.

Anyway, hop you like what you see.

It is and has been quite an "adventure" getting this to run. I'm using C# Task threading to build the dungeon (That cloudy tunnel sequence). Biggest headache has been a well known "gotcha" bug where the your C# code in Visual Studio is rolled back by the Godot editor (a lot of effort lost at times, but I'm wise to it and I read the bug hopefully cured in 4.3).

Video ->

MikeCL

Looks promising! How far in development are you? Any demo planned?

Duckocide

MikeCL Yes. I do want to do demo for this game. Whilst the first release will have a campaign to it, It is an "arcade" style twin stick controller gameplay so good for a demo dungeon or two.

Alas, this is being developed in my spare time now so it's difficult to make quick progress. That said, I've got the core of the background threaded dungeon generator working. UI and inventory sort of established and am steadily adding creatures and puzzle constructs.

kuligs2

Is this gonna be multiplayer game?

Duckocide

kuligs2 I hope so. Sticking with single player at the moment but designing UI and internals with multiplayer in mind.

Duckocide

Another update video. Smitten with the audio streaming classes in Godot at the moment.

kuligs2

Duckocide Slimes are nice! but that explosion is too deep. Maybe fire cracker type explosions are better suited?

Duckocide

kuligs2 Agreed

Duckocide

So noisy!

xyz

Duckocide Something should be done about that lantern. The stick heavily competes for attention with the sword in the overall character silhouette, and the lantern creates a really nasty visual tangent with the sword.

The other visual thing that bothers me is the lack of any visual accents in the environment.

Duckocide

xyz

Something should be done about that lantern. The stick heavily competes for attention with the sword in the overall character silhouette, and the lantern creates a really nasty visual tangent with the sword.

Yep, annoys me as well. Player animation needs some work but there are several types with many animations therein. The "environment" is just a lot of box rooms and corridors at the moment. As I implement each of the room types (there are over 30 types easily from halls to armouries to kitchens, etc etc.), the evolution of procedural geometry, decoration, puzzles and such will generate uniqueness. I've got a lot of "props" to go in that will improve things for sure. Focus is trying to lay foundations down for dungeon, levels and rooms therein (easier when it's just boxes for the moment 🙂

REVBENT

neat looking game, the wall/floor texture is very detailed.
the environment has a good look so far. I agree with XYZ that its similar/emptyish as you move thru the world. I think if the lantern "did" more it would feel better without adding too many objects. If you could keep the brightness around the character as it is but make the walls and distant objects darker until you and lanturn illuminate the area, it would create more color depth and keep your eye from following the walls/halls/angles.

kuligs2

REVBENT nah, i dont think this game would need something like amnesia with the lighting. If you want to keep latern on the player char, maybe extend it over the head somehow, away from the main wep

Duckocide

REVBENT

I think if the lantern "did" more it would feel better without adding too many objects. If you could keep the brightness around the character as it is but make the walls and distant objects darker until you and lanturn illuminate the area, it would create more color depth and keep your eye from following the walls/halls/angles.

I've been tweaking (learning!) the lighting systems in Godot of late. Finally realised that lower attenuation means greater "light" and more dramatic fall off. So, I'll use this to help the lantern "light". Also, the dungeon is lit procedurally with some "ambient" light prefabs. These are colourful (coz I love colourful arcade style games) and so very artificial in throwing "blobs" of light colour around. As it's procedural with a hint of randomisation and grouping, some rooms are invariably better than others but I think for ambient lights it works well.

Duckocide

Hi All. So, it's been a while but thanks for all the feedback. It is all taken onboard and helps stoke the procrastination fires of gamedev :^D

A short video to hopefully show some more progress. I've now moved to 4.3 which threw a few curve balls in the mix for unpicking. I have to say as well my multithreading needs tuning since the version change. I'm getting a lot of audio crackle now (I moved to the new playlist and interactive 3d audio streams and ditched my bespoke coded versions of). Anyway, as ever, I post a video from time to time on twitter (X):

xyz

Duckocide You should completely remove the lantern. If you can't live without a light source being visible at that position then at least eliminate the thick stick it's hanged onto. Make the light source into something that just floats in the air, like a jar of magical fireflies or a luminescent albino imp.