The MiniLog - Our Solemn Golem

Hi everybody. This new build introduces the golem. A small enemy which packs a mighty, albeit clumsy punch.

• Download Arkavite [0.13.1-A]
  

They can be found waddling around grassy areas of the map. It has a simple attack. First it spins up, and then it throws its hands at you.

As has been done in other games, this could work well as an ambush type which pretends to be a regular rock until approached. That is one method, but it’s also cute to see them stomping about so maybe I’ll do a little of both.

Character Creator

Some changes to the character creator which are of note -- Boon, Bane, Item & Race scrolling are no longer linked. The system will now scroll back to where you were in these menus when you switch between them. These scrollable menus differed from the others, in that they are actually a single menu running off the CYOA system, hence a little extra code was necessary.

Now for something a little more interesting! Players may now export and share their trait loadouts with others. I’ve added this “Build String” system which is accessible from the pause menu. All you have to do is copy the output build string and share. Then someone can take this string, input it into the “Input Build String” field, and hit “Load Input Build String”. 

I’d love to see the challenge builds people create and share once the game is a little more fleshed out.

TLoH

I've added Save Slots to play mode. You may now set build names and descriptions. You can also use the same build string function as the character creator, to export a string of choices which can be shared with others. Note the build string currently only includes selected choices.

Load ‘er Up Some More

I’ve made a fix/addition to the save/load process. This is just something I overlooked last update. You may now load a save from the death screen. The menus should all display properly now, and you shouldn’t get stuck in slow motion or respawn with no health.

Additional Fixes

    • Fixed: Cloudflare issues which would sometimes block updater requests
    • Fixed: Cloudflare issues preventing access to the TLoH network
    • Fixed: Minor typo in moella and peka
    • Fixed: Menu ESC bug where Pressing [Esc] key while transformation event was on screen would take you out of the inventory, but the transformation text will stay in the foreground.
    • Fixed: Broken tags on the stats page.
    • Fixed: Issues with the Game Over > Load Game screen.

Coming Up

The next update is due next weekend. We’re going to check off the UX focused combat, interaction and dungeon changes which didn’t make it in these last few weeks. Something i'd also like to try implementing is a soft lock-on system. Essentially, the player would snap to face the closest enemy they could lock onto when performing melee but not locked on anything. It’s a light change which should make landing hits just a little more intuitive (like the proximity pickup system). Another desperate change we could do with are in place sword attack animations. This would at the very least apply to the first swing in the chain.

Very soon I'd like to introduce equipment stats. This applies to both weapons and armor. As discussed in previous logs, the new weapons were introduced in anticipation of this, but before we get into the thick of it, I'd like to introduce some new outfit sets as well. There is just one minor obstacle. Before we can move forward with the new outfits, there are some outstanding changes to the player body which have to be made.

Since the last big beautiful body update I've received a tonne of feedback for areas where you'd like to see more customization and an improvement in quality. Things like body textures, an improved thigh gap for larger hips, a resolution to the same face syndrome our poor characters currently suffer from.

In general, my goal with this new body is to:

1. Simplify outfit creation and body modularity (to avoid clipping) by splitting the body into well-defined parts. I’ve been experimenting with this these past few months, but the body regions hadn’t been properly formalized until now. 

2. Improve the shape of the body and introduce more morph options, (including face morphs for expressions and body morphs for pregnancy/inflation). Larger more expressive eyes. I also want to address the unattractive thigh gap issue present in the current player model and improve the range of sexual dimorphism.

3. Implement new tech. Ear jiggle, clothing physics, better booba jiggle and tail physical animations. Bring back peen physics add clit models and improve how these modelled members fit onto the body as it oftentimes looks like they’re floating. 

I'd like this to be the last major rework to the character base model, and modularity plays a key role. Should I ever need to remodel a particular sector of the body, it can be dealt with independently.

I have been working on this these past couple weeks. The player base is already modelled and ready to be dressed. I addition to the new base I have staged new hair options (long, short, masculine and feminine), some ikaware tentacle styles (finally), several new outfit sets, and I am considering ear options for the Magu and Ika races.

The new expressions will come in handy whenever the player is harmed or feeling certain emotions... And yes, that's right! Teeth! I will be giving Ikaware some good ol' shark like chompers. Kitsukana and Nyaatsu will recieve fangs, as will any vampires.

As the prospective outfits offer a higher degree of consistency and quality, some of the old won’t be carried over. I can at very least confirm the Sky Punk set will be updated to the new body. Any existing underwear and prosthesis will be getting a rework.

I’m aiming to introduce the new body and these customizations throughout version 0.14-A (eta. a few weeks from now) and 0.15-A. I’ll probably be implementing equipment stats at the same time.

With all that being said thank you all so much for joining me. I hope you’re excited as I am for what’s to come. Be sure to let me know your thoughts down below! I’ll see you next week~