TCP Devlog - #6 (Crowd NPC System, Fisheye Lens effect, World building)

Map Design and Smart Crowd NPC system
Hey everyone! Time to pull back the curtain a little and share what I've been heads-down on lately.

Maps have been taking up most of my brain, so that's what I want to talk about today.

My whole vision for this game is a world that genuinely feels alive — and that starts with the maps. I couldn't stand the idea of beautiful environments that just... sit there. So I've been putting a lot of love into the small stuff. Flickering lights. Animated billboards. Screens that actually play things. It's the kind of detail most people won't consciously notice, but they'd definitely feel if it wasn't there.

The bigger piece of the puzzle though? NPCs.

If you've played 0.03, you've probably noticed things feel a little sparse. That's something I'm actively fixing with what I'm calling the Smart Crowd NPC system. I've been quietly building this out in the background, and I'm pretty excited about where it's heading.

The idea is that every map gets filled with NPCs that actually do things — they walk around, make decisions, and interact with the environment on their own. I've also built a POI (Point of Interest) system that ties into it, so NPCs can stop at a vending machine, queue up for ice cream, hang around a concert, or just... have a conversation with each other. Nothing scripted. Just a world going about its day.

That's the dream, anyway. Can't wait for you guys to actually see it in action.

Fish Eye Lens Effect
On a completely different note — I've been messing around with a fisheye lens effect on some scenes and I am obsessed. Took me a while to get the hang of creating the effect in Daz3d but I'm getting pretty good at it.

There's something about the way it bends perspective that feels so cinematic and unsettling! I love it, looks erotic in a weird way. What do you guys think? Fair warning: I am deep in my fisheye era right now. You'll probably be seeing more of it. 😄

Anyhow, this has been a grind. Working during the day, then a couple of hours every night building this thing. Some nights I'm basically running on fumes. But those late hours are genuinely my favorite part of the day. Coding something new, writing a scene, finishing a piece of art and crafting the music— so many things to do but it's super fun.

I just hope the effort shows. I want to make something that actually means something to this community — however small and scrappy we are right now.

Thank you for being here. Seriously. It means a lot.

Onwards — still very much on track to build the most awesome lewd game in the universe. 🚀

— Bajie