Today I’d like to share some news about how the project has been evolving.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on the idea of creating your own ship, which has now been implemented and is available in the DEMO with the latest update.
Originally, the project only had pre-made ship models and builds. They were different from each other, and each had its own unique and expensive upgrade path that could eventually make it almost overpowered.
Those ships are still in the game today.
But as the project developed, I started thinking that simply increasing damage, HP, and other numbers wasn’t enough. I wanted to be able to add new modules to the ships as well.
And, of course, this had to affect not only the stats, but the visuals too.
At that point, I created the first version of the Shipyard, where you could assemble your own ship from a set of pre-made modules.
It wasn’t bad... but I couldn’t stop there. :)
During the almost endless testing, I simply started wanting to fly something that looked different. :)
So I began thinking about creating a full-fledged ship Constructor, where you could not only attach new modules to your ship, but also fully customize it and create your own design from scratch.
I started with a small prototype, trying to connect the idea with the existing game mechanics.
And immediately ran into a problem.
The pre-made ships are single, monolithic entities. But creating a ship from scratch means that its modules have to exist as separate objects, and each of them has to work according to its own rules.
It wasn’t quite as simple as I first imagined. :)))))
Once the overall system started working correctly, I moved on to the visuals.
At first, I made several abstract, colorful models so I could synchronize the rendering between the Constructor and the battlefield. With some effort, I managed to get it working.
The only problem was that the ship started looking like a Christmas tree, which didn’t fit the game’s overall visual language at all. :)
So I eventually came to the conclusion that it would be better to create the initial blueprint in a single color, and then later allow each individual part or element to be painted in any color you want.
And now the entire foundation is ready and available in the DEMO.
Players can create their own ship and continue developing it throughout a run.
For now, the Constructor includes only the basic modules (well, almost), and some of them can be discovered during the game.
With future updates, I plan to expand the pool of available parts, including decorative elements.
I’ll also most likely create a modular damage system. Constructor ships are already calculated section by section, so individual parts of a ship already exist as more than just visual elements. It seems like a natural next step to make damage work with them individually as well.
I think that’s where I’ll stop for today. :)
Thank you all, and have a great day.