Hello everyone!
This update brings a big step forward in how your animals move and interact with the world. We’ve fixed movement issues around walls and added a new, smarter, decision‑based walking system that makes behavior feel more natural and reliable.
Movement & Walls – Resolved: Animals no longer clip through walls or get stuck on corners. Collision checks and navigation around obstacles have been tightened up for consistent movement.
New Decision‑Based Movement System: Auto movement now uses pathfinding and a layered decision model to choose the best route. Interaction movement (e.g., when you direct an animal to a bowl or object) remains responsive and unchanged—still prioritizing your command.
Auto Movement (smarter navigation):
Obstacle awareness: Animals detect walls and blocked tiles, then compute a valid path around them instead of pushing forward or getting stuck.
Route selection: They evaluate multiple candidate paths and pick the shortest viable route, with fallback logic if the first attempt fails.
Micro‑adjustments: If a path becomes blocked mid‑movement (another animal, temporary object), they recalculate locally rather than restarting the whole route.
Stability first: Movement speed and turn rates are tuned to avoid jittering or zig‑zagging around tight spaces.
Interaction Movement (no change, but more reliable):
Direct commands respected: When you send an animal to interact (like a bowl), it prioritizes that target.
Collision‑safe: Even though interaction movement stays the same, it now benefits from the improved collision checks—no more slipping through walls.
Behavior tweaks:
Context‑aware decisions: Animals pause or re‑route if the target becomes temporarily unavailable, rather than forcing a bad path.
Smoother starts/stops: Acceleration and deceleration are tuned to feel natural, reducing abrupt turns or stops.
Work on the Village continues at full speed. You’ll see more visual polish and layout improvements as we build toward a cozy, lively hub.
Satisfaction feedback: We’ll collect a “movement satisfaction” rating to measure how the new system feels in real play. Your feedback will directly guide tuning.
Customization systems: Exploring pet customization options (visuals, small traits, and flair) and preparing concept art.
Village development: Ongoing improvements to paths, points of interest, and ambient life.
Your bug reports and suggestions are incredibly valuable—especially around movement edge cases and Village navigation. If you notice odd behavior (stuck paths, strange turns, or collision hiccups), please share a quick note. Screenshots or short clips help a ton.
Thank you for your support and for helping shape Tiny Paws into a cozier, smarter world. Enjoy the update and have fun with your little companions! 🐕🐈✨