Prismatic Maze - Halloween Update!
Hey Everybody!
Happy Halloween! Happy Steam Sale! Enjoy some Happy Ghost Hunting!
A lot has happened in the last month :)
In-Game Updates
We set up a feature to show in-game patch updates early on in the month, but it kept spitting out what looked like some kind of feedback information. We tuned that until it resolved into words.
It looks like there is some kind of conversation going on. We filtered it down to show in the game - looks like some kind of task summary?
Here is what it said a few days ago:
Experiment continues.
Our task is introduction of caution.
We teach Pigment play time.
Pigment learns grow monster, birth monster, decay.
Enter Ghost.
Ghost learns loyalty, modality, vulnerability, off, patrol, chase, eat Explorer.
Explorer learns death.
Explorer finds power, inverts relationship.
Explorer learns eat Ghost.
Ghost learns death, fear, retreat, caution.
Explorer learns liberate.
It seems to be a description of the work we did this month, only some things are out of order and it sounds like juffo-wup.
Still, it means we don't need to write our own updates, right?
Besides, we can't seem to get them to stop.
When we remove them they sort of echo back into place.
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Ghosts
Ghosts are our first moving autonomous creatures! We are so proud!
They are born from Pigments, more when maps are baked longer.
Ghosts roam their mazes in the darkness, disliking any light.
They chase and eat Explorers, who drop what what it was carrying for another to pick up later.
Luckily, another Explorer enters the maze when one dies.
Explorers can use an item to become empowered for a short time, causing Ghosts to flee or be consumed if caught.
Explorers are no longer alone.
The darkness has become dangerous.
Proceed with caution.
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SUMMARY
This month was a lot of fun.
Much more subtlety and complicated behaviors needed to be modeled for the Ghosts in their present form.
It felt like one behavior led into another until it seemed like it was shaped right.
Makes us curious as to the source of this pull.
Thanks,
Chani.
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20191031 - Halloween Update
* add in-game update log
* life updates
* advance time in Ecology Engine simulation state during PLAY
* Pigments
* teach them to act during PLAY
* teach them to Liberate area when seed is taken
* teach White Pigment to Liberate area when all tiles are seen by Explorer
* teach them to Decay when they die
* teach them to grow monsters during Growth, birthing them during PLAY
* Ghosts
* add Ghosts
* teaching them to Patrol
* teach them to Chase & Kill the Explorer
* teach them to Retreat when Explorer has Empowered effect & Die when caught
* teach them to turn-off-lights
* add Items
* Tombstone, dropped by dieing Explorer, consuming its body on pickup
* Power Pellet, conveying Empowered effect
* Ghost Essence, dropped by dieing Ghost
* minor updates
* enable selling Treasure items
* update Explorer to look brighter in dark areas
* update Maze Tools on Creating Maze menu to scale items to fit
* bug fixes
* update Merchant Buy tab to re-evaluate ability to purchase again after a purchase
* update light placement logic to avoid placing light on same tile as Door
* prevent re-triggering XRayVision from WhiteOut when white area is Liberated