Devlog 10

Changes

• Added 6 Nodes
  • Added 3 Generator Nodes
  • Added 3 Upgrade Nodes
• Implemented handling of locked/invisible nodes
  • Locked nodes now won’t be able to be bought unless the parent node is bought at least once
  • Nodes behind a locked node are invisible until the locked node is bought

Notes

This is fun! I’m working on the game mechanics and I’m not running into a lot of issues. All my bugs (except one) were caught pretty early on, so its a win in my book :]

That brings me to the one bug, the bane of my existence… For some bizarre reason, clicking on my nodes doesn’t buy them regularly. Sometimes i need to click many many times, and in the log it doesn’t even register that I clicked the nodes! Maybe it has something to do with the epsilon value which i use to distinguish between dragging the screen and selecting a node, which currently evaluates epsilon before the mouseup event, so maybe i can switch it around and it’ll work. maybe…

other than that I’m pretty happy with how it’s turning out. I am a bit worried about making textures, though, since they all look like some weird corporate/ai generated logo because i’m not good enough at art / graphic design

Devlog 9

Changes

• Completed Node Info Box
  • Header
  • Description for the Node
  • Effect, basically what the node does
  • Button to buy the node
• Added 2 Starting nodes
  • 1 Generator Node named “Fundamental Interaction”
  • 1 Upgrade Node named “Strong Nuclear Force”

AI was used in this timespan for troubleshooting max width for the Node info box

Notes

This was honestly very fun to work on. I’ve really started putting in more time for this project since I’m now under pressure to get it done by the end of summer break (2 weeks :p)

I had little trouble figuring everything out, and thanks to some wonderful help from my buddy github copilot i was never truly stuck on anything in this timespan

Devlog 8

Changes

• Added Node Info Text Box
  • Shows Title, info about the node, and a button to buy with a set price
• Refactored Node Script Structure

Notes

I have been saved by the power of abstract classes! I unified the nodes into one abstract Node class, and made completion classes for Generators and Upgrades. Now it works by simply accessing the base Node class instead of not knowing whether the class is GeneratorNode or UpgradeNode. This makes it much easier.

I am planning now to get some interesting node names from physics, like building up from quarks to larger structures, and i also am going to make some textures so the game doesnt look as shitty :p

Devlog 7.1

Changes

• Added Line Drawn to Parent node
  • Will be used for hierarchical unlocking in the future
• Started work on the sidebar

Notes

Yeah, I’m a bit screwed. The current structure of my nodes is kind of weird; I have two types of nodes: Generators and Upgrades, each having two unique scripts. That’s good, because they have different logic. Thats not so good because they also share some logic. That’s horrific because they sometimes need to be accessed interchangeably. So here are a few things i could do:

1. Merge both scripts into one, with an enum or something for the different node types
2. Make a base which both nodes can inherit and use
3. give up and cry

option 3 sounds the easiest right now, my brain is so broken :’)

Devlog 7

Changes

• Added Modal Functionality
  • Test Modal for debug purposes
  • Alert Modal for important stuff (save on exit, etc.)
• Made HUD better for cross-device formatting
  • Included a vertical layout group for all of the displayed currencies

Notes

It’s been a bit annoying, to say the least. First off, I wanted the Modals to be completely modular from the start, but I kept getting NullReference errors that didn’t make sense to me, so I had to make a script for each modal type and serialize the GameObjects and other stuff individually. It’s not as modular as I want, but what can ya do :p

As for the HUD, I hope it works across devices, I sometimes code on my MacBook and sometimes on my PC, and the layout always breaks. I haven’t tested it yet, so I’ll be as surprised as you are if it doesn’t work.

Devlog 6

Changes

• Added Generator Production cost: Each generator can now require a certain amount of every resource

Notes

This is a rather small update, but I’m still trying to get back on my feet from my hiatus. More updates coming soon though, I’ve got some more motivation

*By the way: If there’s anyone that would like to do some texture designing, I would be more than happy to accept your work! Credit is, of course, guaranteed (I’m working on a credit screen anyways ;p).

Devlog 5

Changes

• Added code to allow for generation of different resource types

Notes

I have been on a long creative block, I can’t really seem to pick up my laptop and continue coding. It might have a bit to do with the fact that I was very busy the last week or so, so i didn’t have much energy and motivation left to program. I kind of forced myself to implement this feature which i half-assed earlier this week, it’s really simple but it’s a start at getting more motivated :)

Next week I don’t have as many exams, pressure from DLRG tests and all that stuff, so I’ll have more time to code :]

Devlog 4

Changes

• Added functionality to pan & zoom around
• Moved the HUD (Energy Display) into a separate canvas

Notes

this took me longer than I’d like to admit, because Unity was being a bit finicky about my GameObject and refused to run its code for some reason. I used AI for troubleshooting the problem, but used none of its code.

Devlog 3

I have continued my work on Pocket Universe, and have added following:

• Split Node Prefabs into Generator and Upgrade Nodes
• Added a NodeBoost Scriptable Object
• Worked on Node Visibility Logic

One problem I have is that a lot of the code for Generator and Upgrade Nodes is identical. I would have made a Node Monobehavior script that handles both and individual sub-classes, but that is kind of messy, at least for now. We will see in about 5 Devlogs if I made the right choice :p

Devlog 2 - Added Nodes for generation

These nodes are clickable by the player in order to buy Generators, which create Energy or other resources. They are comparable to the Cell to Singularity nodes. There will be Generator and Upgrade Nodes; Generator Nodes will be able to be bought multiple times, while upgrade nodes will only be able to be bought once.

Starting work

This is a really ambitious project I doubt I’ll be able to finish completely by October, but I’ll try to get as far as possible, so lets see :3