this week focused on updating the display entities and polish for the itch version. there wont be an update next week as i’m going to germany.
display entities
they’ve been in a pretty dodgy state as they’re one of the oldest parts of the game. so with the introduction of the tiles from last week i decided to fix them.
the way the factory works is that the state that defines the factory is disconnected from the displays. is each time a factory machine or component is added, it will be assigned a display.
given that all tiles for machines and components have been squashed together into a single tilesheet, this took a little changing but now it works quite well.
tile map trouble
while i was at it, i also solved issue with tile maps: draw order matters.
previously, when entities were joined, it would clear the tiles then redraw them one by one. this lead to bits of bullet not connecting properly.
so instead of drawing in sequence, i decided to try batch drawing of similar types to force terrain connectivity and it worked really well.
feedback
i’ve gotten some feedback that the game feels slow when you first click play but i think this is really a ui issue as it isnt clear that anything is happening when spawners are making the parts.
so i added a loading bar to them as well as an icon that can display any part.
tutorial additions
added in the quest for a good tutorial that explains well but doesnt overdo it, ive added tutorial windows for taking damage and some more machines. specifically the rotator and switch conveyor.
i also let some other people play and got some really interesting bullet designs.
i reckon its neat