#anyway. i feel like i'm accruing points in a video game or something

[flashhwing]

explained something technical to a coworker today that's like "above" our station ie. not something we're necessarily expected to understand, but is something i'd be expected to know if i got the promotion i'm gunning for. and my boss saw it and was like "hey [coworker] don't finish this case, let [manager] handle it, but [manager] use some of ash's explanation that was very good."

[ajcgames]

Smashing

I got a good bit of development time in since the last update. There's a bunch to unpack, so let's start off with a video that shows what's new.

A lot to cover here!

Pulverizer

A replacement for the first 'work machine', and the first proper machine you'll likely place in your factory. As you can guess, the pulverizer breaks down raw minerals into processed components. In the video, you can see it turning the small rocks into containers of granulated product.

Machine indicator lights

The machines you place down now have indicator lights. You can see this on the front of the excavator and the top of the pulverizer. These are unified and share the same meaning across all machines. RED = an input is not connected. YELLOW = the machine is unable to work, usually due to a blocked output slot. GREEN = the machine is busy working, all is well!

Camera movement updates

I added a somewhat superfluous zoomed-in mode to the camera, mostly for the sake of giving you the opportunity to get in close to the action. There's a more zoomed-out version as well that gives you a more top-down look at your factory, though I haven't shown this in the video.

Input port details

When you're placing an Excavator you'll now see UI panels over the ports in the level. These tell you the product that will be imported through that port.

Naming of stuff

When I was working on the import panel I realised I needed to give my first input product a name. I went with Akorite since it's not a real mineral name and I can avoid having to ground this game with real stuff! I want to keep to real-ish sounding names, though, so you won't see any Unobtanium in here ;)

The next steps

I'm getting very close to something that feels more like a vertical slice of the game now, so I need to start thinking about the next big objectives. I'm really happy with how it's coming together so far, but I want to make sure I'm sticking to my lane and focusing on concrete goals.

Now that I have mechanisms in place for generating items, moving them around, and performing work on them (to produce an additional ouput), I have all of the 'bare bones' mechanics to build up a proper factory game. There are some developments that are more obvious than others:

Addition of belt splitters and mergers

A UI that shows when clicking on a machine which displays relevant information about its state and current processes

A machine that generates science points by researching items you feed into it (a little bit like the Satisfactory Awesome Sink)

A way to save and load your game

Beyond these, which I feel are essential requirements for it to be a functional 'game', I might consider these are additional development objectives:

A mission objectives system. This may initially just be 'accrue X science points' until a deeper contract-based system is developed.

A player tutorial system. This will likely take place in a pre-made small factory level where I can more tightly control the environment. Like setting up 'bumpers' in a bowling alley to keep the player on-track.

Research screen.

The concept of a research screen is just that for now - a screen. I want to get it in there as a placeholder soon just so that I have it hooked up and ready to work on at a later date.

The R&D tree is going to be an essential component for me to implement as it would feel totally lacking without the regular portioning of rewards to the player. It creates impetus and drive.

I'll be spending some time thinking it all over to try and come up with something as compelling as I can :)

Anyway, that's all again for now. Thank you again if you took the time to read this, I'm grateful for your time. Have a wonderful day! ❤️