#pourmemore

I uploaded my 2019 7DRL this morning exactly 168 hours after the start. I think I got a decent little game here, and I’m happy I got the multiplayer working too! I did not have enough time to work on the visuals and “dungeon” generator, though I’m glad I at least managed to cram in some variance into the patrons instead of them all being goblins like it still was yesterday. :)

The game is now pretty much feature complete. Patrons leave the bar if they are dissatisfied, or if you kick them out after they have vomited on the floor... :) There is also an improved game end screen with rating and level unlocks, which also means there is a simple level selection UI. Also managed to add some error messaging to player if there is problems with the server or joining the game.

Focused on cleaning up multiplayer code today, and I think it’s ok now. I implemented a semi-generic RPC system, which makes it pretty easy to make stuff sync, even if the whole network model is pretty naive. Well it seems to work nicely when we tested it, and that’s the main thing!

Some smaller stuff was also done: food items added, per map drink & food configs, patrons indicate if they are not receiving service fast enough and added an mp wait screen.

Experimented today a bit with having different kinds of bars. There is no actual progression yet (level picked at random), but the idea is that you start with a small, crappy looking bar with a tiny selection of goods (also helps in getting to know the game), and eventually you unlock larger, fancier and more difficult settings. It’d be cool to have the map generators be a little different too, but in the scope of 7drl, I’m also content with just reskinning and size adjustments.

Other new stuff:

Patrons walk in through the door and find a seat, more will enter periodically (they won’t leave yet).

There is 4 kinds of drinks to serve. No food yet, but it’s coming. :)

There were some annoyances in path finding, which caused unwanted interactions and stops - fixed now.

Also since the maps are small, made the camera static when possible for more comfortable clicking.

Made some progress today with three main areas:

The game now has a simple ending based on time, and some “score” is collected. The idea is for the player to try to improve the scores and (in the future) eventually get a promotion to a nicer bar.

Revamped the AI code to be easier to work with and at the same time added new features to it, like different responses based on how quickly service is given.

Worked on the multiplayer code. Even though I can always drop that feature if I run short on time, I didn’t want to fall too far behind with it already. It’s kind of a mess right now but managed to make e.g. speech bubbles sync, and took some steps towards making mobs synced too.

Here’s a crappy video showing the most basic core gameplay loop:

I worked on the game menu today and now it mostly works, offering e.g. option to host or join an online session. I improved the mp code a bit, and now player movement syncing actually works. I did switch the game from turn-based to real-time in the process, to make it nicer to move in multiplayer.

Also started work on customers - they go to sit, request beer when you interact with them and thank you when you deliver the beer, fetched from a barrel behind the bar counter. I noticed a regular message log on the corner of the screen is not going to cut it, so I started working on a speech bubble system, where the patrons communicate in-world through emojis. It’s still a bit rough, but I think it helps keeping stuff in context.

Short term plans include:

Making the core interactions better and more varied (e.g. adding different kinds of drinks and food).

Better customer AI (entering/exiting the bar for example).

Work on tileset (e.g. more characters, decide on floor/walls).

My idea for the game is a small roguelike-like about a tavern keeper serving beer to customers, while trying to keep them from getting too drunk to cause trouble. Additional twist is that I’d like it to be playable cooperatively online, players working together to maximize the inn profits while keeping drunken brawls from starting up etc. This will probably cause it to be pretty far from traditional roguelikes.

I started today by stripping unneeded stuff from Fantastic Dungeons codebase and drafting a very early version of the first bar map. I also added a little networking code (that doesn’t currently actually do much), by copy-pasting stuff from an old experiment. I'm thinking of going without a server though, using WebRTC data channel for p2p networking instead. We’ll see.

Also did some asset tests. To differentiate the game from Fantastic Dungeons, I’d like to revamp the tileset (and I need some specific new tiles anyway). Kenney has a lot of stuff that I need, and a cool character spritesheet that I could use to generate random tavern patrons, so I started trying that out. Problem is I really like the old tiles and the new style is a bit too plain, maybe. Need to try out more stuff...

Gonna try my hands at 7drl this year after a two year pause. https://itch.io/jam/7drl-challenge-2019