Well another month has passed and so here I aim to showcase yet another set of updates and changes that you can find in the 0.32.0 update.

What’s New?

After the issues of last month I’m happy to say that this month was much less problematic and as evidence of this the first new addition to this update was the introduction of both custom terrain and custom textures for the 2 v 2, 3 v 3, 4 v 4 and 5 v 5 ground map variants. In an effort to try and make each of the maps feel different they each have varying amounts of hills, mountains, rivers and lakes. Additionally some also have more complex terrain features, such as waterfalls and bridges to allow units to reach the otherside of rivers or lakes and areas of the map marked out as a beach front.

To go along with this more complex terrain the camera controller was also overhauled so that it now adjusts its height based on the terrain it is currently above. Additionally it should now also no longer clip into the ground when lowered as much as possible with the maximum amount of camera tilt applied as new camera limits have been introduced. Furthermore the camera limits for height were also adjusted to allow you to more easily get a birds eye view of the map without having to enter the tactical view. Speaking of which, the tactical view was also changed to allow the camera to be moved more quickly along with a couple of small bug fixes relating to displaying information on the new squad type units. Last but not least it is now also possible to hold the shift button down to increase the rate at which you zoom in and out. A necessary addition now that you can zoom out to a much larger degree than in previous updates.

Beyond the changes to both the terrain and the camera ground battles now also have a new custom sky shader, meaning both clouds and the sun are now visible in the sky when fighting in ground battles. While there are currently no maps set at night the shader also has support for showing both the moon and the stars. Something which I will most likely take advantage of in the next update as I go about adding yet more ground battle maps. In particular for those battles triggered on the campaign map. As a point of note the shader is not of my own making but instead adapted from the following shader; https://godotshaders.com/shader/stylized-sky-with-procedural-sun-and-moon/ to work in the way I need it to and for which I am most thankful for.

Finally as with all my updates there was the usual selection of miscellaneous bug fixes and changes, including but not limited to. Fixes for unit rotation with regards to when they are first called into the battle map and ensuring they match the starting direction of the camera, fixes for the reinforcement animations when units are off axis and not in the default rotation position, fixes for entering or exiting the battle map camera tactical view to prevent the game throwing errors and updates to both the water shader which now includes water depth to make lower level objects appear more opaque. As well as updates to how I generate the navigation mesh for ground maps to hopefully make the valid movement areas more logical and allow for the easier movement of units.

Update 0.33.0

As always I never get to add in everything I want for the update and so my plans for the next update, that being 0.33.0 are as grand as ever. To start off with, I want to see if I can’t go about creating custom navigation meshes for ground battles instead of just relying on the parameters I can set in the engine. I know I just made some changes to this system in the last update and that taking this route will ultimately result in more work for myself and an increase in the amount of time it takes to create new maps in the future. But in the end I think it’s a worthwhile sacrifice if you are able to both move units around the map more easily and also have more intricate areas where the automated generation system would struggle to understand what is and what isn’t meant to be traversable.

In something of a running joke at this point I also plan to add both bushes and trees to the ground battle maps which are rather lacking when it comes to any form of foliage or greenery beyond the grass textures already present. I’ve had the modeles about 90% complete for some time now and I’m hoping that 0.33.0 will finally be the update where I see them finished to a standard I’m happy with and allow them to be implemented into the current selection of ground maps. In addition to elements of foliage I also have a couple of different rock models which are all but complete and so I’ll be looking to add them to some of the maps as well. Something which should go well with the new waterfalls added in this update while also adding more points of interest around the water's edge.

Keeping with the theme of visual improvements I also want to do some more work when it comes to vehicles. In particular I want to add support for both animated wheels and tracks while at the same time making the system I use for tyre tracks more complex and reliable. While the current implementation gets the point across, the fact that it uses the decal system means that I’m limited on what else I can use decals for. With the number of overall decals limited by the game's performance. Something which I’ll have to rethink as I also want to add some kind of impact decals for when different types of ammo impact with the terrain. This means that I will need to move it over to use a different method. Which in all likelihood probably means writing a new shader which we all know I am most talented at… 

Finally 0.33.0 isn’t just about making visual improvements but also mechanical ones. To begin with, the link between the campaign map and battle map when it comes to ground battles will finally be made. Along with any adjustments needed to the damage system which allows units damaged in battle to also show as being damaged on the campaign map. In addition as battles will now be triggerable from the campaign map I’ll also implement a new barracks building where squad based character units can be recruited. Depending on the amount of time I have and how much of the above I am able to get implemented I may also take a look at adding both new squad based units for ground battles, as well as a couple of new unit abilities which could go hand in hand with both new and existing ground units.

Closing Thoughts

So then, lots of progress when it comes to the ground maps this month and as a result they’re inching closer and closer to my original vision. I still have some ways to go yet as with almost everything else I’ve already implemented but they’re getting there. Something which I think can also be said for the rest of the game. At this point I think over the next couple of updates I’ll be able to finish adding the basic framework for everything I originally had planned and so can start the long and arduous process of polishing what's there to be in a more presentable state.

While for now the game is still classed as being in a pre-alpha state I expect that this won’t be the case for too much longer and speaking truthfully. I can’t wait for the game to enter alpha so I can go about refining what’s there more and more. So, in an effort to reach said state sooner rather than later I’ll end this devlog here and get to work on the next update which if all goes to plan should be out sometime next month.

As always if you have any questions or queries then don’t hesitate to ask and similarly if you have any feedback for existing systems. Or indeed if you have any ideas, features or changes you would like to see implemented then also don’t hesitate to let me know.

As with all of my updates a full list of the changes made can be found in game, with the changes and additions pertaining to this update listed below:

• Added a new general use reinforcement animation which is played when a space unit is called into the battle
• Added a new custom sky shader to ground battles with clouds, the sun, the moon and stars
• Added a new set of bridge props for use in ground battles; bridge on ramp, bridge off ramp and bridge middle
• Added a new waterfall prop for use in some ground battle maps
• Updated the 2 v 2 ground battle map to have custom terrain
• Updated the 3 v 3 ground battle map to have custom terrain
• Updated the 4 v 4 ground battle map to have custom terrain
• Updated the 5 v 5 ground battle map to have custom terrain
• Updated the 2 v 2 ground battle map to have custom textures
• Updated the 3 v 3 ground battle map to have custom textures
• Updated the 4 v 4 ground battle map to have custom textures
• Updated the 5 v 5 ground battle map to have custom textures
• Updated the parameters used to generate the navigation maps in ground battles
• Updated the shader used for water in ground battle maps to support water depth
• Updated the debug GUI turret damage label to have a minimum height so the debug GUI's buttons aren't moved down
• Updated the reinforcement animations playback speed to be linked to the current game speed
• Updated the camera controller to increase or decrease its height based on the height of terrain in ground battles
• Updated the camera controller to always remain above water in ground battles
• Updated the camera controller to ignore terrain height when in the tactical view camera mode
• Updated the camera controller to be clamped one pixel in from the edge of the map in ground battles to prevent the camera from falling into the terrain
• Updated the camera controller to have a max height of 50 when in a ground battle, increased from the original max height of 20
• Updated the camera controller zoom speed to be increased if the shift button is currently being held down
• Updated the map preview images for ground battle maps to use the map textures as preview images
• Fixed a bug where the game would throw an error when trying to load the campaign map
• Fixed a bug where the game would throw an error when exiting the battle map camera tactical view
• Fixed a bug where the game would throw an error when entering the battle map camera tactical view if there were squad based units on the map
• Fixed a bug where the game would throw an error when loading a second battle and trying to call in reinforcement units
• Fixed a bug where the game would throw an error when exiting a battle with unit pooling enabled
• Fixed a bug where the game wouldn't transfer ownership of a campaign map location after winning or losing a battle
• Fixed a bug where the battle setup screen didn't update the start positions when switching between different ground battle maps
• Fixed a bug where the minimap could no longer be clicked on to reposition the camera
• Fixed a bug where the terrain edge for some ground maps didn't match the play area
• Fixed a bug where ground units would continue to move even after they had been destroyed
• Fixed a bug where ground units would get stuck on the terrain when given a set rotation to face after reaching their destination
• Fixed a bug where squad based units wouldn't spawn in the correct position when called in as a reinforcement unit
• Fixed a bug where squad based units spawned in the wrong direction in space battles when spawned from a building
• Fixed a bug where zooming while in the tactical view mode would result in the minimum camera height being incorrect when switching back to regular view mode
• Fixed a bug where reinforcement units would face the incorrect direction when being called in
• Fixed a bug where the rotation of the reinforcement animation didn't match the rotation of the unit it belonged to
• Fixed a bug where the AI didn't make use of the new reinforcement animations when calling units into the battle
• Fixed a bug where not everything was cleared from memory after closing a battle triggered on the campaign map