may 5, 2023

hi again! :)

this week I started to branch out into more complex decoration types that utilize the lighting system I created a few weeks ago. I call them "vents" since they emit glowy particles. although there is only one type of vent (so it's kind of rare to encounter right now), I will add plenty more soon.

the main challenge I overcame this week was setting up my light sources correctly. the lighting system relies on exact color matching, which means, in short, I needed every source in each light level to behave like a single texture. so, I used a CanvasGroup node. however, the lighting system also needed the render mode for the CanvasGroup to be additive, not mix, which ate up a lot of time trying to solve. thankfully, the solution was actually really simple. make a new ShaderMaterial on the CanvasGroup and copy-paste the shader code provided in the docs, and then add blend_add as a render_mode. it sounds super easy once I write it out, but this took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out... haha!

on another note, legend of zelda: tears of the kingdom comes out next week, and I'll probably be playing it a lot, so for now, I'm going to post updates every other week for a while. I think I'll keep up #screenshotsaturday posts though.

~

new features:

- improved decoration algorithm -- stalagmites and stalactites placed together and more frequently

- added more "jagged" rocks, to reduce sprite repetition

- began work on a new "vent" type of decoration

questions for feedback:

- thoughts on the new glowy particles? what do you think they are supposed to be, if anything?

- at any point, were you unable to reach somewhere? if so, please share a screenshot that includes the seed!

todo:

- improve system for more complex decoration types

- more decorations! parallax, plants, more light sources, wall decorations(?)