log #4: item transfers, accidents and train logs

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Time interval: 2023-01-28/2023-02-10

I’ve missed the last week’s one, but don’t worry - I’m still alive. I didn’t have much free time last week and the time I spent on the game was done refactoring.

item transfers

I added a new popup. It allows you to transfer items between two inventories. It will be used for all storage entities. Right now I use it for the mailbox, which is used to deliver you the schedule every morning.

accidents

I also started working on accidents. Right now an accident occurs whenever two trains crash into each other. Planned accident triggers are:

• player switching a switch that is currently in use
• player being hit by a train
• trains crashing into each other outside of the world (the game will simulate single track operation)

When an accident occurs, a pop-up is shown and the day is skipped. Currently the player isn’t reprimanded in any way, but I plan on adding some kind of currency to the game.

train logs

Another new feature are train logs. Those show up every day in the mailbox. They delays of the trains.

issues with development

Sadly, there are some issues with the development.

First of them is with assets. I’m unable to create good looking assest (as you can see from the videos I post). I’m still thinking about how to approach this and will update on it soon.

The second issue is the codebase. It’s still not bad, but I feel like it’s slowly starting to crumble. For this reason the next thing I will do is refactor and cleanup the code.

The last one is probably the most important one. Right now the game isn’t really fun. This might be only because of the bland looks of the game and the fact that my testing schedule is very simple, but I’m scared the game won’t be fun even if I fix those things. For this reason I want to explore another game mechanics like:

• simple shunting (the player would have to operate a locomotive)
  • coupling two trains with the same target location
  • switchbacks + turntables
• building the train station

I don’t think I should support both - I will have to choose one.