Out for the holidays!

Hey ladies and gents. This week has been a flurry of activity with finishing off my work contract and getting ready for the holidays, so I didn't make much significant progress on Townseed this past week. I'm working on Materials Refining (Converting timber into lumber) but it's not ready to go yet so I won't be updating the build.

I'll be traveling this year and I will be pretty quiet while I'm away. Coming back on the 5th though, so look for a regularly scheduled upate on the 10th of January!!

Hope you all have a great Solstice!

December 13th Update

A new Test Build is available at Townseed.ca .
This build focuses on the lighting engine.  See the site for full details!

December 6th Update

A new version of Townseed is available at Townseed.ca

Full details available at the site!

Hah!

Take that you little math bug! You thought you could hide from me forever you little turd, and you led me on a merry chase didn't you, but I found you and I squished you and now YOU ARE DEAD. TAKE THAT!

*ahem*

I'll be updating normally this week. Look for it on Thursday, thanks!

Work Contract this week

Hey ladies and gents. Just a quick heads up, I've got a work contract started this week so I'm probably not going to have a lot of time to spend on the game till it's done. I should still be able to squeeze in SOME time on it but it probably won't be all that substantial, weekend stuff. Contract is only two weeks long though and depending on how things fall I might even be able to finish up early. Hang tight!

-G

November 8th Update

Hello Survivors!

I've updated Townseed.ca with notes and a new screenshot showing what I'm working on.

Screenshot

I'm going to hold off on posting a new build, as the project beacons I'm working on right now have highlighted a pretty major bug that can make construction impossible. Clearly that needs to be sorted out, but I'll be making that my first priority.

No Update this Week -

Hey ladies and Gents. Just a quick note to let you know that I won't be posting a Townseed update this week. A coworker needed me to cover some of her shifts, so I'm working a lot more than usual. Hang tight, we'll be back to it next week!

October 25 Update

A new Townseed Update is available at Townseed.ca

Screenshot here - Screenshot

The few recipes available can now be completed. Blueprints can be placed and removed, and rapid destruction is also available. Full notes at the site!

October 18 Update

Working on the construction system. This is the heart of Townseed, so I want to make sure I'm doing it in a way that's going to work properly moving forward. No updated build this week, as it's not ready to go just yet, but you can see a screen of what it's looking like here  -

Screenshot

Also fixed a pretty major bug. Update notes available at Townseed.ca

October 12th Update

A lean update this week, as I am still trying to find a good balance with my new part-time job. Good news is that the renovation work at home is just about done so that'll clear up some time!

The construction engine is in-process  in the new build. You can't actually complete any building yet, but I've updated the game build anyway in case you want to see the incomplete progress. See update notes for details as to other things going on with the game's development, such as the music and sponsorship rewards!

http://townseed.ca

Whoops

Okay so this is totally lame after just changing the day to thursday, but I'm going to upload the townseed update tomorrow in the interest of getting a bit more in. With any luck I'll have some construction back in!

Hang tight.

New Update day - Thursday

Hey ladies and gents! After looking at my work schedule I am thinking that Thursday will be the new Townseed update day! It just works best for when I work. So, look for your update on thursday now!  Seeya then!

October 2nd Update

A new Townseed Update with test build is available on Townseed.ca !  See full release notes at the site.

October 2nd update

Hang tight survivors! Tuesday update this week. Started a new job that has me working on monday a lot, so I'm thinking about changing the update day on a more permanent basis. I'll be sure to update with what I decide!

Sept 25th Update

A new test build is available at Townseed.ca. Full release notes on the site.

In other news, 8-Bit funding is now kaput, so I won't be updating there anymore. Big thanks to everybody who supported me there, keep your eyes peeled here for updates from now on!

September 17 Update

A new update is available at Townseed.ca including a new test build!

Hey survivors! Got a little home renovation happening so this week progress is slower.

I'm working on the persistent worldstate code at the moment (making sure that the changes you make to the world, like cutting down trees etc stay) so I'm not going to post a new version today, as the differences won't be visible yet.

I may post something later this week, but to be on the safe side, look for the normal Monday update next week!

Keep surviving!

September 3 Update

A new update is available at Townseed.ca

 Full release notes available on the site!

August 28 Townseed Update

New update has been posted, with full release notes on the site!

 Townseed.ca

August 22 Townseed update

New townseed update is available at Townseed.ca
full release notes available there!

August 13th Update

A new update is available!

Townseed.ca

Townseed.ca is live!

Here's a lesson on stuff I should've had before I started.

Townseed.ca

I spent this week putting together Townseed.ca. From now on I will be linking to this site for update news and builds, but I will of course, continue to notify supporters here whenever an update is available.

Good to get that over with. Building websites isn't my idea of a good time. Next week, new build, look forward to it!

Townseed.ca is live!

Here's a lesson on stuff I should've had before I started.

Townseed.ca

I spent this week putting together Townseed.ca. From now on I will be linking to this site for update news and builds, but I will of course, continue to notify supporters here whenever an update is available.

Good to get that over with. Building websites isn't my idea of a good time. Next week, new build, look forward to it!

Townseed moving forward

First, I want to thank everybody who contributed to the project and preordered. You guys are awesome.

As you can see, the funding period for Townseed has now expired, and we didn't meet the goal. I just wanted to take a minute and explain what that will mean for the project.

First and foremost, it means that I will have to continue working on the project part-time for the forseeable future. I have applied for some small-business startup funding that might change that, but that's still up in the air and I'm not counting that chicken till it's hatched. This means that updates will progress at more or less the same rate they have been, rather than accelerating as I had hoped. Certainly not the end of the world.

Secondly, it means that I do not have a budget for sound design and music, so I am going to have to look at more cost-effective solutions for that end of things, at least for the time being.

Now for those of you worrying that I have ZERO funding, don't worry, I still have access to most of the funds that were raised. 8Bit Funding and Paypal both took their cut, which amounts to about 10%, or $600. I have been spending some of the funds on advertising as the campaign progressed, which has eaten up about $1400 worth since the start of the campaign. This means that of the $6000 pledged, about $4000 of it is still available to me.

With the leftover funds, my first priority is getting your preorder bonuses out to you. People whose bonuses included gamepads and canvas prints will be my first priority, as I have to work with a local print shop to have those put together. I will send those out as SOON AS THEY ARE READY, so you won't have to wait for the game to be finished before you see them.

I will also be using it for setting up a dedicated site for the game at http://townseed.ca where you'll be able to continue to buy preorders and download the latest builds, and I intend to use it as the main hub for updates and info on the game.That said, I will continue to post update notifications here, even if I am linking elsewhere for specifics.

After that, what's left of the funds goes to supporting my time spent on development.

I've learned an awful lot in the few months since I started this campaign, and the amount of support I've received has been truly humbling. Thank you all so much.

I will continue to update on mondays (Sometimes very LATE on monday) so you'll be hearing from me soon. There might not be a new build this week due to getting the other stuff sorted out, but we shall see!

(Townseed Revision Build)

(Townseed Pre-Revision Build)

(Preorder Townseed)

(Townseed on Facebook)

REVISION 04 UPDATE NOTES

I had this incredibly pressured feeling doing this update, since it's the last one before the end of the 8bit funding campaign, but ultimately there's no sense stressing out over it, so here we go.

The world map has been implemented. Unlike in the pre-revision release, you can access the world map from both overworld and local view by pressing the Escape key, meaning you can check your location from the local view without having to exit to the overworld. It has a nice, soft-edged fog of war on it now too, instead of the chunky rectangle that was there before. You'll be given an on-screen prompt to save and quit from this screen. I will further refine this to reduce the risk of accidentally quitting the game.

Hit detection in local view has been implemented, and it's been restructured so that the work system will function through it instead of the bizarre peripheral workaround I had before. This means I'll be able to do interesting things like having the player take down multiple obstacles at once, should I decide to go that route.  You can still walk over water but that'll be my next thing. On a similar note, the time-of-day water shining has been added to local view. Water shining has been added to Marsh terrain in both views. Color-blending on local area tiles is in place for most commonly-adjacent terrain types.

That's it for now. I will be posting an update on Wednesday this week (probably not a new build) to let people know what it will mean for Townseed moving forward that I haven't hit the funding goal. Don't worry, it's not that bad :)

Revision Progress 03

(Townseed Revision Build)
(Townseed Pre-Revision Build)
(Preorder Townseed)
(Townseed on Facebook)

REVISION 03 UPDATE NOTES

I was going to wait until later in the day to post this update, but a mighty electrical storm is brewing, so after backing up all my working files onto an external and not-connected-to-any-power drive, I'm preparing an update with what I've got now.

Added crazy-fast debug dashing to both local and Regional view. Press the tilde ~ to enable it.

A new, sexier-than-before minimap for local mode. You can now see the position of the map update in real time instead of the "Block at a time" method it used before.

Further improved water glittering, because I love how it sparkles.. so hypnotic..

Local exploration routines have been reconstructed and simplified, which was the bulk of the work this week, and are now being assembled in a single pass instead of from a multi-pass as was the case for the old version (whuhoo!) this should mean an overall smoother ride for the PC. I'm still in the process of instituting the color blending for local tiles, and you won't see the player in the local view yet.

The Local view is the part that is most important, and the area that was giving me trouble in the old version. Laying out the code with foreknowledge of what I'll be doing with it helps me to construct it in a way that will be straightforward for future developments.

In other news, this is the last full week of the 8-Bit funding campaign. If you wanna get in on any of the bonuses I have listed up there, now's the time!

Townseed Revision 02

(Townseed Revision Build)

(Townseed Pre-Revision Build)

(Preorder Townseed)

(Townseed on Facebook)

REVISION 02 UPDATE NOTES

File saving and management is back in place, as well as the new Savegame listing screen. Hit detection for the overworld has been put in, and the time of day clock has been adjusted to a reasonable (and I think final) timing.

Next I will be working on reconstructing the local exploration mode, so we'll start to get the functionality of the game back to where version 0.10 was, only a LOT smarter, and a lot smoother.

As an aside, I finished up a bunch of scripts I was doing for work, and I'm waiting for business paperwork to arrive by mail, so  this coming week should be a good one for making progress.

Townseed Revision Progress

Figuring out pixel shaders, parceling out code, converting text items to icons, dealing with computer viruses, establishing Townseed as a legal business, still doing contract work - there is an awful lot going on, but you all deserve to see how the revision is going.

Note that this does NOT have all the same functionality as version 0.10. This is very much a work in progress (as Townseed has been all along I suppose) Because of the way I am simplifying the code, some items can be ported over easily from the old version (such as the portrait drawing routines) and some items need to be redone wholly (such as the world generation code and the exploration mode).
Think of this version as a visual demo. You cannot save or load characters and worlds presently, but you can see the new character creation interface, the intro cinematic, and the night/day cycle (at an accelerated clock for observational purposes) complete with some nifty pixel shaders.

Crashing is possible when wandering too close to the edges of the world. There is no collision detection yet so you can wander freely over all terrain for the time being.

That's it for now! Things should hopefully be calming down soon, and I will continue porting and improving features from the old version to get the functionality to where it was and beyond.

Here is the link to try it out - TOWNSEED REVISION 01

A new friend

I made a new friend this week. His name is Sirefef and he is a big jerk.

On tuesday, my computer acquired the sirefef virus. I'm not at risk of losing any data - I back up my files to an external drive regularly to safeguard against just such a thing, and the drive was not powered on or even connected to my machine at the time, but my working computer is likely to out of commission for a few days as I work through the issue with tech support, as if my update this week wasn't already slow enough.

Sorry for the delays, and thanks for understanding. Although I can't get to the files to show you right now I've just finished rewriting the overworld code to allow for time of day lighting adjustments. The same code should be easily portable to local area exploration.


As an aside, be very careful when updating your web browser's flash player. The virus was disguised as a flash player update and that's how I aquired it.

Late Update

Ladies and Gents, Just a quick heads up that the update this week will be a few days late. I had a wedding party to go to this weekend, and all that combined with the Canada day festivities made for a pretty hectic few days. I'll post a more complete update on Wednesday! Seeya then!

Townseed Update

Hello Ladies and Gents,

Still working revisions in Townseed so I don't have a build to show yet, but as I've committed to showing you something every monday, I'll share these with you.

These are some lovely paintings I contracted for the introductory sequence of Townseed. The sequence itself is finished, but I can't get a decent recording of it just at the moment, so these will have to suffice for the time being.

Got the map generation code nice and fleshed out as well, I'm really excited to see how realistic looking the landmasses are.

Anyway, I will continue to update as the revisions progress. I'm hoping that within another two weeks I will have a revised build ready to go with day and night cycles in place and the whole nine yards. Maybe even sooner!

Worth it

So as I've been saying, I am presently in a revision phase for Townseed's development. There are times, I admit, where I wonder whether revising is worth it, or if I'm just wasting my time.

Today though, I compared some of the maps being generated by the revised Genesis code (Right) to some of the ones generated by version 0.10 (left), and I think the results speak for themselves.

Have a lookee.

Some musings

Wanted to take a moment to thank the folks who are really throwing themselves behind this project. You guys inspire me to work through all the frustration and it's awesome, love you guys! Also wanted to thank the guy who says "Gay" on facebook. Your maturity inspires me to be a better person. So, since I'm doing an overall code revision right now I figured it's time to tackle some of those small but irritating problems we were running into before. For example, remember how the text entry for your character's name and signposts was a bit.. shall we say sluggish? You'd have to type slowly and deliberately to get it to capture everything. Well no more! Got a nice proper text input routine, so all that should be ancient history. We can also now change graphical settings without restarting the game, including use of the much-beloved ALT-ENTER fullscreen toggle. Also implementing an across-the-board F1 context help instead of an always-on control HUD. Overall, I'm taking the time to make sure that the next version of Townseed you guys see is smoother, leaner, more professional.

Status Update

Just a quick heads up in place of my usual update. As I mentioned last time, I'm working on some optimizations and simplification of the code in order to increase its ease-of-use for adding more features in the future. Going well so far, but going slowly. Looks like I may have some extra time this week to work on it though so I'm hoping to speed up. Adding a random name generator right now as well, with special provisions for adding in all of the folks who have sponsored the project (That is bought higher than the 30 mark) as names that will be assigned to survivors. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll be through the revisions by next monday or not, but I will update on my status at that time regardless. Keep on surviving!

Townseed Build 0.10

(Townseed Test Build)

(Preorder Townseed)

(Townseed on Facebook)

0.10 UPDATE NOTES

Another busy week for me. I had a big press release go out, which was awesome, did a few interviews for some local publications (I was in the newspaper, yaaaaay) and a podcast in Florida ( http://stashow.net/ ). Coming up on the end of the funding drive in just a few weeks now, and I'm making preparations to full-swing into development soon. There's a lot of paperwork and such to take care of, making sure I'm registered as a local business and such, but it's all happening, slowly and surely.

The update this week is a few "Maybe?" bug fixes, namely for the "Instant tree kill" bug and the "Fragile construction" bug. I -think- that they're both being caused by the same issue, and I -think- that I have it taken care of now, but neither bug occurs on my sistem so it's hard to tell without your input.

Additionally, the first vestiges of the crafting (Not construction) system are in place now. A use for those workstations you've been making dozens of!  You can now place crafting blueprints onto a workstation and then work them to refine lumber. You can clear workstations, or just put new plans down instead. In this way, you can set up a bunch of workstations and assign your citizens to each make a different kind of resource.

The next update is going to include some pretty serious overhauls to some of the backend as I prepare the game to accept the sweet, sweet loving of screen shaders, and lay the basic foundations for more modular (Re: Multiplayer-friendly) code. This will also enable me to simplify things such as key rebinding, an auto-update feature (hopefully) and I'll be implementing a time-of-day system in conjunction with the shaders. As a result, next week's update may be purely visual, but we'll see what I can get done!

Remember to share the links with all the gamers and/or independantly wealthy philanthropists you know!

Townseed 0.09

(Townseed Test Build) 

(Preorder Townseed)
 
(Townseed on Facebook)

0.09 UPDATE NOTES

This has been a really busy week for me dealing with a contract that's come in, and especially since coming off of crush week, it feels paltry, but here it is. Not a lot of new content but a lot of bugfixes. I don't know just what I have to thank, but the funding drive spiked a bit this past weekend, which is exciting to see. I've got some press releases going out later as well. All in all things are looking exciting for the game! This update is mostly bugfixes and a few cosmetic things, change to resource requirements.

Incomplete blueprints can no longer be "Destroyed". They can only be removed through "Remove blueprint" as intended.

A bug that would cause Townseed to crash when walking diagonally across area borders has been fixed.

A bug that causes trees cut within a few frames of another to be instantly destroyed has been fixed. (I think)

A bug that causes construction to be immediately destroyed when completing it is fixed. (I think)

The player can no longer sprint across deep water!

Women now have the gamut of hairstyles for their sprites.

The resources required for most construction have been reduced.

New Townseed Video!

This one will be short and sweet. There's a new Townseed video on Youtube!
Townseed Video 2

Townseed Build 0.08

Townseed v0.08
  (Townseed Test Build) 
  (Preorder Townseed)
  (Townseed on Facebook)

0.08 UPDATE NOTES

It's the end of my "crush week" and I got a lot of stuff done in this one! Several new things in this update, so be patient with me as I go over them.

Firstly, and not at all important, a charming "Melting pixels" effect on the title page. Ooooh, pretty.

Women have their own sprites now! Women are no longer drawn with a man's body, though they are often bald, as I don't have many of the hairstyles implemented yet. I only have the "Braguette" outfit for women so far, so all the outfits look the same, but yes, you can make the women naked, just like the men. Enjoy that. There's so much art to create for adding a new body, argh.

Hit detection/footprinting has been completely redone. Items now have a more realistic footprint and do not necessarily occupy the entire tile they sit in. This means it's possible to squeeze between objects that are placed diagonally. This created a bit of a problem where sometimes the player would work "through" an object (Instead of cutting down the tree right in front of you, you'd cut down the tree behind it) so for the time being, you'll get a warning saying "I need more space to work". That's definitely a temporary fix so bear with me.

 NEW RECIPES - Crude Signpost, Inuksuk, Barricade, Campfire

Crude Signposts and Inuksuks are landmarks made of wood and stone respectively. Now, the people will know you were here. Once built, they appear on your overworld and world map so that you can find your way back to a specific location after exploring. If you "work" on a completed landmark, you can write a short message on it, which will also be visible from the overworld (but not the world map), so you can easily write "Jungle trail here" or "Lots of Driftwood!" and be able to see it from a distance! You definitely don't want to put too many of them too close together, or things will get confusing, so use them sparingly, but use them!

Barricades are the first type of wall. Initially, they were going to be destroyed by storms, but I think I'm going to change that to make them more permanent. They have to be built on the ground, and they will not support multi-storey stacking like other kinds of walls. There is also no gate for a barricade as of yet, so in order to be truly secure you'll have to build and tear down a section of wall every time, and that's irritating. Gates coming soon!

Campfires are just what you would think they are. A little burning stack of wood. Animating fire is fun! Right now it just looks pretty, but once I get day/night cycles and food consumption into the game, the campfire will become pretty important, both as sources of light, and as a way to cook food you collect.

That's it for now! I had a blast working on the game this week and I plan to take another week in June to do it again. The funding drive has just about one month left, and we still have $3700 to go, but I think that if we push we can do it! Tell everybody you know! Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

Townseed Build 0.07

Townseed v0.07
(Townseed Test Build)
(Preorder Townseed)
(Townseed on Facebook)
0.07 UPDATE NOTES
Blueprint/Building system! This will give you the earliest taste of how building in Townseed works. Open the blueprint pane (Q or the left trigger) and select your blueprint (presently there is only one so it won't be much of a selection) then place it with the "Work" or "Examine" button. This places the blueprint on the map. You can place your blueprints before you have all the resources, allowing you to plan away! Then, "Work" on the blueprint to turn your resources into a real object. The tables can then be destroyed the same as trees. "Working" on a table will not harvest it. Once the code is in place, that will be how you craft an item on the table.
You can have a number of incomplete projects on the go equal to your ORGANIZATION SKILL plus 2, so 3 at level 1 and 10 at level 8.
Incomplete projects will leave markers that you can use to find them on the overworld and in local view. Completed construction does not, so build it somewhere you won't forget! In the next update you'll be able to build signposts to allow you to see your construction on the overworld.
Some people have been complaining about the ragged smallclothes, so just for you, I've added teeny weeny nudity. I'll have you appreciating your loincloth yet. Naked is selectable as a starting outfit, though it will never come up through random shuffling.
Also to clarify, there will be more complete, less destroyed outfits in the game, but most of those will be recolorable (to match your banner) and that's a new game system that isn't in place yet, so you get the noncolorable ones for now!
For the next update, there'll be quite a few more objects to construct, including the aforementioned signposts, barricades, campfires, and if I can get to it (fingers crossed) a construction post, which is the true heart of how Townseed building works. Look forward to it!

Hey survivors,
     I wanted to let you know that I'm working on a big one for the next update, so it's taking me a little longer than normal to get it out. Probably next monday I'll have it where I want it.

In a nutshell, I'm finally adding some construction, which involves a whole new game system, so there's a lot of work involved! On top of that I'm always adding optimizations as I go, so you'll see things like helper icons on the worldmap with a legend, more sound effects and onscreen feedback, and a bunch of fixes for things that you might not even notice if I didn't point them out.

In short, hang tight!

In other news, we're over the halfway mark for the funding goal, whoohoo!  Over the hump now! Please tell all the gamers you know about the project, let's help it get to lots of eyes!

Funding Drive Halfway Point!

Today marked the halfway point of my funding drive. I'm not -quite- at half my funding goal yet, ($250 short!) but I just wanted to take a moment to thank everybody who's contributing. This still looks really feasible and it's thanks to everybody's generous support. I am humbled by your faith in me, thank you.

Townseed Build 0.06

(Townseed Test Build)
(Preorder Townseed)
(Townseed on Facebook)

0.06 UPDATE NOTES
Converted Townseed to Reach Profile.  This should fix compatibility issues.
Added dynamically adjusted help HUD elements. The game should show you keyboard shortcuts if you are using a keyboard to play the game, and will autoadjust to left or right-hand configuration as you use different keys.
Stone and Brush destruction effects in place.
Gleaming water in local view had a bug causing it to appear offset in some aspect ratios. Fixed.
Valkain and Female portraits have been re-enabled.
Valkain portraits (particularly hair and some noses) and color selections have been reworked.
Added examination mode, allowing more detailed information about the area your character is facing.
Added driftwood to beaches.

Townseed Compatibility Update

Figured I'll explain why the update is late this week. Got laid off from my job today, which will complicate things somewhat, but may give me a bit more time to work on the game, we'll see. In addition, I've uncovered the compatibility issue that is preventing a lot of people from playing the game. I can fix it but it requires careful optimization of a lot of the game's sprite sheets, so it's a slow process going through and tweaking and testing each thing. On the plus side, once it's finished, a lot more people should be able to run the game, woo! I'll try to post my update mid-week as soon as the compatibility issue is sorted out.

Townseed Build 0.05

(Townseed Test Build)
(Preorder Townseed)
(Townseed on Facebook)
0.05 UPDATE NOTES
Changed many control schematics. Details follow.
Cardinal Movement - Arrow Keys, WASD, Analogue Stick, DPad
Cancel - X Key, Numpad 0, Backspace, A Button
High Confirm - R Key, Numpad 7, Y Button
Mid Confirm - F Key, Numpad 4, X Button
Low Confirm - V Key, Spacebar, Numpad 1, B Button
Exit Game - ESC Key, Back Button
Added Persistent gamestate and character saving. Manual saving is no longer necessary, or possible.
Added resource tracking. The Game now remembers how many resources you've collected.
Added character stats to the map screen.
Added Experience accumulation to improve character stats. Experience is specific to each stat.
Added a resolution helper to the options page.
Added debug mode toggle. By default debug mode is disabled. Toggle it with the tilde (~)
Added feedback messages to the bottom of the screen indicating resource gains and various other status notifications.
Added High confirm (destruction) of obstacles.
Added SOUND EFFECTS!
Female and Valkain portraits have been locked out until their bodies are ready.

Townseed Update April 17th

Hey survivors, wanna give you an update. I've decided not to post a new build this week because the update list is all back end, and you won't see any changes. Much of my time this weekend was spent on a funding drive (thanks to all of you who came out and contributed!)

Optimizations have been made to the game saving code, and the game no longer requires a manual save. The game will save your progress even if you quit through closing the window instead of using in-game quits.

In-game resource collection is now tracked, so the game knows how much wood you've collected from cutting down all those trees!

That's it for now. Should have more for next week's update.

Townseed Build 0.04

Townseed Test Build
Preorder Townseed
Townseed on Facebook

UPDATE NOTES

The Back button (Gamepad) or ESC key on your keyboard will now quit the game, presently without any prompt. I intend to add a dump save and prompt to this feature in the future.

Addition of the Options screen. Presently three different aspect ratios are supported. On large resolutions, I recommend choosing a matching ratio and enabling fullscreen. Music related options are present, but no music is in-game so they will have no effect.

You can now cut down trees and obstacles with the A button(Gamepad) or the Spacebar. The changes should be persistent, and the game will generate changelogs to track the details. Although all obstacles can presently be destroyed, the game displays a "Wood" effect for all obstacles, and resource gains are not yet tracked.

Created an entire set of animations for the Improvised Axe, and destruction of trees.
Fixed a bit of errant code that was writing an entire array 32 times per cycle instead of only once.

Townseed Build 0.03

Townseed v0.03

Townseed on 8-Bit Funding

A number of bugfixes, including improvements to local area scrolling.

Added wading through shallow water.

Increase to local area walk speed.

Changes to some visual effects.

Addition of Character Status HUD.

Funding Update

I just wanted to give you guys a quick update to let you know that so far, Townseed is well on track to being fully funded by the deadline! This is exciting for me to see, and I want to let you all know how much your support means to me! Keep spreading the word and I'll keep pushing and we'll push this thing over the top before we know it!

-G

Townseed Main Theme

Wow, so I've been working with the band "Those City Lights" to come up with some original music for Townseed, and this is what they've come up with for a title theme.

Townseed Main Theme


Go give these guys a like on facebook whydontcha?
Those City Lights Facebook

And give me one while you're at it!
Townseed Facebook

Preorder Townseed here
Townseed on 8-Bit Funding

Townseed 0.02

Here we are, the updated Townseed build. Local area view has been completely revised. Local view obstacles have been added.

There seems to be an occasional mixup when transitioning from one area to another in local view but I haven't been able to determine the precuse cause yet. Will try to hammer that out.

Townseed 0.02


Support the project here! Townseed on 8-Bit Funding

Townseed Facebook

Townseed Facebook page is a go! Will be updating there as well from now on.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Townseed/277630045646316

An Original Soundtrack By Those City Lights

So today was a pretty exciting day, as I was approached by someone from the band "Those City Lights". They are very interested in Townseed, and want to be a part of the project! We're gonna work on one track together and see how it goes, but their stuff is tight and it's exciting to possibly have all original music for the game!


You can listen to a few of their tracks on their facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/CityLightsmusic

Check out their EP here
http://thosecitylights.bigcartel.com/product/absconding-reality-ep-pre-order

Monday Update March 19 2012

I realized when I started adding the trees and props that the way I was handling the local view was going to be problematic for anything with some amount of height (Like a tree or a five story building), so I ended up gutting the Local View code and reworking it from scratch. It's not quite finished yet, but the new code feels much better. The local view is no longer broken into distinct screens, and the world can be explored continuously. Of course, this creates issues where edges border in sharp, straight lines which look very artificial, and the shining water code was horrendously broken in the process, so those are my next priorities.

I haven't posted a new build, because the current one is less functional than the previous one, but I'll continue to work out the bugs and post when I can.

Townseed Build 0.01

Townseed in its current state. I wanted to launch this build alongside the 8-Bit campaign so people have something to look at. You can presently create a character, generate a world, explore that world, and save the character and world for later. There aren't any props such as trees and rocks in the local view maps yet, but that's the next priority.

Townseed Build 0.01

Townseed Live on 8-Bit Funding

Townseed is finally live on the Crowdsourcing site, 8-Bit Funding, which is crowdsourcing exclusively for games. Hopefully it does well! We need 540 bids of support at the preorder level in order to reach the funding goal, and that seems like a really attainable number. Go on and check it out to see the video, even if you aren't gonna donate, check it out!

Townseed on 8-bit Funding

Overall State of the Project

So I realize this blog is new and people might not actually know what Townseed is. Allow me to elaborate.

Townseed is a strategy/simulation RPG where you take the role of a survivor of a shipwreck on a terrifying unexplored land. Your goal is to gather resources, build, attract other survivors, and turn this inhospitable place into a home, where people can be safe and happy.

Townseed was born out of my enjoyment of sandbox games like Minecraft and Terraria. I've always loved the "Play around, do what you want" approach to games, but at the same time, I felt like that play style left a gap, a sense of purpose. Build a house, or a castle, sure, but what about when you move on to your next project? Or what about when you've already attracted all of the predetermined NPCs to sell you things?

In Townseed, building has a purpose. Every space you create can become someone's home, someone's livelihood, and the happier and better accomodated your people are, the more they contribute to your growing town. Although you control a single survivor, in many ways, your Town is the true hero of the story.

Townseed has been in development since August 2011. At its present state of development, character customization is mostly finished (currently women look like men on the map), and the world creation and environment are operational. The game engine allows full exploration of the (not very exciting at the moment) world, and art is in place for all of the features the game does have.

Next in line are naturally ocurring obstacles (Trees rocks, cliffs, etc) and then the ability to harvest those obstacles into usable resources. After that, building and blueprint making, monsters and other survivors, and after that it's really just a matter of adding more. More monsters, more architecture, more different jobs for your survivors to do.

If there are questions, I will be very happy to answer them!

Local view Land Tiles Completed

Whew, well that's done now! After designing nearly 100 individual tiles, the natural terrain types are now finished. Next are the trees, shrubs, and cliffs. They're already designed and animated as vector art for the overworld, so I'll need to re-render and resize them as appropriate for local view exploration. That shouldn't take nearly as long, I'm hoping.

Townseed is an action/strategy game that has you leading a humble survivor from his first half-drowned steps on a forlorn beach to taming a cruel foreign land and leading a great nation.

With feral vampires lurking just beyond the reaches of night time torchlight, sprawling ruins of an ancient kingdom buried beneath the soil, unsettlingly devilish native tribes, and dangerous raw magic drifting through the air, survival is no small task.

Will you search the continent alone for the perfect place to put down roots, or will you make the best of your immediate area?

Build out in the open near a source of water, or perhaps a defensible cliffside settlement, maybe a forest town with ready access to raw materials and food.

Keep a large team of laborers for rapid expansion, or promote them to various specialist positions to improve their efficiency and quality of life?

Will you spend your time developing agriculture, clearing pastures and taming beasts, or will you have your people forage while you plunder the ruins for morsels of ancient magic and technology?

Respect the customs of the native tribes and strive to understand them, or crush them under the heel of your militant boot?

Be it digging up blocks of sod to make your first rickety shelter, or directing a team of artisans to construct a grand cathedral to your design, for better or for worse, you have control of how your town develops. The fate of the survivors is in your hands.

 An early graphics example of the Townseed overworld.