Another lesson in coming back...
Another lesson in coming back to code a year later. Over time, no matter what kind of software you’re developing, you almost always get better. Then you go back to finish a project you worked on a year ago and for one reason or another, put on hold. Looking at the code, you wonder what on earth you were thinking?!
So Rogues N Riches, a game mostly coded in late 2023, nearly completed and go put on hold for a multitude of reasons. Most of the game was complete, but there were a few minor issues that needed to be addressed still. Some of the effects appeared on top of windows that should be on top, so of the effects obscured things for other players, not to mention how I was handling the games cards, dealing, discarding, just the animations alone.
Bandages...
Going back and trying to fix some of that has turned out to be a much larger challenge than I thought. Don’t get me wrong, I tried and succeeded on most of it, but I still don’t like how it looks or feels. I’d been thinking about scrapping the gameplay script and scene and starting fresh with some new tricks and assets, but the thought of giving up all that work just didn’t appeal, so I tried to bandage it. Well, bandages only stretch so far and I have definitely come to realize that I need to break down and just rewrite the gameplay.
There are just so many enhancements and easier ways of doing things this time around, it’s just getting the courage up to say ‘Hey, I wasted all that time.’ And even then, I guess wasted isn’t really a good word considering the lessons learned and how much easier and quicker it will be the second time around.
Next Up?
Now the hard part is, do I focus on Rogues or do I move to another project that I think will probably sell better? It’s a fun game, or at least it could be, I just have to fix it and that takes time. But I suppose, better now than never. I have plenty of time to think about and make a decision on it’s fate. Besides, it would be a huge waste to give up the resources already put into it, code and assets included.
This will give me a chance to change out the 3d models and tweak the speed. Even for a strategy game, right now it just feels too slow, along with a slew of other changes I want to do but the current setup just wouldn’t allow for it without a lot of trouble.
I still have that itch to start a new project though and scrap this one completely, or once again shelve it until later. Hmmm…. Something to think about this long weekend that will probably keep me from coding anyways…
