The Final JOFD To-Do List

Cube Dev: The Final JOFD To-Do List

I've finally put together a proper list of the remaining things that need to be finished in Just One Floor Deeper.

And for once, the list really isn't that bad.

We're ignoring map creation for the moment.

Because that's a completely different problem involving approximately 250 dungeon designs, and I'd rather enjoy this feeling of accomplishment for a few minutes.

Progression Needs Another Pass

The progression runtimes need a little more work.

The systems are there, but I want to make sure that abilities and scores actually matter everywhere they're supposed to.

If you've invested in an ability, the game needs to recognize it. Special abilities need to apply their bonuses properly, progression needs to feel meaningful, and everything needs another pass to make sure all those numbers we've been tracking actually accomplish something.

Otherwise they're just very elaborate decorations.

Elites Are Now Actually Elite

Then we have elite monsters.

There was a slight problem with them.

They weren't particularly elite.

We may have created elite monsters and then forgotten the part where we actually made them... elite.

That's been corrected.

Elites are now elite.

You've been warned.

Tombs Are Getting Meaner Too

While we're making things more dangerous, the tombs are getting a difficulty increase.

Tombs are supposed to be places you deliberately choose to enter knowing that things may not go particularly well.

So they need to feel like it.

There's also an old tomb idea that still needs to be finished.

Some tombs are supposed to lock you in until you've killed the bad guy.

No walking in, deciding this was a terrible idea, and immediately turning around.

You entered the tomb.

Deal with it.

That functionality is now being worked on.

Where Did the Traps Go?

At some point during development, traps disappeared.

Not mechanically.

They're still there.

You just can't see them.

Which, admittedly, is extremely effective as a trap.

It's just not quite what I intended.

So traps are getting their visibility back.

Don't expect giant flashing warning signs, though. If you have a good eye, you should be able to spot them.

If you don't...

Well, that's sort of the point of a trap.

Dropped Items Are Getting Some Art

Dropping an item onto the dungeon floor has always worked, but visually it was just represented by a glyph.

That's getting replaced with a proper image.

It's a small change, but we're at the stage of development where a lot of these little things are finally getting cleaned up.

Inventory Stacks Need to Follow the Rules

The inventory system is also getting a fix so it properly honors the maximum stack sizes defined in the editors.

The editor already knows how many of something you're supposed to be allowed to stack.

The inventory apparently decided those numbers were merely suggestions.

They aren't.

Then There's Mastery

This one isn't really a surprise.

I always knew the Mastery system still needed to be completed.

Right now, normal ability progression essentially ends once our Adventurer reaches level 50.

That's mostly because I haven't finished filling out the Mastery JSON yet.

So that's now officially on the remaining-work list.

But Mastery also raises a bigger question that needs quite a bit of playtesting:

Can the Adventurer actually reach level 50 by Dungeon Floor 250?

Because I'm increasingly thinking that Floor 250 is going to be the end.

If you manage to fight, loot, explore and survive your way through all 250 floors, I think you've earned it.

Your Adventurer retires.

They've seen enough.

Let somebody else go into the dungeon.

And, Of Course, Sound

There are still a few empty spots in the audio department.

I already have the audio packs. I just need to sit down, go through them, and find the sounds I actually want to use.

Not technically difficult.

Just one of those jobs that involves listening to a ridiculous number of sound effects until one of them finally makes me say, "Yep. That's the sound."

We're Getting There

And... that's pretty much where things stand.

There are fixes to make.

There are systems to finish.

There are numbers to balance.

There is a lot of testing left to do.

But the list of actual game systems that still need to be built or completed is getting surprisingly short.

JOFD is coming along nicely, and there really isn't much left to get into place.

Which feels fantastic.

Aside from one tiny detail.

I still need to design roughly 250 dungeon floors.

One of these days I'm going to make a simple game.

Today is not that day.