Short Version:

We’ve started an initiative to rework all the map generation in the game, and the mansion is the first zone to get changes. There is a new branch called “testing” that you can download now that contains the work to date. Our next update will focus on adding even more content to the mansion.

Long Version:

For a long time now Craig and I have felt like the map generation isn’t quite where we want it to be. We have a list of features that we’d *like* to see in the maps - unique/rare one-off rooms, NPC places, trap rooms with more design than “randomly placed spikes,” rooms with unique visuals, and more. We’ve made several efforts to prototype these features in the existing map structures, but were never really happy with the results, and the effort to author a single space of the type was so great that we would likely fall well short of the variety that we want to see. As a second but equally important issue, we’ve been frustrated with the game pacing on the existing map structures. We feel like the moment to moment combat is fun but over the course of a zone the pacing is basically a constant level of challenge. Ideally it would vary more, with peaks where the combat is more intense, and valleys where players get a bit of downtime to recover and explore. So with those issues in mind, we decided we needed to redesign the map generation system to better fit the needs of Monsters and Monocles. Our multi-step plan to validate a new design was:

• Create a small tool to allow for testing and modification of the basic generation algorithm
• Port the new generation code to the Monsters and Monocles codebase
• Create a tool for defining the map segments with all the required metadata
• Rework map rendering system to handle new segmented map generation with varying tilemaps per segment
• Create several new rooms/segments for the map generator to use (empty rooms, combat rooms, trap rooms, treasure rooms, etc)
• Replace the main combat floors of the mansion with the new map system
• Test and ship

The initial tool for testing out the new designs wasn’t much to look at, but it allowed for very quick iteration on both the generation algorithm and different room shapes for testing. The tool itself was working after a couple days, and then I spent the next three weeks working on the algorithm, tweaking potential room shapes and sizes, generating large batches of maps for design discussions with Craig, and then finalizing details like calculating a critical path, adding looping paths, etc. We spent a lot of time at this stage because it is far and away the easiest stage to fix problems, and the more we got correct at this stage the easier the rest of the stages would be.
(Screenshot of the test tool we used to create the new generation system) Once we were done with the prototype tool phase, I quickly brought the core algorithm code into the main game codebase and reworked it to start generating the necessary data structures required for play. I also developed a file structure in the Tiled map editor to start drawing out map segments and define all the necessary metadata. At this stage the goal was to be able to add all the data we need but also do it as simply as possible, since added complexity will increase the time to create variants, and eventually reduce the overall number of variants we can create. During this phase we reduced the segment creation process from around 2 hours per segment to approx 25 minutes (with a bit more time required for trap rooms with complex layouts). We feel pretty good about these times, but we plan on tweaking the Tiled map editor a bit to meet our needs even more. Now we had map data being generated, and all of the data structures were valid, but we couldn’t see the maps! I needed to rewrite the map renderer to change from a monolithic map to creating and rendering several small segments. Fortunately I was able to reuse a lot of the existing renderer infrastructure, and just went through a refactoring process to increase the flexibility. At this point we could see the the new maps and actually start to play! Well, we could run around the maps anyways. Once we hit that step I had to slowly start adding back in all of the remaining features that make a map playable - enemies, props, objectives, hidden entrances, exit points, etc. While I worked on that we also created more map segments and added a new trap type - a spinning blade of death. And while I was working on all of this stuff, Craig had been reimagining the visuals for the mansion and using our new tooling to overhaul all of the tiles and details. It’s a huge step forward for the game visually and it’s not even using all of the new options at his disposal yet! I can’t wait to see how it looks when he’s done. He also plans to revisit the props and other objects to bring them to a consistent level.
(Mansion tiles: before)
(Mansion tiles: after!) So, that’s a rough outline of the work for this update, and we’re launching it all today in a new branch called “testing.” If you’re interested in checking it out you can do so by following these instructions:

• Right click on Monsters & Monocles in your library
• Select “Properties” in the popup menu
• Go to the “BETAS” tab in the dialog that appears
• Select the “testing” branch
• Close the dialog. At this point steam should automatically queue the patch download for you. If it doesn’t quit and restart the steam client. You’ll know when it’s worked because you’ll see [testing] next to the game name in your library

We hope you enjoy the new map system and see the same potential in it that we do - we’ll continue to push more changes and content into it as part of the testing branch, and once batches of work have stabilized we’ll push it from testing to the main game branch as well. Thanks as always for your patience, and have fun! -Ryan & Craig 2017/07/26 - 1.8.6386 (Content Update 6) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: This build is currently on the TESTING branch because it is not guaranteed to be stable and we will update it as needed. Changes will be pushed to the main branch as appropriate. What's New: * Removed original mansion map generator * Added new map generation system based on room variants * Added 10 combat room variants * Added 5 trap room variants * Added 1 treasure room variant * Added a boss room for skullington fight (and slightly reduced overall space for fight) * Removed original mansion tilesets * Added all new gothic stone tileset * Updated map renderer to support multiple tilesets within a single floor * Added a new spinning blade trap type Known Issues: * Spinning traps can desync in online MP on clients

[ 2017-06-26 22:59:36 CET ] [ Original post ]