Development Notes

Core Gameplay & AI

• Enemy AI Enhancements:
  • Implement enemy strafing and magical attack variations. This adds unpredictability and complexity to combat.
  • Enemy AI now searches NavMesh when enemy is unseen for a set amount of time.
  • Integrate NavMesh into enemy aggro AI to improve pathfinding during pursuit.
  • Enhance enemy awareness: Enemies perform raycasts to face the player when their cone detection range is triggered.
  • Add jumping terminator skellies. (A touch of flair, perhaps?)
• Player Combat & Scaling:
  • Scale player and enemy damage dynamically based on attack distance. Requires careful balancing, naturally.
  • Raycast before enemy attacks to prevent unintended collisions or exploits.
• Multiplayer Considerations:
  • Develop a dedicated multiplayer enemy controller.

Level Design & Environment

• Prison Level Specifics:
  • Implement tombstones for the prison level. A nice touch of atmosphere.
  • Terrain holes will be converted into caves - offering opportunities for exploration and hidden areas.
• Traversal & Hazards:
  • Create ramp traps that cause the player to become stuck on the other side. Requires careful implementation to avoid frustration.

Visuals & Rendering

• Lighting & Shadows:
  • Add a toggle for blob shadows, exclusive to indoor scenes. Optimizes performance and enhances visual consistency.
  • Interior sunlight now masked to enemies only.
• Shader Optimization:
  • Improve the shader precompiler to enhance rendering performance.
• Culling Issues:
  • Address the persistent culling mask bug affecting directional lights - requires compatibility adjustments with the Godot renderer.

Technical & Versioning

• Build & Distribution:
  • Version bump - triggering a necessary download of the new .exe file.
• Debugging:
  • Perform remote debugging with the APK.
• Controller Support:
  • Conduct more rigorous testing with game controllers, especially on Android.

Miscellaneous

• Save System: Implement avoidable autosave checkpoints - providing player agency over progression.
• Itemization: Enemies physically drop their gear for the player to pick up. A small detail with a positive impact on player satisfaction.
• Dynamic Connections: Enemies setup their own ladders/off-mesh connections.