Disclaimer - These devlogs are part of a University assignment that Styx is being developed for, so please forgive any stilted wording or weird inclusions!

STYX Devlog #10

For a reminder of what the game is about, see Devlog #1 here.

What's new for STYX?

Devlog 10! The big 1-0! If you've kept up with these ramblings from the start, here's to you, and to many more.

As the title of this devlog implies, there's been a purge - that means our plans have been scaled back, mechanics have been simplified, and the game design document / project backlog have had re-writes to keep everything clear and up-to-date.

This is mostly for the sake of everyone's sanity - despite thinking my crossbow code was bug-free and mechanically sound after writing the last devlog, I discovered several game-breaking bugs the next day. A few ill-advised Github pushes and reverts sent me to bed quite sour that night, but by the morning I had a plan that I'm going to stop stalling and tell you about.

Basically, here's what's changing

• Fewer enemy types
• Simpler swivel gun mechanics (they'll just shoot harpoons)
• Simpler passenger-protection mechanics (just keep a trapdoor's health high)
• Fewer boat / player abilities

What's not changing?

• Basic gameplay remains unchanged - cannons, swivel guns, oar, crossbow.
• Charon and his boat will still be upgradable
• Three enemy types w/ unique sprites, behaviour, and animation
• Storyline, setting, and characters are all safe - they just won't be added to. probably.

While it might seem disappointing, this is all to say that STYX will be a lot less of a headache to work on - we're all students, and while grand plans are great on paper, it's my job as team lead / producer to make sure they're actually achievable.

Besides those old ideas aren't gone forever - if we have time, they may well be revisited, and a smaller game means more frequent updates!

Progress

• Re-wrote the design document & project backlog
• Updated enemy AI to navigate around obstacles
• Fixed enemy damage not working when standing too close
  
• Fixed issues with pause menu & audio thanks to John Leonard French
• Added sprites for wheel, main menu, credits, cannons, and more
• Temporarily removed crossbow  to think of a less buggy solution
• Rounded out Sprint 5 with a far less daunting project to work on!

Thoughts

Sprint 5 is over, and the lightened workload has helped more than the break did. Working on this project has always been a joy, but since I'm admittedly not the best programmer in the world, having fewer mechanics to stress about is really nice - our other programmer agrees wholeheartedly, too.

The artists have been consistently putting out banger pieces of artwork - the freedom I mentioned in the last devlog has arguably been used most effectively by the two of them, as they're flying through the project backlog even while learning to use Aseprite for the first time.

Going Forward

With the fresh outlook and a reduced pile of work that's looking way more do-able, I'm eager to get a playable build out ASAP.

To that end, I'll be working on:

• Adding obols as level rewards
• Locking upgrades behind obols
• Implementing the 'trapdoor health = obol reward' idea
• Fixing that damn crossbow!

Thank you for reading devlog #10!