PieceofSoap
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[The Hive] Weekly Report #18
🕑 Added 2023-03-08 20:34:21 +0000 UTCWarning ! Don't open and scroll on these posts if you want to keep the surprise for the next demo.
Play the latest demo here and leave some ideas here.
Like the Hive? Then you'll like Personalias, the writer of the game! Check out his work here : https://www.patreon.com/personalias/posts or here : https://www.deviantart.com/personalias
Latest batch of work on the Hive !
During the break, I decided to tackle what I dreaded the most: the entire user interface (UI) of the game. Surprisingly, it turned out pretty well. Of course, I'm not a programmer and writing code isn't my job, so there were very frustrating days of work where I was stuck for hours on small details. But overall, I'm pretty happy with the result!
I started by integrating a quick menu at the top left, which only appears during the exploration phases. This menu will be used to access the relationship panel, inventory, saves, and the main menu.
I also added more flavor text for Ms. Sato's house, in place where there were placeholders in the demo (as you can see here).
Next, I worked on a gallery that will contain all of the artwork in the game. Once an artwork appears in-game, it will be available in the gallery. Renpy uses "persistent data" which allows the state of the artwork (shown or hidden) to be saved in the gallery even after exiting the game.
The quick menu will also allow you to access a relationship panel. This way, you will be able to consult the progress of your relation with a character, as well as its level of regression. Characters accessible from this panel work the same way as artwork for the gallery: Once a character appears in-game, they become accessible from this panel.
The last two UI elements were also the hardest to integrate. The first was the options menu, which allows you to switch from full-screen mode to windowed mode, as well as to control the volume of music and sounds.
The second was the inventory.
In all, it only has 15 or 20 lines of code, but that was by far the most complicated for me. A Python command (.append.item) is used to add or remove items from the inventory. I wanted the items to be clickable, and for June to be able to interact with the items, which didn't make it any easier.
There are still a few small details to fix when an object is interacted with. For some unknown reason, the quick menu disappears during the interaction. But it should be something fairly easy to fix.
Overall , the last thing left to do for the UI is the save system.
I also found time to work on characters. I wanted to touch up some that I was not happy with, like Molly or Ms. Cosset. For Charlotte, I redesigned the dress.
And finally, today, I drew two new characters. The first one is Ms. Sharpe, the stern teacher who is in charge of the Giraffe class. She looks like the exact opposite of Ms. Cosset.
And Nancy, aka Nana, who takes care of the Chick class, the most regressed Juvies in the Hive.
You will also find a video in attachment that showcases the different menus and how the whole thing is working together.
Next week I'll be working on Perpetual Change again.
I want to focus on the secret endings to finally finish the game. I plan to work three weeks on Perpetual Change and one week on The Hive each month until PC is completely finished.
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Comments
Thanks! I have more ideas for games but I try to keep focus on the current project before investing in that!
With how perpetual change turned out I'm supper excited for this one!!!! Keep up the awesome work. I'm a fan for life. Hopefully this won't be the last game in your line up
Thanks for all the advices!
Incognito Bro
Hey Soap. I have a bit of programming advice for use in the future. When working on items and what effects items have, it may be a good idea to learn about JSON files, which is like a database files. They can be converted from JSON to dictionaries (objects in the python programming language). This makes them helpful for stuff like saved data, or a list of items and what items can do. Also, check out the w3schools website. They have an amazing reference for python language and I tend to use them on the daily when working in python. Also, you can export the game without the need to compile - that way us programmers could give you some advice on the coding itself. But it's up to you! I'm excited to see how development comes along!
Four, one for each tier!
Thanks Gavyn, trying my best to make this game special!
Let's say she's dedicated to the job!
Thanks a lot Rho! I love working on this game because even if it's more challenging, there's a level of customization that wasn't possible with PC.
There will be a shortcut when starting a new game, as for the regular endings!
How many secret endings will there be in PC Soap?
Gavynnnnn
Just having a fullscreen option with volume sliders is a massive step-up customization-wise from Perpetual Change Soap!! I was skeptical at first but I may like this even more than Perpetual Change!
ChocoQuartermaster
Woah, I thought PC was finished. I'm excited for both!
NaughtyMono
Hot diggity dog, Nancy is totally, erm, *fit* for her job!
RhoBean
This game is shaping up to be so good. Perpetual Change was great but this seems special, you’re definitely growing as a creator.
Marcie Nikos
What she said
Elisa
Love this, and looking forward to more endings! Please include a way to skip to them for folks like myself who like to replay <3
