3D Platformer

Question

If you wish to test some Sythy Assets, there are some free ones on the Unity Asset Store, for example:

POLYGON Starter Pack - Low Poly 3D Art by Synty
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/props/polygon-starter-pack-low-poly-3d-art-by-synty-156819

I guess you have to register to download them?

Here is the beginning of the import automation discussion, maybe there is something useful there.

You can try setting it up using the code set_surface_override_material(). Place the code in _ready() script somewhere above your imported node and it will do it for you automatically upon loading.

Part

Answer 1

Level I am working on. I had to update my blending shader, now it also blends normal map scale, roughness, specular and metallic.

Heliotherapy

Answer 2

Clouds ☁️

Heliotherapy

Answer 3

Background mountains and some minor effects to make it prettier.

Heliotherapy

Answer 4

I am really happy with how it looks. I only need to add a couple of platforms and maybe some extra textures, then this level is finished. 🍰

Heliotherapy

Answer 5

The level looks pretty neat looking from up.

Heliotherapy

Answer 6

First step for my open world idea.

Heliotherapy

Answer 7

[

Sorry for my English, I am Dutch.

Heliotherapy

Answer 8

Looks awesome. Your English is pretty good.

Subterranean

Answer 9

Trying to go for some nice cartoony eyes.

Heliotherapy

Answer 10

Oh, cool.

Subterranean

Answer 11

[

It's a bit difficult making some meaningful progress with Christmas coming up.
At least I made facial expressions work. 🙂

Heliotherapy

Answer 12

So I just found out you can export with smooth shading on. I don't know if this is necessarily better though. 🤔
Hmm, it may not be a good idea for performance. Any thoughts?

Heliotherapy

Answer 13

I don't know if this is necessarily better though.

It is, I was considering suggesting it, but figured it's perhaps just WIP models left like that for now.

Vexillum

Answer 14

Actually, smooth shading is likely faster than flat shading, since the vertices will be indexed.

Assuming you are using the standard shader. If you write your own shader, you could optimize it for flat shading, though I think the smooth shade looks more finished.

Subterranean

Answer 15

Text box and dialogues. Now just some new character models and I have NPC's. 🗨️

Heliotherapy

Answer 16

I was experimenting with some comic style shaders. My friend doesn't like it, but I think it looks pretty nice. What do you think?

As for other changes:

• Moving platforms stop moving, when the player is far away, for better performance
• Certain small meshes and some moving platforms turn invisible when far away
• Their is now a sand floor underwater, makes it feel more like an actual sea

Also, I decided to watch a video from a month ago, the one where I show some moving platforms.
My mind was blown away by how much my games has changed visually since then.
It's weird how much a project evolves in just a month. 🤯

Heliotherapy

Answer 17

[

Polka dots everywhere!

Heliotherapy

Answer 18

I was experimenting with some comic style shaders. My friend doesn't like it, but I think it looks pretty nice. What do you think?

I think it could benefit from some good anti-aliasing but that's about all it needs I think.

Vexillum

Answer 19

Using multiple layers of shaders has some interesting results.

Heliotherapy

Answer 20

I am starting to be quite happy with how the character shader is looking. Now I have to update the environment shaders.

Heliotherapy

Answer 21

I am trying to make better trees.
Any advise?

Heliotherapy

Answer 22

Heliotherapy

Answer 23

Do you think it looks better without the outline?

Heliotherapy

Answer 24

Looking good. I like the outline better.

Subterranean

Answer 25

It's interesting seeing how much the art style has change in over 2 months.
Also already a happy new year! 🎆

Heliotherapy

Answer 26

I am currently working on updating the character model. This should allow me to have different clothing options and those various clothing will have some effect on gameplay. For example this bikini will allow you to swim longer. I will also make a new hair model, maybe multiple if I decide to allow the player to change it.

Heliotherapy

Answer 27

Looks weird without hair but the proportions look much better.

Subterranean

Answer 28

I looked at some old projects and remembered I once made a witch character. I thought recreating it with my new model would be funny.
I already had once before recreated it in low poly for a kart game, but since that version is very child like, I made that version more covered up.
With my new more adult character, I decided to keep some of the original's sexiness, while also take some inspiration from the low poly model.

As for gameplay. Remember the invisible shader?
I will give this costume the ability to increase the range for how far you can see the invisible.
I will add in one last costume before I will make some new animations.

In a way I kind of want to take more old stuff and recreate them in this game project?
Who knows, maybe I'll add in the blocky procedural world generator.

Heliotherapy

Answer 29

Once I make some cold snowy levels, this outfit will keep you extra warm.

Heliotherapy

Answer 30

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Subterranean

Answer 31

In the beginning you'll be greeted with path in between two mountains, you cannot see anything except the sky.
Looking back, you won't be seeing much either as their will be a broken pirate ship (not made yet) blocking your view.

In the centre their is a little platforming section, where even if you fall (somehow) you'll land safe on ground.
Then you will make your way on a ledge, from their you can see your ship lying in the sand and a endless ocean with nothing in it.
Afterwards you'll be greeted with a little more dangerous platforming, where you have to walk on scaffolding above water.
Falling in water could mean you'll drown.

Having completed the simple challenge you'll once again walk on a slim path, view obstructed.
But then you make it to the end, seeing in front of you many different islands, waiting for you to explore.
Are you ready to start the adventure?

This island will be the first you'll be on. As such it will act as a simple tutorial level.
It will also serve as the default spawn, in case you have no other spawns to return to.

At the start their is a split path, which serves no purpose right now.
I may use it as a shotcut, so you don't have to go through platforming bit, just to get to the ship.

It's about the same size as the cake level, but since it's a lot easier, it won't take nearly as much time.
At the end I will at in a small boat, you can use to move quickly and freely from island to island.

Their are some huge grass field way on top of the mountains. Those will be accessible as well, with some challenges.

Heliotherapy

Answer 32

First look at what will eventually be the pirate ship. There are so many models I got to make, will be a while before I will be using godot.

Heliotherapy

Answer 33

It needs some texturing and then it will be a nice pirate ship. 🏴‍☠️

Heliotherapy

Answer 34

Updated the cloud shader, now it doesn't look as flat as before. ☁️

Heliotherapy

Answer 35

With this boat you'll be able to travel from island to island pretty quickly.
I haven't made animations for the character yet, so she is just floating in the air right now.

Heliotherapy

Answer 36

I am currently working on the animations. Here is the last frame of one of the death animations. 💀

Heliotherapy

Answer 37

Harpies. These creatures will act as distressed mothers looking for their children. The player will have to find the children and get a reward. Simple little side quests. I may change the colour of the skin and feathers depending on area. I may also make an alternative version that will act as a flying enemy. I haven't decided yet if I want to give her a bird like beak yet. 🐦️

Heliotherapy

Answer 38

Mermaids. Cannibals of the sea! They will attack the player from the waters. With their beautiful voices you will lose control and get attracted to them, making you very vulnerable. That will be a pain to program. 🧜‍♀️

I will now work on male characters/counterparts and then I will work on the npc's and enemies in game.

Heliotherapy

Answer 39

[

Heliotherapy

Answer 40

I am currently working getting the project working on Godot 4.0
It's best I switched to 4 now, since my project is still not that big.
Most gdscript stuff should work. It's just the shaders and materials I have to fix.
It's pretty funny to see the project looking so blank though.

It also appears some of the objects didn't survive the transition.
Some of the rotating platforms lost their meshes.
It's not even that they got deleted.
They still have their collisions and functionalities, just no meshes.
Not a huge deal of course, just find it funny.

Heliotherapy

Answer 41

I have now successfully switched to Godot 4.
It's almost like nothing has changed.

There are still some issues though.
The menu's aren't scaled properly any more, I am not too concerned about it since I wanted to change them anyway.
And the halftone shader for the shadows is broken, I will need to get that fixed.
The player character is shaded weirdly, since I am planning to change the model, no need to do the materials.
The only thing stopping me from putting the models in now is because weight painting is pure pain.

Other then that, I changed the door and button mechanics to be more like the cutscenes.
That will give me more flexibility when I eventually use them in levels.
Now the project runs in Godot 4, I will go back to the invisible shader and make it even better.
But first, I will add some "challenges", like rings you have to go through in order when in the boat.
A big world wouldn't be fun without stuff to do after all.

I hope to be able to make the next level soon.
It will either be a Dutch themed town or a invisible town with ghosts.
I should also start thinking about the story and characters soon.
I already have some fun ideas for side quests.

Heliotherapy

Answer 42

Changed the water, for like the 100th time.
Also I figured out how to fix the shadow halftone shader.
I was a bit experimenting with roughness maps on the bridge, to give the lines this shining look.

Any ideas how I could make it look better?
Ignore the lack of textures on the character, I was in the middle of importing the new model.

Heliotherapy

Answer 43

Yay a building. Now I have make many more before I have a town........ 🇳🇱

Heliotherapy

Answer 44

Oh cool.

Subterranean

Answer 45

I finally made the pleated skirt animate properly. While it's still not perfect, but for the amount of time it took me to get it like this, I consider it an absolute success. 🥳

Heliotherapy

Answer 46

Bricks shader. Detailed when close, more cartoony when far away. Additionally I can change the colour with ease. 🧱

Heliotherapy

Answer 47

I got bored of making all those buildings, I wanted to make something less geometric.
So I made a start with my ice cream level idea.

You see these paths, I am planning to have the rolling boulders as the main obstacle in this level.
I am not fully sure how I want to start and end the level yet, however these paths will have you go around and through the island.
I think it will be especially interesting once you are in the cave section and have to look out for the boulders.

I will have to update how the boulders interact with the player, so they will do damage.
The level model is not finished yet, I still have to do loads of texture work and add some interesting sight seeing spots.
Maybe I'll add some houses at the start of the level.

Also I just realised how much I make food related stuff.
A ramen kart, some cake islands and now this ice cream in a cup. 🍨

Heliotherapy

Answer 48

Btw, the game is now in development for 5 months.
Seeing how much time has passed already makes me kind of feel very insecure.
I am afraid I don't make enough progress in my game.

In theory development should go smoother now, since most important stuff have already been made.
It's now more about tweaking what I have and making more 3d models really.
Well, I still need to improve (facial) expressions, npc's, optional challenges, my sanity, story and loads of other stuff.
At least my Blender skills have drastically improved the last few months. 😆

How much doubt I have, I am very proud with the fact I worked on it for 5 months continuously.
Most of my other project hardly reach the 1 month mark.
While I have worked on and off with some projects, I have not worked on a single project continuously for more than 2 months before.
This is already the biggest project I have ever made, which I guess makes me feel more unsure than usual. 😖

Also fun fact, the design of the main character I originally created back in 2018.
I wanted to make an island exploration, vaguely pirate themed game.
The original concept was more meant to be a 3d Zelda like game, rather than a platformer.

However I never ended up making it, because I was terrible at 3d modelling.
So for the next years I mainly worked on 2d games or 3d games that use very simple shapes.
It was not until my kart game project from last year that I became more confident to work on an ambitious 3d game.

It's still surreal to me that that one random game idea I had back in 2018, I am now actually sort of making.
And this makes me only want to finish this project more than any other.
It's hard to express the emotions this project makes me feel.
All I can say is, I am happy to be a game developer. 😄

Heliotherapy

Answer 49

Btw, the game is now in development for 5 months.
Seeing how much time has passed already makes me kind of feel very insecure.
I am afraid I don't make enough progress in my game.

Even the big name firms have been developing games for several years and aren't much of a reflex about it. 😂

Part

Answer 50

I have exported the new model, but now I realise I forgot to do some weight painting for object that aren't properly attached to the witch costume.
I was testing to see how they would look with in godot with the games art style, must say I am decently pleased with it. I only have some problems with gradients, but I think I can do that with the shaders. Really the main issue is I haven't properly uv mapped certain things.
I also haven't yet applied the halftone shader.
Now I have to figure out how I can switch between the different models and make use of all the new animations.
I should also start working on the emotion system, to show when the player is happy or something.
I will make some more costumes in the future, but this is enough for now.

Once all that is finished I should have everything I would need for npc's.
I already have dialogue and cutscene system.
And a few npc models are almost ready for export.
The only thing is just the expressions, which mostly will be done through animations, but I would still need a system to easily switch between different eyes and mouth textures.
Maybe I'll export the harpy model for an initial test.

Heliotherapy

Answer 51

Games take forever. I've been doing this for a LONG time, and I still haven't released an indie game.

Subterranean

Answer 52

My favourite part is when I get to reuse/reimagine old ideas and assets. 🤠

I will go back to some of my various character models and give them some expressive animations.
I think I will have some decent npc systems (easy way for animations and expressions) done in the next few weeks.
Meaning practically I am almost-ish done with the npc part of the game.
Hooray, it feels like I am making progress.

Heliotherapy

Answer 53

How did you do the models? Blender? I suck at graphic design, can't even make 2D sprites much less 3D.

Ion

Answer 54

I use Blender for pretty much everything 3d.
I learned using Blender back in 2016 for a school project.
Since then I occasionally used my mediocre Blender skills for some Godot projects.

However I only started to get decent at it since last year, when I decided I wanted to make a 3d game.
I don't like to rely on other people's assets too much, I like to have some flexibility in my work.
So I have to make my own models.
Being forced to make tons and tons of models naturally made me a lot better at using Blender.
If you want to get better at something, you have to do it a lot.

I wouldn't call myself good at Blender. There are still a lot of stuff I have to learn.
Making models take me forever and I am not always happy with the end result.
But it doesn't stop me from making my game.

If you want a decent and easy to follow tutorial, I would recommend Imphenzia's series on low poly characters.
That will teach you most what you will need to know if you just want make simple characters.
Also you should look for refence images, Pinterest and many stock photo's sites are great for that.
When you make a model it's a lot easier to get the proportions right if you put the refences as a background.

If you are not confident in your graphics design, ask people for their opinion.
Explain what kind of style you are going for.
They will usually give you advise on how you can make your work look better and what you may be doing wrong.

Heliotherapy

Answer 55

She just saw what you did in your last project. 💀
I wonder what kind of horrors she just witnessed.

I am making a few more mouth frames.
Smiling and laughing is fun and all, but unfortunately life is more than just joy.
I don't know how I would describe this mouth frame, in the files I just call it "corn1". 🌽

I made the outline dark red instead of black and a bit thinner, to make it look a bit more pleasing.
I will update the old ones to be in line with this thinner, not black versions. 😃

Heliotherapy

Answer 56

She probably saw the model I'm working on. Not going too well. Might have to start over.

Taper

Answer 57

Don't knock it mate, your models are better than any I could ever do.

Ion

Answer 58

Making NPC's blink separately from one another. Making sure every npc has their own materials will be very important once I start making some cutscenes. Would be very inconvenient if changing one material effects all characters.

I originally wanted to import the cowboy character for this npc testing, however I realized I would've needed to draw new eyes. The cowboy requires some more narrower eyes, which I don't have yet. So instead I decided to import the harpy model. I decided to make the skin colour more darker and redder, makes them look more distinct from the player character. 🐦️

Now I just have to think about what would be the most convenient way to switch between different facial expression and then I should be able to create some interactions with emotions. I should also draw some more eyes, then I can import cowboy and other characters using his proportions. I think I should be able to get away with using the current mouth frames. 🤠

I really like the shocked expression of the player character.

Heliotherapy

Answer 59

Updated how the facial expressions work. Now it's easier to switch between them inside the editor, aka I can now use the animationplayer node with less headaches. I haven't implemented it in the player scene yet. Otherwise I am almost ready to do a test cutscene. 📽️

Heliotherapy

Answer 60

I can change the pupil's location by changing it's uv offset. I think I want to use this for the eyebrows too. 🤨
I keep forgetting I should draw eyebrows. Also now the player's facial expressions work the same as the npc's.

My next goal is to make a comic like cutscene. I am about a week away from working on this project for half a year. I really want to have video devlog by then, but I doubt I'll be able to make it. 😥

Heliotherapy

Answer 61

Testing out some comic style framing. 2 different methods, both with their pros and cons. It's a pain to set up. I have to think of a way to make it a bit more efficient to make. I will do some adjustments and then I will make a test cutscene. If the cutscene proves to be successful, I will move on to the next important aspect of the game, save files and quests. 💾

I am decently happy with the progress I have made the last few weeks. Soon the real game will be in development. It's time to really get creative with what I want this project to become. Although I still have to do loads of bugs fixes and other tweaks. 😅

Heliotherapy

Answer 62

I'll be totally honest, I haven't read a single thing you've said. I just looked at the pretty pictures. Yet I'd still be down to play whatever this turns into. Looks fun :-)

Kizer

Answer 63

Same. I too often look at other people's devlogs and not read anything. 😆

Heliotherapy

Answer 64

Damn, it's been a while since my last update.
Loads of stuff on my mind and loads of laziness.
I want to add a few NPC models, mainly so I can start with the story part.
For now I will mainly focus on important characters.
This model is not finished yet, I just need to do some adjustments and make the hair messier.
She's got a nice moustache tho. 👨

Heliotherapy

Answer 65

Update to the hair.

Heliotherapy

Answer 66

As part of her story, she is covered in food. 🍅

Heliotherapy

Answer 67

Working on a rough layout for the town level. 🇳🇱
The models will be replaced of course.

Heliotherapy

Answer 68

I don't know if it's a comedy touch, but personally I'd take the moustache off 😃

Ion

Answer 69

The character is based of an old character I created for a different project. In that project she was meant to be just an npc. I never got far in that project, because at the time I wasn't very used to coding and game design. I do want to restart that project at some point, now that I have more experience. As for the character, I wanted her to be weird and a bit delusional, so I gave her a moustache. Not only unconventional for a girl, but also in the story everyone wears the same "school uniform", wearing something outside the norm would add to her weirdness.

Anyway, I want to go back at some off my older projects / ideas and implement them or reference them in this one. This girl is one of them, removing the moustache would remove the point.

In a way, she is also a reference to mooncity, a 2d platformer I once worked on.

Heliotherapy

Answer 70

I don't have proper textures made, these are just placeholders. 🧱
Also, fun fact: The lantern model was made by a friend of mine, meaning it's the only 3d model, so far, I didn't make.

Heliotherapy

Answer 71

Right now I only have 3 different buildings, which is too much repetition. I will make at least 2 more, to make it more varied. At least it now gives a nice rough idea how these street will look like with different buildings.
Also I hate it whenever I reimport models that all the textures disappear. Always having to reapply everything is just pure pain.
I should really find a better way switching between godot and blender.

Heliotherapy

Answer 72

Also I hate it whenever I reimport models that all the textures disappear. Always having to reapply everything is just pure pain.

That's unusual. I've reimported my character many times but never have that problem. (I use the default gltf export settings in Blender, the only tick I make is to export only selected object)

Canara

Answer 73

On default gltf and other formats export with materials on.
I export my models (usually) without materials. If I export models with materials on, this would not be an issue.
However I like to make the materials and shaders in godot, so it's easier to reuse it for multiple models.
If I exported everything with materials, I would have like 10 different materials with the same brick texture for different models.
While not terrible, having only 1 brick material makes it easier to change the bricks for all models at once.

So the materials aren't really part of the model.
I set the materials under Surface Material Override.
When I reimport the models, it also removes the materials from the Surface Material Override.
A bit annoying, I hope they change it in a future version of Godot.

Heliotherapy

Answer 74

Adding some objects, like trees and lanterns.
It's starting to look like a real town. 😃
There are still some major flaws, like the fence floating in the air.
For now it's just visual representation of what it may will look like.

Heliotherapy

Answer 75

You can try setting it up using the code set_surface_override_material(). Place the code in _ready() script somewhere above your imported node and it will do it for you automatically upon loading.
for example:

@onready var bricks = preload("res://bricks.png")
@onready var house_mesh = $House/house_Meshinstance3D #your imported house's mesh

func _ready():
	var mat = StandardMaterial3D.new()
	mat.albedo_texture = bricks
	house_mesh.set_surface_override_material(0,mat)

Then you can apply this code on other house object (eg. house1_mesh = $House1/house_Meshinstance3D) and it will use the same bricks.png. Whatever material settings in the inspector can also be set via code. You can use this method for shader material as well.

Try it on simple cube project first and see if it suitable for your need.

Canara

Answer 76

I had thought about such automation before.
I never did it, since I thought the amount of time setting everything up would be a waste just for a mild inconvenience.
Sometimes it's hard to decide if creating automation is worth the effort.
I'll consider doing it, now I have to do a lot more level creation.

Heliotherapy

Answer 77

Probably a stupid question:

Place the code in _ready() script somewhere above your imported node and it will do it for you automatically upon loading.

This code is placed in the script in the game. Is it possible to perform a similar procedure when importing models, because there are import scripts?

Part

Answer 78

`

@tool
extends MeshInstance3D

@onready var placeholder_mat = preload("res://material/normal.tres")
@export var override : Array[StandardMaterial3D]


func _ready():
	
	# For New Models
	if override.size() < get_surface_override_material_count():
		override.clear()
		for i in range(get_surface_override_material_count()):
			# Check If Material Exists
			if get_surface_override_material(i):
				override.append(get_surface_override_material(i))
			else:
				override.append(placeholder_mat)
			
	
	# Check If Materials Match
	else:
		for i in range(get_surface_override_material_count()):
			# Replaces Materials With Array Materials
			if override[i] != get_surface_override_material(i):
				set_surface_override_material(i, override[i])

`

I came up with this. A bit overly complicated maybe, but can be applied to every model, regardless of materials and amount.

Heliotherapy

Answer 79

`

@tool
extends MeshInstance3D

@onready var placeholder_mat = preload("res://material/normal.tres")
@export var override : Array[StandardMaterial3D]


func _ready():
	var surface_count = get_surface_override_material_count()
	var override_size = override.size()
	
	# Check If Materials Match
	for i in range(surface_count):
		# Replaces Materials With Array Materials
		if i < override_size:
			if override[i] != get_surface_override_material(i):
				set_surface_override_material(i, override[i])
		else:
			break
	
	
	# For New Models
	if override_size < surface_count:
		override.clear()
		for i in range(surface_count):
			# Check If Material Exists
			if get_surface_override_material(i):
				override.append(get_surface_override_material(i))
			else:
				override.append(placeholder_mat)

`

I realized my previous version was very flawed, so I made a small update.

Heliotherapy

Answer 80

Wow, looks much more advanced than the basic code I got LOL 👍️

Academician
First time I heard of import script so I gave it a test.
I was able to change the color of a simple cube when reimport, using the doc's script.
https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/assets_pipeline/importing_scenes.html#using-import-scripts-for-automation

@tool
extends EditorScenePostImport

func _post_import(scene):
	iterate(scene)
	return scene

func iterate(node):
	if node != null:
		node.name = "modified_" + node.name
		var mat = StandardMaterial3D.new()
		mat.albedo_color = Color.BLACK
		
		for child in node.get_children():
			child.set_surface_override_material(0,mat)

What I did:
-Create This script but don't attach to any node.
-Import a cube without material then give it an inherited scene
-Then select your imported cube.glb > Go to Import > Advance then add the script to the "scene"'s import script box
-Click reimport the cube to see cube's color change from empty white to Color.BLACK.

This could be very handy for your texturings. 😃

Canara

Answer 81

I wouldn't call my code advanced, they are just a couple for loops checking every material.
Now that import script is very interesting. I didn't know that was even possible.
After half a decade messing with Godot and there are still so many cool features I am completely unaware of.
I will mess around with it later, this could be a huge game changer.

Heliotherapy

Answer 82

Don't forget to save the import script everytime after you make any script adjustments. Took me a bit to figure why it wouldn't update the model when reimport 😆 (there is nothing on the tab (*) to indicate script has been changed)

Canara

Answer 83

Quickly testing some random colours to see how it looks like. However I am very lazy, so I wrote code to randomize the colours for me. 🌈
Just some more building variety and it will look nice.
Also this discussion now has more than 100 posts! I consider that a huge achievement. Maybe someday this discussion will be in the top 10.

I tried the import script, however I wasn't able to figure out how to use it for existing materials. I may try again later. However I decided to reimport one of my building models into a gltf file and what I learned is when you save the model als a new inherited scene it will keep the materials even after updating the model. I knew about the inherited scenes, I didn't know they could do that, if only I knew earlier. 😑

Heliotherapy

Answer 84

I added some new building models, once again I am very lazy so I randomized them.
I also changed so only the front bricks of the models will change their colour randomly.
It' s all about how it looks from the front.

Something that bothered me a lot about this project was the shadow colour.
I think black is a terrible colour to use, especially for a more stylized game like this.
So I made a new shader that will allow me to colour the shadows how I see fit.

Heliotherapy

Answer 85

Silhouette shader! Just like fog, but better. 🌁

Heliotherapy

Answer 86

I have been thinking on how I could effectively use existing textures, while also keeping a cartoony artstyle.
Before I mainly just gave the textures a different colour. While it works fine, it doesn't give much flexibility for interesting shading, which makes texture often look very flat.
Making my own textures, while giving me more flexibility, isn't very appealing to me, not only because it would take a long time, something I hardly have as a solo dev, but mainly because I am not confident I could make pretty textures on my own, not to mention making stuff like normal maps for them.

So to get around some of my issues, I made this masking shader based on value. And instead of just throwing a colour on top, this uses a gradient.
Have the value check the gradient, and voila: a texture with multiple colours. I set these gradients to constant, meaning there is no in between colours, just for a more cartoony look. While definitely not perfect, it will allow for a bit more depth in my textures.

Heliotherapy

Answer 87

POWER

Heliotherapy

Answer 88

Spin effect. I'll be making some of these effects and particles, to make the game look and feel better. 🌪️
Looks better in motion btw.

Heliotherapy

Answer 89

Looking good.

Subterranean

Answer 90

Looks great! Might be a bit early for a Santa model though lol.

Ion

Answer 91

Landing effect and trails.
I never really messed with particles much, so I am still kind of figuring stuff out.
Also I have added some sound effects. For walking and the landing.
And sound effects of the ocean waves and seagulls for some ambience. 🌊
Throughout the whole development I tested the game in complete silence.
It's nice to hear stuff. If only I had some music though.
Also the game now runs on 4.1.

Heliotherapy

Answer 92

Well this is a bug. 🐛
Boats can fly after all!

Heliotherapy

Answer 93

I don't normally say how much I love a project, thanks to nothing more than habit. That said, I love what you're doing. I don't know what the point of it is, but what's the point of having a point?
I hope it's as fun to make as it is fun to watch this thread.

Kizer

Answer 94

Thanks. I am glad you enjoy it. 😊
I do love working on this project, otherwise I wouldn't have worked on it for more than 8 months.
Stuff may seem pointless in the short term, but progress is only really noticeable after long time working.

Most stuff I post here are just things I got very excited with in the moment.
Even if it's something mundane, after hours of work and research, it feels very satisfying to make something.
And I like to share those little moments.

Heliotherapy

Answer 95

I understand it. I get excited too, but my habit is staying up until I make myself sick working. An example is right now. I'm hoping it's just a head cold.

Kizer

Answer 96

That doesn't sound good.
You shouldn't work too hard. That's something you could regret in the long term.
I always stop at certain times, right before I go to bed.
Even if there are stuff I want to do, I'll save it for tomorrow.
Proper rest and my health is more important to me than this project.

Heliotherapy

Answer 97

Correct. Unfortunately the caffeine in my blood disagrees.

Kizer

Answer 98

Made some changes to the boat.
I didn't like how it worked previously, so I got rid of half of the old code and replaced it. 🚤
Now the player model is actually sitting on the boat seat.
I also made it so the FOV of the camera will change when you go speeding forward, to make it feel faster, even though it isn't.

Similarly I also added speed lines for that more comic effect.
I originally wanted these lines to be white, however the bright background made it very difficult to see, so I made them black instead.
The line look fine when looking at it from the front or behind the boat, but it looks a bit off when looking at it from the side.

I am planning to do some adjustments to the boat and then add certain gameplay features specifically made to be done with the boat.
Even though the main game is about platforming on islands, if going to the islands isn't fun or interesting it would bring down the overall experience.

Heliotherapy

Answer 99

First obstacle course test!
Of course I will change the boxes into objects that will be more thematically appropriate.
Next thing to do is making checkpoints which the player has to go through.
🛟

Heliotherapy

Answer 100

I was working on the menus and decided I wanted a comic book cover. 🗨️

Heliotherapy

Answer 101

The one part of this project I was scared of doing is working on the quests system.
Since quests are very situational I wasn't sure how to make simple scripts that would take care of everything.
However now I have updated the dialogue system I think I am only a few steps away from this.

I wanted to be able to decide what the npc would say depending on whatever items you have in your inventory.
Now it will check if you have the required items for the conversation.
If not, you will get different texts. 💬
Which you can see below.

I put the required items in an array, meaning I can decide how many different items are required.
And how many of each item.
Which I demonstrated by having "Cheese" and "Eggs" as separate items.
Coins and ramen are listed separately, since they are key items and not part of the inventory.
The "inventory" is just a dictionary.

I also put the whole dialogue resource into an array, so I can have characters with multiple different dialogues.
Although I haven't coded that part yet, it only checks 0 right now.
I just need to link this to the save system somehow and then it should be a good start for the quest system.

Later on I will also make dialogue dependent on story progression and whatever costume the player is wearing at the moment. 🎅

Has the required items:

Lacks some or all of the required items:

Heliotherapy

Answer 102

It would be funny if no body acknowledges the concept of santa claus with the outfit. Red-outfit is the centerpiece of your game in my mind. It's so burrowed in my psyche like a worm, when I see a santa outfit, I don't think christmas. I think Red-Outfit Girl and 'the dude from Godotforums'. I can't be sure if you have a hidden talent for branding, or I'm mentally ill.

Kizer

Answer 103

Funny enough, I was actually planning to make a christmas demo as a form of marketing.
A free version of the game where you will be on a christmas themed island looking for presents.
I don't know if I will make it for this christmas or next years, depends on my progress.

Heliotherapy

Answer 104

I have now successfully made a side-quest! 🪙

Heliotherapy

Answer 105

About the quests. Will there be translation into other languages？

Part

Answer 106

Yes.
I will definitely translate it into Dutch, since I am Dutch. 🇳🇱 🇳🇱 🇳🇱
If there is enough interest in this game I will hire some translators for different languages as well.
I hope to at least add German, French and Japanese to it.

I am not fully certain how I will make it switch between languages, but since it uses a string path to the files, I should be able to redirect it with a little bit of code.
I am more concerned that some jokes and puns may not work well in other languages, but that's for the translators to worry about.

Heliotherapy

Answer 107

If there is enough interest in this game I will hire some translators for different languages as well.

Pre-translation can be done via DeepL and players will correct later.

Part

Answer 108

Interpolating the sky and water colour!
I could modify it and turn it into a day/night cycle, I don't know if I want to do that for this project though.
Technically I already made it many months ago.
However since the upgrade to 4.0, I wanted to redo it with the sky shader.
I kept forgetting to do it though.

I am now going through my list of things I had to do a long time ago.
These are mostly just some minor things.
I have already made the inventory screen.
Fixed a couple bugs.
And made the game compatible with game controllers.

Heliotherapy

Answer 109

New grass texture.

Heliotherapy

Answer 110

I made a side quests where you have to look for these birds around the island.
They will follow you around to their nest.
It's very cute seeing them flying around. 🐦️

Heliotherapy

Answer 111

It's time for me to make some more characters!
This time turning a harpy into a cook. 🧑‍🍳
I don't want to know where she gets her fresh eggs from.

Heliotherapy

Answer 112

There is a saying "you are what you eat",
but I don't think this is what they meant.
It's a girl, but it's an egg. 🍳

Heliotherapy

Answer 113

Recreating old bartender model. 🍹

Heliotherapy

Answer 114

Heliotherapy

Answer 115

I made this level for where you have to climb across these fences and avoid the roses. 🌹
I had to program a whole new climbing mechanic just for this level to work.
My goal for now is to make loads of these kinds of short "level islands" before I work on some bigger levels and story.
Making a level costs a lot of time, so I have consider how to most efficiently and quickly make these.
I already know what the next level's theme will be.

Heliotherapy

Answer 116

I made the canals wider, so these boat houses now can fit here.
I will make a few more models for these houses.
I also did some shader tweaks, so it may look a bit different now.

Heliotherapy

Answer 117

Always thrilled and inspiring to see you're still at it! It looks like it's come a long way already.

Raffarty

Answer 118

i dont know if i mentioned this, but i tried making something a lot like your project when i was maybe 12.
i'm happy to see it happening with zero effort from me.
i'm baking pumpkin bread right now. this loaf is for you(in spirit)

Kizer

Answer 119

One part of my vision for this game is having multiple art-styles coexisting.
Last week was very difficult for me to work on this project. I felt very sick.
It's not very motivating when you have to cough every 2 minutes.

Thanks. Reading positive comments makes me always feel delighted,
but having my project called inspiring is a special kind of feeling of accomplishment. 😇

Thanks. I hope 12 year old you will be pleased. 🎃

Heliotherapy

Answer 120

I was thinking about newspapers and that's when I came up with this new brick shader. 📰

Heliotherapy

Answer 121

Do you know those cartoon where characters or objects get flat patterns to represent detail?
It's something I liked to use when I still did pixel art.
I thought it would be fun to take that idea and turn it into a hair shader. 👩
It's a very subtle way to make my character feel more 2d in a 3d world.

Heliotherapy

Answer 122

i don't mean to diss the art style if its a design choice:
why are the arms outlined and not the other flesh tones, like her face?

love the hair shader, by the way.

Kizer

Answer 123

I was experimenting with outlines, but it failed.
The outlines were either too big or to small.
You could see them through objects, obstructing visibility.

I decided to get rid of them. I forgot to remove them on the skin.
I still like the idea of outlines, but I'll have to find a different method.

Heliotherapy

Answer 124

I realized I could use the hair shader for more than just simple patterns.
As demonstration I turned the bartender's shirt into newspapers! 📰
These are levels of creative potential I hadn't even considered.

Heliotherapy

Answer 125

This picture is a mood, I don't know which one, but it is.
I thought it would be cool to make the bar themed after vaporwave.
It really has that fake 80s look to it, like a random bar you find in a sketchy back alley. 🍹

Heliotherapy

Answer 126

Nothing says vaporwave quite like magenta colored gridlines 👍️ 🙂

Jadotville

Answer 127

those places are very often terrible and boring, or a lot of fun.
i found it correlates with the adventurous spirit of the head cook:
chicken parmesan burger == good sketchy
chicken tenders == bad sketchy

Kizer

Answer 128

Finding random bars and restaurants is always quite an experience.

I know a bar that's located behind a hidden door in a room full of random crates and boxes.
Very sketchy feeling, but once you get in the bar it's precisely what you expect a bar to be.
Their menu isn't too big, but I would definitely go back once I get the chance.

If I lived in the city I would more often look for random places to eat and drink.
But oh well, maybe I'll consider learning how to make cocktails myself. 🍹

Heliotherapy

Answer 129

i'm not a bar goer, but i do like drinking. consider:
whiskey + chocolate_liqueur + milk.
very hard to mess up, very easy to fix, and the ingredients are cheap and versatile.
if you don't like that:
lemon_juice + sugar + whiskey:
there's no shame in watering it down if you don't want a face full of sugar with it.

for a seasonal drink:
apple_cider + apple_infused_whiskey/vodka + fireball + whiskey + lemon_juice + cinnamon
if you're poor, you can omit whatever you want. so long apple, cinnamon and booze are present, it's close enough.
in the PNW, there's a vodka brand. in the fall, they come out with an apple_cinnamon infused flavor. tastes better than most of my attempts at my own recipe. they're called Wild Roots if you want to look for it wherever you live.

Kizer

Answer 130

Thanks.
If I get in the mood for some booze I'll consider trying some of your recipes. 🍹

Heliotherapy

Answer 131

Heliotherapy

Answer 132

Testing out some street signs and speech bubbles using viewports. 🗨️

The longest sign. I don't even know if it's spelled correctly.

Heliotherapy

Answer 133

This is possibly my stupidest idea yet.
The fun thing about being a solo developer is that nobody can tell me "NO!".
I thought it would be funny to make a level based on the surrealistic painting Golconda.
With some Mary Poppins like umbrella's the player can jump on. ☂️

Heliotherapy

Answer 134

In blender I don't have shaders, since I know I will port all my models to godot anyway.
However because of that I feel like my models never are at their potential inside blender.
This picture is in godot with my shaders. 🍸️

Heliotherapy

Answer 135

It looks great! I love that you are going with a strong visual style for your game! It makes it stand out.

Billowy

Answer 136

checks out.
my shaders are all in godot as well, and i can confirm, everything in blender looks like garbage.
the resemblance is uncanny.
<pretend i posted a screenshot of a pile of garbage. it's still on the blender todo list. my laziness really wrecked this joke, didn't it?>

Kizer

Answer 137

Testing some monochrome style.
It's a bit tricky to work with, I don't want the screen to just eye blinding white.
If I get it right it could be one of the coolest islands so far.
It won't be just monochrome though, I want a mild paper theme.

Heliotherapy

Answer 138

Ah colours, in a world deprived from it.
Maybe I'll put the monochrome idea on hold and go full on paper.
I may have to write a new shader, my other shaders aren't quite right for this paper style.

Low poly models and paper go really hand in hand.
I should've used this when I was still working on that kart game.
Oh well, maybe in the future.

Also fun fact, this house model I originally made for my first ever 3d game, but this time with actual texturing.
Oh how I love to reuse and reimagine old assets, one of my favourite things to do when making a game. 🐌

Heliotherapy

Answer 139

Low poly models and paper go really hand in hand

you're discovering the secrets to timeless 3D art-styles.

Kizer

Answer 140

i want to drink the brown thing.

Kizer

Answer 141

I want the blue thing, I can only imagine what glistering stars would taste like. 🌟

Heliotherapy

Answer 142

no joke, every blue drink i have had in my life tastes a lot like the way whiteboard markers smell. i've been told it's the blue curacao, which is strange, because normal curacao tastes like what is. liqueur from bitter oranges.
i don't know what they do to make it blue, but if my friends are right, i can't imagine the FDA is involved in the process.

Kizer

Answer 143

To make stuff blue they use blue food colouring.
In theory it shouldn't taste different at all.
Possible that there was more than just curacao in your drinks.
Or maybe food colouring tastes like white board markers.
It's also possible different brands taste differently.

Heliotherapy

Answer 144

a shame we'll never know without corporate espionage.
big beer made sure of that before the constitution was even written. probably. look into how shady the booze business can get, especially in the 1800s-1930s, you'll (might) be surprised.

Kizer

Answer 145

Testing out some sheep on steep hills.
I thought it would be interesting to have the paper characters rotated relative to the ground.
Like they are glued in place without any considerations for gravity.
They can still move freely.

On the other hand if the player walks a bit downwards she will slide all the way to the bottom.
Truly she just entered a world where she doesn't belong.

Heliotherapy

Answer 146

Fortunately nowadays if you buy from reputable brands you should be fine.
People love to hate on regulations, but without it who knows what you'll find in your salad.

Heliotherapy

Answer 147

The way the game is drawn causes this really weird but cool effect when the camera clips inside a strawberry. 🍓

Anyway I wasn't very happy with how the controls felt, so I updated them.
Now when you jump you can do short presses for some low jumps.
Or hold the jump button to go extra high.
I also got rid of how the spin jump worked and just turned into a button press.
The wall jumps now also only work on specific collision objects instead of everything.

Heliotherapy

Answer 148

I just learned you can turn on wireframe in shaders.
This will be perfect for my vaporwave level idea.

Heliotherapy

Answer 149

I have had adding text as particles on my to do list for waaaayyyy too long.
I will work on some particle systems to make the game feel more fun.

Heliotherapy

Answer 150

Heliotherapy

Answer 151

Nice update! I'm curious to see how this looks in motion.

Billowy

Answer 152

Video

It's a bit of a trash recording, I don't fully understand how obs works.
Although I think I'll look into how Godot's build in movie maker works.

Heliotherapy

Answer 153

It's now officially a year since I started this project.
Damn, time flies.

Not sure if I can handle yet another year, I really want to move on to my next project.
Fortunately I've been actually working on levels lately, unlike most of last year.
So this project is really close in it's final phases of development.

I'm going to celebrate this occasion by taking a nap.
Good night, everyone. 🌃

Heliotherapy

Answer 154

Just for fun, here is a very early photo.
When I was messing with normal maps and blurry environments.
This was waaaayyy before I learned how to work with shaders.
Clearly this was when the art style peaked, It only went downhill since.

It's funny though, I originally made this project just to make a potential art style for my kart game.
It just kind of turned into my main only project,
as I thought it would be fun to make a game about walking and jumping around islands.
I am still messing with potential art styles, so really nothing has changed at all.

Seeing old pictures like these give a strange feeling of nostalgia.
Even pictures from just a few months ago make me just think of how quickly time passes by. 🕰️

Heliotherapy

Answer 155

Big sun! ☀️

Heliotherapy

Answer 156

I like the dithering of the shadows. Takes me back to the old C64, Amiga and early PC days.

Eucalyptol

Answer 157

I decided to update the environment and cloud shader.
I also made it so I can change the light's rotation and make the sun rotate with it.
Now I have more control, allowing me to give every scene their own feel. 🌅
I thought it would be funny to look back at early development and partially recreate it.
Ignore the triangles, those weren't supposed to be in the picture, lol.

Heliotherapy

Answer 158

Nice!

It's now officially a year since I started this project.

Congrats! And nice updates! It's going to be interesting to see you getting closer to a final game. Any demos planned?

Billowy

Answer 159

Yea, I want a demo to see what people think of the gameplay.
However I don't have many levels done yet.
I want to have about 10 levels and then I'll put a demo out.

Heliotherapy

Answer 160

🎃

Heliotherapy

Answer 161

Paper castle. 🏰
Also I am a bit tired working on this project.
I will probably scale down my initial plans.
My next project will be one that won't take me over a year, that's for certain.

Heliotherapy

Answer 162

Making games is hard, especially when you are a solo dev doing everything yourself. It can also be very isolating. One thing that helps (at least for me) is to playtest it. Sometimes just sharing your experience with other people can bring some energy back (even in a closed environment). Also, allow yourself to take breaks.

Billowy

Answer 163

After some thinking I have decided I may change the direction of this project. 🏔️

Heliotherapy

Answer 164

Since I decided to change my approach with this project, it allows me to do some things I couldn't before.
I am currently working on a level with an optical illusion.
The camera forces you to see the floor as a flat plane, but in reality it's got depth. ♟️

Heliotherapy

Answer 165

One part of me wanted to make a cool maze.
The other wanted to make a pyramid.
Somehow together they came up with this. 🤔

Heliotherapy

Answer 166

Really like the pyramidal maze idea.

Jadotville

Answer 167

I agree with Averment It's a really cool idea!

Billowy

Answer 168

i agree with Averment too and Ragamuffin. i always fall for weird geometry and level design.

Kizer

Answer 169

What approach do you currently have with your project, since you mention you changed your approach?

Delozier

Answer 170

My original idea for the project was making a bunch of islands for the player to explore in.
However it's very difficult to make big open areas with lots of interesting stuff.
Also that levels that are intended to be a challenge I constantly had to build them very high.
Otherwise the player could just walk around it, which kind of defeats the point.

In practice I found that my mini levels work the best.
I made a couple small levels and those are the most to go through and make.
After some thinking I decided that I want to reduce the open world aspect of this game in favour for a more linear approach.

Now levels will be smaller, but all with their own themes and gimmicks above a void.
One level could be based on jumping on top of cars and another could be optical illusion maze.
In this approach I am more thinking about "what could I make" rather than "can I turn it into an island".

Unfortunately it means I had to scrap a lot of story and character ideas, but that's the least of my worries right now.
I already now what the new story will be and how I will tell it.
The new "theme" of the game that you are very small in some else's house.
Most levels will be themed around that idea of you being small.
Like a giant cake or climbing a christmas tree.
I hope that makes sense.

Heliotherapy

Answer 171

I got a bit bored making standard platforming levels.
So I decided to add a new mechanic. Gliding.
Instead of having the player just walk or jump to the goal, now they fall.

This way of moving through the air will only be used in gliding specific levels of course.
The mechanic is a bit overly floaty, it needs a bit of tweaking.
But so far it's really fun.

For some added challenge there are rings the player needs to collect as they go through the air.
If they miss a ring, they will game over and have to do the level from the start.

As a side note, I don't have proper animations yet, so right now it just uses the jump animation for gliding.

Heliotherapy

Answer 172

Sometimes in a world full of chaos all you need is a nice drink. 🍹

Heliotherapy

Answer 173

Testing out some monochrome with images replacing the shadows. 🌃

Heliotherapy

Answer 174

You ever want to try something that could completely break your project if you mess up?
I thought it'd be cool to have gravity relative whatever direction I decide it to be.
I never dared to make such system as my project wasn't made with changing gravity in mind.
And I knew if I decided to do it anyway I would have to delete like half the code.
Removing features just for one experimental idea is a bit ridiculous.

However after some thinking what more I could do with this project I decided to give it a shot.
After all if it failed I have back-ups anyway.
I first did some experiments in a test project and it was extremely painful and confusing.
I figured I would base the gravity of the objects collision normal.
And while that somewhat worked, it caused more issues then it solved.
I gave up like 5 times in 1 day trying to make it work.

Anyway I gave up and looked up a youtube video to see if someone else had already tried this idea.
I found a video and this guy said to make the gravity relative to a point in space inside the object.
Such a simple solution, yet so effective.
I tried it and it worked mostly perfectly.
I did some tweaks to it so it also keeps flat surfaces in mind before applying gravity.

The hard part was translating that test project to the main project.
As expected I had to delete like half the code, so much so that now the animations don't work anymore.
But for some reason it kept failing.
While the gravity worked perfectly fine, the camera just hated me.
It did not want to cooperate.
Normally I wouldn't be to worried about the camera.
But since the movement in this project is directly tied to the camera it was import to make it work.

I almost considered giving up.
Then I decided to take a closer look at why exactly the camera was behaving like a drunk.
Turns out there was 1 line of code in the camera script that was the cause of my issues.
A line a didn't even remember putting in.
After removing that line the code suddenly worked as great as I could have ever hoped for.

VICTORY!! 🥳

While I may not have working animations and other removed features,
this new gravity mechanic makes it well up for it.
I can now walk around planets and other objects.
This system is very dynamic too.
I can jump from one planet to the next and have the gravity change with it.
This will give me so many possibilities for level design.
I am already thinking about a solar system level.

Even if I failed this little experiment I would still consider it a overall net positive.
As this allowed me to go through my old code and do some cleaning up.
I wanted to untangle my spaghetti for a very long time, but never felt like it. 🍝
Maybe I'll replay Mario Galaxy for some more level inspiration.

Heliotherapy

Answer 175

I already talked a bit about the new gravity mechanic in my previous post.
The dice textures are placeholders. 🎲

Heliotherapy

Answer 176

I just realised I haven't uploaded in a month.
So here is a random picture where my character is effected by gravity.

I've been working very hard on the project.
I would even say I am close to the final product.

I just need to finalize the hub worlds and story.
The hub will make or break the project.
It needs to be fun to explore and have interesting stories going on.

After that it's just updating the visuals and audio and other tweaks.
I may even consider replacing the character model.

Heliotherapy

Answer 177

Howdy.
I am currently fixing various shaders and materials.
It's about time that this project got a definitive art style.

Heliotherapy

Answer 178

It's about time that this project got a definitive art style.

That's for sure 🙂 You've had quite a few interesting visual experiments but at some point the things need to get stylistically unified.

Jadotville

Answer 179

This looks like DonkeyKong in 3D

Derron

Answer 180

Yes, that level is inspired by arcade donkey kong.

I am already missing that experimental time.
Just messing with shaders and materials is just fun.

Heliotherapy

Answer 181

Just messing with shaders and materials is just fun.

Absolutely, but if your goal is to complete the game, the playful stage should be replaced with focused execution at some point 🙂

Jadotville

Answer 182

Updated water. 🌊

Heliotherapy

Answer 183

Howdy! 🤠
As part of finalizing the art style I have decided to overhaul the character shaders.
After a year of thinking and tweaking I concluded that the halftone shader just doesn't work on characters.
So now the characters and some other objects will have a more standard cell shading look.

I did some experimentation with outlines and I concluded that outlines don't work well if the object is shaded flat.
Unlike what a lot of people will tell you, it has absolutely nothing to do with the angle of the faces.
You can even give a cube decent outlines if it has smooth shading on.

Heliotherapy

Answer 184

Working with transparency always scares me.
Visual glitches are a pain to deal with.

Also I have gotten rid of many unused textures.
Very nice now there's less junk in the files. 🗑️
There is still some trash remaining, mainly because those are linked to materials.
And right now I don't feel like dealing with the potential bugs.

Heliotherapy

Answer 185

Testing some grass.
I'm impressed godot can handle this.

Heliotherapy