Sin Spire - Dev Log 11

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing well. This week marks the final post of "Art Month." Moving into next month, I'll be primarily focused on animations, along with working on gameplay systems to support those animations. So, while animation is the priority, it'll likely turn into more of a "variety month" as I handle a few other things as well.

The week started with a dive into the game's UI. I hadn’t touched it much since working on the core gameplay systems many weeks ago, and it was due for a visual update. There weren’t any major overhauls—mostly refining margins, improving readability, and adding some paneling and background images. Visually, it's a small update, but it helps make the presentation feel more final

I also started work on a tutorial area. I've discussed some of the gameplay mechanics in previous posts, but realized that for people actually playing the game, a more contextual explanation is required. So, I created a fairly scripted tutorial segment with a unique little dungeon. It's 5 minutes tops and mostly consists of specific gameplay sections with plenty of notes explaining what to do.

The area also introduces a unique Stalker designed specifically to teach hiding and evasion. The focus for this Stalker, unlike the previous ones, was more on creating something freaky and terrifying. This is the only enemy in the game that is designed to actually jumpscare you. I won't show it off or anything, I want it to be a nice surprise for build testers and future players.

While working on the UI, I decided to tackle controller support. What started as simple testing escalated into fully implementing gamepad functionality. This includes dynamically updating the prompts based on which peripheral you're using and also adding two sets of bind buttons to the settings menu to allow for custom rebinds.

This of course meant I needed to get controller support also working with menus, which Unreal Engine doesn’t handle well by default. A lot of work was needed so that menu navigation behaved as one would expect. This wasn't something I was planning on spending much time on but it ultimately took up most of the week.

I’ve since played through the tutorial and the opening segment of the game using only a controller, and I’m happy to say it works quite well. While I’m not sure how many of you will use a gamepad for this type of game, I hope those of you who do will appreciate the effort that went into making it functional.

Lastly, I worked a bit on the game's intro cinematic. It’s a brief, minute-long scene that sets the stage and provides some unspoken context for Sin Spire's world. Cinematics and cutscenes will be rare in the game, so don’t expect too many of them.

In addition to the intro cinematic, which plays as a video when you start the game, I’ve also developed a first-person, in-engine cutscene system. These will allow me to trigger short sequences that don’t directly interfere with gameplay, helping add some flair to certain moments.

So, while this week didn’t strictly align with the "Art Month" theme I had in mind for September, there’s been solid progress. Since much of it is still a work-in-progress and not art-related, I don’t have many screenshots to share at the moment that show off more than just the tutorial area.

In the coming week, I’ll be starting animation work, focusing on giving some of the previously designed enemies proper combat animations and AI. I may also look into giving Savina a much-needed makeover. Also, as I'll be working on "Purification" AKA sex animations in October as well, I will be posting some previews for Supporters—apologies for delays in that area.

Thank you all for your support, and I’ll see you next time!