Dev Diary | A Love-Filled, Motive-Driven, and Interactive Adventure Awaits!

Hello fellow settlers of Ceinov!

I'm excited to share some insights about the upcoming release of our game, "Settlers of Ceinov." It's been quite the journey getting to this point, and I wanted to take a moment to explain why this game build has taken a bit longer than anticipated.

One of the primary challenges I faced, as a developer with limited coding experience, was creating a robust motive system. I wanted this system to be not only efficient but also capable of handling the unique needs and routines of every NPC in our open world. I've seen other games struggle with similar features, becoming laggy over time or with many NPCs on screen. To tackle this, I devised a virtual motive system where values are only updated when necessary. Admittedly, it involved some complex mathematics and global parameters that pushed my coding skills to the limit. But, rest assured, it's coming together.

Integrating this motive system seamlessly with our AI system was another hurdle. NPCs need to consider their needs and act accordingly, and while this part was relatively smoother, it required meticulous integration. Additionally, we wanted to accommodate custom player interactions and orders, which meant developing an AI task stacking system. It's been a bit of a puzzle, but it's working quite nicely now.

Our interactables were another interesting challenge. We decided to implement a slot system, allowing more than one actor to use them. Creating a slot claiming system wasn't too difficult, but we ran into some unexpected issues with animations. Unreal didn't always behave as expected. These interactables also needed to work seamlessly with the motive system, which added another layer of complexity. Nevertheless, we've overcome these challenges, even though it took a bit longer than we initially anticipated.

Looking ahead, we have exciting plans for the future. Right now, only half of the motive system is implemented, but the framework is ready. We're brainstorming ideas for additional interactables and interactions to fulfill different needs, like an arcade machine for fun, an interactable station for love, and a computer for social interactions.

Furthermore, we're expanding the functionality of our slot system. In the near future, NPCs will be able to interact with one another. For instance, we're planning to introduce love spots, where NPCs with low love needs can claim a spot and wait for another NPC to join them. These NPCs will evaluate their compatibility through a series of checks, and if they hit it off, love will blossom.

These checks and slot claiming calculations will be lightning fast, ensuring NPCs only move to their designated spots once compatibility is confirmed. We're even considering allowing NPCs and players to trade in-game currency for love interactions, making your followers work on the love market in the true spirit of "Settlers of Ceinov."

We're dedicated to making "Settlers of Ceinov" an immersive and unique experience, and we appreciate your patience as we work through these challenges. The wait will be worth it, and we can't wait to see you in the game, creating your own stories and adventures in the world of Ceinov. Stay tuned for the release – it's just around the corner!