Dev Log #4: Dancing with Darkness

🔥 Progress Report: The Road So Far

These few weeks have been a wild ride milestones checked off left and right (my day job getting hectic), and the vision for "Embers of the Outer Dark" creeping ever closer to reality. 

Here’s what we’ve cooked up in our cauldron of chaos:

🎮 Gameplay Enhancements

1. Health & Mana Bars Overhaul:
   • We've swapped out our trusty image-fill UI for sleek, modern sliders to display health and mana. These bad boys are smooth, responsive, and ready to shine in the player HUD.
   • A quick dip into Synty assets gave our HUD a fresh coat of paint, and it’s starting to feel like a polished product.
2. Spell Progression:
   • The fireball spell remains the star of the show, but our underlying system for spell unlocks and cooldown visuals is ready to expand.
   • Chain Lightning's mechanics and VFX are in the works, promising to zap foes with style once finalized (though these spells will not be in the proof of concept demo that will be releasing).
3. Combat Feedback:
   • Screen shake, damage flashes, and other juicy feedback are keeping combat impactful. This week we tweaked timings and visuals to make hits feel even meatier (we have further expanded the camera and overlay system to incorporate future additions like poisoning, visual indicators or using / picking up health and mana, stronger camera shakes depending upon damage and the damage dealers).

👹 Enemy AI: Sharpening the Blade

1. Melee Enemy AI:
   • Our melee enemy is getting smarter and deadlier. Animation states for idle, walk, chase, and attack have been wired into a state machine for seamless behavior transitions.
   • A “Cursed Axe” and "Bone Club" have been bestowed upon them, giving them just the right amount of menace to ruin your day.
2. Range Enemy:
   • Ranged foes are operating smoothly, hovering eerily and pelting the player with projectiles. With polished AI and animations, they’re a solid addition to our enemy roster.

🌌 Environments: Building the Abyss

1. Level 1 Concepts:
   • Our first level—a decrepit catacomb—has moved from concept art to blockouts. Using Synty assets, we’re shaping corridors, chambers, and eerie corners where players will face their first horrors.
   • Environmental atmosphere is starting to come together with light and shadow play. Post-processing remains on the horizon.
2. Secret Mechanics:
   • We've started brainstorming destructible walls, hidden passages, and breakable obstacles to reward exploration. This layer of environmental interactivity will deepen the immersion (again mostly speaking of what is to COME after the proof of concept demo, rest assured there will be some "gems" hidden in plain sight for the skilled explorers to find).

🔊 Audio Progress

• Sound effects are underway. We've sourced assets for spell impacts, melee clashes, and eerie ambient sounds to bring the world to life.
• Placeholder sounds for hit feedback and environmental traps are already elevating the gameplay feel.

📌 To-Do List for the Next Cycle

1. Finish the Melee Enemy:
   • Tune AI behavior, polish attack animations, and finalize damage mechanics.
2. Player Melee Combat:
   • Refine animations and hit detection for a satisfying punchy or slashing feel.
   • Add blood and hit sparks for visual oomph.
3. Environment Design:
   • Complete the first playable section of Level 1 with traps, loot, and secrets.
   • Begin layering in atmospheric effects like fog and embers.
4. Audio Implementation:
   • Wire up placeholder sounds for weapons, enemies, and traps.
   • Test sound layering to ensure nothing feels out of place.

💭 The Dream Ahead - What we are cooking for beyond the Demo

As we inch closer to a playable demo, the horizon holds tantalizing challenges:

• Implementing our insanity/madness system (yes indeed you did hear that correctly. We were going to keep this one a surprise).
• Adding destructible and interactive environments.
• Expanding the spell system with Chain Lightning, Frost Spikes, Gravity Pull and secondary spells based off of the primary.. Flame thrower anyone?.
• Building out the catacombs to include multiple layers of dread and intrigue. 
• ...and plenty of more shizzle that will sizzle. 

We’re juggling a lot, but it’s all coming together like a cursed symphony. Stay tuned for more progress, chaos, and perhaps a sneak peek into Level 1 in Dev Log #5. Until then, may the embers light your path (or devour you whole).

Signed, Your Dev Team of Darkness (a team of one, the useage of "we" is in the "royal" sense).