(Posted originally on our blog)

Hi guys!

Last week we finally finished the first iteration of the character menu. It took us a while but it's done and ready for the upcoming alpha release! 

Last week big focus was on the Map, Logs and Stats tabs:

Most of the map biggest problems were already solved on previous iterations of the mapping feature, the biggest challenge we had now was how to make it look good and easy to read for the players. 

We started by adding a zoom in and zoom out feature, which makes it easier to navigate around when the map is fully uncovered. In the future, we will also have a semantic zoom feature, where the map changes to a ship layout selection menu, making even easier to switch between areas. We only left that out right now because we still don't have an idea of the overall shape of the spacecraft, since we still have 3 more areas to do.

The biggest problem we had with the map, was the last-minute addition of uncovering hidden sections

Initially, we were planning on leaving the hidden sections hidden even after the player visited them, but since we made the first floor-plan with them uncovered and it looked so awesome we had to integrate it on the map system. It may not look much but behind the scenes, there is some serious work done in order to make this work.

First off, each area map is divided into 3 layers, a plan, a revealing image and a set of hidden sections patches (one for each hidden section).

The plan is a static image that is enabled when the player visits the map pod. The revealed image is painted with some small details regarding some sections and has all the hidden sections visible, technically it works with a custom shader that we adapted to our use case, you can read more about it on our Insider View post.

The hidden section patches are a clever way of using the Unity material sharing system in order to produce the same reveal effect as we get from the map. The patches have the exact same image size as the area reveal map, and only have a little portion of it painted (where the hidden section is). By sharing the same material, when the user is near a hidden section that portion of the hidden section will be painted, hiding the shortcut, then when the user actually visits it, we programmatically disable the hidden section patch, revealing it on the map.

The final result is the following:

The log system is also implemented and ready to receive content, the logs will be the most direct way of story exposition in the game, as you roam around you will find Ship Log Pods, and in each, you will find a new log telling a bit of the past, present and future.

Finally, although still super incomplete, we have a Stats tab ready to be filled with random stats about the game. 

Last week as all about the character menu, this week we are planning to ending the basic in-game UI and finally start working on the medical area \o/.

Now time to get back to work!

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