Some work done!

Although time hasn’t been abundant in these parts lately, I’ve managed to finish the new resource system with the dynamic update feature…

Now, I can change any resource file used by the SurgePlayer (this has to be registered in code, so I don’t use too much processor on this, and so it can be optimized out on release builds), and the game will automatically update to make use of those new resources…

The main use at this moment (and the main reason we implemented this) was to be able to prototype/tweak effects as fast as possible…

As I stated previously, the “frost bones” effect needed some work, since it looked fine while the skeleton was standing still, but it looked terrible when it was moving.

The objective of the effect was to make some skeletons look ‘colder’ (since they apply a debuff to player when they hit him; that debuff slows down casting/attack speed)… The end result wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but I think it will have to be enough for now, since I’ve lost enough time with it already…

I’ve done a narrated video, in which I tweak the parameters and watch the results… It was supposed to show the XML editor as well, but my capture application trashed the output video when it reached 4Gb in size, so I think I need a 64-bit upgrade on that. Anyway, I think it might be interesting for game developers to see how the process of making an effect go, although since it is completely unscripted, it’s not a tutorial or anything like that: