| Dev Diary #9 - Alpha Test Goals, Timetable & Holiday Break [message #203] |
Fri, 15 December 2023 10:59  |
 |
Horemheb
Messages: 84
Registered: October 2022
|
Member
Administrator |
|
|
Hello and welcome to the ninth dev diary for School Builder.
Alpha Timetable
First and foremost we are no longer targeting January 2024 for the alpha. I hesitate to give a new estimate as School Builder is the first simulation title we've developed, and it's hard to judge how long certain functionality may take to implement. With that said we do have a very clear road map of what we need to finish to start the alpha.
Alpha Goals
We have two main goals for the upcoming alpha:
1. Testing the underlying game engine and low-level functionality on a variety of different system configurations
2. Gain player feedback on likes, dislikes, areas to improve, missing features, etc
On the development front this is a bit of a balancing act. Have too little in the alpha and players may be bored; have too much and it becomes more difficult to make adjustments based on player experiences and feedback.
Alpha Features
In short we plan to have basic gameplay and functionality for the alpha for a one year inaugural class. You will be building your school, hiring your admin team, setting policies and then playing through the first year of the school. Graphics for characters and common buildings should be implemented as well.
What the alpha will not include (at least right away):
-Finances
-Boarders
-2nd/3rd year grades
-Playing beyond first year
-Many "pulse" events
Where do things stand now -
Largely Ready:
1. Basic Building Functionality (scrolling, placement of structures, collision detection, etc)
2. Menu and Windowing System
3. Master Schedule Generation
4. Passage of Time (i.e - real time gameplay)
5. Character Generation & Unique Schedule System
6. Class Organization
7. Policies & Decisions
8. Admin Hiring
9. A.I. Path Finding
Currently Working On
1. A.I. "Awareness" ("What should I be doing?" "Am doing it?" "If not, where do I need to go?" "Do I need to wait for someone?" "Oh, something more important has come up")
2. "Action" Scripting (i.e - a character is in a classroom; actions can include taking a lesson, chatting before the bell, teaching, etc)
3. Doors/entryways
4. Character Graphics & Animation
5. Building Graphics
It is those first two that are the most challenging and time consuming to implement. They are also at the end of the day, what truly makes this into a game.
Pause of Dev Diaries
That's all for today guys! We're going to be pausing dev diaries for a few weeks for the holidays and coming new year. We'll likely resume them once Discipline Master: Tales has shipped. (Jumped on over to the Tales forum for a development update on that title!)
[Updated on: Fri, 15 December 2023 11:01] Report message to a moderator |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
School Builder & DM Forums
Help
Register
Login
Home
