So i decided to start unloading my thoughts here as I work on this pretty regularly.

I'll keep the changelog posts limited how i do right now because I want people to view the changelog in game. 

But since its been awhile since the last update. I wanted to make a proper devlog.

Hey folks! 

Thanks for all the views on the new Realmchild Invasion video, hope it tides you guys over while I work on v1.23. 

Heres the video:

The Update

The update’s much bigger than I expected and didn’t get done this last weekend,  sorry. 

I spent ~8 very unproductive hours chasing a stubborn bug, then I pivoted and added the new interaction system I needed for things like levers, instead. (Which is what i had planned to do that weekend.)

Then I proceded to not even add the levers; somehow I added pushable RLDR style barrels first (send help).

Whats new so far:

All the cool new ambient visuals from the video/all the decor sprites.

Pushable barrels (feels great, very RLDR  (my earlier roguelike project

Wells now use E to interact instead of activating when you run into them  (opens the door for adding things like enemies climbing out now since it will be from a player action rather then randomly happening when you walk into it so it wont be frusterating)

this unlocks puzzle-y things i can add: e.g., push an explosive barrel to a cracked wall to blast open a hidden entrance to a secret dungeon or whatever.

This is starting to feel a lot like RLDR, which means an “RLDR: Raycaster Edition” might actually be on the table. 

Honestly, it may as well be one; I never had climbable walls there, and seeing all this functionality in a raycaster is kinda wild. 

With the new dynamic interaction system, it’s closer than ever.

The levels are way more interactive than most old-school dungeon crawlers, you can even shoot out windows. 

I honestly didn’t think "RLDR, browser based raycaster edition" was on the table… but that is where my brain is going now.

I'm also kinda tempted to make a Yume Nikki–style thing… but as a raycaster. What is wrong with me lol.

I also have an idea for a short horror game.

Actually Heres More

After playing a bunch of other raycasters to see what I was missing, I see a few things that i cant live without TBH, not having them severely  hampers me, I can sorta emulate the first one now but to do so is more complex then i would hope, but the second is really big.:

1. TRUE Two-sided walls: Aside from mid-textures and the fact that I do have differnet textures for all my wall sides, this engine lacks true two-sided walls, which limits level design. I need to address this. It’s a non-trivial change, so it probably wont make the next release. Current best idea: half-step casting. But expect me to hunker down and figure this out for next release.

2. Sprite occlusion: The current logic is overcomplicated and breaks in edge cases (e.g., multiple horizontal seams). I plan to simplify and harden this before release.

3. Skyboxes/floor/ceiling textures: Better assets here would help, but gameplay is fine without them. Keeping this in the backlog for now.

I’ve noticed that most released raycasters include these features, while mine does not yet. Although the engine offers strong capabilities (interaction, multi-level walls, portals, side based mid texture depth that can be different on each side, walls that have different etxtures on each side, zone based shading and fog and atmospheric effects and water), these items feel like baseline expectations for a release. It’s frustrating that, after months of effort, I don’t have more robust solutions in place for these, but I suspect this is a common problem in many projects. And you just dont see the raycasters that lack this because they give up.

I'm channeling that energy into raising the bar. I want other devs to look at this and think, ‘…i feel inadequate’ instead of me being the one feeling inadequate from now on.

One Game I Checked out Was this:

Its really good and worth playing!

https://voxel.itch.io/a-final-delivery

When I started this project, it had been years since I’d written my own engine. And It’s been a blast, I’ve learned a ton about classic rendering and built a high-performance, browser-based renderer that can power some really cool retro games (And i plan to do it). That said, I’m still clearly lacking in experiennce on some math/engine-building fundamentals and so a few “basic” features have taken WAY longer than the more advanced ones I’ve already added, which is a bit contradictory.

My goal is for this engine to anchor my future games in one visual style  (maybe after a rewrite, heh). I’ve got so many ideas; it’ll just take a few releases to get past the hurdles.   Scott Cawthon, Toby Fox, ands Tarn Adams have Their own, and this finally gives ME a real visual identity. I don’t need true polygons, and the non-Euclidean weirdness is perfect for a Yume Nikki-like, an Arena-style RPG, or small horror games.

Im so close. SO very close.

Anyway, have a good one guys!