Update Dev Info from Shadow Code for D:BB

Shadow Code is still working on D:BB programming, and as I always say, as soon as it is done, we will begin the final releases of D:BB!  However, it has been a few months since the public and patrons were given a direct message from the volunteer fan programmer, so here it is in his own words!  Comments or questions are welcome!

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So what has that slacker that calls itself Shadow Code been up to...? 

Well, it has been quite awhile since I have last wrote a status update (of sorts) publicly, so before getting into the meat of this update, let me say it to get it out of the way: There is no release date yet.

It is Q&A time....

Q) Why?

A) Why not? A Q&A is a good format to tell you about stuff

A) Rewriting a game takes time. The old code was fine in a lot of places, but it had some issues and debugging it was difficult. Some really old code was still in place from the days of Cult of Corruption (or earlier). Javascript and browsing has changed from what it was 4-5 years ago, so some code had to be updated.

A) The code is now also being used in Giggle Night (and that required some further changes, but that means that Giggle's progress will be smoother, hopefully and that fixes in Giggle can be backported to Desideratum and fixes in Desideratum can be ported over Giggle)

A) The CPU of the computer I was using to develop Desideratum exploded (not literally, it just stopped working), so I had to find replacement pieces (CPU, motherboard and RAM). That took me around 3 weeks (where I live we were in lockdown and Amazon was being Amazon, so I had to source the pieces elsewhere after waiting 1 week for them to try to sort an issue on their part)

A) Desideratum is a large project. Twine and Sugarcube have issues dealing with large projects. It also means that there are a lot of things to look into (and break) when you are doing changes. At this point I think I have reworked the Mountain Hunt 3 or 4 times.

A) A lot of stuff was not complete or was outright not implemented. Adding new stuff seems straight forward, except when you have to deal with lots of existing stuff (scripts, combat systems, even some story parts)

Q) So this is a remaster of sorts?

A) Nope, Desideratum was never finished, so it is not possible to technically remaster it. All that was released was just "beta versions" (that I downgraded to "alpha" status, I'm not sorry for that Anax)

A) If you go technical, it is a combination of code refactoring and completing the missing pieces

Q) When it will be ready?

A) When it is done(tm)

A) Soon(tm)

A) A day before Valve releases Half-Life 3

Q) Seriously....

A) That is not a question

Q) ....

A) OK, there is a lot of stuff yet to be completed, but the good news is that erm.... all the game systems (but one) are now implemented (like a certain "Defend" button now actually doing something). The story may be done, but there are quite a few pieces of content that need to be added (designed and/or created) or updated, and well, bug fixing and game balancing (and proofreading, let's not forget about that)

Q) So, do you have something to say about what you have done in almost a third of a year?

A) Glad you asked, please be aware that some entries may be [redacted by Anax] to avoid public spoilers!

TOP TEN LIST OF STUFF ADDED OR MODIFIED

1. The Defend button is now doing something useful. Although the actual mechanics will be kept under wraps for now, defending from enemy attacks will improve your chances in game mode.

2. Some enemies can now do charged/multi-stage attacks. The defend action will be key to avoid damage from these attacks.

3. A rudimentary AI (unfortunately Chieko was unavailable, so basic AI it is) handles the enemy combat now. Since now enemies can have more than one kind of attack (eg: a regular attack and a charged attack), a random weapon pick didn't seem appropriate (This is still WIP)

4. The teased Speed Potion (in old builds it said: "In Development! This'll do something one day soon!"). That day was in last December. Now you know it is a real thing: The potion grants you a chance of doing two actions in one combat turn (like two attacks in a row, or using a potion and defending)

5. An improved game start process. This seems like something that wasn't needed or not important enough to mention, but now it is a more streamlined process and it also does some basic checks (browser compatibility, image checking) to aid you in case the game won't properly start or if it will not function properly (due to missing images, non-compatible browsers and so on). If the game critically fails to start, you also get a proper error screen, so you can use the info given there to report the issue

6. Improved character unlocks. That screen was completely revamped (and some related systems extended to allow for some new Giggle Night stuff)

7. Soft-lock Begone(tm) technology was added for levels that earlier resulted in getting you soft-locked for not having a required item in your inventory.

8. Story, hunt-specific items are now real items that you can see in your inventory (Did you get the red key? No problem, just check your inventory)

9. LOOT improvements. Certain items can be obtained as loot items instead of just being a flag somewhere in the code. Now the enemies can be customized to have different loot items (eg: Potions and Story Items like keys) and/or gold amounts. Even some enemies can be setup to not drop gold as loot!

10. Level configuration improvements and debugging tools. This will make fixing bugs and adding content easier for Anax (A Part of the "No programmer required" initiative) 

and.... LOTS of bug fixes (and lots of game-mode exploits are now gone, sorry/not sorry)

EXTRA STUFF (Mainly for future things, it is too late for Desideratum)

1. Multiple maps per level (Not complete, but most of the work required is already done mainly by removing some assumptions that were placed in the old code)

2. Teleportation 2.0: Now you can jump from one map to another. Maps can now be created/used for non-combat story parts (eg: like having a Sanctuary map in DBB)

3. Even more AI/Combat. Removed a lot of shackles that forced certain behaviors that limited the combat loop in the old code. Things like combat initiative or NPC against NPC combat is possible (with some additional work)

4. Improved tools for scripting (So in the future Anax can do even more awesome stuff with these) 

CONTENT WISE

1. Reworked the maps and hunts... again (WIP, this will probably end after the balancing is done)

2. Soft-lock handling

3. Museum hunt is 99% done (it only needs area descriptions for the "search" buttons, right now they all say "TODO: Hey Anax, you should put the description here!"). It is completely playable.

4. Tunnels... are still under construction. The map works, but no story events, images and/or combat stuff is really there.