HL-future optimizations & UI
Added 2019-06-02 21:10:18 +0000 UTChttps://www.deviantart.com/shadowrx/status/17581684
Wow, dA is really bad at sharing/linking status-posts... (why did it select a 50x50 avatar graphic, of all possible content, for the preview???)
Planning some more data optimizations, such as shifting the guts of metrics calculations out of methods and compressing it into data-tables. (right now it uses switch-case to select the relevant parameters, and that's a pretty straight-forward refactor)
The advantages would be making metrics easier to manage/add/edit/override-- including potentially allowing the game-content to specify how things are calculated, rather than the engine. (not going that far with this refactor, but given the data-tables are not fixed/rigid structures, and that javascript allows ANY method to be overridden by default, it would be possible to make a mod or entirely new game that calculates measurements using a very different set of parameters, without compromising the HL engine)
Anyway, that isn't for the current build, just an optimization planned for the road to engine v0.3-- I want to move as much of the game content and parametric logic as possible into the database, not only to slim/optimize the engine, but to take better advantage of the CMS the new-UI branch (which will ultimately replace the current one as features are merged together) utilizes.
That makes for much faster/easier content-prototyping and management, which allows us to handle multiple large-scale games with a shared codebase.
The DATA.METRICS table will coincide with me adding a dedicated metrics screen to the menu, and removing (most-of) the measurements from the description screen, to make room to describe new traits like hair, clothing, aura, mood, genitals(if nude), wings/tails, tauric-features, injuries, piercings/tattoos, et cetera; perhaps eventually including for multiple arms/legs/tendrils, and so on, as the new body/limb branching-structure/system is developed. (I want to move away from the systemic-assumption that all characters will always have 1-core, 1-head, 2-arms, 2-legs, 2-breasts, no wings, no tails, no chimeric traits, no tauric lower body, and exactly 1 set of genitals; but, I realize this will take a good deal of planning to properly implement, so it is a back-burner project until I figure out a quick/efficient way to index multi-limb support and its like, across multiple elements, including muscle-tone, metrics, injury, attire/equipment, description, and graphics.)
I presently have no plans for the old-UI sidebar system, as this is going away in the new-UI. (instead there will be permanent/dedicated player-assets/units & environment-units panes on the left and right sides, respectively, which reserve a portion for unit-details/status on current character and target; with a dynamic command-menu [still in design phase, won't be so blocky in final version], and a hideable scene-view/detail window, with a large, dedicated story-log area, as shown here:
Note: this is a rough prototype, the released version will have a lot more detail available and more refined layouts.)
I'm packing the current build (with bugfixes & the prototype abilities/athletics screen) for public release as I write this message, and should have it up within the hour.
