TIL Bluesky does not support GIFs 🤦

Well, here at least is the last frame, showing where we're at now

We've gone meta - our #gamedev process now has progress bars too!

They say "you can't improve what you don't measure", and tbh, this has been a big help ensuring we make steady strides in filling out the levels to our puzzle game, The BridgeMaster 📈

#indiedev #showmesunday

With this implemented, villagers now only attempt to exit the level when they will actually be able to do so, enabling a wider, more dynamic range of puzzle mechanics.

This is definitely a tool I'll be sure to keep in the toolbox for future projects! [8/8]

So as the pathfinding algorithm considers each coordinate, it simulates the path found so far up to the current position, allowing it to enqueue a valid set of neighbors. Then the simulated series is undone in preparation to consider the next coordinate in the queue [6/8]

The delegate for simulating the path was made much more convenient since we've already been using the command pattern to encapsulate the act of moving from one tile to the next, making it easy to both execute and undo a series of these commands [5/8]

The way we do this is, we pass a copy of the level state to the algorithm, along with a delegate that tells the search algorithm how to simulate what level state changes will occur as a result of following the path [4/8]

So essentially, I've extended the traditional A* pathfinding algorithm to simulate the effects of following the path as part of the search process, so villagers can anticipate what will happen next... which is non-trivial to say the least! [3/8]

For example, with the prototype level in these screenshots, the initial level state seems to allow a fully walkable path. But, when the villager steps on that 1st pressure plate, it toggles the platform ahead to lift, making it no longer possible to complete the path [2/8]

To support a new mechanic in our puzzle game #TheBridgeMaster, I've made another update to our pathfinding algorithm!

This one was particularly tricky because the act of following a path can invalidate the remainder of the path... [1/8]

#gamedev #indiedev #showmesunday

Recently, I've adapted our pathfinding code in #TheBridgeMaster for a new puzzle mechanic. This is a bit spoilery and also more technical, but I'll keep things relatively high level...

(Pictured is a non-violent but partly solved prototype level)

#screenshotsaturday #indiedev #gamedev