Rao Dao Zao
@raodaozao.net
Solo game developer and recovering Warcraft III modder, also known as "Robbie". Warning: may contain strong language and scenes of mild peril. (He/Him)
Blog: https://www.raodaozao.net
Working on isomechtric action-cRPG Exon: http://www.raodaozao.net/exon
Blog: https://www.raodaozao.net
Working on isomechtric action-cRPG Exon: http://www.raodaozao.net/exon
You can get some very interesting patterns out of it when the pathing grid screws up, but I still have absolutely no idea why it's behaving like this. 😖
November 8, 2025 at 12:57 PM
You can get some very interesting patterns out of it when the pathing grid screws up, but I still have absolutely no idea why it's behaving like this. 😖
Hmm... I think my attempts to optimise the terrain system may have gone a little awry.
October 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Hmm... I think my attempts to optimise the terrain system may have gone a little awry.
Saturdays at edindies are for flexing your photobashing and brutalism muscles to make cute office buildings for your mechs to jump all over. 🏢
September 13, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Saturdays at edindies are for flexing your photobashing and brutalism muscles to make cute office buildings for your mechs to jump all over. 🏢
Glad to see that somebody has already unpacked the trebuchet, so we can defeat The Human League tomorrow from a safe distance.
July 5, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Glad to see that somebody has already unpacked the trebuchet, so we can defeat The Human League tomorrow from a safe distance.
Okay, I think I'm getting somewhere. Hopefully the giant red block health bar (plus a number) will be much easier to keep in mind during a fight, so you don't just die out of nowhere.
June 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Okay, I think I'm getting somewhere. Hopefully the giant red block health bar (plus a number) will be much easier to keep in mind during a fight, so you don't just die out of nowhere.
Giving Exon's HUD a do-over to try and fit in some missing elements (the temperature gauge), add new elements (item quick slots) and generally make things like health more visible... UI design is hard. 😩
June 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Giving Exon's HUD a do-over to try and fit in some missing elements (the temperature gauge), add new elements (item quick slots) and generally make things like health more visible... UI design is hard. 😩
That new level for #ECGx is coming together -- I've added the obligatory rescue-the-merchant-from-insects aside, a small Exon tomb with a fancy sword you can rob, turrets whose bulets you can deflect back at them... and more! Phew. Just under 3 weeks to make sure it all actually _works_. 😅
May 17, 2025 at 2:49 PM
That new level for #ECGx is coming together -- I've added the obligatory rescue-the-merchant-from-insects aside, a small Exon tomb with a fancy sword you can rob, turrets whose bulets you can deflect back at them... and more! Phew. Just under 3 weeks to make sure it all actually _works_. 😅
Since it's #ECGx season, I figured that, rather than panicking and trying to get Exon's existing levels back in working order for public exhibition, it might be better to make a brand new -- SMALL -- demo level using all the new props. One that, you know, passers-by might be able to beat.
May 2, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Since it's #ECGx season, I figured that, rather than panicking and trying to get Exon's existing levels back in working order for public exhibition, it might be better to make a brand new -- SMALL -- demo level using all the new props. One that, you know, passers-by might be able to beat.
This week's experiments with properly scaled props are brought to you by "Robbie hasn't played Tiberian Sun in a while".
April 25, 2025 at 2:20 PM
This week's experiments with properly scaled props are brought to you by "Robbie hasn't played Tiberian Sun in a while".
Next in the annals of "things Robbie has wildly overscaled", public transport. This one straddles two tracks so it can safely carry a mech, but it's about the right length and height.
April 18, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Next in the annals of "things Robbie has wildly overscaled", public transport. This one straddles two tracks so it can safely carry a mech, but it's about the right length and height.
It's all fun and games in suburbia until some damn mechs have a barney in the middle of the street.
April 12, 2025 at 2:49 PM
It's all fun and games in suburbia until some damn mechs have a barney in the middle of the street.
That thing where you could just make a fresh bit of texture, but instead try to contort a straight texture onto a curved mesh. 🙈
April 12, 2025 at 1:10 PM
That thing where you could just make a fresh bit of texture, but instead try to contort a straight texture onto a curved mesh. 🙈
"Please don't jump on our houses," they said. But they're just the right height, with those lovely flat rooves...
April 5, 2025 at 2:11 PM
"Please don't jump on our houses," they said. But they're just the right height, with those lovely flat rooves...
Okay, I think that's the sense of scale starting to kick in now. (I'm not sure we'd keep using the same road markings in a world of Ubiquitious Mechs, but on the other hand, this isn't set so far in the future that roads would have totally died out.)
April 4, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Okay, I think that's the sense of scale starting to kick in now. (I'm not sure we'd keep using the same road markings in a world of Ubiquitious Mechs, but on the other hand, this isn't set so far in the future that roads would have totally died out.)
I see trees in real life and always wonder if "undergrowth" is what mine are missing, but I can never quite seem to capture it usefully in a low-poly way.
March 29, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I see trees in real life and always wonder if "undergrowth" is what mine are missing, but I can never quite seem to capture it usefully in a low-poly way.
Doing some proper work on Exon's sense of scale and realising that I may have _slightly_ oversized the trees in the campaign so far. Apparently the big trees in Edinburgh are about 10 metres tall, which is just slightly bigger than one of my mechs. Not... ah... 70-100 metres...
March 22, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Doing some proper work on Exon's sense of scale and realising that I may have _slightly_ oversized the trees in the campaign so far. Apparently the big trees in Edinburgh are about 10 metres tall, which is just slightly bigger than one of my mechs. Not... ah... 70-100 metres...
New chonky mech key art?
February 28, 2025 at 3:10 PM
New chonky mech key art?
Yes, I did spawn entirely the wrong creatures into the Arena side quest -- a left-over from This Wreckage when the numbers were all much MUCH higher. Even maximum level Shatter Henrik wouldn't survive this.
February 28, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Yes, I did spawn entirely the wrong creatures into the Arena side quest -- a left-over from This Wreckage when the numbers were all much MUCH higher. Even maximum level Shatter Henrik wouldn't survive this.
New chonky mech! With two guns attached it's reached the dizzying heights of 810 triangles so I do need to fall on my sword, but otherwise the thicker legs make everything look much more solid and reliable. Which is good, because this mech is meant to be solid and reliable. #gamedev #milkshape3d
February 15, 2025 at 1:29 PM
New chonky mech! With two guns attached it's reached the dizzying heights of 810 triangles so I do need to fall on my sword, but otherwise the thicker legs make everything look much more solid and reliable. Which is good, because this mech is meant to be solid and reliable. #gamedev #milkshape3d
Oops, might not be able to post another blog ever again, soz. 😔
December 9, 2024 at 5:10 PM
Oops, might not be able to post another blog ever again, soz. 😔
I know I said the Exon snow system still worked, but I made some refinements. It's no longer maximum snow on some tech surfaces and foliage, but it is icy on the sides of things. Much better, I think. 🌨️
December 5, 2024 at 9:42 AM
I know I said the Exon snow system still worked, but I made some refinements. It's no longer maximum snow on some tech surfaces and foliage, but it is icy on the sides of things. Much better, I think. 🌨️
It's okay everyone, Exon's snow overlay system still works. Time to get festive!
December 4, 2024 at 9:05 AM
It's okay everyone, Exon's snow overlay system still works. Time to get festive!
Been a bit unhappy with how I've been portraying the scale of Exon, so recently I've been calculating sizes and speeds to get a handle on how big things should be in engine units. To this end, I've made this cute land rover to give me a solid real-world reference point.
October 20, 2024 at 2:41 PM
Been a bit unhappy with how I've been portraying the scale of Exon, so recently I've been calculating sizes and speeds to get a handle on how big things should be in engine units. To this end, I've made this cute land rover to give me a solid real-world reference point.