ID:84207
 
Hey, remember those audio additions I keep mentioning? I didn't work on them.

Remember that "push your luck" mechanic I've been wanting to add? Since I came up with the idea, I've placed my appreciation for the current mechanics in a purgatory once reserved for StarScurry... but I didn't change the gameplay either.

Instead, the latest version of GrimTunnel focuses on the interface. Again.

I recently made an attempt at a adding pictures to my Gamasutra version of Tech Tree and I didn't like what I saw. In fact, I hated it so much that I removed GrimTunnel from BYOND Strategy's featured list. There were notes everywhere telling people what to do and, rather than focusing on how to use the interface, I think I should have been focusing on why.

Here's the Shop & Create Room phase. The old version is on the left and the new version is on the right. (Pardon my bad editing of the text in the Chat area.) The relatively new slider controls came in handy.
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I now keep the grids blank until the player adds content. Here's how it looks after doing so.
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The Enter phase had roughly the same kind of changes. I'll skip the blank grid step.
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The Battle phase took a bit more.
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I've added messages to the battle grids so players will still have a clue of their chances even when they have no loot. However, there's currently a bug in the display that is driving me nuts. (Nothing is happening when I output to a cell and the cell should exist because I created it with winset() immediately before.) I decided to release anyway because the rest of the updates should be worth it. The sound and design updates I have planned should keep me coming back to the problem.

I also changed the options section so that class choices will be saved in the skin.
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Here's the full list of changes as presented in the game:
  • The class options interface was changed to a form which should save choices in the skin.
  • Each phase now has its purpose and goal embeded in its interface.
  • Some interface descriptions were updated.
  • Superfluous messages, purchase quantities and power sums have been removed from multiple grids.
  • The interface for trading exits and steps is now a simple slider instead of multiple buttons.
  • A slider is now used to adjust the amount of insurance bought instead of multiple links.
  • Insurance bought during a phase is now sold all at once instead of in increments.
  • Background images in labels are now tiled.
  • A default icon is supplied for non-BYOND members.
  • Purchase quantities now use x notation.
  • Fix: Loot with no minion type is now restricted to a 1-to-1 relationship with unarmed minions again.
This is the sort of polishing people could learn from. It's all the little things that count.