Dev Log - Week of November 27th

Hey everyone! This week we've been focusing on polishing various aspects of the game and implementing quality-of-life improvements based on player feedback.

Progress:

Programming:

• Tutorial Changes
  • Replaced the on-screen text tips with full-screen tutorial boxes that pause the game
• Level and Scoring Changes
  • Changed the timer to count up instead of down, giving players more freedom to explore
  • Enhanced the terrain shader with masking to create smoother edge transitions
    
  • Added new terrain sections and interactive elements
    
• New End Screen
  • Updated end screen with the option to continue exploring
  • The end screen now remains in the level scene
    
  • Added a display for total time and final score
  • Fixed the restart button functionality
• Leaderboard
  • Developed a new UI system to display the top 5 best times
    
• Rail System Changes
  • Added textures to the spline rail system
  • Added grinding SFX
• Respawn System Improvements
  • Players now respawn immediately at their death location
  • Added dedicated respawn points for falling deaths
• Skybox Rework
  • Added a new rotating and seamless skybox 
• Trick UI Enhancements
  • Implemented color-coding for different combo sizes
  • Added trick counter display (e.g., "Backflip x2, No Handed x5")
  • Introduced subtle animations for score increases

Art:

• Animations 
  • Updated with new rig and textures
• Main level 
  • Updated with more props / more “fleshed out” 
• Textures
  • Added textures for stone roads and dirt paths 
• Trailer 
  • WIP started

Audio:

• Rail Grinding
  • Created sound effects for rail grinding

Challenges

1. Balancing score thresholds given the new timing system:
   • Since reworking the timing system, finding the right balance between encouraging exploration and trick performance is something that requires some consideration - we want the score thresholds for scrolls to feel both achievable and challenging.
     

Next Steps

• Additional polish on visual effects
• Bug fixing and performance optimization
• Experiment with post-processing effects