Tuttle's Legendary Travels has grown one year older, always a good time for talking about where the project stands and where it's going. But first things first, the new demo! Each new 0.2.x release introduces a lot of important new functionality and features, and 0.2.4 is no exception. Here's a quick rundown of all the good stuff.
 

• The biggest new addition is the dialog system, meaning Tuttle can now interact with characters! This represents loads of work with 3D models, 3D textures, 2D UI elements, camera, and text all working together. As an aside, extra effort went into making sure Tuttle wouldn't be standing on people's heads. As for who you can interact with, a reachable Sturmbot has been added, as well as Lilly. Her inclusion in particular required a great deal of updating to her model, textures, and animations.

• Down in the ruins, Tuttle's interactions extend to the newly added treasure chests and holes in the walls, both with collectable items and zenny. The newly-modeled Miroc joins the reaverbot roster, and all of them now flash when taking damage. Speaking of damage, Tuttle has a new way to dish it out with Splash Mines! This is obviously another major addition, representing loads of work setting up the special weapon infrastructure.
   
• We've purchased and plugged in a new input system that will greatly benefit gamepad play. Controls are still non-customizable for now, but the system should recognize and work with practically any type of gamepad you can throw at it (please let us know how it works for you). Gamepads and keyboard also work with the pause subscreen now, which has been beefed up a bit. The most noteworthy additions are slots for collected items, and placeholder maps for both island and ruins.
   
• On the environmental side of things, the ruins have expanded with a new room and corridor, while up on the surface an airship flies overhead. Minor tweaks include shadow and boundary adjustments, and a richer palette. Changes to lighting and shaders apply game-wide, displaying texture-accurate colors and reducing some of the harsh contrast.

As exciting as all this seems to us, it's come to our attention that many of the project's followers aren't so interested in watching the game's foundation come together. They see the same old island, same old ruins, and so aren't very impressed with what's new. With that and other considerations in mind, we've decided it's time to make some changes.

First off, we're cancelling #TLTuesday. Initially it was a success, ensuring at least a little progress every week and keeping TLT fresher in our heads to promote more frequent work on it throughout the week. More recently, as our lives grow ever more hectic, #TLTuesday has become a crutch that allows us to work on the project minimally and forget it for the rest of the week. It's also turned Twitter into our prime location for sharing progress, misleading blog followers into thinking the game only gets attention once or twice a year. By removing #TLTuesday, we expect to work on the project less often but in stronger, more productive bursts, and the blog will reclaim focus with more fleshed out write-ups and progress summaries.

Secondly, even though there are still core elements to be implemented, we're going to leave behind this 0.2.x era and move forward. Our goal for the next demo is to (at long last) piece together the actual beginning segments of this game. That means animated cut scenes, exploring Gold City and the harbor, more characters present, more music tracks playing, and so on. We hope you'll all be looking forward to it!


Also, happy "Signed Up On MMLS Forums Day" to Dashe!