Since essentially all of the game’s scenes have been written and coded, I figured it’s time to start sweeping.
“Sweep” is the term we use when we find an issue, and realize that it could apply to every scene in the game.
For example, the bug report
I noticed a [q > 4] which is probably not possible
is something that could affect any scene. So today I searched every script (i.e. swept the code) for similar patterns (e.g. [q = 4] was also a problem, because in rare cases, the special variable q can indeed be set to 5).
And the task
Tag @cattleWard for Cattle Ward blessing
meant I had to go through every script and see if the blessing (“Protects our cattle herds from predators”) was relevant. If so, the script needed the tag. Going through everything, I realized that the description actually needed to change, to “Protects our cattle herds from raids and predators.”
The sweep that’s had the biggest impact has been
Sweep to be sure ChooseLeader is followed by a leader test
In other words, if you pick a leader, then it’s that leader’s Bargaining or Combat that will be used to overcome opposition. We had tried to catch these cases, but missed a few. And this was by far the most brute force sweep, since ChooseLeader is very common.
It looks like there are about 15 of these in our bug tracker, and about half are done. I expect to finish them this week.
just make the damn game already!
Oh hush. This blog is an awesome resource for all levels of game developers. I wouldn’t even mind a bit slower development in exchange for a few more posts 😀
Will the game only be out for IOS or are there plans for Android or PC?
Not making promises for ANY platform yet.
Best of luck with the new game. KoDP has been on my various hard drives since I first reviewed it when it came out, and I’m eagerly looking forward to a new peek into the world of Glorantha. Glad to hear combat is becoming more informative, while still not becoming very hands-on tactical. And I hope, if you do the clan-to-tribe move, the challenge will become greater for your leader once it’s done, and more interesting than in KoDP.
Otherwise, it only has to be as perfect in everything else as its older sibling. Plus, you’ve now got Web sales and a lengthy rep on your side, where before you only got good coverage (if I recall correctly) in Finland, thanks to supermarket sales.
Maybe I’ll get a shot at reviewing it, again. Stranger things have happened.