https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ Recent content in Posts on Bracket Productions Hugo -- gohugo.io en ©{year} Herbert Wolverson, All Rights Reserved Mon, 26 Jul 2021 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/flappy_bonus/ Mon, 26 Jul 2021 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/flappy_bonus/ In association with PragProg, I’ve published an article on Medium explaining the steps required to extend Flappy Dragon into the Flappy Bonus game found in the book’s source code. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/now_available/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 05:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/now_available/ Hands-on Rust is now in print, available in full-color paperback and as an e-book (PDF, epub and Kindle formats). If you know what a variable and a loop are, Hands-on Rust contains everything you need to make learning Rust into a fun experience. You’ll start by installing Rust, and doing working through some basic exercises to learn how Rust structures programs. That gives you everything you need to make your first game, Flappy Dragon. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/amethyst/ Tue, 23 Feb 2021 07:34:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/amethyst/ Bracket-lib and The Rust Roguelike Tutorial have joined the Amethyst organization! Amethyst do a lot for Rust advocacy and the Rust gamedev community. I’m still taking the lead on both projects - Amethyst are helping out with infrastructure, exposure and helping me keep on top of things. Read the full announcement here https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/0_8_2_part1/ Wed, 10 Feb 2021 10:34:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/0_8_2_part1/ I’ve updated bracket-color, bracket-geometry, bracket-random, bracket-noise, bracket-algorithm-traits and bracket-pathfinding on crates.io. The terminal and master library will update as soon as I’ve got confirmation that problems with display scaling on Macs are resolved. These releases don’t change any existing API. Highlights include: bracket-color has gained a few more internal tests, and bugfixes. bracket-geometry uses the latest version of Ultraviolet, which in turn uses wide for fast SIMD calculations. bracket-random now exposes a get_rng function to allow you to use the underlying random system. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/handsonsite/ Mon, 08 Feb 2021 05:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/handsonsite/ You can find news, articles and updates about Hands-On Rust on its new dedicated website, https://hands-on-rust.com/. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/blackfriday2020/ Thu, 19 Nov 2020 05:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/blackfriday2020/ For Thanksgiving/Black Friday: Nov 19 through Dec 1 you can use the coupon code turkeysale2020 to get 40% off Hands-on Rust (beta) and other @PragProg titles. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/bookbeta1/ Wed, 11 Nov 2020 05:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/bookbeta1/ For the last year, I’ve been working hard on Hands-on Rust: Effective Learning through 2D Game Development and Play. The first beta release is now live. Pragmatic Bookshelf releases books like software. Buying the beta gets you an e-book with the first few chapters, and lets you submit errata. You get every subsequent beta - and the finished ebook. The first beta walks you through installing Rust and associated tools on your computer. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/minituts/spherical_noise/ Mon, 20 Apr 2020 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/minituts/spherical_noise/ There’s plenty of tutorials out there on using Simplex or Perlin noise to make terrain. It’s even included as an example in my library, bracket-noise (a port of Auburn’s excellent FastNoise to Rust). If you’re in the business of making planets, it can be frustrating that most noise setups don’t wrap around at the edges: you get great terrain, but there’s a seam along the east/west axis if you wrap it around a sphere. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss302/ Sat, 14 Mar 2020 01:00:00 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss302/ It’s been a week of meetings, but I still feel like I got a lot done! RLTK_RS - Roguelike Toolkit for Rust | Github | Crates.io The back-end work required for doryen_rs to merge with bracket-lib (and use my library as their back-end) is done! After a 2-week sprint, we managed to get everything “jice-nospam” needs working. :-) The Doryen library is pretty nice, and comes with a beautiful CP437 demo. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss301/ Sat, 07 Mar 2020 08:33:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss301/ Work continues apace on my book (no release date or even title, yet - I’m NDA’d, but I can say that I’m working with a publisher to write a book about learning Rust through game development. I’ll announce more when it is further along!). RLTK_RS - Roguelike Toolkit for Rust | Github | Crates.io I’m continuing to work with Jice on merging doryen_rs into bracket-lib, which means ensuring that the library supports everything his library needs. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss300/ Sat, 29 Feb 2020 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss300/ Good luck with 7DRL, everyone! I wish I had time to participate this year, but that set of stars is far from aligning. Winter is thawing, which makes my day-job quite busy (it involves lots of radios mounted on roof-tops, so the deep-freeze lets us hibernate a little). The ink has dried, and I’m now a fully contracted author - with an NDA, so at this point my ability to write progress updates on that front is rather limited. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_71/ Tue, 11 Feb 2020 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_71/ Chapter 70 adds ranged weaponry, and a targeting interface. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_71.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/initialization/ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/initialization/ I just merged the new initialization branch to RLTK. Previously, you fired up RLTK with a simple - but not self-explanatory - context request: 1 letcontext=Rltk::init_simple8x8(80,50,"Hello Rust World","resources"); There’s nothing really wrong with this. You’re asking for an 80x50 terminal, specifying a title, and the location of the assets it uses. Only the assets system has changed, and “resources” might actually be embedded into your executable. Or you might want to specify more complex initialization, and suddenly you are obtaining a mutable context and modifying it a lot. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/bugfix_2020_28_1/ Tue, 28 Jan 2020 10:41:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/bugfix_2020_28_1/ I’ve pushed a new release of the Rust Rogulike Tutorial live! There’s very little new content, but I’ve merged in a bunch of bugfixes. Thank you to everyone who contributed PRs and bug reports! https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/0_6_1/ Tue, 28 Jan 2020 10:34:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/0_6_1/ Version 0.6.1 of RLTK is now live! Changes: It fixes some more bugs with DPI scaling (particularly on Macs with Retina). In the name of being a good Rust citizen, it applies some guidelines to feature naming. The ecs feature is now called specs (allowing Legion support in the future!), and the serialization feature is now called serde. The tutorial has been updated to include these. There is now a batched command system, so you can request a drawing context with let mut draw_batch = DrawBatch::new(); (or similar). https://bracketproductions.com/posts/first-post/ Mon, 27 Jan 2020 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/first-post/ This is generated with Hugo. Hope you like it. I decided to switch because WordPress just wasn’t working out for me. It got the job done, but was really slow for a site whose primary purpose is to deliver static text with a few pictures. Hugo also lets me write in Markdown, which is my preferred language for writing a bunch of the content that ends up being posted here. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_70/ Fri, 10 Jan 2020 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_70/ Chapter 70 adds ranged weaponry, and a targeting interface. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_70.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_69/ Thu, 02 Jan 2020 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_69/ Chapter 69 adds even more mushrooms and fungal beasts, and an exit to the Dark Elf lands. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_69.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/2019retro/ Wed, 01 Jan 2020 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/2019retro/ It’s been a pretty productive year, and I’m hoping for another one! I’ve worked on quite a bit, so I thought I’d include them all in here. You can follow my development: @herberticus on Twitter. One Knight in the Dungeon 2019 Retrospective One Knight started in early-to-mid 2018, originally intended as a quick project to learn Unreal Engine 4 (with a view to using it for the Nox Futura back-end). I set out to make a traditional roguelike, but with modern - pretty - graphics. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_68/ Fri, 20 Dec 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_68/ Chapter 68 adds a mushroom grove, with shrooms that fire off effects on you (and anyone else foolish enough to pass through). http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_68.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_67/ Sun, 15 Dec 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_67/ Chapter 67 introduces multi-tile enemies, and enemies with ranged attacks. These culminate in the creation of a terrifying dragon! http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_67.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_66/ Tue, 10 Dec 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_66/ Finally a use for the mana bar! You can learn spells from books, and cast them at your unwitting foes. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_66.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_65/ Fri, 06 Dec 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_65/ Chapter 65 allows items to affect your attributes, and status effects to do the same. Demonstrated with a new effect: hungover. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_65.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_64/ Thu, 05 Dec 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_64/ Chapter 64 introduces cursed items, remove curse scrolls, and a reason to look before you leap with items! http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_64.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_63/ Fri, 29 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_63/ Chapter 63 introduces a whole new effects system, designed to make it easy to fire effects from anywhere in the game - and to attach them via data to your item JSON definitions. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_63.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_62/ Thu, 28 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_62/ Chapter 62 introduces obfuscated names for magical items, hiding their nature until you try them out. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_62.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/multi_backend/ Wed, 27 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/multi_backend/ My Rust Roguelike Toolkit (RLTK_RS) now has an experimental branch that supports multiple back-ends (or a minimal one if you just want the helpers and no rendering). The default OpenGL (native and web assembly), Curses (for running in a traditional console, or PDCurses on Windows), and Amethyst - the Rust game engine that can provide both Vulkan and Metal native support. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_61/ Wed, 27 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_61/ Chapter 61 adds the Town Portal item, giving the adventurer a quick way to return to town. This is expanded into a more general teleportation system. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_61.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_60/ Tue, 26 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_60/ Chapter 60 uses layered procedural generation to generate two distinct map types, and blend a transition between them. It also adds nasty lizard monsters! http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_60.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_59/ Mon, 25 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_59/ Chapter 59 adds deeper limestone caverns, with a prefabricated boss area. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_59.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_58/ Sun, 24 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_58/ Chapter 58 is all about items: adding stats, prices for vendors, encumbrance, and finishing vendors. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_58.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_57/ Sat, 23 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_57/ Chapter 57 modularizes the AI system, and properly handles status effects. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_57.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_56/ Fri, 22 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_56/ Chapter 56 introduces a new set of levels: the limestone caverns. Lighting is added, along with a new theme. The first cheat mode is also added to make level traversal during development easier. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_56.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_54/ Thu, 21 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_54/ Chapter 54 adds XP tracking, and the ability to improve yourself by leveling up. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_54.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_55/ Thu, 21 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_55/ Chapter 55 adds the ability to revisit previous levels. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_55.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_53/ Wed, 20 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_53/ Chapter 53 adds a forest level to the game, populated by bandits and other monsters and with its own level theme. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_53.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_52/ Tue, 19 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_52/ Chapter 52 develops a nice UI, starting from concept graphics and culminating in working code. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_52.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_51/ Mon, 18 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_51/ Chapter 51 differentiates equipment, giving you the ability to add item-based progress to the game. Arms and armor are included. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_51.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_50/ Sun, 17 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_50/ Chapter 50 adds D&D-like stats to the game, building towards a more comprehensive RPG experience. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_50.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_49/ Sat, 16 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_49/ Chapter 49 implements vendors, bystanders and other town residents’ AI. You finish up with a town full of life. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_49.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_48/ Fri, 15 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_48/ Chapter 48 adds NPCs of various types to the town, and spawns hostile rats in an abandoned house. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_48.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_47/ Thu, 14 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_47/ Chapter 47 walks you through procedurally generating a town, starting with terrain and working up towards buildings. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_47.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_46/ Wed, 13 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_46/ Chapter 46 expands upon the previous Data-Driven work by also making entity spawning driven by your JSON files. So now you can quickly build new monsters, items and props - and decide where they spawn without editing your Rust code. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_46.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_45/ Tue, 12 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_45/ Chapter 45 introduces data driven design - define your entities in a JSON file, to make it easy to update the game as you go. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_45.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_44/ Mon, 11 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_44/ Part 4 of the Roguelike Tutorial focuses on actually completing a game - from start to finish. Chapter 44 introduces the Design Document - in which we outline our goals. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_44.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_41/ Sun, 10 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_41/ Chapter 41 is the last part of section 3, map building. It shows you how to de-couple your map size from your screen size, introduces a camera, and helps you modify the existing code-base to let you have maps of any size you want. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_41.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_40/ Sat, 09 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_40/ Doors and Corners, that’s where they get you. Seriously, doors are a staple of the roguelike and dungeon bashing genres. This chapter will help you place doors, make them openable, and ensure that line-of-sight and movement blocking are enforced correctly for closed doors - and not for open ones. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_40.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_39/ Fri, 08 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_39/ Chapter 39 is up! http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_39.html This chapter focuses on building better hallways, and allowing entities to spawn inside them. Nearest neighbor, straight-line, and hallway spawning are all covered. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_38/ Thu, 07 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_38/ The latest chapter of the Rust Roguelike Tutorial is up at: http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_38.html It covers varying the types of rooms we draw. It’s a short chapter, but introduces some nice variety into your room building. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_37/ Wed, 06 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_37/ The latest chapter in my roguelike tutorial is now live: fun with layers. In previous chapters, we’ve built a system for applying layered procedural generation, through the builder pattern. This chapter applies these techniques, adds a few new ones, and brings the total number of builder combinations we can apply with what we have to over 2,000! http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_37.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_36/ Tue, 05 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_36/ Chapter 36 of the Roguelike Tutorial is live! It focuses on refactoring our map work thus far into a generic builder-based idiom, making it easy to extend map building with more layers in the future. http://bfnightly.bracketproductions.com/rustbook/chapter_36.html https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_35/ Mon, 04 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_35/ You might want to hand-craft certain rooms or features, and have the game sometimes include them in your randomly generated levels. This chapter will help you do just that. It also builds upon the concept of meta-builders - that is builders that take the output of other builders, and improve upon the map. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_34/ Sun, 03 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_34/ Sometimes, you want to add some hand-crafted content into the mix of your level. You might want to use a whole level as a set-piece, and carefully place everything. You might want to include a cool structure on a map. This chapter walks you through designing prefabs, and teaches you to place them as either whole maps or into existing maps. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_33/ Sat, 02 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_33/ You’ve probably seen Waveform Collapse (WFC), if you follow gamedev media. It exploded onto the scene, and started being used in everything from Caves of Qud to AAA titles. It’s a complicated algorithm that takes one source image and makes something similar (but not the same). This chapter walks you through the algorithm, and modifies it to better fit the Roguelike genre - adjacency is influenced by tile connectivity to encourage useful maps, and it takes a map as a source - so it can make your existing map creation algorithms more interesting. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_32/ Fri, 01 Nov 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_32/ This chapter uses Voronoi diagrams to generate hive maps - not at all unlike the inside of an ants nest or bee hive. It discusses the use of different distance heuristics to adjust the shape of your result. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_31/ Thu, 31 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_31/ The DLA chapter introduced enforced symmetry and brush size for map generation, and this chapter takes it one step further - using it for other algorithms. Drunkard’s Walk in particular can benefit from this system. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_30/ Wed, 30 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_30/ Despite the scary name, Diffusion-Limited Aggregation Maps (DLA) are actually relatively easy to implement - and can produce beautiful results. This chapter walks you through the basic algorithm, with tune-ables for where the particles start and the rules for how they carve your map. It introduces brush sizes and enforced symmetry for your map builders. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_29/ Tue, 29 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_29/ Mazes and labyrinths (optionally including a Minotaur) are a mainstay of D&D and Roguelikes. This chapter walks you through the creation of a perfect maze - one that is guaranteed to be solvable, and well-connected. It also talks about the pros and cons of including this type of map in your game. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_28/ Mon, 28 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_28/ The Drunkard’s Walk algorithm makes maps by simulating a large number of tunnelers moving randomly through a level, carving out the map as they go. This chapter walks you through implementing the algorithm, along with settings and tunables to help you get the map type you want - while remaining random on each play-through. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_27/ Sun, 27 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_27/ Cellular Automata is a great algorithm family, taking chaos and making order. It produces nice, organic levels with high connectivity - ideal for creating the feel of a large natural cavern, or a forest level. This chapter walks you through the algorithm, its implementation, and how it can make fun levels. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_26/ Sat, 26 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_26/ Sometimes, you want to simulate the insides of a building - and not waste much space. This chapter walks you through using Binary Space Partition to sub-divide your dungeon space and make an interior map. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_25/ Fri, 25 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_25/ This chapter discusses how to build dungeons using a Binary Space Partition to sub-divide the map into regions, and then place rooms and corridors inside it. It’s similar to how Nethack makes its dungeons, and can lead to a fun dungeon-bashing experience. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_24/ Thu, 24 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_24/ In order to learn about map building, it’s a good idea to be able to see it in progress. This chapter builds a test harness that can “snapshot” each iteration of your map development, and play it as a small movie when a map is created. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_23/ Wed, 23 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_23/ So far, we’ve only had one type of map. That’s about to change - but to support it, we need to build a generic Map Builder interface. This chapter walks you through using Rust traits to build a generic interface, and use it to make a varied experience for your player. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_22/ Tue, 22 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_22/ Roguelikes show their origins in D&D dungeon-bashing in many ways, and traps are a mainstay. This chapter teaches you how to include basic traps in the game, dividing them up between triggers and effects. It also introduces the concept of hidden objects and gives the player a chance to notice the trap before walking blindly into it. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_21/ Mon, 21 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_21/ Chapter 21 adds a nice main menu to your roguelike game, loaded from Rex Paint (by Kyzrati). This gives a much more professional look to your game. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_19/ Sat, 19 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_19/ A mainstay of the Roguelike genre is the hunger clock. As you progress, you become hungry. Hunger is mitigated by food. This chapter explains why you need a hunger clock (to encourage the player to move faster), implements one, discusses the pros and cons of different durations, and implements food. It also gives a small bonus to being well fed. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_20/ Sat, 19 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_20/ Chapter 20 introduces the Magic Mapping scroll, and visual effects to reveal the world when you read it. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/build28/ Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/build28/ This is nearly the last alpha build! Thanks to lots of people sending me feedback, I feel the game has significantly improved. This build adds on a LOT of improvements; there should be one more big bag of improvements before I can start calling it “beta”. What’s new in this build? Crash Fixes Fix on level change if you have a faster PC than me! The visibility system won’t crash if you restart the game repeatedly. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/0_5_0/ Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/rltk/0_5_0/ I just merged in version 0.5.0 of the rltk_rs project (the back-end used for the roguelike tutorial). New in this version: Better abstraction between back-ends (web assembly and native, currently), via a Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) module. Better layering; the console layers no longer know how to render themselves, that’s abstracted to the HAL. This should make implementing non-GL back-ends possible. Significantly better compile times. New support for HTML buttons on the page hosting your web assembly application, and library support for receiving their click events. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_18/ Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_18/ Add some real visual flair to your roguelike with particle effects - but staying true to the genre, they are all ASCII/CP437! Hit effects, damage effects and more. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_17/ Thu, 17 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_17/ This chapter teaches you to add bloodstains to your map. Combat leaves a blood trail, providing breadcrumbs to help you know where you’ve been - and improving the general look and feel of the game. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_16/ Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_16/ Chapter 16 of my Roguelike Tutorial is now available, walking you through rendering nicer walls with bitsets. Rapidly build a bitset of neighboring walls, and adjust your wall tile to take into account its neighbors for a big improvement in quality. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_1_13/ Wed, 11 Sep 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/roguetutorial/chapter_1_13/ While One Knight works its way through late alpha, I’ve been working on trying to help the roguelike community: I’ve started porting the libtcod Python tutorials for making a roguelike to Rust, and documenting the process. The tutorial aims to start from “Hello Rust” all the way up to equipping yourself, leveling up, and exploring an endless dungeon. I hope to extend it beyond the original tutorial, introducing lots of (hopefully) useful topics. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/build12/ Sat, 06 Apr 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/build12/ A game play video in which I play as a wizard, and die because I forgot to check a potion for poison. Watch the YouTube video here. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/build11/ Fri, 29 Mar 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/build11/ This is a pretty large build, with a lot in it! Turn Restructure I noticed that I’d forgotten to sub-sort active entities by Dex (to resolve colliding initiative rolls), so I did that. It’s also stricter about not running ANY actions in-between you giving a command and the game resolving the sub-turn; no more “I hit up, and another entity moved first and messed things up”. This was a pretty serious bug in my turn-based code! https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/build6/ Fri, 15 Feb 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/build6/ Pre-Alpha Release 6 is dedicated to stability. It has sever hundred tiny fixes, mostly surrounding memory issues uncovered in the pre-alpha so far (thanks everyone!). There’s some behind-the-scenes stuff with types that you can read about in Sharing Saturday on Reddit’s roguelikedev subreddit if you are interested. Steering in 3D Mode If your camera is in 3D/3rd person mode, the game automatically switches to an appropriate input mode: your “north” key goes forward, “south” goes backwards, “east/west” rotate left/right and “north-east/north-west” strafe. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/pre_alpha/ Tue, 05 Feb 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/pre_alpha/ I’ve launched the first public pre-alpha of One Knight in the Dungeon! It’s available on itch.io. This is an early pre-release: the first 25 levels or so are fully playable, later levels are playable but not complete. Most skills and basic items are working, but balance, loot-tables (it’s VERY random still) are still very much in-progress - as are the later levels. There’s a LOT more to come, including crafting, more skills/powers, more props, more mobs, more dialogue, etc. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/10minute_unedited/ Fri, 18 Jan 2019 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/10minute_unedited/ Watch the video here https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/10minute_play/ Sat, 15 Dec 2018 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/10minute_play/ Watch the video here https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/mage_playthrough/ Fri, 31 Aug 2018 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/mage_playthrough/ Watch the video here https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/dev_update_nov18/ Fri, 31 Aug 2018 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/dev_update_nov18/ Watch the video here https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/ui_upgrade/ Fri, 31 Aug 2018 08:46:25 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/oneknight/ui_upgrade/ Watch the video here https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/alert_lighting/ Wed, 25 Apr 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/alert_lighting/ Alert lighting is now working in the upcoming Unreal engine version. Power is low, so the escape pod is on red alert - and the settlers stand ready to try to build their future! https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/more_unreal_experiments/ Wed, 25 Apr 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/more_unreal_experiments/ 99% code reuse, but with Unreal handling UI and rendering. It’s a LOT faster than my hand-rolled engine, and really pretty! Importing MagicaVoxel models, recoloring (for the procedural generated characters) was fun. The map is also entirely dynamic, just like the main game. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/collapse_the_world/ Sat, 21 Apr 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/collapse_the_world/ Between a very heavy workload, and tax week, I didn’t have a lot of time to accomplish anything enjoyable this week. This is definitely the one week of the year in which I hate being an independent contractor! I did show off Nox to a Facebook indie-dev group, and the reaction was generally positive - with a few suggestions that I need to show more depth and less Minecraft-esque graphics. That’s probably true. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/machines_walkthrough/ Fri, 06 Apr 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/machines_walkthrough/ Watch the video here My lovely wife decided to help me make a play-through video. It illustrates a lot of the concepts of the game - building workshops, obtaining resources, and designing/building a machine combining a pulse oscillator, AND gate, lever and retracting spikes. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/traps_machines_context/ Fri, 23 Mar 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/traps_machines_context/ My Nox Futura work this week has been relatively scattered; the last couple of updates exposed a ton of functionality, so now I’m catching up on bugs and missing features that have been exposed as a result. It’s slow going, but very satisfying. It’s also led to some hillarious bugs. Silly Bugs Found a funny issue with work orders. Some critical successes let you make more than one item at a time. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/traps_ant_monsters/ Fri, 16 Mar 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/traps_ant_monsters/ Watch the YouTube video here To celebrate the newly working traps, I found a world with an ant-monster (Emmett) horde on the other side of a river. I carefully built up a trap corridor and we join the action as our settlers complete the bridge into the ant monster’s lands. The ants charge, many perish from our traps, and some more escape to bring havoc and destruction to our ship. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/workflow_stockpiles/ Fri, 16 Mar 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/workflow_stockpiles/ In theory, http://noxfutura.com should now point at my itch.io page. I hope that works, redirects aren’t always my friend. There have been a lot of small changes this week: Tweaked some VS settings to make my debug builds a bit more like my publish builds, and suddenly VS’s profiler shows me slow-down on a per-line basis. Not sure what I did, but I like it! Fluid dynamics uses a compute shader. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/march_9_2018/ Fri, 09 Mar 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/march_9_2018/ Still working on moving office (it’ll be a while - we have a lot of stuff!), but still finding time to get some things done. I put off a couple of large pieces of feature work, and mostly focused on foundational items because I’ve not had a lot of uninterrupted time - but lots of small time blocks. (There’s one exception - a new ECS!). There’s a new pre-alpha build on itch with these changes in it. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/early_march_2018/ Fri, 02 Mar 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/early_march_2018/ A relatively brief update this week (by my standards). Received word part-way through the week that I’m moving office (after lightning strikes, unconscious naked girls and vandalism we’re glad to move!), so my dev-cycle was interrupted. There’s no new pre-alpha release this week, because I’m in the middle of things. It also nixed any chance of doing a 7DRL, so I’ll just have to be satisfied with the one I already made. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/farming_building/ Mon, 19 Feb 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/farming_building/ Just occasionally, work is super light, I’m inspired, and things come together nicely. So a LOT has been accomplished this week! Tooling I only just noticed that my “open source developer” license with JetBrains includes Resharper C++. I added it to Visual Studio. It’s a little sluggish, but it is seriously good stuff. Inline warnings and the improved Intellisense are fantastic. :-) After a Twitter discussion with /u/Kyzrati, I installed Very Sleepy. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/nowonitch/ Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/nowonitch/ Nightly builds for Nox Futura have moved to itch.io. You can get the game here: https://thebracket.itch.io/nox-futura https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/worldgen-explode/ Fri, 04 Aug 2017 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/worldgen-explode/ Watch The Video On YouTube Nox Futura’s world-gen is looking pretty handsome these days. This video shows the first three phases: selecting options, procedurally building the world from noise and biome maps, and starting to progress through history. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/improved_renderer/ Fri, 07 Jul 2017 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/improved_renderer/ The new render system is coming along nicely. The world remains entirely dynamic - this is all real-time. I added a subtle film-grain, high-specular rivers, ramps, and significant performance improvements. Don’t worry - you can still go back to ASCII if you like! https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/going3d/ Fri, 07 Apr 2017 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/going3d/ The internal game has always been 3D (voxels), but previously we’ve used the Dwarf Fortress “layer-cake” approach. That has changed, and Black Future now supports a series of 3D views. The game still works the same way - build your base, mine resources, and fight baddies - but now you can choose between a top-down, front and perspective view in which to visualize the world you create. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/improved_workflow/ Fri, 27 Jan 2017 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/improved_workflow/ Today’s lunch-time enhancement is a new GUI for the workflow interface. Quickly select available jobs, and queue them up for your settlers to perform. It only lists tasks that are possible with available materials and workshops, so it’s a very quick and easy way to manage your settlement. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/architecture/ Sat, 14 Jan 2017 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/architecture/ Watch the video on YouTube A vital feature of base-builder type games is the ability to quickly plan and build your base. The new architecture system lets you plan things out in advance, and then your settlers will build it when materials become available. My wife put together this awesome video to demonstrate the latest pre-alpha architecture feature. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/techsupportrl/ Tue, 29 Nov 2016 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/techsupportrl/ Holiday scheduling meant that I needed to do a quick, light-hearted project. Introducing Tech Support - The Roguelike. It gives some of the underlying Black Future technology a good testing, and is a moderately fun quick project. Sneak around fixing IT issues, avoiding coworkers who drain your hope - and don’t run out of caffeine. The source code to this 7DRL project is here. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/010_technical_preview/ Thu, 22 Sep 2016 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/010_technical_preview/ I just posed Windows (32 and 64-bit) and Mac OS X (64-bit) files for the 0.10.0 Technical Preview Release. The game is about 10% done, so this is more of a technical preview than a game. The vision remains largely the same: take the bits of Dwarf Fortress, Warhammer, Douglass Adams and Civilization that I enjoy the most and mash them together. There’s a long way to go, but the current version has placeholders for much of the future content. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/prepping_for_010_ui/ Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/noxfutura/prepping_for_010_ui/ I’m working on getting Black Future 0.10 (10% done, tech preview) released in the next week or two. Today’s focus is UI clean-up. With today’s changes, you can switch to design mode, select Digging mode, and draw out your intended mining with the mouse. You can also place buildings. In the screenshot above, we’ve designated a mining area and let the settlers dig part of it out - a decent underground shelter. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss76/ Fri, 13 Nov 2015 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss76/ Black Future It’s been a slower week for Black Future than normal, due to heavy workload and the flu. Despite this, I feel like I accomplished something! I showed some prototypes to friends, and they all said it looked like it had a lot of potential - but the consensus was “get some graphics!” So, I dove down that rabbit hole (the ASCII system is still around, also). Warning: Programmer Art Ahead. https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss75/ Fri, 06 Nov 2015 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss75/ Black Future As usual, my github can be found here: https://github.com/thebracket/bgame It’s been a pretty productive week, and it’s starting to feel like more of a game and less of a tech-demo. On the back-end, I implemented a message-bus system to complement the ECS. It uses a similar system (templated, so you instantiate it with a list of message-types to support, and it makes one contiguous vector per message-type), and has tombstoning (mark a message https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss74/ Fri, 30 Oct 2015 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss74/ Black Future My github with all the source is here I spent quite a bit of time cleaning up behind-the-scenes stuff: The Entity-Component-System now makes use of variadic templates to build a separate vector of each component type (no polymorphism or pointers); contiguous storage is generally a win. Gave back-ends a similar treatment, so it specializes at compile-time to the back-end I want to use. A thorough refactoring to remove game dependencies from the engine (much faster compile times). https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss73/ Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:46:50 -0600 https://bracketproductions.com/posts/ss/ss73/ Black Future I’ve thoroughly enjoyed lurking in this subreddit for a long time, and now I feel like I have something to contribute! Black Future is more of a tech-demo than a game at this point, but it’s coming along rapidly so I thought I’d start sharing. I’ll roll out more concept/themes as things progress, for now - the tech side of things! The system is written in C++ (C++14, I like make_unique too much), and currently compiles/runs on Linux and OS X.