Progress Checkup! (Apr. 2024)

Here's what I've been working on:

• Redone Nami.WAV animations (Halfway Done!) 
  You already saw some of these in the 2023 demo!
• Redone Stir & Mix animations (Done!) 
  I've been reanimating/cleaning up some of the animations in the levels that were animated earlier in development, as many of them are either off-model to how I currently draw the characters now or just aren't consistent with the quality of my more recent work.
• Lucid Mode (Getting there!)
  Remember that experimental "Ascension" or "3D Mode" from the 2021 and 2022 demos? Well, I've finally got it working again with the new rhythm system. It's called "Lucid Mode" now. (Unless I change my mind again!) The most difficult part so far has been programming what happens when you fall out of it, but after a long week I think I've pretty much got it under control now. I'll show a preview of this mode when I think it's presentable!
• ??? (Act 2 Rival Battle 3) (Being Animated & Storyboarded) 
  Believe it or not, this will be my first time fully storyboarding a level's animations! I usually just kinda jump in with whatever I have planned in my mind, but I thought a more organized process would be worth a try this time.
• Optimization Progress
  I've been learning some more optimization tricks, notably with the beans in Sidechain Fever, of which I've managed to pretty much double performance with recently! They look the same, but don't be fooled; their textures are handled differently now!
• And other stuff that I can't talk about yet!

Now, with all these awesome things in the works, you're probably craving a look at some of it! Well, I don't feel like it. So here's a background model of a barbecue grill with placeholder materials.

Thanks for reading!

-LJ