Daily Devlog #3

Tutorial Stage Decoration

When I first started conceptualizing the game, I wanted the player to learn how to interact with the world by performing tasks that would help them progress through the story. That's where the "Tutorial Stage" comes in. It's the part of the story that envelopes the gameplay. While the main game has a way to explain how to play, the Tutorial Stage lets you have some brief points of practice.

11/06/2024

I finally got to work on the Tutorial Stage - as far as decorating it is concerned. I'll be honest, there aren't that many assets for me to choose from. I recently got to the point where I can't afford any new assets aside from the ones that I already bought for the game. There's also a small limitation I placed on myself - I can't use assets that are "built in" to UE5. I was able to get a lot of material for the Studio, and it worked because the majority of them were old, or worn and used. Placing something old in a modern level like the Tutorial Stage would just look out of place. 

And guess what happened in late October that limited me even further? The library inside UE5 was moved to another application. Either that or the connection was altered. This is in reference to all of the Megascans that I used to be able to find without any problems through UE5. Now that they have been moved, UE5 is asking me to go through an additional process to access them. At the moment, however, I'm apprehensive about doing anything that will mess with my library of assets. 

The LAST thing I want is for a whole bunch of objects to disappear after I try to fix something. I have already bricked the game once, and I had to load a backup version which erased two days of work. In the end I've decided that I have to work with what I have and avoid anything that could potentially brick the game. The risk is just too high. There's a few more things I want to add to the Tutorial Stage before I move on to the Studio and start laying down some more assets to fill up those loooong empty hallways.