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This is just a little update. I'm currently working on funding the project. Now I have a playable development demo the next thing I need to proceed are funds to buy assets. I've put some of my scripts on sale at the Unity store. They're still waiting approval but should be up soon and I've also started another round of fundraising.

I decided to start doing a series of video logs. This is actually the 4th in the series but I'll keep them posted here regularly for now on.

Was it the guy in the corner in the desert? He's just there for information you can go into any zone regardless. I'm designing the game so you can completely skip the story elements if you want.

In this video I talk about changes specific to the gamepad and joystick movement.

For now on I'm going to be releasing video developer logs to chronicle the development of Oasis. I'll try to keep them posted regularly. This is a great way for me to show off the latest progress without having to constantly upload buggy developer demos.
I'll be releasing the development demos further apart about once a week. Until then enjoy the video. If you like my work and want to see this project succeed then share this game with your friends and consider making a donation.

https://www.angrycomputernerd.com/donate.html

The open world feature was just too heavy for a game that's supposed to be geared towards low end machines. The terrains where taking up too much and memory and CPU power. The only way I could get them to run well was by reducing the resolution and mesh detail so low the terrains ended up looking horrible. On the plus side I now have the code for making a fully open world game. That will come in handy later.

Still working on this daily. I'm in the process of crafting the terrain for the world which is 25,000 meters so far. It'll be a few weeks until I have the next update since I'm the only one working on it.

Oasis is a 3D adventure action game with puzzle solving elements. The games design philosophy is to run on low end machines but have a high quality game experience. With that design philosophy in mind the levels where designed to be low poly but stylish and appealing to the eye. The end goal is to produce a game for budget gamers  that both plays and looks great but won't bog down your hardware or your wallet.

Check out the game here.

https://angrycomputernerd.itch.io/oasis

The game is currently in very early alpha but does have a playable build. Most of the zones are in development and unfinished. Check back regularly for new updates. The game is updated daily as new content is added in.

The minimalist game design philosophy. This philosophy is how I approach game development. The idea is simple. It means to use the minimal for controls , mechanics and graphics but still deliver a high quality , challenging and rewarding experience.

The control scheme is designed around the modern Playstation and Xbox controller. Where you have dual joysticks , 4 top buttons , 4 front buttons , a direction pad and the back plus start buttons. All together that's 16 button options (18 if you include the joystick buttons) plus two joysticks. If a game requires more than 16 buttons and two joysticks that it's probably overly complex , poorly designed or both.

Although the game is designed for home computers with a keyboard and mouse. I built the controls around the game pad model to ensure the button usage was kept to a minimal.

The game mechanics are individually simple but can also work together to produce more complex effects. The mechanics that aren't a part of the core player controls are attached to items. Each new item is introduced one at a time. This way the player can learn and master one concept at a time. Each new item builds off or complements the previous item. The goal is to start off simple and build slowly into more complex combat and puzzles.

Graphics don't need to complex or high poly to be interesting. To keep the game running smooth I've chosen low poly models with a bright and cartoon-ish style. I've also tried to keep shader usage to a minimal. Shaders alone can make or break a games performance. Additionally to make sure things run smooth I've included a simple in game graphics control. The graphics control allows you to adjust the render quality and most importantly the draw distance for different entities.

With these things in mind I set out to make Oasis. Thanks to everyone who helped out on my journey so far. I want this to the first of many great games to come.

A rough draft of the starting zones terrain is now complete. Everything is stitched together and seamless. No more holes in the world. It's mostly empty area outside the starting zone but that will be changing soon.

Fixes **

Player health and energy now saves and loads properly.

Enemy health and position now save and load properly. Enemies will retain their health and status across after a grid cell loads and unloads.

New quest are announced on the screen. Completed quest are announced on the screen.

The player no longer can fall through the terrain when loading from a save.

The camp fire lights work properly and will now light up during night time.

Camp Odin NPC's now retain their position and status between saves.

Player weapon size doubled and hit box increases slightly.

Recovery time added to player and enemies. After being hit they'll become invulnerable for a short period of time. Usually 1 second.

Both the player and enemies blink to show they've been hit and are in recovery time.

Known bugs **

If you have a mouse and gamepad active at the same time it's possible to click the mouse of the menu options and lose focus. You have to reselect the menu buttons again with the mouse. I suggest only using one at a time.

More details have been added to the Endless Desert zone. Each day I'm adding a little more. I'm expecting the zone design to be finished in about 1 week. Then on to wiring up the scripts and bringing the zone to life.

Menus and day cycle are now functional and working properly. I still have some visaul updates to do to the menus.

Added in a day and night cycle. It's really fast at the moment but I still have some work to do get the timing correct.

The quest and inventory system has been added in. There is still work to be done and I need to update the introduction tutorial to refelect the changes. Press keyboard I or gamepad select to access them.

I seen the name and I had to try it. The filters are way too heavy and lag out my laptop like crazy. After turning the graphics down it was sort of playable. If you press one button you go flying all over the place. The text also doesn't align properly and goes off the screen.

I did a big update to the menu visuals. I also fixed a few bug with saving and loading.