Hi everyone!
Just wanted to give a little update on what's going on with the project and why it's taking so long to get some of this new stuff done.
Currently I am working on underwater mechanics, which turned out to be more intensive than I thought. Thinking about how the vehicle, character, projectiles, enemies (and all the effects that accompany them) behave under water is taking a while. Knowing the limitations of what mechanics I should implement to keep the project from bloat (and eventual failure) and thinking of how the level design could accommodate such mechanics is reshaping my ideas.
Since I want to have one giant layout to have my game world, and have some areas that are flooded or other environmental hazard, I can't very well have just any old enemy follow you into a flooded area and jump into the water with you. If I had 50 enemies, that would mean I'd have to have double the movement behaviours depending on if enemies are underwater or not. So my idea was to have every section separated by a quarantine room (might also double as save rooms) that would euthanize all creatures when they enter. These rooms would also serve as my jumping off point for resetting the creatures in the next area. This would actually fit with the story I have planned, and I hope won't feel misplaced. Ultimately it's my hope that this will relieve some of the workload of having to write 2 or 3 X as many events for each enemy, while also giving me a convenient point to reset some stuff.
On a side note, it's spring here and as a parent of active kids it's hard to find time to sit and work on my projects. So that is also delaying development a bit.
Thank you for being patient with me. Everything will get done, it just might take more time while I try to figure everything out.