Going Simple

July 29, 2020July 29, 2020 sinwyrm

#PanicRoom Day 064

#100DaysOfGameDev R2D29

first pass at a simplified wall tile design

In an effort to simplify things, I have decided to pull the trigger and move forward with changing the game to a different Wall Tile format. The current state of the game has 2 types of wall styles: Vertical walls, and Horizontal walls. The code, as I have written it, differentiates between the two and places the appropriate style of Wall Tile where it is needed. The dilemma I am having with this situation, fundamentally, is I believe the different formats of the two types of walls will be a hindrance to me further down the road. Right now the Vertical walls are 1×4 world tiles in size and the Horizontal ones are 2×4 world tiles in size. (Side note: floor tiles are 2×2 world tiles in size)

a better design to eliminate horizontal wall seams

My thought is that if I change to a strict 1×4 format for ALL wall pieces, then I no longer need to differentiate between the two different styles of wall and can just place a wall wherever there needs to be a wall. I also won’t have to account for shifting larger pieces around whenever I have a section where walls have to meet up by a count of an odd number, in the case of Horizontal Wall Tiles and Doorways. Right now I have solved all this for all my Exterior Walls, as well as my Primary and Secondary Hallways, but I have yet to build any of the non-hallway Dividing Walls within my big Room spaces. And there’s also the possibility of the House getting larger and requiring even more walls. As I said, I’m trying to think ahead now while it’s still early in the process and I can still turn this ship.

importing the new 1×4 universal wall tile into Unity without any code modifications yet

The flip side of the internal argument I am having is that the things I have already implemented are working, and will never change. On each playthrough of the game a House gets generated and you play within that house. Walls will not be moving because generated rooms will be given a particular classification and will need to stay as they are for the duration of the given playthrough to make the game what it is. So I could say that if it works, then don’t fix it. Right?

Perhaps my true solution will be a hybrid of both ideas: keep the wider, longer walls, but then add in smaller, narrower pieces that can be utilized when required. This way I can keep what I have, mostly, and just make the changes to add in the new pieces rather than shift the clunky things around.