So this is long overdue (I posted the first preview what, over two months ago?), and I'm sorry, but here's a much longer, more in-depth explanation of what the Garden Box is, its features, how they work, etc.
It's best viewed full-screen so you can make out all the text and other details. I did my best to explain things, but let me know in the comments if you have any questions or don't understand something (explaining via speech is certainly not my strong point!)
Literally did this in one take without any pre-planning, so excuse all the "ums." Or make a game out of counting them, up to you.
Things are coming along nicely! The Box itself is almost finished, though the agents very much leave something to be desired. (RIP, gnarler ;_; )
And don't worry, I haven't quite forgotten about Hera! I'm tending to the world in a more casual way now, but hopefully you'll see an update soon, and maybe the completion of a small project!
After watching the video, I have to say that my respect for you as a programmer has gone up considerably (and it was pretty high before this). You've come a long way since you first started. Heck, I've probably been CAOs-ing for a little longer than you have, and I wouldn't be able to code anything on the scale of the Garden Box.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, I plan on making heavy use of it once it gets released. A bunch of the stuff I'm working on with mea are plants and stuff.
On another note: Are you making previously inedible seeds (such as the sponge spores) edible before adding them to the Garden Box? While there really isn't anything to be lost from not doing so, if you're going to placing a bunch of plants around you might not want to mess up creature instincts too badly.
Aww, thanks :>
DeleteFunny you should mention the edible seeds-- I actually spent some time earlier coming up with a list of standards for the agents I'm converting, and yes, one of them is that all seeds, critters, bugs, and detritus will be made edible. The more ways a creature can interact with an agent, the better, I think.
Game runs at 19.5 ticks/second :)
ReplyDeleteHa! I always forget if it's closer to 20 or 30. Thanks for clearing that up!
DeleteNooooo! Poor gnarler!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, this is looking really good. I hadn't realised there was an upate that added the decoration mode, that's really cool.
Can't wait for you to get the C3/DS agents sorted and stable. I think it's been mentioned elsewhere, but it would be really cool if the C3/DS agents were the updated versions that have been released. The default ones tend to die off even in their natural habitats.
Ah, other than that keep it up. It's looking fantastic and I can't wait for people to get their hands on it and start coding their own agents into it.
I seem to have terrible luck with things in my GB videos DYING while on camera XD
DeleteMy C3 conversions are going to be quite a bit more involved than I originally hoped, but hopefully it'll be for the better. I'm thinking of putting up a fancy survey later to see what plants/animals from C3 people want converted most, to get an idea of how I should prioritize the conversions.
This is very impressive work. I'll have to start up C3/DS again once it's released :)
ReplyDeleteI especially love the patch-planting and the decorations. Allowing other members to code for the GardenBox is fabulous as well. This may rekindle my desire to create C3 agents, haha. Which, may or may not be a good thing.
Either way, I love it to pieces.
Aww, glad to hear it! If this agent can get more people playing DS again, or even better, developing for it, I will have quite succeeded!
DeleteI love it! I hadn't realized how involved the decoration panel was... Now I might really get into decorating an area, rather than settling for what it looks like to start with. Even tiny decoration elements, like rocks or other background elements already present in C3/DS, would be awesome. You've done a wonderful job! This is my favorite upcoming release, and I sometimes get more excited about it than Creatures 4. Ha! Keep up your awesomeness!
ReplyDeleteThe great thing about those decorations is that it's so easy to code new ones too; I'm pretty sure even complete CAOS-novices could do it easily, so hopefully there will quickly be an endless array of decorations to choose from!
DeleteWant Want Want! :D I can't wait until it's done! I appreciate all the hard work you're putting into making it all work properly. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks <: I'm glad to see people all excited! I just hope everything can live up to you guys' expectations, hah.
DeleteThis is one of the BEST things to happen to C3/DS! So don't get discouraged. We are rooting for you!!
ReplyDelete!!!!! I just discovered this today, and IT'S SO AWESOME. I've always been SO frustrated with being unable to insert animals/plants/anything into the game, and your program will make it so easy! Please keep working on it! It will revamp the world of Creatures forever, and make it even more accessible to people who can't code. I'm rooting for you too!
ReplyDeleteThis is the best idea I've seen in the creatures community in a long time. There's been so much emphasis on more rooms (which, who doesn't like more rooms?) and so little emphasis on using the ones we have more efficiently. This would be perfect for use in Metarooms like the Biodome, which is wonderful for customization. I imagine users will find all sorts of creative things to do with this, and it will be very fun to see what they come up with.
ReplyDelete