I have added a major development in the gameplay of VPI that is worth discussing.
First a little house keeping...
Just wanted to note that the time setup for Vagabond PI has been changed from the original project. Originally, the game was going to be in 'Real World Time' like the Animal Crossing franchise. With a lot of thought, I have decided to make the game function on an internal clock system instead (similar what is seen in Harvest Moon, Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, etc.). There are a multitude of reasons for this change. One is that when I began this project 8 years ago, I was very much in my youth still. I was captivated by real time concepts because I had enough time in my life to enjoy them. But nowadays, as someone in their 20s working multiple jobs, the concept seems like more frustration and than enjoyment. I now see gaming as something to do on a Sunday afternoon for a few hours to unwind. A real time system forces you to adapt your schedule around a video game; something I do not wish to do. For these and other reasons, VPI will feature an internal clock system instead, but I may consider making real time and option within the settings menu.
Town Building
After playing some of the old .MFA file, I noticed a real lack of investment the player feels. Sandbox games thrive on building and personalizing something. In Harvest Moon you develop your farm, in Animal Crossing you personalize your home. The earlier development of VPI lacked a major goal outside of completing cases to finish the story. After a lot of thought, I decided to integrate town building into the game. I have spent the past 2 weeks creating the engine, and I will say it works very well in my opinion.
At the start of the game there will be no shops and only 1 resident in the town. As you acquire money by completing cases you eventually build a "Sporting Goods Store," which sells tools you can use throughout the game. From there forward you slowly build shops, residencies, or attractions to the town.
Here is a quick overview of the engine:
Approach a vacant lot and press space
Select what you want to build
It will take 6 in game hours or 6 real world minutes for the building to be complete.
After it is complete you can now utilize the shop.
Also worth noting, after you build a 'Carpenter Business' in your town you can acquire an item called the 'City Plan Book' which will allow you to demolish buildings so you can change their locations.
Yeah I agree having a real world clock makes it difficult for those of us with jobs to enjoy the game, so I think it's a good decision to change that.
Awesome work with the town building stuff. Reminds me of moonlighter. It has the same thing where you can buy new shops to add to your town. Pretty neat addition.
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