TODO.md

TODO

• Solve performance issues

  • shadow map is unsatifactory
    • poor perf
      • programmable pipeline
    • require recalculations
    • low precision
      • especially bad for distant shadows
      • higher precision first index?
      • only first index
        • which also allows easier interpolation
        • are the other three indices even useful?
    • except for light rays, kinda ugly
  • solutions
    • per frame ultra-targeted maps
      • little room for optimization, and incredibly complex
    • slowly updated general maps
      • also hard
      • bad for any kind of large cloud mouvement
    • wait for RTX cards
  • porting distance-based density calculations?
    • using iteration count instead of distance?
  • using density derivative to avoid any bad gradient issue?
  • lighten cloud density maps for crying out loud
    • maybe use custom interpolation for perlin effect?

• Ship model

  • install and learn blender
  • checkout dad paperplane models

Ideas

• Gameplay

  • Expand, extract, exterminate
    • vs contemplate, communicate, care
  • core gameplay loop
    • find some kind of ressource
    • fight if necessary
    • upgrade ship
  • secondary loop
    • explore
    • upgrade
    • move on
  • game loop
    • crash on planet
    • move to red eye
    • make final choice
      • leave without answers
      • kill big final ship for H3 resupply and/or rare resources
      • work with final ship to call for help ?
        • (accept waiting a decade in the planet ?)

• Monsters

  • whales, sharp, jellyfish, plancton
  • fish schools using coding adventure tutorial
  • use density function for FUN! with cloud interaction
    • stay out of deep clouds
    • stay out of the open
    • recover resources from cloud borders

• Crew

  • AI
    • caring
    • voiced by gumshoe?
  • Military presence
    • Push for aggressive router
  • First science officer
    • Favors survival, wants the alien tech
  • Archeologist
    • Favors care and waiting for rescue (though unlikely)

• Sciance

  • FTL error vs AI error
  • H3 is both a fusion fuel and vital for animals trying to float without hydrogen
  • diamond dust in clouds would be extremely abrasive to ship
    • kind of a bluff, there might diamond rain in lower layers, but that hardly translates
  • 50km height of cloud layer
  • big wasteland underneat where air pressure gets dangerous
  • big wasteland above with too little lift to take off

• Choices

  • Danger to crew as a motivator for harm?
  • Make pacifist router harder? More interesting? Harder to stumble upon?

• Mirror on society?

  • What are future humans like?
  • Gender roles on the ship?
  • Transhumanism?
  • Value of cultural remains of the old Earth?
  • Value of humanity?
  • Value of the native life?
  • Is the only winning move not to play?
    • Spec Ops was kinda bad about this one

• Tweak graphics

  • Shadows
    • Use player position in lightmarch
  • Better UI circle.cross
  • Damage particles are not great, texture?
  • Big whales should have slower animation

• Clarify gameplay loop

  • Resource bars should be instinctive
  • Controls should be displayable ( pause screen ? )

• Add gratification

  • Win time -> instant replay value