Really solid day of work today with some big milestones. I still code like a moron, but walls I used to smash into and think I had no solution to suddenly just fall over and I can solve huge problems I never thought I could before after these years of managing AI and abilities and such. Kinda crazy how much better you get after going through the motions over and over again. I'm still a total noob when it comes to deep coding knowledge, but I'm really getting a knack for managing complex systems and finding simple solutions by leveraging code and the game engine to complex problems.

So fish can now get around objects other than just spheres! This is huge for me, for so many years I've just left in code that let them do this without any idea of how to get them to swim around objects. But i did a simple test and it went really well.  If a fish touches an object that is likely to be a wall that blocks them, that wall will tell them, "Hey go here to this corner where a sphere is which you know how to get around" then when they reach the destination the waypoint is removed and they go back to trying to direct their face into the player.

Spawn Logic no longer relies on terrain. For years all gameplay took place above terrain, so the spawn logic checked that all fish were above terrain. Since I'm now developing caves below the surface, I needed a new means of checking if a fish can spawn places. So now I do checks to see if spawn areas exist as well as just checks to see if ground is below to solve this very annoying spawn issue. Long story short instead of worrying bout creating a  bunch of negative space with spawn blockers I'll be using zone volumes to create positive space where fish can spawn (Environmental negative space on top of this works too so best of both worlds).

Revamped heal bites to no longer do damage and heal more, while giving the attack a very unique sound effect. The shark combat feels really deliberate and RPG like now, Do you want to damage? Stun? Or heal? No more spam that does everything and the combat feels so much better. This also makes it a lot easier to overheal and reach your evolved shark form which honestly i had almost forgotten about because it never occurs. It's now very easy to farm up a ton of enemy fish around you, and you can heal bite them over and over to farm EXP in a unique way. It may be overpowered but it's fun so i'm keeping it for now.

New item descriptions and starting to implement item changes. 

Everything really feels like it's coming together in a cohesive way. I often speak of games like Dota and LoL and Diablo being a core inspiration, but right now I'm getting Legend of Zelda vibes with the new exploration elements.

LOTS of little things here and there being touched up along the way.

I was starting to burn out fast, but the mojo is coming back and making this work sustainable. I start the days  not wanting to open the project but once I start going I'm able to slam out a good bit of work. Hope this goes on for a bit.

Fish don't swim into walls forever now, "WE CAN FIGHT!"

I've been in the habit of posting some pretty colorful/ offensive posts lately, so I'm going to keep things a more professional for the foreseeable future as a change of pace and to prove I'm capable of not being a total f- *sic* -tard.