DevLog #5: Progress report

Hello everyone! A lot has happened since my last update, both in terms of Rotten Dawn’s development and in my personal life. I’ve been juggling refactoring, new inventory designs, and some tough situations that have pulled me away from the keyboard. Despite these challenges, I’m still pushing forward—because this project remains my anchor. Below, you’ll find a summary of what’s been going on day by day and how I’m adapting to keep Rotten Dawn on track.

1. New Project Boards & Refactoring

19th – 21st (Days 27–29): I initially wanted to focus on the equipment system, but realized I needed a solid overview of where I was and where I was heading. This led to creating a new Trello board (and a more organized workflow) to break down every feature. I’ve been refactoring core systems to ensure the code is readable and maintainable in the long run—especially since my mental focus has been scattered.

• Reverted to Refactoring: Instead of rushing new features, I went blueprint by blueprint to reorganize, comment code, and note where future improvements are needed.
• Trello Board Setup: Major lists now track bugs, refactoring tasks, items in progress, and backlog features. This method helps me track what I’ve done and what remains.

2. Save System Rework

22nd (Day 30): I spent the entire day dissecting how saving and loading work across levels and found it might be best to split the game’s levels into sections that save/load individually. This is still conceptual; I’m not 100% sure how to implement it in Blueprints just yet.

• Testing Rama Plugin: I experimented with Victory Save/Load from the Rama plugin but ran into issues—some data wouldn’t persist correctly.
• Saving World Items: I did manage to rework the save system so that any world items (like dropped objects) will save and load correctly. Next step is to ensure player stats, components, and complex data also function smoothly.

3. Inventory Overhaul

23rd (Day 31): My focus wavered—I had a tough day mentally. Despite that, I:

• Adjusted Weight Tracking: The player’s inventory bar now updates weight automatically when picking items up or removing them. There’s still a bug when taking items from storage (weight doesn’t recalculate).
• Brainstormed Next Steps: With help from ChatGPT and discussions with my son, I drafted a plan for a more modular inventory approach.

24th–26th (Days 32–34): I had limited dev time—most of my weekend was spent sofa-surfing, seeing family, and dealing with life. We brainstormed a new multi-inventory system, shaping an approach that will (hopefully) reduce the complexity of adding or removing items from various containers.

• SVN Issues: Version control locked files and caused some merges to fail, making collaboration between home and my laptop frustrating.
• New Inventory System Design: My son provided invaluable input on the layout. We opted for a simpler, more organized design, ensuring clarity when moving items between equipment, player inventory, and storage.

4. Building the New System from Scratch

27th–29th (Days 35–37): I decided to prototype a fresh inventory system in a new project:

1. Core Mechanics:
   • New blueprint functions for adding, moving, and removing items.
   • Basic stacking logic for small objects or resources.
   • Preliminary code for equipping and unequipping items.
2. UI Design Overhaul:
   • Finalized a new widget layout (still subject to change, but looks promising).
   • Began integrating the new system into the old project, carefully replacing legacy widgets.
3. Equipment Integration:
   • Debating how best to handle equipment in saves: do we store an “equipped” variable in the item struct or maintain separate inventories for gear?
   • Aim to allow smooth transitions of items between equipment and storage without losing data.

Challenges:

• Index/Slot Confusion: When items move between arrays, the system sometimes picks the wrong index—leading to inventory mismatch.
• Save/Load Instability: The new code occasionally fails to save or load items properly. Need to refine the logic and ensure all references are consistent.

5. Recent Progress & Tests

30th (Day 38):

• Stacking Logic Enabled: Items can now stack, but drag-and-drop stacking still needs some polish.
• Partial Functionality for Moving Items: Player inventory can handle adding, moving, and removing items. Storage containers are next on the list.
• Next Steps: Code the logic so equippable items appear correctly in the equipment window and eventually render in-hand.

31st (Day 39, Today):

• Function Testing:
  • fn_DropItem works, physically spawning items in the world.
  • fn_SearchForItem locates items and can remove them, but doesn’t spawn a world item.
  • fn_AddItem, fn_MoveItem, fn_RemoveItem still need finishing touches (especially with storage containers).
• Storage Component Updates:
  • Randomized item spawns tested—e.g., fridges generating random food items on game load, so i dont have to manually add items to storage chests within the world. This might become a neat gameplay feature or might be scrapped, depending on balance.
  • Need to finalize storage container logic for add/move/remove.

The “100-day challenge” remains a milestone, but it’s really more about aligning the game’s progress with personal life events. Development won’t stop at Day 100; it’s just a significant point in a personal journey that mirrors the struggles I’ve woven into Rotten Dawn’s story.

6. Personal Reflections: Sofa Surfing & Ongoing Battles

This past week has been turbulent. I’ve been back to sleeping on sofas, juggling family time and court-related stress. A few highlights:

• Family Moments:
  • Spent a fun breakfast outing with my sisters—something we’ve never really done before. It was a bright spot in an otherwise chaotic time.
  • My wife and I aimed for a date night, but conflicting schedules and exhaustion got in the way. Still, those small moments of connection keep me going.
• Mental Health & Meetings:
  • Had a mental health assessment where stress and anger were the main focus—particularly around the CSC situation.
  • Another meeting is planned next week to tackle deeper issues and keep the process moving.
• Court Countdown:
  • Day 39 of my 100-day timeline. The approach of court dates adds pressure to an already tense situation. The social worker’s new “delay tactic” by refusing direct communication is a source of constant frustration.
  • My solicitor is as frustrated as I am—pointing out how illogical it is that I’m allowed contact with the child who made allegations, but barred from texting my son who’s expressing that he misses me.

Despite all of this, Rotten Dawn remains a vital creative outlet. The game is a place where I can channel my frustration into building something meaningful—something that mirrors a struggle for truth and survival.

7. What’s Next

1. Finalize Inventory & Equipment:
   • Fix indexing issues and confirm stable saving/loading.
   • Implement equipping functionality so items visibly attach to the player model.
2. Refine Storage Containers:
   • Ensure transferring items between player and container is seamless.
   • Decide whether randomized spawns (like fridge contents) should remain as a feature.
3. Continued Refactoring:
   • Clean up legacy blueprint widgets as the new inventory system solidifies.
   • Streamline code to reduce future headaches.
4. Personal & Legal Battles:
   • Keep pressing forward toward Day 100, hoping for a “new dawn” that improves my current situation and reopens a sense of normalcy.

Conclusion

Every line of code I refactor and every feature I polish serves as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there’s room for progress and hope. Rotten Dawn is not just a survival game; it’s a testament to resilience in the face of adversity—a promise to myself that I won’t let hardships define my future.

Thank you for standing by this journey. Your support—no matter how small—helps keep me grounded and determined to deliver a game that’s as honest and uncompromising as the real-life battles it symbolizes.

Until next time: Keep believing, keep building, and above all, keep surviving.