🧾 Relicborne DevLog: V0.2.0 → V0.3.0

Date Range: May 1 – May 31, 2025
Contributors: Kayman Colvin, Carlos Reid, Jacob Mosser, Corey Bell Wright

🧩 Kayman Colvin – Procedural Generation & World Systems

• Encounter Effects & Transitions:

  • Created particle effects to visually signal encounter zones.

  • Used collision boxes to toggle these effects and optimize performance.

• Level Flow:

  • Set up the player spawn in the hub world.

  • Added transitions from the hub to the ruins using entrance points and rare teleporters.

• Return Portals:

  • Implemented randomly spawning return portals in ruins.

  • Used percentage-based spawn logic tied to wall placements.

  • Began visual improvements and minimap icon support.

• Seeded Procedural Generation:

  • Overhauled procedural generation to use a seeded RNG (SRand), enabling repeatable or randomized runs.

  • Updated attractor generation, encounter spawning, and rotation logic.

• Art Integration:

  • Refactored mesh instancing for collaboration with new environment artist.

  • Dynamic handling of floor and wall meshes based on arrays.

  • Adjusted tile spawning to load 50 at a time for performance.

• Blueprint to Code Migration:

  • Migrated BP_Encounter logic to C++.

  • Began general migration of procedural and encounter systems into code.

  • Improved direction-checking logic for generation tiles.

💎 Carlos Reid – Aura System & Upgrade UI

• Aura System Foundation:

  • Built the Aura System as a meta-progression currency.

  • Implemented 5 upgrade categories: Relic Capture, Survivability, Exploration, Combat, Attributes.

• Upgrade Widgets:

  • Developed visual states for upgrades: Locked (black), Available (gold), Purchased (green).

  • Created a Bezier curve system to visually connect upgrade slots.

  • Added hold-to-purchase mechanic with visual progress feedback.

• Exploration Upgrades:

  • Added upgrades for stamina, inventory capacity, vendor prices, loot quantity/quality, gold earnings.

  • Fully functional and persistent across runs.

• Survival Upgrades:

  • Added party-wide Shadow health buffs.

  • Began integration with the battle system to track upgrades for new Shadows.

• Attribute & Combat Upgrades:

  • Added permanent stat boosts (HP, Attack, Defense, etc.) for all Shadows.

  • Combat enhancements include relic capture chances, move buffs, XP boosts, and shadow storage increases.

• Main Upgrade Menu:

  • Centralized access to all upgrade branches.

  • Swappable categories within pause menu.

  • Integrated aura point tracker and contextual info panel.

• Consumable Effects:

  • Refactored speed potion logic.

  • Added inventory hotkey ('I') and screen vignette for visual feedback.

⚔️ Jacob Mosser – Combat, XP, UI Systems

• XP & Level-Up System:

  • Fully implemented XP gain, level-ups, and stat scaling in C++.

  • Added skill learning logic with a "learned skills" buffer if the Shadow knows 4 moves.

• Battle System Migration:

  • Migrated BattleHUD to C++: skill selection, dialogue, inventory toggling, and UI button behaviors.

  • Integrated BattleProxy with new turn logic, speed/accuracy checks, and attacker/defender resolution.

• Party Management:

  • Implemented party swapping during combat (costs a turn).

  • Working on out-of-combat management and persistent catalog.

• Starter Selection UI:

  • Built animated, data-driven UI to choose a starting Shadow.

  • Utilizes live 2D captures of animated Shadows.

  • Integrated with developer settings for centralized defaults.

• Combat Improvements:

  • Basic AI, attack flow, stat resets post-battle.

  • Added config-driven data tables via UDeveloperSettings.

  • Built centralized ShadowFunctionLibrary to handle Shadow spawning, stat rolls, and encounter generation.

🏆 Corey Bell Wright – Run Tracking & Achievements

• RunDataSubsystem:

  • Migrated tracking from GameRunManager to a persistent subsystem tied to the GameInstance.

  • Tracks time, gold, Shadows defeated/captured, and cause of defeat across level loads.

• Defeat Screen:

  • Built animated defeat screen with count-up effects and full stat breakdown.

  • Displays who defeated the player, time survived, Shadows used, and more.

• Save & Load Systems:

  • Created debug-triggered save/load functionality for run and achievement data.

  • Implemented multiple save slots, planned integration with pause and main menus.

• Achievements System:

  • JSON-based structure supporting ~60 tracked achievements.

  • Built scalable achievement screen with auto-populating grid.

  • Pop-up widget created for unlock notifications.

• UI Improvements:

  • Began moving UI logic out of Player class into dedicated UI Manager.

  • Improved transitions between screens and post-run data presentation.