Ok here's a life hack I just learned for crowded touristy areas: you enter any expensive hotel and ask about their rooftop bar. There's a good chance they have one and it'll be empty and quiet because they don't advertise it outside of the hotel and most people don't know they can just come in.

I'm doing some real life city exploration while I'm on vacation. Just saw a building that looked like it had a rooftop terrace from the street. So I went in to see if I could go up there and they let me. Turned out to be a rooftop bar that looks eerily similar to the Vuntra City rooftops.

I just won this thing in a machine learning competition organized by one of our local gamedevs and my algo didn't even use any machine learning. ❤️❤️❤️ the gamedev community here in Cluj!

Increasing the city population to ~4 million, combined with the changes in the distribution of citizens, makes the interior spaces almost as packed as they should be. Now the hardest part - to optimize it all so it can run with a decent framerate. #gamedev #indiegame #procgen

If you've ever wondered how to unequivocally assert dominance at the table, this Vuntra City NPC is here to show you. #gamedev #indiegame

First look at the interior schedule WIP (time sped up). I'm trying to give every type of interior somewhat realistic "work hours", so you may notice that more interiors will be lit during the evening and fewer in the morning. #gamedev #indiegame #procgen

The terraces get so cozy sometimes, they really make me want to implement more elevated outdoor spaces (and I will, hopefully). #gamedev #indiegame #procgen

I'm back to working on the NPCs and I have implemented overrides that allow an NPC to disconnect from their GPU calculated schedule and then gradually return to it. This override also kicks in any time the NPC is too far from their anchor, making it easier for the player to find them. #indiegame

Me: Marathon is such a gorgeous game, I wonder why it isn't more popular. Me actually playing Marathon: *load into a match, get killed 30 seconds in, lose all gear, spend 5 minutes finding a new match* x5 Oh, I see.

Vuntra City@vuntracity.bsky.social · 3w ago

Trying out Marathon today. Still getting the hang of the gameplay, but the visual style is *chef's kiss* 🤌

New devlog about the fire mechanics that I've been working on for the past month. Check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8jr... #gamedev #indiegame #procgen

Interactive Fire In a Procedural City Environment

YouTube video by Vuntra City

youtube.com

Trying out Marathon today. Still getting the hang of the gameplay, but the visual style is *chef's kiss* 🤌

The flames make some of the environments feel particularly cozy. #screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiegame

I made a little demonstration of all the particle emitters in my fire system for the upcoming devlog. Each emitter also has a number of parameters that scale differently with the size of the fire. #gamedev #indiegame

Pixel Skylines - cityscapes in old video games. pixelskylines.tumblr.com So good

The outdoor fires will now go out in the rain and ignite back up when the rain ends. Here's a little demo with time sped up. Don't mind the NPC that decided to be the center of attention 😅 #gamedev #indiegame

I've also added fire pits on the terraces, so here's a little showcase of all the cozy flame types that Vuntra City has now. #screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiegame

I put the fire extinguisher in a box near the elevator on each floor. I think it's a fitting place? Or should I change it?

There are now fire extinguishers in Vuntra City, so you can put out large fires before they take over the entire place. #gamedev #indiegame

I don't know if it's the hot weather or I'm feeling particularly sentimental today, but I just remembered this old track and it really resonates with me right now: youtu.be/7LMJyK0lj1U?...

Nothing Left to Lose

YouTube video by The Alan Parsons Project - Topic

youtu.be

As I'm sitting here in the superheated inferno that is Europe, I'm also working on creating a superheated inferno in Vuntra City. Which feels just about appropriate. #gamedev #indiegame

In Midnight Moments you build neon-soaked corners of a cyberpunk city. Drop in props, place citizens, and watch a little world come to life. No goals. No pressure. Just vibes. Wishlist and follow on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4666090/... youtu.be/COFMC8EZzeo

Midnight Moments | Build an Alleyway with Me

YouTube video by Happy Volcano

youtu.be

The fire now destroys any item tagged as flammable. Although I might still tweak the effect to make it more gradual. #gamedev #indiegame

I've added wood and a gently flickering light to the fireplaces after some feedback from my community. Also they now go out when you turn off the lights in the interior. #gamedev #indiegame

Implemented fireplaces in the interiors. They are not only cozy, but you can also start a fire by pouring flammable liquid in one. #gamedev #indiegame

The candles, aside from being a source of fire in case you need to burn something down, also add to the cozy atmosphere of the city's bars and cafes! #gamedev #indiegame #procgen

There's a bird outside my window whose chirps sound exactly like a failed build in Unreal Engine. I swear it's the most annoying bird I've ever heard 😆

I'm adding environmental sources of fire (like the candles) and the ability to interact with them. You can pour non-flammable liquid to extinguish them (left hand) and flammable liquid to make the fire spread (right hand). #gamedev #indiegame

The fire now has sound! I implemented a point cloud sound system for it that takes into account the position and the intensity of each flame, interpolating between 3 distinct sounds. Big thanks to @runevision.bsky.social for his recent blog post on the subject, saved me a lot of time and effort.

I've added embers, flame tongues, and ground burn decals to my flames to make them look less floaty. The NPCs still don't care 🤷 #gamedev #indiegame

I am testing the fire mechanic in Vuntra City, and normally the NPCs look like the "this is fine" meme while they go about their business. But this one is looking particularly badass. What track might they be playing? #gamedev #indiegame