Sunday, October 20, 2013

"Growsim" new features, screens, and information

Greetings.  This week, I added a bunch of new features to the engine and, so far, everything looks pretty good!  There's a lot of balancing to do, as play-testing (beyond myself) has been limited.  I'm sure when more eyes take a look at the alpha version, there'll be plenty of updating to do.

In the first screen below, the cloning system is displayed.  Each plant will produce a number of clones distinct to their particular strain, size, and growth rate.  These clones can be harvested for re-planting, as shown below.  Clones are, of course, a replica of the plant from which they are harvested.


In this second shot, the clones taken from the original plant appear in the seed list.  They do not cost money to plant (aside from bucket and medium) and they don't "veg" (waiting for seed to sprout).  When selected for planting, the clone starts as a sapling.


Another new feature implemented this week is displayed below: pruning.  Plants in juvenile or adult stage can be pruned (leaves trimmed) to encourage larger overall growth and yield.  Pruning does reduce the current size of the plant, so caution is recommended, but the long-term benefit can be great.  Also, the clippings from plants can be saved and sold to wholesale medical centers.  A feature planned is to allow players to use the clippings to make hash and baked goods.


The last new screen below shows the flowering picture of the plant with a prompt to click the image to test the strain.  Clicking on the colored flower will reveal test results including current THC levels (not potential of the plant but what the player has achieved), potential size and growth, and preferred climate.



As of right now, barring any setbacks, the first playable beta will be available by the end of October with a full release planned for December.  There will be a demo version that allows all the features to be used but will have some limitation in terms of length of play or something similar.  The full version is planned as a Windows program with ports available for Mac and Linux.  Channels should include standard download, Chrome version, Steam, and wherever else accepts indie games.  As said previously, the full version will not cost more than $10--I'm planning on $5 but some channels may have pricing restrictions.  Updates, add-ons, and so on will be free for anyone who buys the full version.

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