GDM V11 - Bigger Better Stronger..

Note

You will need to download and unzip the new gdm_v11.7z file to access the newest build.  This new build does not require a new save file to play, you may use a version 10 save with this build.  However the next part of the v11 update will require a new save if you wish to make use of the additional features.

The Version 11 update will be  coming in 4 parts over the course of the next few weeks.  This is part 1 which is the frame work for the future parts of this update.

Content

You will not notice anything from this first section of the version 11 update.  Version 11 is focused on expanding existing systems such as the milestones which currently has just 3 or 4 milestones, this system will the focus for part 2's update and you can expect a ton of milestones to be added.

The purpose of this first part is all internal.  With the addition of more systems to check and added complexity within my timed events I wanted to go back through all of my code and algorithms to improve the logic and remove any redundancy's or repeated math to ensure no CPU bottle necks will be hit.

Some logic has been improved, some functions have been moved into native C++ to ensure cpu complexity is well within range for minimum requirements.

I consider myself a "clean coder" but nothing is perfect, especially when your code gets very large as game dev masters has already become, and I think its good practice to go back over your code and tighten up the logic.  I always find math I didn't need or repeated logic or redundant code that still exists after making changes somewhere else.

After this bit of house cleaning I am profiling much better usage, and I am now ready to add more complexity to some of the systems without having any bottleneck issues.  Of course this is cpu efficiency we are talking about, graphic fidelity and frame rate has not been affected.  This wont be a factor until we begin working on visual updates, and start working towards a more polished visual style.  At this point we will begin profiling for gpu issues.  Currently with just the block out visuals of course frames are 120+ on a decent system, but you can expect tweaks to visual fidelity at a later date, and of course I will ensure a smooth 60+ frames in the final product.

What's Next

Part 2 of version 11 is next, and this will be the milestone's update.  

I already have a list of milestones I plan to add, I just need to code them into the game and make sure they are being monitored by my events as well as I plan to tweak the scoring system to take the month into account not just the year.  This will give a good amount of score diversity.  I will share more on this update in the next few days after I have coded part 2 of this update.