Restitched: Recapped! | March 2023 (Patreon)

Welcome back to Restitched: Recapped! This time, we'll be looking over all of the developments that were made during March of 2023. We've tackled cosmetics, UI, bug squishing, and more!

Without further ado, let's dive in.

In an incredibly exciting development, our Lead Programmer Michael underwent two surgeries this month for his Retinitis-Pigmentosa - the first on March 20th and the second on March 27th. Here is some of what he had to say to the team upon completing his second surgery:

"Hey there everyone! We did it. I made it through the most exciting and most terrifying moment of my life. Both of my eyes have been treated with the Luxturna drug. Both surgeries went perfectly, and I am now at home doing outpatient recovery." - "It will take at least two more weeks for my right eye to fully recover, and one more week after that for my left eye. I will likely still not be able to write code until May. This is because I am on dilating eye drops that still take time to wear off even after my eyes heal. The next month will be really hard for me, but I'll get through it. And in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Trixel, I'll be back."

As stated above, due to these surgeries, our Lead Programmer will be momentarily out of action until around May, but these developments mean his condition will become a lot more manageable in the future. You can read more about Michael and how he works on projects with his condition in the upcoming 'Trixel Diary: Michael's Story' that'll be heading to trixel+ later this month.

In March the team made a total of 94 commits to the code. It's fewer than the number of commits for January and February, but we've still made some exciting developments that we'd love to share!

On March 4th, Halston modified the model for the Needle part of the Needle 'n Thread by adding a steel look. We sure love our shaders, don’t we?

On March 11th, Cade finished work towards a lovely aged picture frame, and on March 28th he finished work on a traditional alarm clock. We've discussed the possibilities of this picture frame, such as adding a surface that allows for Stamps to become clearer when placed.

On March 3rd, we further modified The Moon background by animating the flag with a shader (no prizes to who can guess who added this) and an animated forcefield effect around certain domes.

On March 4th we visited The Rolling Acres again to add and adjust foliage, as well as open the fence to create a gate - which gives the background a little more breathing room and makes some of the other details a bit more visible.

On March 6th Matt started blocking out the background for our fifth world in the story... but where does it take place? We'd love to see your guesses in the comments below…

On March 29th Matt added animators to the boats in Haddock Harbour so they can gently sway on the water!

On March 9th, Snatxi finalized the ‘Paws in Boots’ outfit that we previously featured in January's Recapped!. In the image below, you can see the completed hat as well as textured materials!

On March 15th, Halston created 'Bubble Boy' out of (you guessed it) shaders. Shader tools have really has opened up a world of opportunities for the game… in more ways than you might think!

On the same day, Halston also created a 'Wild Eyes' cosmetic and a 'Brushed Steel' skin. We take no responsibility for any nightmares that may occur after viewing the image below.

On March 17th, Daniel shared this lovely concept for a ponytail hairstyle for Stuffy!

From March 29th to the 31st, our new 3D Artist Kevin worked on a 'Baseball Cap'. We’re looking to have multiple texture swatches for cosmetics, with the hat offering both a front and backward option.

On March 7th we came across an unusual bug that made Stuffy act a bit like an ostrich, sticking their head in the ground. This was encountered at the same time as the Mega Stuffy glitch, and has since been fixed.

On March 15th, Ozy tackled a 'terminal velocity' error that made Stuffy hit the ground like a sack of spuds as soon as they were placed in the world, instead of floating gracefully like they should. Below you can see the before-and-after of Ozy's work:

Our amazing animators were at it again this month. On March 3rd, Luke updated idle animations, including this yawning one below:

On March 4th, Ozy and Joseph worked some more on adding Stuffy's pulling animations for the Needle ‘n Thread. The newly added animations show Stuffy using each hand to slide threadable items across the floor, as well as straining themselves as they attempt to pull an immovable item.

On March 31st Luke worked some more on the idle animations, including a coughing animation and one where Stuffy looks around at their environment.

On March 5th, Joseph made some slight adjustments to the crawling animation that forces Stuffy to directly face the direction they were moving towards when no longer traversing. We did this as we would notice Stuffy clipping into Materials and Props otherwise.

On March 15th, the same day that he created Bubble Boy and Steel Bear, Halston played with a 'Burnt Skin' outfit, and Stuffy became the very thing he sought to destroy. This skin is made with placeholder textures, and the concept (that the image below was created to visualise) would be that Stuffy becomes progressively burnt upon standing on flaming Materials or hazards.

On March 13th, we fully redesigned our pause menu! It doesn't currently actually pause the game, but it does provide a working overlay with selectable options!

On March 14th, the Control Panel in the top-left corner was modified and some subtle changes were made to the icons in the Craftbook.

Explaining his changes, Halston stated:

I have removed the pinned icon because we don't currently have support for it (and likely won't for a while), so I don't want to keep showing it in screenshots when it's not truly representative of our features right now. Also, it clears up a lot of screen space to make room for the new cursor toolbar. I've also updated some icons and adjusted the size/padding + added shading to the Craftbook chapters.

We still plan on fully redesigning the level editor UI, replacing the current Craftbook style (as previously showcased in August 2022's Recapped!), but this is still a ways off.

From March 25th to March 28th, Billy combed through the entire story document (that had been written up to that point) and made some huge changes. Every single world has been impacted, new storylines have been added, and backstories have been explored.

Regarding these new changes, Billy stated:

I believe these changes really help to add some more layers to the story. Whereas a lot of information regarding events prior to gameplay (i.e. the backstory) was originally placed at the beginning, this has now been spread out across the narrative - allowing for revelations and twists that make it even more captivating to experience. Additionally, we know that this backstory is incredibly important for character motives - but was originally just going to be told to the player. Now, these story beats are presented to the player directly - we're showing, not telling.

The new edits have also made the connection between worlds a lot stronger, and characters now show up in more places than just their 'world'. A result of all of these changes is a truly impactful climax. These changes really help to make the story a lot more engaging and cohesive. 

To say there have been a lot of changes is an understatement, but we're not prepared to discuss or reveal any more of the story at this time (sorry!).

Upon reading the changes, animator Luke stated:

I really like it! I enjoy how it is a nice cute story, but not overly flowery or pandering. One fear I had was that it'd be too cutesy. Really looking forward to...

...and we'll leave that there.

On March 31st, Thomas showcased a couple new songs, currently titled 'Brass Breakout' and 'Extrathereminial'. 

Speaking of 'Brass Breakout', Thomas stated:

It's not extremely long, but there was a request for funky, high-action getaway music. It's kinda intense at the end, but I still feel it works quite well as getaway music in the spirit of the Hit & Run Soundtrack, with a twangy guitar and punchy brass to back up the sense of urgency paired with glitchy drums.

...and of 'Extrathereminial', he stated:

Extrathereminial is a song that is heavily inspired by the sound of classic movies and games that portray aliens. It has the (almost mandatory) theremin to give that spacey-alieny vibe. It could work if either space themed or mystery-soothed levels, but has a jazzy, upbeat vibe to it

Keep your eyes peeled for any future Soundtrack Previews we might post, as they may offer a glimpse into these new tracks!

Do you understand what you have done? - Luke

...and there we are - that's March! Although the commits were on the lower-end this month, there have been many developments that have not yet been 'committed' (such as background changes, Props, and Story developments).

And a disclaimer for the next couple of months: our Project Lead Halston is now taking extended leave as he moves into his new home with partner Thomas (our Music Director). This, with our Lead Programmer Michael being in recovery, will mean April's (and potentially May's) Recapped! features may be a little light on content.

Regardless, developments will still be made, and we look forward to sharing these with you as the time comes!

See you in the next one!