Hungry Critters Patron Update 1.2.0.0 (Patreon)

Even though it may seem on the surface like not much as changed, the code of the game has been completely restructured. This has been looming on the horizon for a while as something that would have to happen before further progress could be made. Most of the time since the last update was spent just getting it back to the point it was before, which was a source of frustration as time wore on. Getting to this point took much longer than I hoped it would, and I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has been patient and stuck around.

Virtual Reality

Patrons can now play Hungry Critters in virtual reality by accessing its page in a VR-compatible browser on a VR device. The game will continue to be primarily playable without it and it will remain a secondary feature, as I know not everyone has a VR device and these people will not be able to access this feature.

Currently, VR mode is only confirmed to work on the Quest 2 (since that's the only device I have), and I don't have any idea how it will respond to other devices. The controls are currently targeted specifically to the Q2, and I plan to add controller-mapping functionality soon to better support all devices. Implementing this actually took a relatively short amount of time compared to the restructuring, and was also relatively easy with the 3D library I use.

VR functionality will remain a patron-only feature.

Compression

Characters and levels are now stored in distinct ZIP files, significantly reducing download size. This is also the first step taken towards eventually allowing others to make their own content for Hungry Critters.

Progress on the loading screen is now measured by a loading bar, which is not yet totally accurate and needs a bit more work.

NPC Struggling

A small thing, but when playing as Geier, Lotti now produces light struggles while in his belly. Needs more work, and ideas for some light mechanics have started to form.

Sound

Also small, sound now has more realistic fall-off over distance. Still needs some tweaking and is currently only mono, but I've got some good ideas for implementing directional sound.

Known Issues

• Camera position sometimes flickers for a single frame between animations
• Belly kick bulge distance and jiggle are inconsistent, especially in VR
• Sound is largely absent in VR mode
• The reset function now discards the current instances of the characters and creates new ones, currently creating a memory leak while I figure out JavaScript garbage collection so is best used sparingly

Playing Hungry Critters

Patrons can play this version here.

Predator tier patrons can download the source code from within the game with their Patreon account.