Cuddle Kobold! Devlog 01: Gathering Resources (Patreon)

Metal textures by Keith333 via Open Game Art

Music: Point Loma and Vanilla Sky by LonePeakMusic

Welcome! This is an informal Developer Log for Cuddle Kobold! If you're unfamiliar with the project, you can get more details at [ https://setsune.itch.io/kobold ]! Patrons get to watch these Dev Logs first, so if you like what you see, head over to [ https://www.patreon.com/setsune ] and consider supporting. Thank you!

This first Dev Log is about gathering materials. Unity's Asset Store is in the middle of a big blow-out sale, so I did some digging into tools that might make prototyping much easier. Starting off with the VR framework.

Unity itself now has a VR interaction package that's decent for the basics, but generally you'll want something on top of it to handle more polished interactions, switches, dials, complex mobility, et cetera. On recommendation I previously picked up VR Interaction Framework, which is a good all-around system, if a little generic. I'd also picked up Auto Hand, which I originally intended to use. It does a great job of handling interactions with a more natural feel, such as gripping naturally, squeezing, and so on. But I definitely ran into some issues trying it out, which makes me hesitate. In this sale I picked up HexaBody VR and Hurricane VR, two interconnected systems. HexaBody is more about mobility, using a unique approach to providing a Boneworks-like physical body with some success (and some personal nausea), and Hurricane is about physics interactions. I really like Hurricane's demo in particular, the only trouble is that I can't integrate it yet even if I wanted, due to some incompatibilities with the newest versions of Unity that need to be fixed up first.

As for the Apartment itself, the assets RadicalAppDev [ https://twitter.com/radicalappdev ] generously offered for use are handy, and I'll likely still utilize some of them in the future, I did want a fuller apartment set to work with. I combed through a bunch of them, while having to keep the limitations of the Quest in mind. Originally I decided on and purchased this one, Low Poly Cartoon House Interiors, which does a decent job and would work in a pinch. Some elements will be handy, and I'll keep it on stand-by in case I end up needing it. But then I found this one, HD Apartment by Slyt Digital. This is a lot closer to the feel I was planning on. I dropped a VR rig into the scene and did some exploring, and was pleased at least this version runs at a solid framerate on the Quest 2. Humorously the scale is off here and there, as I feel a little small in this scene, and this toilet might as well be a Kobold Bathtub. But I can adjust that as I need to, and the nice thing is that this kit includes several different layouts as inspiration, with different decorations, so that gives me a good starting point.

Some other assets I've picked up to try to make this project possible:

• Easy Collider Editor: VR requires good, accurate colliders, and even just doing the ones in the blocky Rulent Tower VR was ages of eyeballing and careful alignment in a system really not designed for it. With this I can highlight points and generate accurate colliders much more efficiently. I also picked up some other Collider tools, primarily to tackle difficult shapes like rings, bowls, and so on. How well they work remains to be seen.
• A* Pathfinding Project Pro: This'll take me a bit to learn, but the Kobold needs to be able to navigate the apartment and other environments, especially as objects get moved or knocked over. 
• Grabbit - Editor Physics Transforms: This is a tool for more naturally laying out objects in scenes, so everything looks physically placed naturally in a scene. Early experiments weren't that effective, but maybe I should read the manual, huh?
• Easy Save: People will not stop raving about this as a Saving manager. I've written some Save and Load code before, but for handling the more in-depth Kobold profiles, it's good to not have to overthink this aspect. Especially cross-platform.
• PuppetMaster: I want a natural "ragdoll" , slightly clumsy feel to the Kobold's movements, and this has been on my list for ages. It's going to take some work to learn and fine-tune, and it may be too much to use in a Quest project, but we'll see how that goes.

I also picked up some Universal Render Pipeline and VR-friendly post processing tools, some visual effects, text tools, and more. I'm having to be speculative with some of these purchases, and in a few cases they overlap, but it makes more sense to hedge my bets on something like picking up two post processing tools while they're both 50% off, instead of putting all my eggs into one basket, finding out it doesn't work, and having to buy a second solution at full price or wait for another sale.

This really did take a while to dig through all the reviews, sort my lists, and just when I thought I was done I caught a livestream [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuEwBPOw0NY ] that added several more to my list. I'm working with a relatively tight budget right now, so I'm trying to be smart with my investments, but if I get bogged down with trying to reinvent the wheel to save a little money or out of personal pride, this project's chances will plummet. So it's about finding those trade-offs, and what I can more immediately use.

One other investment: I pre-ordered the DecaMove by DecaGear. This is a small inexpensive Hip Tracker (not requiring their DecaGear VR Headset) that's seen some early positive impressions. Supporting 3rd Party hardware is always a little sticky, but it's a feature I'd like to include in the game. It may not work out, but thankfully it didn't break the bank. And it's a nice little extra to stand out with if it does pan out.

Wrapping this up, I want to thank my Awesome Supporters: Sofox, Commander D, Silverwind93, Darkdekumon, A. Kitty, Jeffrey Perigo, Dash Winterson, and Derek Adrian. If you want to help me fill this massive Asset Store-sized hole in my wallet, consider supporting my Patreon at [ https://www.patreon.com/setsune ]. Thank you, and have a wonderful night.