LR2 Code Wranglin'
Added 2022-08-02 10:49:45 +0000 UTCIt's been a busy few days IRL days, which has unfortunately meant less coding time than I would have liked. I was still able to get some work done and smooth out more coding issues with the upcoming Live2D display system.
Most of my work went into solving a major performance issue linked to displaying Live2D models. In my original implementation a new model was created every time a character was drawn to the screen. This resulted in a noticeable hitch, which was annoying during dialogue and completely ruined any menu that would show character previews when options were highlighted.
The updated draw system uses a single placeholder model created when you start the game. When a draw command is given it is overwritten with values specific to the character being drawn, which is significantly faster than creating a new model. There are some added complexities to this system, particularly with how to deal with multiple characters on screen and multiple character poses, each of which will require a different model, but the basic system is working very well.
One thing I've been curious about since the start of this project was how the overall asset size of the game was going to change. Now that I have a full pose model finished I can actually do a proper size comparison! The old library of images for the Stand2 position comes in at 111MB, while the new Live2D model for the same position is only 16MB. That's a reduction to 15% of the original size! In addition, the new images are rendered at a higher resolution (1440 instead of 1080, roughly 75% more pixels per image). Expanding to the full game, that will mean all of LR2 will become a ~300MB download, instead of the 1.7GB it is right now. That should make it a little more convenient!
I've gotten skin tones implemented (although I'm still tweaking things to get them looking as natural as possible), my next task will be to reimplement the outfit designer to use the new model system. I'll have an update on how that's going soon, and hopefully an actual tech demo!
Comments
It used to be that on the 1st we would get a new update and a week later it would be open to the public. In April Vren brought up an overhaul with an expected delivery of 3 weeks and asked if we were okay with May's update maybe being late. That was over five months ago.
Togashi Jack
2022-09-14 02:07:49 +0000 UTCVren, i was kidding no need for the beta yet. Just post something, like how are you? Any plans for vacations? Don't burn your self out, please.
Zankriger
2022-09-12 09:35:38 +0000 UTCThis is cool! Will there be an option to allow for different hair style options later on?
LuxxyDuxxy
2022-08-19 20:48:35 +0000 UTCThe size file stuff sounds amazing! Otherwise, hope your schedule can clear up enough to get us within sight of the next update, but, that sounds like it is still a ways off.
Killer300
2022-08-03 01:42:55 +0000 UTCThat's excellent , particularly the file size stuff which I imagine would have been an obstacle for some people.
SomebodyElse
2022-08-02 11:01:45 +0000 UTC
