This blog is my gamedev diary, but it's fun to use it as a real diary, too. <br>
This blog is my gamedev diary, but it's fun to use it as a real diary, too. Back to gamedev stuff tomorrow! <br>
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Last year's resolution was to have fun experiences with the things I have at home, since the pandemic drastically restricted my ability to have fun with other people outside. The new year lifted my spirits and encouraged me to get back into learning, growing, and expressing myself. This year's resolution will once again be about making the most of my resources, but this time I want to approach it from the angle of frugality and money-making. <br>
<a href=”https://www.blessfrey.me/diary/entries/210204”>Last year's resolution</a> was to have fun experiences with the things I have at home, since the pandemic drastically restricted my ability to have fun with other people outside. The new year lifted my spirits and encouraged me to get back into learning, growing, and expressing myself. This year's resolution will once again be about making the most of my resources, but this time I want to approach it from the angle of frugality and money-making. <br>
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I always make a budget for everything and enjoy tracking my finances and investments. Honestly, I just really enjoy spreadsheets and incorporate them into every game I play, including the <a href="https://www.blessfrey.me/diary/entries/210513">petsite</a> I've been playing lately. I was also always the treasurer in every club I joined and made all their spreadsheets and budgets. It's more than just fun for me, though. I feel like it clears up a lot of uncertainty when you know where your money is coming from and going, and how long your savings will last. <br>
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Buying our first house ate up my family's savings. I've been paying for all the repairs, bat removal (ew), and routine maintenance, too, when I never had to worry about expenses like that before. Also, towards the end of last year, the grocery stores have been getting hit with meat and produce shortages again, so we've been eating out more frequently. It's not even like it's been fun ordering out, either, because most places are closed, have 2-3 employees total, or are out of most menu items, but it's been another rising expense. <br>
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Between the shell shock of covering all those closing fees and the higher cost of living, I need to rework my budget. My resolution involves identifying the most effective money saving methods without making my family uncomfortable and trying new ways to make extra cash this year. The money will go towards savings, investments, and buying furniture. <br>
Between the shell shock of covering all those closing fees and the higher cost of living, I need to rework my budget. My resolution involves identifying the most effective money saving methods without making my family uncomfortable and trying new ways to make extra cash this year. The money will go towards savings, investments, and furniture. <br>
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<h2>cutting spending </h2><br>
My husband and I don't have entirely separate finances since we share everything, but I usually pay for groceries, we usually split furniture, and we buy some fun things for ourselves independently. I'm not very aware of his bank account, so this is more of my own personal resolution. <br>
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It's easy to cut out most luxuries. I'll read my old books or free ones from <a href="https://gutenberg.org/">Project Gutenberg</a>, play my old games or whatever giveaway game from whatever Steam competitor, pan my beauty and skincare products, and lean on free entertainment like nature walks. Honestly, I don't deviate too far from that anyway these days. <br>
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The food budget is more important but more difficult to tackle. I try to maximize the nutrition and wholesomeness of ingredients, so I don't necessarily save money when I cook at home. With every place raising their prices, there aren't really any cheap restaurants to order from anymore, either. Using more canned food and meal kits would save a ton of money, but even finding cheaper versions of my existing recipes and planning each week around more overlapping ingredients would help. Since food is one of my family's largest expenditures, even small but consistent savings in this area would have a noticeable impact overall. Also, our dinnerware was inadequate for having his giant family over, but my husband already promised to shop for that so we can be ready next time. <br>
The food budget is more important but more difficult to tackle. I usually use fresh or frozen produce and other whole ingredients, so I don't necessarily save money when I cook at home. With every place raising their prices, there aren't really any cheap restaurants to order from anymore, either. Using more canned food and meal kits would save a ton of money, but even simplifying my existing recipes and planning each week around more overlapping ingredients would help. Since food is one of my family's largest expenditures, even small but consistent savings in this area would have a noticeable impact overall. <br>
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My other unnecessarily high expenditure is water and water heater bills. There's so little to do for fun during the pandemic, I just want to take cozy baths. I don't buy bath salt or colloidal oatmeal on a monthly basis anymore, but it's still wasteful to fill a bath with hot water more than once a month. I need to cut back, but I like it so much. ;-; I think a big part of what I like about it is the change of scenery. Writing in the bath is congruent to writing at the cafe or a community center - it's away from my stuffy desk! If I could get the same experience taking my laptop in bed, down to the den, or out in the yard, I'd probably still be happy and save some money. Too bad it's so miserably cold, and it's so cozy warm in the bath. <br>
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I do foresee some frivolous purchases in 2022, too, so I'll be intentional about them. <br>
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<center><img src="/static/img/ent/veryperi.png" alt="(Very Peri, Pantone Color of the Year 2022. Their interpretion is soft and bubbly with cool-toned, almost blue hues of periwinkle and lavender and warm lilac highlights.)"></center> <br>
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My favorite color was named the <a href="https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2022">Pantone Color of the Year</a>, so I anticipate we'll get lots of periwinkle, lavender, stone blue, and cloud gray fashion releases. I won't miss out, but I want to spend less than $50 on Very Peri. That could look like a ColourPop palette and a water bottle, a set of hair clips and a blush, or a nice hat. I think I'll stay under easily since I can't imagine new beauty products topping Anastasia Beverly Hill's Soul or OPI's Show Us Your Tips!, but this is the year to watch it finally happen. <br>
My favorite color was named the <a href="https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2022">Pantone Color of the Year</a>, so I anticipate we'll get lots of periwinkle, lavender, stone blue, and cloud gray fashion releases. I won't miss out, but I want to spend less than $50 on Very Peri. That could look like a ColourPop palette and a water bottle, a set of hair clips and a blush, or a nice hat. I think I'll easily stay way under since I can't imagine anything better than Anastasia Beverly Hill's Soul or OPI's Show Us Your Tips!, but that's the ceiling if 2022 turns out to be a periwinkle paradise. <br>
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Also, if there's a miracle and COVID leaves us forever, I want new lipstick in berry, vampy plum, and one unconventional color. It's not happening, but it was in my budget last year and will carry over until it does. <br>
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Other than that, no incidental shopping. I'll rebuy bath products, skincare, and brow gel from the drugstore. Only one unexpected need should be purchased each month. (January's will probably be a special screwdriver to repair my poor laptop.) As for the house, we'll set that budget after few months of planning colors and themes together. <br>
Other than that, no incidental shopping. I'll rebuy basic bath products, skincare, and brow gel from the drugstore. At most, only one unexpected need should be purchased each month. (January's was a special screwdriver to repair my poor laptop.) I'll go back to buying one or two small items needed around the house per month. As for big items, we'll set that budget after few months of planning needs, colors, and themes together. <br>
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<h2>making money </h2><br>
Passive income and side gigs have always interested me, but I've never put forth the effort. 2022 might be the push I need. <br>
Passive income and side gigs have always interested me, but I've never put forth the effort. Making it one year's resolution might be the push I need. <br>
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I've gotten lots of compliments on the professional quality of my homesewn clothing and face masks, so I should be able to work out some niche item that's easy to mass-produce. It'd be cool to make some artistic things in smaller batches to sell as well. I do my own pattern-making, so another route would be to rework my patterns for a variety of sizes, digitize them, and sell them online. <br>
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@ -40,16 +42,16 @@ I'm not going to act like my artwork is that good, but I think I could produce u
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I've also never tried buying or selling things online. I'd like to see what furniture is being sold in my area, but I have some things I could try to sell, too. Apparently <a href="https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/">Facebook Marketplace</a> is the end all be all. I don't like Facebook and would rather not have an account there, but I can try it for my resolution. The local used clothing store is too swamped to accept clothes, so I might have to try <a href="https://www.depop.com/">Depop</a> or <a href="https://poshmark.com/">Poshmark</a> or something like that for those. If everything sells, it's not like it will be big money, but every little bit helps. <br>
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Another weird thing, but I've never had a credit card before. Debit cards have poor protection against fraud, so I might as well have a credit card even if I'll only buy things I can afford. Some of them have pretty good rewards. It could be worth choosing one based on rewards rather than rates. I wouldn't mind cash back or cheap vacations just from buying gas and groceries. <br>
Another weird thing, but I've never had a credit card before. Debit cards have poor protection against fraud, so I might as well have a credit card even if I'll only buy things I can afford. Some of them have pretty good rewards. It could be worth choosing one based on rewards rather than rates. I wouldn't mind cash back or cheap vacations just from buying gas and groceries. I've never had one before, though, so I'd have to learn all the terms first. <br>
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<h2>let's get to work </h2><br>
<center><img src="/static/img/ent/sims3_novel.jpg" alt="(Sim typing away at the computer.)" width="500" height="375"></center> <br>
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If only I could be like a sim and trap myself in my desk for 3 days until a lucrative novel is completed, email it to a publisher, then get enough royalties every week to live comfortably for the rest of my life, despite eggs costing §11. If I had access to spamming motherlode, I might even tolerate the frequent house fires and aliens abductions. <br>
If only I could be a sim and trap myself in my desk for 3 days until a lucrative novel is completed, email it to a publisher, then get enough royalties every week to live comfortably for the rest of my life, despite eggs costing §11. If I had access to spamming motherlode, I might even tolerate the frequent house fires and aliens abductions. <br>
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Anyway, now that everything's slowed down, I should start biweekly articles again. I already have articles planned, but maybe-maybe if I'm not too shy, I can start sharing the more fun parts of my GDD. I change my mind a lot and forget my old ideas for characters, setting, and plot, so it'd be nice to be able to look back. It'll lead to a lot of misrepresentative articles, but hopefully since it says "diary" up there, they can be appreciated as iterations. <br>
Anyway, now that everything's slowed down, I should start biweekly articles again. I already have articles planned, but maybe-maybe if I'm not too shy, I can start sharing the more fun parts of my GDD. I change my mind a lot and forget my old ideas for characters, setting, and plot, so it'd be nice to be able to look back. It'll lead to a lot of unrepresentative articles, but hopefully since it says "diary" up there, they can be appreciated as iterations. <br>
@ -80,7 +80,9 @@ If a necromancer is allied with a team of paladins, they will only enter hostili
If the necromancer raises 2 liches, each lich is the leader of its own team, and each team is allied with the necromancer. Let's say the liches summon vampiric minions, one of which converts someone to an allied ghoul whose alliance remains constant with its chaos dwarf buddy who in turn is allied with its war golem. The paladin will respect the necromancer and liches but become hostile towards the vampires and all other evil monsters and vice-versa. In the case all these groups were factionless, the paladin would be neutral towards the vampires and everything else down the chain. Neutral characters are generally low priority in combat, but AoE attacks can easily whip up hostility. <br>
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If the necromancer dies, the lich and paladins will no longer restrain themselves from becoming hostility towards each other. <br>
<h2>hostility concluded </h2><br>
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<h2>what I learned </h2><br>
Before, I was trying to force the combat state into flat booleans, but clearly there is more nuance to the issue. A character can be hostile but not in active combat. A character can be in combat but not hostile. Also, hostility is more of a product of a character's surroundings, actions, and actions inflicted on it. Structurally, it needs to resemble (extremely obviously) an AI state rather than any kind of variable. <br>
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The characters' state machines now behave more like the above scenarios, and I'd love to make a cutscene-like demo for Blessfrey's second demo that sets differently factioned groups on clashing patrols to make sure it all works. Look forward to it! <br>
<li>For every skill I add, I need one or two new keywords. According to the Pareto principle, 20% of keywords should cover 80% of my skills. I want a good variety of keywords and for the total amount to be small and easy to learn, but it should snowball soon even if 20% is a difficult figure to believe. </li>
<li>I don't want to add all the keywords now, but I am going ahead and adding some skill variety for the demo. </li>
chimchooree
3 years ago