Light at the end of the tunnel - Sapiens Devlog 59

[@Geelouise6754]

I have been watching these devlogs the day they drop for so long. Seeing this game come so far has been inspiring. Incredibly excited to see the alpha release, and everything that comes in the future. Wishing you the best!

[@SimUKReviews]

HUGE Fan of your work. Thank you for making this EXCELLENT Game.

[@coleauten5612]

I remember blockheads I played that game for hours when I was younger. The game is looking incredible, btw! Can't wait to play it.

[@hidekitom0]

same i was so shocked to see he made it

[@LavaMonsta]

yeah same that was a shock when I realized that because I loved that game.

[@Luan-RT]

Same

[@Rossilaz58]

Same! When I found out he made that I was amazed lol. That game was my childhood

[@Jack3G]

What? I used to play that game heaps with my brother. I had no idea that he made that!

[@brettgoldsmith8584]

The first email i ever recieved at my current job was entitled "light at the end of the tunnel" anouncing a meeting to discuss finishing up a project and preparing it for release. We finished that project 2 years later.

[@unmannedocelot1960]

As someone who began watching your devlogs 5 years ago, they have been such a fun and inspiring journey. I cannot wait to finally get my hands on what you have created. Thank you for bringing joy to the world!

[@ChristianNClark]

You're one of my biggest gamedev heroes. Been following this project from the very first video. You never cease to amaze and inspire me.

[@LilGnomeGames]

I can't believe you made both chopper and blockheads, as they were both games I would play a lot growing up. ( I don't think I played chopper on ios but I remember playing it on my mother's macbook). I'm super glad that you are still making games. I wish you only the best.

[@Shendapy]

Wanna thank you for blockheads, met so many people through my years of playing. So after remembering it a bit, I looked it up and came across this. Thank you a TON Good luck with everything in the future

[@mukklan.]

I am so happy for you, completing this game and soon releasing another, probably iconic hit of a game

[@TheBookDoctor]

It's an incredibly beautiful game that any game studio would be immensely proud of. Absolutely astonishing that this is the work of a single developer. I am in awe.

[@watchout5508]

A great way to make the game never feel old is to make the game world alive! Like leaves falling from trees, animals being animals and it all filling you with the feeling of something you don't know going on

[@coen591]

Wow! Great job. The render distance does so much for the immersion, I’m glad you focused on that.

[@Nyllsor]

Seeing this video today, almoast 2 years later makes me really appreciate how far you've come! Lots of stuff on this 'Trello' list we have in the game now. :) Keep up the good work Dave, and have a nice day!

[@theoneandonly1833]

Hi. New viewer, came from recommended. I wanna say this game looks great and well polished but-- you made THE BLOCKHEADS?!?! That is literally one of my favorite games of all time I can't believe it! I had to do the equivalent of a double take that game solidified a huge part of my childhood thank you so much for creating it and what amazing work you've done! Can't wait to binge all of your previous videos and wait for more!

[@m-kh3ild734]

i remember playing all your games as a kid back in my childhood memories blockheads was one of my favorite special game I used to play thanks for bringing me those memories cant wait to see how this game developes.

[@baptiste600]

I never commented before here (or I can't remember !) but I've been following your journey from the very beginning when this was only a "World" project and that's awesome to see how insanely craaazy far it has gone and see where it is now. Congratulation for this impressive work -hats off.

[@andreyprotsenko9855]

I'm definitely in love with this project! You're awesome. Also love the "bread is OP. Make it rot" thing! Thanks for the inspiration. Wishlisted😊

[@EVILBUNNY28]

25:37 looks like if Wales took up half the globe. Love the fact this whole game is procedural so should make for some very interesting maps. Been following the development of this from the start and have seen you go from concept through to full game, Truly can't wait to get my hands on this game.

[@rwwkv6]

been a joy to follow the game's development. can't wait to buy and play it :)

[@benhenryart]

Magic Dave back at it again. Love watching these buddy, I feel like I'm home. Been watching since the start, and can't wait to see you succeed. I know I'll be buying and playing it!

[@frederikfelding8476]

Been watching these devlogs for the past couple of years. Can't wait to play the game. Keep up the awesome work!

[@AudioCorrupted]

Awesome stuff dude! Hoping things go well from here and your game is a success :3

[@jackr.4953]

I'm so excited to see the polish starting to go on Sapiens. It's been a few years now of me watching this project develop and I'm as excited now as I was day one.

[@4rs0nn]

Yes! I have something to watch while doing homework! I love these devlogs

[@lewismassie]

5:55 I've been watching you on and off for over a year now. Only now do I found out you made Blockheads. I put a lot of hours into it with my brother, was good fun

[@jonathan_cline]

Been here since just about the beginning around 2015/16, its been neat watching this evolve as a sort of constant alongside my life moving forward. I work as a professional developer now and your videos helped keep me motivated to work on projects since the very beginning. Looking forward to giving this a try

[@alexandersaccotelli4301]

been watching since the 2020 lockdown, have watched every video since. Awesome to see what it takes to make a game of this magnitude. Will definitely be purchasing. :)

[@TheUnrealPirate]

Fascinating game. Respect for keeping yourself motivated in spite of the large scope of it.

[@randoremi8252]

Stumbled upon this by chance a year or two ago. And i keep coming back. Glad to hear all is going well dave! So excited to play.

[@Gwilo]

I know it's been years but the rate of progression is somewhat amazing, especially considering the fact that this game isn't built in an editor. Love your videos Dave, can't wait to finally get to play it after so long

[@matthewsharp1178]

I’ve been enjoying the opening music of these dev logs so much I can’t wait to open the game and start playing and hear that music it’ll be a great moment

[@SalmonCaramel]

Thanks for the upload! Been watching for a while; it's insane to see how far the game's progressed. Best wishes!

[@platyguy]

Incredible work man, I’m so excited to get my hands on it! My favorite kiwi dev for sure :)

[@wqnsjecy9930]

so exited for this game! been waiting for over 2 years!

[@BlenderhilfeDe]

really awesome work dave! congrats! its coming together so nicely, cant wait to dig in :)

[@JackAllpikeMusic]

I've been playing a lot of RimWorld recently, and I really like how they feed information to the player. Essentially just an out of the way info button, that when you click on it has a lot of information about whatever you have selected. I don't know if this would fit Sapiens very well - but you can't really go wrong with it I wouldn't think, as then all the information for something is right there for your player. Then it's up to the player entirely how much information they want to consume.

[@rushmik]

Really excited for weather. The game is already so atmospheric, and weather is going to take it to a whole new level.

[@thehambone1454]

The sky and lighting look so fantastic!

[@aggressivesheep7469]

yay, new vid! love your stuff man im excited to get the game

[@rileyharris9097]

have been watching the development for about 3 years, the game has come so far! excited to finally get to play it.

[@exosproudmamabear558]

I am so excited about this. I am waiting for this game for years from the start. Ready for extensive feedback tho when this release as an early access. I write a lot when I love a game.

[@AKZDev]

So excited for you! Have been following your progress for years and you've been an inspiration for me starting my own game dev journey. Looking forward to buying and playing Sapiens

[@psotos]

Wow! Awesome update! I live for these updates. :)

[@quillansquires703]

Man dude, I only saw your project a few weeks ago, and I did play blockheads when I was younger. But I’m loving this! And if you ever need help on this project, I’m available, and I think a lot of other people would be too!

[@TairyHesticles]

I remember playing the Windows 95 version of Sapiens and then there was an online multiplayer game back in 2006 or so that I enjoyed. This game looks amazing though, I'm so glad I had a memory of that Windows game and decided to search for this.

[@someonewithsomename]

The first video on this project was 7 years ago... that's a long time! And I can't believe I've started watching this videos since around #6 or so. Which was uploaded 3 years ago!! Time flies

[@monkey77381]

So excited! I have had so much fun keeping up with the game, can't wait to see where it goes!

[@CWFpresentes]

I Wish that tou could have a sponsotship, that way tou could build a larger team of developer to polish the game realise as early as possibile. You project Is awesome, i Hope that you hey more reconisible.

[@Forcemaster2000]

Wow! Your game has come so far, I can’t wait to get this on Steam and try it out!

[@Daniel-yt7fm]

Great to see the progress! I love these devlogs, the game looks amazing!

[@AlexFigar]

I'm hella keen to try this. I've been following this for a while and its impressive how long you've stuck with it and how far the games come.

[@Gearjerk5]

On the visual interest stuff you mentioned, I wonder if an easy-ish way to make things more distinct would be to have some different types of ground cover? I know there's dirt and sand and stuff, but maybe 'forested' areas could have a different color of grass and other such variations. It would help make different areas more distinct. Also, I wonder if more local landmarks might be a good idea? More simple things like the tall pine (Large boulders, etc.) would go a long ways to helping the terrain not feel samey, and make it easier to navigate. Game's coming along nicely. Good luck with finishing it up!

[@bolicob]

Some more dense forests in addition to the tree generation you have currently would be pretty good. Right now it looks like you've got the "slider set to 50" everywhere in terms of thick woods to flat plains. It would look more interesting with a bit more macro scaled variance.

[@Laiserball8]

Agreed. Dave‘s „chunks are interesting“ argument definitely also applies to forests. Doesn‘t have to be a super dense in your face forest, but a bit of large scale variability would be nice. Seeing some large empty planes also just looks cool and evokes awe and wonder.

[@geemcspankinson]

Rocks and bushes, maybe moss as well like on the trees and stuff might be nice.

[@crosdale]

I love these devlogs, the effort you've put into this game is amazing. I remember watching the first few "tech demo" ones. It's come a long way!

[@jonathanpedersen7001]

This is so awesome! Can't wait for the release. A cool thing about the tall trees would be if there was a choice to be made, like if you plant them and cut them down you get lots of wood, but if you let them be and plant more tall trees, for example rare plants and mushrooms start to appear in the area

[@vinniarlt1891]

Finally a new Video

[@ai-spacedestructor]

good to know you made blockheads, despite having some issues with it it was one of the better games i have played on the android store. As far as trees go i want to point out another factor of having so many: If Plants are everywhere it also means sources for specific resources are everywhere and it makes it more difficult to balance out since you dont want everything to drop 1 of every loot because then it wouldnt feel worth it for the effort but if you go too high with having a lot around you will quickly have more then you ever need and would take away the need to interact with them. So it is good to make them somewhat sparse so you got access to them but still have to work for enough resources.

[@krat5576]

This makes my day a happy one.

[@wolflight25]

Keep at it chief, am a game dev winding down on almost 8 years on a project as well, for the final 2 years of the project we got a larger team onboard and man it made a huge difference, esp in motivation. Defo have a care with your first release it can be troublesome to come back from some early bad reviews, which we suffered from due to running out of money and having to go early access before we were truly ready to, to try and raise a bit of cash flow, and its been a slog trying to get those review scores back up (had our first month of nothing but positive reviews last month ^_^ ). So best of luck man, keep your head up, I know that some bugs in legacy parts of your code can be soul sucking to go back through to try and fix, but its usually those ones you have lived with the longest which will stand out the most to new players so have a care, but I look forward to playing it on release, wishlisted, and likely will make some comparisons with our gobo's. Good Luck and keep having fun making it we have one of the best jobs in the world I swear :P

[@coolraygaming]

Awesome! Hopefully it succeeds!

[@rallipete]

Were glad i stumbled upon this game. This could be the next Rimworld.

[@sanderbos4243]

I am very excited for building massive colonies in your beautiful world, hype!

[@Cygnus888]

Does the game have some kind of in-game wiki where these tutorial messages can be collected and looked at afterwards?

[@Gwilo]

there will probably be fan wikis made for sure

[@peterdenham]

"Chickens are too loud" 😂 Relly looking forward to playing this!

[@howdyhowdyhowdyhowdyhowdy]

Really excited to finally get to play this

[@juhaniheinonen6132]

I had no idea you made blockheads! Wow, that's blast from the past. The world is small sometimes, huh. It was my mobile game of choice, back in the days when I played those.

[@PainfullyMintE]

The tutorials look superb - will definitely help guide me through when I start playing :)

[@98Zai]

A giant ground sloth for the tropical area would be fun! Or Hippos, cause *they danger!* There were also a lot of giant apes around, which are seldom explored in games! Honestly, megafauna are so cool so you can't go wrong. My inner modder is excited for what's possible!!

[@pookage]

Oooh, that menu music has some real baba yetu vibes, which I'm all in favour for!

[@bodhihawken]

Oh my gosh! I never knew you made blockheads!!! my and my siblings loved that game on holiday!!

[@thomkok12]

Are there going to be caves to find some ore or also ways to dig underground? I could imagine people liking to go into caves at the start or want to explore caves with a torch or something. Maybe they encounter a bear? That would be cool too.

[@NickyByloo]

Well done and keep up the great work.

[@A1234-t6n]

Still playing you game Blockheads and I like seeing the development of your new game

[@Cr33p22]

Wait what, you made CHOPPER?! Played that as a kid on my iPod and thought it was so cool!

[@kriss854]

MAJICDAVE WE LOVE YOUR GAME "THE BLOCKHEADS"

[@WaferKnight]

happy to hear early acsess is close!

[@matheus-kirchesch]

good to see you back

[@EmilM-pb2hn]

Really cool stuff! Been watching since devlog 2. I guess my biggest worry is that the reward-system is not good enough. It should be fun! Or at least rewarding. In the long run I can see it - until you run out of stuff to do - but early game especially. A bait and hook, and many of them! The tall trees are a great example. There should be a fair amount of important and less important goals like that. Similar to the Sid Meier's Civilization tech tree- where some things can be useful sometimes, but aren't always necessary. But in terms of, goals instead of tech necessarily.

[@JustSpeedyMC]

Maybe Panda’s in tropical biome, now that you have bamboo it would fit perfect :D

[@allenkennedy99]

I appreciate that you're making the LODs manually as opposed to using an autolod tool.

[@matheus-kirchesch]

game is looking good, excited to explore it

[@arkle111]

Inspirational as always!

[@stellar_x]

Looking forward to playing this finally

[@britannith]

Hi Dave. I remember watching these devlogs a few years ago and I'm very excited to see the game develop. I was wondering how I could play the early access version of the game.

[@broganking9830]

Yeah mate I'll be playing this

[@RealDaveTheFreak]

One trick I've been using for tree-lods is to not use billboards or anything transparent (transparencies keep stacking, costing a ton of performance). Instead, use extremely simplified geometry with the average color of the whole model. Dunno if that may be an option for you.

[@parazitkolol]

This is turning out really great! I know it's still really early, but have you considered tinkering with some kind of belief system? Nothing too complicated but maybe sth that's influenced by your tribe's surrounding, like worshipping water spirits if they're near a river etc.

[@xhenryx14]

There's a great GDC Talk about the game Caves of Qud where they did that procedurally

[@iamlandman]

Well done Dave, this has been such an amazing journey to watch this devlog for the past 3+- years. Really looking forward to the release. How much support would there be for modding?

[@majicDave]

Thanks, there is full modding support, all of the Lua code can be modded or replaced, as well as textures/models/shaders etc. and there is Steam Workshop support too.

[@RoverT65536]

Looking great. Probably not the first to request it but I hope you can toggle display of the icons above their heads.

[@Omaricon]

Apparently, KZbin thinks your game is "Minecraft". Can't wait to play!

[@LibProjet]

Looking good so far, cant wait to play it!

[@Colyn97X]

Damn, this is far from the Blockheads back in the days. Love to see that this one looks so good.

[@tessaN64]

the modding community is going to make this game so awesome. cant wait to start work on my ships mod, allowing you to traverse the planet's oceans.

[@NeroPop]

So looking forward to the alpha release!

[@Huntsman6791]

We’ll come back!!

[@MariusRomanum]

This reminds me of the BC game that was supposed to be for the Xbox

[@benrex7775]

On mid June I have birthday but I also have a repetition course of the military. So it's like a birthday present but I can't play it on release.

[@parmie1001]

About the complexity and the game being hard to learn, the way Don't Starve (or Don't Starve Together) does it is really interesting. It is a hard survival game where you are thrown into the world with no help whatsoever, you have to learn everything on your own. The only even slight tips you get is from the examination quotes of the characters you play. It also has no achievements or anything like that. Now as far as I know the intention of this game is not to be impossibly uncompromising/unforgiving, however I think it's interesting to think about. I wish you the best of luck no matter what decision you make!

[@Jova]

Your game is definitely going to be a success. I don't know how successful, but this game won't have negative reviews.

[@daslolo]

This game is so gentle

[@Dmilnes007]

i was getting so angry that evertime i got pumpkins my little fat sapiens eat them, and then a watched this video no more eating the pumpkins lol, keep up the good work..