Conviction Chronicles blog post #30 - Current Text Backlogs + Reference UI updated even further

 This is a little bit of UI stuff, again, but it's needed.

Text Backlogs

I added some basic backlogs I can showcase and edit. The problem is it's very simple with how it looks and there is no direct way to manipulate it with how it looks. I can add text exclusively to the backlogs and make text preventable from being saved to it, but other than that, at this moment. the only way to make thinking text look different from normal text is if I wish to insert font color code into every single thinking textbox which I really do not want to do. For now it's going to stay this way until some sort of update is made to allow me to manipulate data stored inside to store it into some sort of array automatically in the background, and then I can make it look better with showing images of who is speaking along with better separation and automatic color coding of text without needing to edit hundreds of events. 

References

Instead of having it being a text event for the past year, I made an actual menu for it.

Character references

Showcases characters you can move with the arrow keys in-between them, sort of like V3's menu. It has some sort of report card as well. Showcases the character graphics, if romancing them, if in an alliance, and what rank.

When I get to the "end game results screen" to showcase character actions, I'm probably going to be using the character references as a template. Partly since it's good backend reuse and will save some time.

Gameplay reference

Shows gameplay content with how certain things work with the basics.

Story reference

Only Tina can view this once finding out her true abilities. It showcases story references as small reminders of what to look out for.

Originally I was thinking of having it where the player could collect evidence from this menu, but when I tried some of it out with the AI logic, it would consistently spam gathering evidence from the menu and that isn't good. So I'm choosing to use the menus to be called during trials as a separate menu from normal evidence. It would be very dumb to selectively remember only certain aspects of the game in a trial when you have the tablet in front of you anyways.

Anything else?

I need to make a Motive system and a action/event backlog calendar before anything else. I have the graphics for the assistant with the Motive System, it's more of making it and implementing it into the character's AI logic more to use more feelings/emotions to determine actions so it feels more real and the player can spot when things happen through interactions better. Doing some playtesting, I realized I really need to add a graphic whenever character actions happen to signify that is what the delay is in the background. Right now for characters with how the backend logic is designed, it has a 0.28-0.5 second delay between each character's turn. With 14 other characters it can add up quick with time they do an action. So something visual would be good.

I'm also adding some stuff with Edgar/Stripey soon as well. Part of it is to make their intros better, Edgar's flashbacks to be more unique, and to add some graphical spice at certain moments. I plan on adding new graphics to the Nightmare/Sleeping events with the Man in the Dream. Mainly to make it more stylized compared to right now with the Man in the Dream only having a sitting position with no emotion. Small details like this would add a lot to the daily transitions and would greatly increase the longevity of the average player with his moments. This might include doing a new design for the Man in the Dream so these new emotions can be expressed, at least in 2D form.