Development Update: Crowding, Pathfinding & UI Improvements

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a quick update on the latest development progress. I don’t have screenshots or videos to show just yet, but there have been some major changes to the game that I think you’ll appreciate.

What has been done so far?

• Crowding

  • Creatures can no longer occupy the same space. Each tile is divided into a 3×3 grid, meaning a maximum of 9 creatures per tile.

  • Creatures now pathfind and move in relation to each other — they can’t pass through one another, so when things get crowded they’ll find alternative routes or ask others to move out of the way.

  • Creatures will never get stuck due to a bad dungeon layout. They will always find a way out (though it may take some time).

  • Slower creatures can force faster creatures to walk behind them during the same phase (if there are no alternative routes).

  • Ghosts and living creatures are allowed to occupy the same space.

• Pathfinding

  • Fishmen can travel through water just as they would on land, and they can also fight from water.

  • Trogosaurs can travel through lava just as they would on land, and they can also fight from lava.

  • Bats can now move over both water and lava.

• Exploring

  • Creatures now explore as intended, and their Exploring property determines how far from their base they’re allowed to go.

• Fonts

  • I refactored the text system so we can use fonts that aren’t installed on the system — instead, they’re bundled in the game folder.

  • Updated the font to something more appropriate.

  • Text is much sharper now.

• Creature Status bar

  • Updated to a more modern version (the old one was more than 10 years old).

  • Includes LOD behavior depending on camera distance and whether the cursor is hovering nearby.

  • Shows only what’s necessary — default states like full health or good mood are hidden.

What is left?

• Balancing creature combat and fleeing.

• Making sure the new font works with Simplified Chinese.

• Ensuring possession works as intended.

• Adding a new “Crowding” status that can lead to unhappiness if it gets too high.

• Optimizing the pathfinding algorithm to use less memory.

• Other minor bug fixes.

I’ll try to share a video or screenshots as soon as I have time — I tend to prioritize development over marketing (probably my biggest weakness).

One side note: after more than 10 years of working on Dwelvers, I’ve accepted that I probably won’t earn back all the time I’ve invested. But I keep developing it because I genuinely love it — and because I still believe the game has huge potential.

Until next time!

/ Rasmus