log 1

Hello everyone,

This is the beginning of my devlog for Mendelian Fields! Exciting stuff.

So, getting right into it, I've been making slow progress for quite a bit of time now. I've figured out how to use Python's random module to choose certain traits for the beginning plants, and I've figured out how to set up classes, and mostly set up a naming function. I also have a function to create a grid of characters based on given x and y dimensions.

However, these are all very basic mechanics. I have a lot I'd like to do, but for now I think that the most important concepts for me to learn to progress will be making each character on the 'board'/grid a variable that can be changed (this way, when a player moves onto a space, the player is shown instead of the ground) and how I want to organize the different elements of each plant. What I have right now is the following:

subclasses: leaf traits, stem traits, flower traits, etc.

branches: leaf thickness, leaf color, leaf size, stem thickness, stem color, stem size, flower color, etc.

attributes: blue, red, green, yellow, white, etc.

Most importantly, I will have to work out the evolution system. Originally, I wanted a punnett square function. This was quickly discarded due to impracticality. Instead, I am planning to assign values to each attribute, with values going up or down based on the attribute of the parent plant (for now, each plant will have one parent). Higher values will have a higher chance of spawning as the plant's attribute. Each plant will have two attributes like a punnett square, but the dominant and recessive genes will be decided by the values as well. So, the main challenge is to learn how to have the values affect the random module.

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completed goals:

make list of branches

make list of inheritable attributes

function to generate board

short-term goals:

translate board/grid into list of variables

automate the random assignment of attributes

randomly generate attributes based on inheritance values

medium-term goals:

replace points in grid with new characters

make list of base inheritance values for all attributes

how to control game using keyboard

expanded subclasses and attributes

long-term goals:

selecting plants to replant

user interface

improved graphics

improved controls

future goals:

viruses and pests

storing and harvesting plant parts

cooking

market

seasons, sunlight, temperatures, and humidity

watering plants