corru.works

its me!

[corruworks]

EP4::"A memory stream reaches its conclusion. An uncertain path lies ahead."

INFO:: https://corru.news/e4

this update is the most difficult one i've ever worked on, and marks the end of the 'collapse' arc. there are some very special guests here as well, take a look at the news post for more details!

similar to EP3's release, there are no memory holes or mask interactions to find yet. this is just the main experience - more to come

the next update shouldn't take 6+ months to make. that was crazy and hard and I don't wanna do it again lol

[corruworks]

hello everyone! today marks the 4th anniversary of CORRU!!! the update I've been working on since our last (the Embassy Rework) is still a bit away, and I don't have anything new for the store since I've been so focused on it, buut... in celebration, we're doing a sale! many apparel items in https://corru.store/ are nicely discounted this week! check it out!

corru.store

The official corru.observer merch store.

and as a little status report, especially if you aren't aware already, the embassy rework is a HUGE refinement of ALL its ideas. everything from the base combat system introduced in EP2, to reworking EP4's visuals and mechanics, to making FRAME even more replayable! really focused on making all of it much more of an enjoyable experience. it's been SO difficult and taken WAY too fucking long, but it'll be worth it. OR ELSE!!!

as of a few weeks ago, we've completed revisiting all main content and systems, and we're now in the "add brand new small-scope stuff" phase. so no ETA on this, but we're very far along and I would go CRAZY if it took way longer. if it takes longer than 2 months they're feeding me to this thing, so pray for me. I think I'd live but I'm not sure I want to test that theory

[bra1nslug]

[corruworks]

will you ever make an offline version of corru.observer ?

yes! that's my next project once the embassy rework is complete!

it's kind of painful how much time is being spent on reworking and passing over things (IT HAS BEEN NINE MONTHS SINCE THE LAST UPDATE AND IT MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM), but it's all in service of being able to put a ribbon on where it is presently, finally share it with more people confidently, then resume making new things!

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it here, but, maybe strangely, I don't exactly view corru observer as just a game in the middle of development... to me, it's more like a platform for a bunch of individual and separate experiences that overlap. like an anthology that's broken up by a maze you have to explore!

each part continues and advances the story, but are each somewhat self-contained. like, the whole embassy is basically almost its own game!

so, there's so much of a complete package in a "this is a good experience even if it ends on a halo 2 type cliffhanger" way that I feel confident making that available this year, before moving on to truly new stuff and continuing the story.

(and yes it'll probably use electron (don't kill me (self-contained chromium that's reliably the same version and customizable is kinda awesome for this use-case)))

[corruworks]

something odd ive noticed while going through some files is that i can find every file for barfriend and its bar, even the collapse versions but not the counters. is it some reused asset im not paying enough attention to find like movefriend's face pieces or is it some other bit of code entirely?

it's actually not an asset at all! the counters are CSS borders with border-radius to add the curves

(the bottom layer is this rule, the other two layers are ::after and ::before that are inheriting the border with different transforms)

[corruworks]

the reactions to this are so funny to me. like I get it, but this isn't even the strangest use of CSS in the game. here are some other interesting ones:

(read more for spoilers on the uncosm, ozo, and EP3)

the 'maze' parts of recosm utilize CSS clip-path, carving out a safe area in a 'damaging' element. you could just drag these points around if you wanted to, to make new shapes.

the council's animations use a sort of 'jointed paper doll' type animation, where each limb is a parented div (i.e. hand is inside arm), and given individual percentage-keyframe CSS animations that each influence movement a little bit.

the 'melee' actors at the end of EP3 work in a very similar way actually, but they have far fewer moving parts

there are probably a few more cursed mechanisms I've been forgetting, or are hard to visually show, like how the 'floors' on most 3D stages are now generated in canvasses with the actual grid tiles hidden to save on rendering performance, and only shown if there's something inside them or they're animated in some way. this is kind of an abstract one

(i.e. this floating tile is actually the individual tile element you'd expect to find if you inspect it, but if you inspect anything to the right of it on the 'ground', that's all one big element called "stagefloor" that's an image that's been generated based on the stage layout. it's a great big deception...)

[corruworks]

something odd ive noticed while going through some files is that i can find every file for barfriend and its bar, even the collapse versions but not the counters. is it some reused asset im not paying enough attention to find like movefriend's face pieces or is it some other bit of code entirely?

it's actually not an asset at all! the counters are CSS borders with border-radius to add the curves

(the bottom layer is this rule, the other two layers are ::after and ::before that are inheriting the border with different transforms)

[corruworks]

favourite html element? including deprecated elements

if we're talking base elements, I'm a freak for the "newer" semantic elements like <main> <aside> <section> and stuff. i like how simple you can make the CSS for something small without getting into classes too much.

but really, custom elements are my favorite and it's not even close. FRAME is driven by custom elements, where the UI are all custom elements, like <critta-map>, <critta-menu>, <critta-node>, and they each contain all of their data in themselves!! being able to tie things to happen the second they appear on the page, automatically, being able to listen to attribute changes really easily and do stuff based on them, so on. it's SO nice.

every new mechanical thing I introduce to Corru is gonna end up using them in some way, probably. there's even a new custom critta-element coming in the next update, which will replace the store system! I shan't show it all yet, but... look at this little wheel go...

what the hell is this thing... what is that...!!!

[corruworks]

hi! is there a reason that corru.observer uses gifs for (almost) every image, including static images that don't need to be animated? is it for visual consistency with animated images?

I don't have a deep technical reason for doing it, really... but .gif is a pretty good file format when you only have a few colors to worry about! I also haven't found a compelling reason to really do anything else yet, since generally the files are all super small as a result of the color limitations. so, everything just kinda uses the same process, even if it's a still image!

[norolantern]

the way i draw wakizet is very specific. she like tore off a chunk of her head which is why the purple stuff is leaking out and floating up

i have no idea how other people interpret her design but this is how i do

[andro-king]

Akizet - Inland Empire

[lychion]

Kazki!! She's very fun to draw like girl u are so shapes

[shiba9606]

BSTRD

[darkandstarsoul]

Vekoa

[maxdanarts]

Help ! Help ! Help! H

[electronicgalah]

To Isabel’s credit, it must have taken an insane amount of restraint to not start absolutely tweaking out upon the closest thing to the person she’s been obsessing over just showing up on like a Tuesday. Also dude comic composition is hard as fuck, please stop me if i ever start trying to make a webcomic 😭

[twotangy]

[corruworks]

where's corru works: end of january edition

hi... hi.... hii...........

hiiiiii....

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I thought I'd write an informal little update on Just One of my five social accounts. you never know where I'll post next... I have to keep moving between these places or the damn lights will catch up with me!!!

I've been pretty absent on most socials, even on discord and the embassycord!! my beloved ko-friends know what's been going on, but for the rest of you: the past three months have really been totally focused on the long-awaited embassy revisit!

we're at a stage where it's like, 70% where I want it to be. everything between EP2 and FRAME has been poked at and made into an experience I'm way prouder of. EP4 will get a pass to make it more intuitive and less overwhelming, too! that's up next on da plate.

think about how the engo update to the echo-vision in Suspicion made it way more engaging, without really changing what was said. that's basically what's happening to the entire collapse! the system and content is getting a lot of tweaks to reduce the slog and make what remains far more interesting & cohesive, something I've really wanted to do since as early as planning for EP4!

(like isn't it weird that augments kind of just appear for EP3 and disappear after? or how there's a bunch of little nothing fights that happen that feel like padding since they have no related story events? or how actions completely change into totally new things for EP4? or... or... or...... there are so many or's I've been chompin on my claws over. they're all getting KILLED. i'm KILLING them.... ALL OF THEM!! RAAAA!!!)

you'll likely see me crawl back under my developer rock and tap away at my tiny bug computer and disappear for a while longer. but i wanted to let you know it's been good and it's going to get better. this year we win