[VIG#R-02] Comeback: Major Refactoring

This update marks a significant shift in the development of Nightfall: The Vigil. I have dedicated this period to a massive refactoring of the game’s core systems, transitioning from a simple technical demo into a robust architecture powered by the Cosmic Framework.

The primary goal of this overhaul was to ensure that every system—from player movement to environmental triggers—adheres to strict modular design principles, allowing for a decoupled and scalable codebase.

Core
System
Architecture

I have refactored and, in several cases, completely rebuilt the following modules to improve performance and integration:

• Actors (Entity): I overhauled the base logic for both the protagonist and Dr. Hayden, covering movement, animations, and state management.

• Interaction: from the dragging of physical objects and the ability to broadcast events to other components.

• Questing: I've worked on a Quest system that handles relatively complex logic and could be the base for all future games. So far, it works like a charm in Vigilum.

• Persistence: I worked on an IO solution that would work across games.

  • The saving and loading of data was a key feature of this.

And much, much more!

Documentation

As previously mentioned, this game was supposed to be a tech demo of the Cosmic Framework. Therefore, I decided to create the proper documentation for it. This will only help speed up development as the Framework's scope grows larger.

It's very likely that CCS will use this framework as well, so it's just a matter of time until this becomes the standard across projects.

The framework itself took a long time to develop... the game? not so much. It's been months since I've been working on this project... yet it feels like the game progressed very little. Once it's done, the implementation of the framework to the game will put it to the test.

So far, design choices were made to simplify this integration, and it's looking promising.

Next steps

I'm ready to move on with the next phase: Level Design. It's definitely not my strength but I'll do my best.

• Create primary foliage (large trees)

• Create secondary foliage (smaller trees and bushes)

• Create details (grass, rocks and flowers - visuals only)

Once this is ready, I'll move on to the phase after that, refining the last details of the map. More in the next update!

Thank you!

Thank you so much for the support. Don't forget to check out the blogs for more updates.