Overview

Day 6 was the major crunch day, with the focus shifting from adding new systems to finalizing presentation, usability, and overall cohesion. Most of the work went into the HUD and UI, where I locked in a visual theme and brought the cards, rewards, menus, and stat panels into a much more unified state. I also finalized the enemy visual approach, added difficulty selection, improved tower firing behavior, and completed the full menu-to-run-to-end-screen loop. By the end of the day, the project had become a complete jam-ready build with coherent screens, functional difficulty settings, polished enough gameplay flow, and a full beginning-to-end player experience.

Major Accomplishments

• Finalized the HUD and overall UI theme across gameplay and menu screens.
• Reworked cards and rewards to better fit the final visual direction.
• Added dedicated hand and turret stat panels.
• Implemented final victory and defeat end screens with distinct visual variants.
• Added a tutorial window on the main menu with gameplay images and text explanations.
• Finalized enemy visuals using effect-driven ethereal energy spheres instead of modeled characters.
• Added difficulty selection on the main menu.
• Reworked tower firing logic to reduce jitter.
• Built a simple background environment to support the finished game loop.
• Completed a full flow from main menu to gameplay to win/defeat with restart and return-to-menu options.

Systems Developed or Updated

HUD and UI Theme

• Handles the core player-facing presentation during gameplay and menus.
• Finalized the overall interface theme and updated components so the HUD, menus, cards, rewards, and support panels all fit a coherent visual style. Added a hand panel for hand stats and a turret panel for turret stats.
• Current state: Functional / Needs Polish

Card and Reward Presentation

• Controls how cards and rewards are visually communicated to the player.
• Reworked card and reward presentation to better match the final chosen theme and overall UI direction.
• Current state: Functional

End Screen System

• Presents the final state of a run and gives the player clear next actions.
• Implemented end screens for both victory and defeat with different level layouts and moods. The victory version features a strong turret on a bright day, while the defeat version shows a destroyed turret in a darker, smoky setting.
• Current state: Functional

Main Menu and Tutorial Flow

• Handles entry into the game and onboarding for new players.
• Updated the pause menu and main menu to match the final visual theme, and added a small tutorial window on the main menu using gameplay screenshots and text descriptions to explain the core gameplay.
• Current state: Functional

Enemy Visual System

• Defines how enemy types are represented visually in-game.
• Finalized the enemy presentation using ethereal energy sphere effects rather than traditional modeled or animated enemies. Used different colors and scale values per enemy type to distinguish them visually while saving major production time.
• Current state: Functional

Gameplay Balance Pass

• Tunes the final gameplay values for waves, enemies, and tower performance.
• Did playtesting and adjusted the final stats for the turret, enemy behavior, and wave logic in preparation for the jam build.
• Current state: Functional / Needs Balance

Difficulty Selection System

• Allows players to choose a broader challenge level before starting a run.
• Added a difficulty setting on the main menu that scales spawn count, spawn multiplier, and spawn intervals.
• Current state: Functional

Tower Firing Logic

• Controls how the tower tracks and attacks enemies.
• Reworked the firing behavior so the tower feels less jittery during target handling and attack flow.
• Current state: Functional / Needs Polish

Background Environment Pass

• Provides a minimal environment backdrop for the finished build.
• Added a quick environment pass using billboard trees and a grass texture over the default floor. It remains extremely simple, but it supports the finished gameplay well enough for the jam version.
• Current state: Prototype / Functional for Jam Scope

Full Run Flow

• Connects menu, gameplay, end states, and return options into a complete playable loop.
• By the end of the day, the game supports a main menu with tutorial and background scene, difficulty selection, wave start, win or defeat end screens, and options to restart or return to the main menu.
• Current state: Functional

Problems Encountered and Solutions

Problem:
The stun card had persistent bugs that could not be resolved reliably within the available jam time.

Cause:
The exact issue remained unclear, and the time cost of investigating it further was too high for the jam schedule.

Solution:
Removed the stun card from the build so the rest of the card system could remain stable and the project could move forward.

Problem:
The tower firing logic felt jittery and unstable, and during the rework there was a point where it seemed like the system had been broken entirely.

Cause:
The firing logic rework introduced instability while trying to improve targeting behavior under time pressure.

Solution:
Continued iterating until the system was restored and improved, resulting in a less jittery firing setup by the end of the day.

Problem:
Time constraints made it impossible to build fully modeled and animated enemies or a more developed environment.

Cause:
The jam schedule forced prioritization toward readable gameplay and shippable scope over more complete art production.

Solution:
Used effect-driven enemy visuals and a very lightweight environment pass with billboard trees and simple ground treatment, which kept the project finishable within the available time.

Problem:
The Blueprint implementation became messy and difficult to maintain due to the late-stage crunch.

Cause:
Systems were patched and bypassed quickly in order to keep everything working under deadline pressure.

Solution:
Accepted the tradeoff for the jam build, while noting it as a major lesson for future projects: take more time to implement systems cleanly and maintainably when schedule allows.

Current Project State

The project is now in a final jam-build polish phase and is effectively feature-complete for its intended scope. Core gameplay, menus, onboarding, difficulty selection, run flow, end screens, enemy presentation, and UI cohesion are all functioning together as a complete product. While the implementation is rough in places and several presentation elements remain minimal, the game has reached a full playable state with a coherent identity and a complete start-to-finish loop.

Next Day Plan

• Continue final cleanup and polish where time allows.
• Use the final video to help document or confirm progress that was not logged in detail.
• Do any remaining tuning needed for the finished jam build.
• Keep notes on implementation lessons learned for future projects, especially around cleaner Blueprint structure and earlier organization.