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Explosions, Research, and High-Fidelity Sprites

by MrPhil
stellar-thronedevloggame-developmentcombatsprites

Today's dev sprint focused on destructive power and high-quality visual polish.

What Got Done

  • SpriteSheetMaker Upgrade: Implemented the Mitchell filter for superior downscaling. This improves crispness and sprite consistency when generating sheets from single images.

  • Bombardment System: Orbital destruction capability now functional. Basic damage mechanics are operational, with integration points for visual effects and colony consequences.

  • Ground Combat: Initial turn-based ground invasion framework is operational — includes attacker/defender phases and post-battle resolution.

  • Visual Effects Foundation: Began unified FX system development to support combat visuals including explosions, hits, and transitions.

  • Save/Load System: Added auto-save, quick save, and new save/load UI panel for player access and session persistence.

  • Research System: Established technology unlock framework — categories, cost progression, and placeholder technologies.

What I Learned

The Mitchell filter made a noticeable visual upgrade for sprite workflows — definitely worth the integration. Sprite quality from AI tools benefits significantly from proper post-processing. Early unified effects system implementation ensures smoother integration later, particularly for combat-heavy sequences.

Still in Progress

The Research System requires scaffolding completion — needs UI refinements, improved tech tree layout, and integrated gameplay unlocks.