I think it’s a good idea to have some sort of presentation material for the future stages. I also support you targeting these features, as you already have your hands dirty in creating our planet generator.
I will say that I am commenting on this post with the frameworks established in the Macroscopic Editor concept document I shared in mind.
I think any work on a “Mouth” prototype might be a bit early, as the exact progression of mouths could really influence how they are handled - extremely procedural, or a bit more “part-based”? Mouths vary alot, from being mandibulated, or jawless, etc. and having that variety of parts could make us lean towards being a bit more “part-based” if necessary as opposed to sculpting-procedural. But if you feel like you have a vision that you think is very well thought out and corresponding to our goals, feel free to pursue that.
Any work on the torso and limbs meanwhile would be pretty immediately beneficial I think, because I do think that no matter the exact nature of progression or implementation, that will be pretty consistent.
- Metaballs are linked laterally with each other. You can add more metaballs for the torso on each end, and scale the metaballs.
- You can place a metaball extension on this torso, which will serve as the root of an appendage. You can add more segments to this extension and scale them to create different parts of the appendage.
For more extensive appendage functionality…
- You can place something at the end of an appendage. This will be the basis of placing different extremities on your appendage. In the future, this will alter the appearance and abilities of your appendage.
- You can designate the base of an appendage as a “joint”. This will specify that appendage as being a limb, and as having a function related to movement. In the future, this will lead to the system revolving around fins, feet, and graspers.
For more extensive customization…
- Ability to flatten or broaden an appendage/part of your torso. This will tie heavily into the constraint system.
- Some sort of basic digit manipulation - placing a foot or a hand or a fin for example, and being able to increase or decrease the number of digits present.
I think in terms of gameplay prototyping with editor functionality, one important thing to think about is creating ways to proximate different parameters - for example, SA:V, Mass, a “Streamline” measure from the shape of metaballs. Then derived stats from these larger parameters - health from mass, buoyancy from streamline, etc. But this obviously relates to gameplay and is beyond the scope of a basic editor prototype.
This post might be useful too. Though it was created before the most recent concepts, I do think their baseline controls would be pretty universal beneficial: Macroscopic Editor, Progression, and Principles - #36 by Deus
If you go about this soon and would like some input, please do feel free to contact me about it! Again, feedback here was made with the master concept in mind - so if you are pursuing some other interpretation, take all this with a grain of salt.