Development Log - July 22, 2025

Goxod’s Labyrinth

Started a comprehensive code cleanup session after reviewing the codebase for potential improvements. Found several critical issues that needed immediate attention.

Problem: DungeonLevel.cs was using non-deterministic random seed generation based on DateTime.Now.Ticks, which meant dungeon layouts would be different every time - breaking save/load consistency and making debugging impossible.

Solution: Modified the DungeonLevel constructor to accept a worldSeed parameter and use HashCode.Combine(worldSeed, depth) for deterministic generation. This ensures each level is unique but reproducible across game sessions.

Status: Fixed and tested. All constructor calls updated to pass consistent seed value.

Cleaned up debug output that was cluttering the production build.

Problem: Found debug Console.WriteLine statements in Player.cs that were outputting equipment messages to the console in production builds.

Solution: Simply removed the debug output from the player initialization code.

Status: Completed.

Tackled the massive code organization issue in GameplayScreen.cs.

Problem: GameplayScreen had grown to over 1,400 lines with a 393-line save/load section that violated single responsibility principle and made the class difficult to maintain.

Solution: Created a new GameSaveService class to handle all save/load operations. Extracted all conversion methods and simplified GameplayScreen to just call _saveService.SaveGame(this) and _saveService.LoadGame(this). Added getter/setter methods for the service to access necessary private fields.

Status: Refactoring complete. GameplayScreen is now much cleaner and the save/load logic is properly separated. Code compiles without errors.

The refactoring removed over 300 lines from GameplayScreen and improved code maintainability significantly. The codebase is now much more organized and easier to work with.

These changes address the most critical code quality issues while maintaining full functionality. The deterministic dungeon generation fix is especially important for save game reliability.

Enhanced the character creator user experience based on feedback.

Problem: The character creation flow had several usability issues - menu music would stop abruptly when entering character creation, users had to manually navigate to the Create button after distributing all stat points, and the placeholder text was flashing annoyingly.

Solution: Made three key improvements:

  1. Extended menu music - Modified GameStateManager to keep the menu music playing through the entire character creation process, only stopping it when the game actually starts
  2. Auto-focus Create button - Added logic to automatically jump selection to the Create button when all stat points are distributed and a character name is entered
  3. Fixed placeholder text flashing - Changed the flashing interval from milliseconds to seconds and hide the placeholder when the name field is selected

Status: All character creator improvements implemented. The experience now flows much more smoothly from menu through character creation.

Implemented a comprehensive hotbar system for quick access to potions and Neuroglyphs.

Problem: Players needed a faster way to use consumables and cast spells during combat instead of opening inventory/spellbook screens every time.

Solution: Created a 10-slot hotbar system with these features:

  • Number key bindings (1-9, 0) for instant item/spell activation
  • Dual item support - Both consumable potions and Neuroglyph spells
  • Visual UI - Bottom-center hotbar with slot numbers, item icons, quantities, and cooldown overlays
  • Smart integration - Only active when inventory/spellbook closed, syncs with inventory changes
  • Default starter items - 3 Health Potions (slot 1) and 2 Mana Potions (slot 2)

Created new files:

  • Hotbar.cs - Complete hotbar system with rendering and input handling
  • GameTurn.cs - Turn tracking for Neuroglyph cooldown system

Status: Basic hotbar functionality complete and compiling. Ready for testing and refinement.

Fixed critical hotbar quantity sync bugs and added comprehensive inventory integration.

Problems Found:

  • Hotbar was displaying incorrect item quantities (showing starter amounts instead of actual inventory counts)
  • No way for players to assign new items to hotbar slots
  • Quantities weren’t updating when items were consumed

Solutions Implemented:

  1. Fixed quantity sync bug - Changed hotbar to always reflect actual inventory quantities instead of maintaining separate counts
  2. Improved item usage - Modified hotbar to properly remove items from inventory rather than managing its own quantities
  3. Added hotbar to inventory screen - Visual display of all 10 hotbar slots with current assignments
  4. Implemented assignment system - Players can now right-click potions and select “Assign to Hotbar” to open slot selection screen
  5. Enhanced UI - Added intuitive hotbar assignment dialog with visual slot selection and current occupancy indicators

Technical Changes:

  • Modified SyncWithInventory() to use slot.Quantity = inventoryItem.Quantity instead of Math.Min()
  • Updated UseItem() to modify actual inventory items and sync immediately
  • Added HotbarAssignment mode to InventoryScreen with full navigation and selection
  • Created visual hotbar representation in inventory with slot indicators (H=Health, M=Mana, N=Neuroglyph)

Status: All hotbar bugs fixed and inventory integration complete. Players can now easily manage their hotbar assignments!

Fixed game over screen input handling and centering issues.

Problems: Game over/victory screen had unwanted spacebar activation and was not properly centered on different screen sizes.

Solutions:

  1. Removed spacebar activation - Changed input handling to only use ENTER key for button selection
  2. Fixed centering - Made popup responsive to actual screen dimensions instead of hardcoded 1024x768
  3. Improved layout - Death penalty warnings now only show on death screen, not victory screen

Technical Changes:

  • Modified GameOverScreen.cs input handling to remove Keys.Space check
  • Updated GetCenteredPosition() method to accept dynamic screen width parameter
  • Changed all UI elements to use actual viewport dimensions instead of hardcoded values

Status: Game over screen now has clean input handling (ENTER only) and properly centers on any screen resolution.