Devlog #7 - Shelter Systems, Thermal Simulation, and Inventory Limits

Hi everyone!

This week has been all about improving survival depth in Wildborn. From building better shelters to simulating indoor heat, and adding straw as a harvestable resource, a lot of new systems are now up and running. Here’s a look at everything that’s been added and improved

🧱 Construction & Shelter

• Added a thatch roof to the building menu, requiring branch and straw.

• Implemented a tile coverage system to track whether a tile is protected by a roof.

• Created a branch wall door.

🌡️ Thermal Simulation

• Introduced a dedicated interior temperature for each room, laying the foundation for proper indoor climate simulation.

• Rooms now exchange heat with the outside, based on how well they are covered (walls, roof, door).

• The campfire heats indoor air if placed inside a room and fueled.

🎮 Gameplay & Interactions

• Added a context menu interaction to harvest wheat.

• Harvesting wheat now produces straw, a new material used in building.

🧍‍♂️ Character & Fatigue

• Created a resting sprite for the player character.

• The sprite updates automatically when the player starts resting.

• Rebalanced physical activity: the player can now walk more before becoming fully exhausted.

💾 Technical Improvements & Refactoring

• Migrated the save system to JSON format, replacing the older BinaryFormatter for improved security and readability.

🎨 UI & Visuals

• Improved the construction menu's visual design, adding a dark background.

✅ Summary

The game now features a functional shelter system and deeper survival mechanics. While these additions mark solid progress, I’m still not fully satisfied with the visual consistency of the new constructions — especially the roof and door visuals — and plan to keep improving them in the coming weeks.