Lost Echo’s Preview 48 – Implementing Branching Paths

For this weeks for Lost Echo’s Preview. I finished up the Pathing System. Moths can now enter and exit rooms, and will seek out rooms when the current room’s lights are off, and the target room’s are on. I also got a little side tracked and worked on expanding graphic settings. Specifically adding the ability to dynamically adjust reflections, by turning it off completely or changing how often they are updated.

Pathing System Completed

To start off, I wrapped up the Pathing System for the moth AI. Most of the underlying framework was already in place, but I spent time validating each branch of the hallway network and making sure transitions behaved consistently.

To support this, I created a custom resource that stores all of the elements I needed for each path. So the curves I’d be using, which room it would be leaving too, and which section of the hallway it needs to trigger on. Hallways are broken up into two parts. And doors only slightly match up with those paths. So this resource helps keep everything organized.

Reflection System Improvements

I also took a detour into graphics work — specifically window reflections. Initially, reflections only updated when the lights changed, but I noticed the door reflections were static. That didn’t feel right, so I added checks to update reflections whenever a door’s state changes.

While testing, I found that the flashlight produced a nice reflection while updating, but froze when it stopped. That led me to experiment with enabling active reflections only in the player’s current room. The result looked great, but I started noting a notable performance drop on my machine. Not as bad as updating every room at once, but still noticeable.

Graphics Settings Expansion

Instead of forcing one approach, I folded everything I learned into a new tiered graphics system:

• Low — reflections update only when power changes
• Medium — updates on power and door changes
• High — includes all of the above and keeps reflections active while the player is in the room

This gives players more control over performance while preserving the visual quality where it matters.