This week I was able to successfully implement chunk loading, a super important step to scale the game up. I cut the tile map into chunks of 20x20 tiles, which were made in separate tile maps. At the start of the game, the folder with all the chunks is read and a dictionary is made with chunk coordinates as keys. As you move, the game identifies the chunk you are on, grabs all surrounding chunks, and makes sure they are loaded. Chunks are unloaded in a 5x5 chunk grid to reduce the amount of unloading given that it takes longer to unload than it does to load (plants and npcs are save on unloading). 

You might notice a map that was not there before! I was able to use a nice hex grid map tileset (Fantasy Hex Tiles by CuddlyClover on Itch) that I edited to match the main structure in each chunk. What is nice is that one tile of this hex equals one chunk, meaning that I am able to closely map the main things in the game without having to draw every tile. So this serves two purposes, giving the player direction and also allowing me to zoom out when I am designing the world. I have some controls for zooming and increasing the size of the map, and plan to make the map drag-able when it is large and tell you what is in each chunk upon right click. I am thinking of how to hide chunks that haven't been visited to try and make exploration enticing.

The basic mechanics for the game are really coming along now, and I am excited that it is starting to feel like a whole game. I have a ton of narrative outlined that I want to implement in the form of quests, but level design is an important step before adding NPCs.

Thanks for reading!