The last time I posted here I was having problems with the wheat fields. They were fun to walk through, but they caused a slowdown because of the sheer number of interactive foliage actors on screen. I roughly doubled the length and width covered by a cluster of wheat, so was able to bring the count down to 1/4 while keeping the same density and the effect is pretty much the same. Thanks for all of your suggestions.
I've been adding some other stuff. I wanted the areas to have more unique enemies so I made a few.
The frog, crab, and tortoise are all new. The bird is mostly a recolor of another sprite. The crab and tortoise share a new leveled loot table. Right now monster shells can only be sold for money, but in the future I might add some quests or crafting recipes for them. The frog uses goblin loot tables.
I've been a little concerned that maybe the enemies are too cute. The player might feel bad about killing them. I hope not. Maybe the tortoise needs a spiky shell, at least on higher-level variants.
Today I've been trying to get the look right for this level.
It's called Gloomwood. Enemies will be undead, bats, wolves, pumpkins, and bandits. I'll add some fog volumes among the trees. Not sure what else it needs. Maybe some lamps along some of the paths. I'll keep working and give it some thought.
Did I post this here?
I thought the town of Gearbridge needed something unique. If I had more time and resources I might add more stuff. This will do for now.