Deadly Daily Deadly Daily

QA pass — the bugs were always there

Full quality pass across the entire project. Signal leaks, null crashes, hard-coded paths, a double callback nobody had caught — all fixed. The game wasn't visibly broken. That was the problem.

TECH DETAILS

• Hard-coded path — game_over_screen in player.gd was loaded via get_tree().root.get_node("WakingUP/...") → replaced with current_scene.get_node_or_null("CanvasLayer/GameOverScreen") with null check
• Signal leaks — dialog_bar.gd and smalltalk_bar.gd: lambda connects couldn't be disconnected → replaced with named methods _on_choice_a/b/c; disconnect-before-connect added; dead _on_AnswerA/B/C_pressed functions removed
• Memory leak — _exit_tree() added to player.gd to disconnect the died signal on scene unload; was leaking on every reload
• Null safety — start_dialog() and start_smalltalk() in stranger.gd, reception.gd, reception_evening.gd: player_ref.get_node() called outside if player_ref: block → rewritten with early return
• FileAccess — null checks added in GameState.gd and SettingsManager.gd; failed file opens now log push_error() instead of crashing silently
• State name typos — coffeMachine_used → coffeemachine_used; coffeemachineevening_used_used → coffeemachineevening_used; fixed in GameState.gd and Mainmenu.gd
• Signal mismatch — reception_evening.gd was checking "smalltalkeve_finished" on disconnect but disconnecting "smalltalk_finished" → signal never actually disconnected → double callback on every repeat interaction

Turns out "it works" and "it's correct" are two different things. The game was working fine. It just wasn't right.

Forced wake in apartment — edge case

If you spent the whole night in the apartment, the game would skip the forced 06:30 wake entirely — the day transition just wouldn't happen. Fixed.

TECH DETAILS

• Added WAKE_TIME constant (06:30 in seconds) to waking_up.gd
• forced_wake_triggered flag prevents double-trigger
• _process() now checks: if day_advanced_by_clock and game_time ≥ 06:30 → call _force_wake_up()
• Fade to black (1.5s), reset flag, transition to WakingUp.tscn; energy unchanged — player just lost the night

Nothing like finding an edge case that basically breaks the entire day cycle. Classic.

Game clock, interaction routing, punctuality, night lock

Time now means something. Arriving late costs you. Staying out past 18:00 locks you in. The daily routine finally has structure — and consequences.

TECH DETAILS

• Game clock — 24h loop at 60× speed (1 real second = 1 game minute); HH:MM shown under day counter; automatic day change at midnight
• Sleep energy — every started 30 game-minutes of sleep = +4 energy; 8h+ bonus by difficulty (+30 / +20 / +10)
• Forced wake — if not in bed by 06:30: fade to black + alarm sound + transition to WakingUp; no energy penalty, just no gain
• Interaction routing — pressing E near multiple objects shows "What do you want to do?" panel; objects self-register on collision; alarm bypasses routing when ringing
• Office punctuality — before 08:00 → Success +2; after 08:00 → −1; absent all day → −3; every 30 game-minutes at the office → +1
• Night lock — apartment door locked 18:00–06:30; home desk available as overtime from 18:00 (same effects as office desk)

The world finally feels like it's moving even when I'm sitting still.

Big session: menu, UI, localisation, NPC journal

Menus are actually usable now. The NPC journal remembers everyone you've met — including the cat, who is always watching. Language switching works live.

TECH DETAILS

• Menu UX — ESC triggers quick Continue (greyed out if no save); confirm before deleting save; difficulty selection on new game; autosave replaces manual Save button
• Stats UI — full redesign with colour-coded bars and numeric values; Popularity removed from HUD, kept as hidden mechanic
• Settings — complete menu: volume, fullscreen, difficulty, language, keybind remapping
• Localisation — full EN/CS via TranslationServer + CSV; stat labels, menu buttons, NPC text, feedback messages, game over all translated; live language switching
• Feedback bubble — stylised dark panel above the character, fade-in → display → fade-out; interrupted cleanly on new message
• NPC Journal — menu screen with all encountered NPCs and their affinity; per-NPC relationship tracking; the cat is in the journal (always watching); autosave after every dialogue

One of those days where everything happens at once and somehow it mostly works.

The world grows

The game now has a Game Over screen and enough props placed to feel like a real world. Backup commits kept the project alive during a quiet stretch.

Sometimes just keeping the project alive counts as progress.

Apartment mechanics

First time the apartment feels interactive: you wake up, you turn off the alarm, you make coffee. The daily loop has its first beat.

First time it actually felt like a morning routine.

Project kickoff

Fresh start after a shelved prototype. The main menu is up. Deadly Daily 0.2 exists.

Day one of what was supposed to be a small project.