08.22.2024 Updates

Added a bit more splash, several refactors, one giant bug.

Updated to Godot 4.3 which has been a smooth experience now that exporting to web seems to work decently well. This release has several refactors:

• I moved all of the card logic back into the single card scene. Previously there were 52 scenes for each standard card that generally were only differentiated by the sprite. My first version also only used one card scene but I had tried to set the sprites from an atlas which never quite worked properly. I suspect this may be the dev's (my) fault as I am unclear of the difference with working between textures, sprites, and atlases. So two major refactors: single card -->individual card --> back to single card.
• Another refactor was around the concept of the "hand". I initially set 5 card spots in the editor and referenced them based on their index number. This worked fine but I ultimately plan on having some more fun with the traditional poker game to allow the player to increase the numbers of cards in their hand among other things. Because of this, I needed to change the code to remove the concept of a fixed number of spots and instead allow this to change. There are a few loops that go through the hand which are easy when you know the number of spots (such as discards and replacing) that are less straightforward when variable. Now the deck, hand, and discard are distinct so dealing from the deck will allow the normal poker experience from random shuffles and no-repeats from your deck.
• Added some polish around sound effects and animations. The cards are now displayed one at a time which builds a sense of tension. Sound effects are added for most items though there are probably some that are missing or that I may refine later. I am always a sucker for buying asset packs so many of these I had already purchased and could incorporate easily. Fonts are now easier to read. Added some logic to allow the player to change  the size of their screen to their own liking and scale appropriately.

Planned updates:

• Squash the bug with the deck continuing to grow. If you play enough, you may start getting some cards that only show their backs - more to come.
• Consider adding an animation for shuffles.
• Add statistics tracking
• Add MORE FUN - I've got quite a few tweaks planned to allow the player to change the game mechanics which I think will be a lot of fun.