nova furnace
To enhance immersion, I suggest introducing a 'Dusk' phase and dynamic shadows exclusively for the Social Hub.
Combat modes should remain as they are to maintain competitive clarity.
A 20-minute full cycle (10 mins Day / 10 mins Night) would be ideal to capture the atmosphere.
[Visual & Performance Optimization]
Horizontal Sun Movement: Moving the sun along the Horizontal axis stretches shadows sideways. This maximizes the sunset aesthetic without obstructing character sprites or top-down visibility.
Sprite Depth & Skewing: To avoid characters looking too "thin," I suggest using distorted oval shadows or Sprite Skewing for trees. This maintains the 2D aesthetic with minimal GPU load.
Shadow Proxies & Mixed Mode: For complex structures (Cranes/Containers), using simplified Rectangular Shadow Proxies and Mixed Lighting Mode allows dynamic transitions while preserving optimized lightmap data.
[Technical Implementation (Unity URP)]
Player Vision Compatibility (Crucial): To prevent clutter with the Fog of War/Radial Vision, use 'Multiply' blending for dusk shadows while keeping the player's vision light on a higher priority layer. This ensures the atmosphere never obstructs core gameplay visibility.
Dynamic Actions: For actions like weapon swinging, use a single 'Shadow Caster 2D' on the parent object or a simplified Proxy. This merges separate sprites into one silhouette, preventing shadow overlapping.
Atmosphere & Interiors: Adjust Color Temperature/LUT via Post-processing for sunset effects, and use 2D Light Layers to isolate these hues from interior building lights.
By limiting this to the Social Hub and using these optimized approaches, we can provide a high-quality visual experience without affecting combat balance or performance on the Nintendo Switch!
Thank you for reading this looooong suggestion! ;-;
