novafarma/REFERENCE_GAPS_POLISH_JAN_10_2026.md

🎨 REFERENCE GAPS - Animation & UI Polish

Date: Jan 10, 2026 18:24 CET
Purpose: Verify what references exist for polish items

---

❌ MISSING REFERENCES (Need to generate)

🐕 SUSI ANIMATIONS

Current Status:

• ❌ No susi/ folder in main_characters/
• ❌ All Susi animations missing

Need to Generate:

1. Sit animation (3 frames)

   • Susi sitting position
   • Tail wagging variants
   • Cute sitting pose

2. Sleep animation (2 frames)

   • Susi curled up sleeping
   • Breathing/sleeping loop

3. Excited jump (2 frames)

   • Susi mid-jump
   • Landing pose

TOTAL: 7 frames for Susi

NOTE: Will need to create full susi/ character reference folder!

---

👨‍🌾 KAI FARMING ANIMATIONS

Current Status:

• ✅ Have: idle, walk, dig, swing
• ❌ Missing: farming-specific actions

Need to Generate:

1. Harvest animation (4 frames)

   • Kai reaching down
   • Picking crop
   • Standing up
   • Holding harvested item

2. Plant seeds (4 frames)

   • Kai bending down
   • Hand to soil
   • Planting motion
   • Standing back up

3. Water crops (4 frames)

   • Kai holding watering can
   • Tilting can
   • Watering motion
   • Reset position

TOTAL: 12 frames for Kai farming

---

👻 ANA MEMORY/GHOST SPRITE

Current Status:

• ❌ No ghost/memory sprites found
• ✅ Have aging timeline references (but not ghost effect)

Need to Generate:

1. Ghost/memory sprite (3 frames)

   • Ana translucent/ethereal
   • Floating animation
   • Fade in/out effect

2. Diary portrait (1 frame)

   • Ana portrait for diary item
   • Close-up face
   • Emotional expression

TOTAL: 4 frames for Ana memory

---

🌾 ENVIRONMENTAL - CROP WILTING

Current Status:

• ❌ No wilting animations found in crops

Need to Generate:

1. Crop wilting (3 frames per crop type)
   • Healthy crop (already exists)
   • Slightly wilted
   • Very wilted/dying

Note: Only need for main demo crops
TOTAL: ~3 frames (can be generic overlay)

---

🎨 UI POLISH ELEMENTS

Current Status:

• ✅ Have: health_stamina, inventory, buttons, icons, dialogue
• ❌ Missing: XP, weather, time, tooltips

Need to Generate:

1. XP Bar (2 elements):

• XP bar background
• XP bar fill (gradient)

2. Weather Indicators (2):

• Weather icon (sun/rain/snow)
• Temperature gauge

3. Time Indicators (2):

• Clock/time widget
• Day/night indicator

4. Tutorial Tooltips (2):

• Tooltip background panel
• Tooltip arrow pointer

TOTAL: 8 UI elements

---

📊 GENERATION SUMMARY:

Category	Frames	Priority
Susi Animations	7	Medium
Kai Farming	12	High
Ana Memory	4	Medium
Crop Wilting	3	Low
UI Polish	8	Low
TOTAL	34 frames	-

---

🎯 RECOMMENDATION:

TIER 1 - HIGH PRIORITY (Essential for demo feel):

• ✅ Kai farming animations (12 frames)
  • Makes farming feel alive!
  • Critical for demo gameplay loop

TIER 2 - MEDIUM PRIORITY (Nice polish):

• ✅ Susi animations (7 frames)
  • Adds personality
  • Makes companion feel real
• ✅ Ana memory (4 frames)
  • Important for story moments

TIER 3 - LOW PRIORITY (Can add later):

• ⚠️ Crop wilting (3 frames)
  • Gameplay mechanic (optional for demo)
• ⚠️ UI polish (8 frames)
  • Nice-to-have, not critical

---

✅ ACTION PLAN:

OPTION A: Focus on Gameplay (Tier 1 only)

• Generate 12 Kai farming frames
• Launch demo with polished farming
• Skip Susi/Ana/UI for now
• Time: 2-3 hours generation

OPTION B: Full Character Polish (Tier 1 + 2)

• Generate Kai farming (12)
• Generate Susi extras (7)
• Generate Ana memory (4)
• Skip UI and wilting
• Time: 4-5 hours generation
• Result: Characters feel ALIVE!

OPTION C: 100% Complete (All tiers)

• Generate everything (34 frames)
• Perfect polish before Tiled work
• Time: 6-8 hours generation
• Result: Demo je TIPI TOPI! 🎆

---

🛹 MOJA PREPORUKA:

Go with OPTION B! (Tier 1 + 2)

Zakaj:

• ✅ Kai farming je MUST for demo feel
• ✅ Susi + Ana dodasta SOUL igri
• ⚠️ UI in wilting lahko počaka (ne vpliva na fun)

Result: 23 frames, 4-5h dela, game feels AMAZING! 💜

Potem greš direktno v Tiled z vsemi characterji ready! 🎮

---

TVOJA IZBIRA? A, B, ali C? 🤔🔥

---

Reference Gap Analysis - Jan 10, 2026