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This publish will overview how I took a bug that I wanted to repair and turned it right into a standout characteristic for our sport.
This August marked my first time engaged on a sport growth workforce constructed up of extra than simply programmers, with a aim to create greater than only a tech demo. With that in thoughts, we got here into the mission part-way by means of, initially tasked with cleansing up the code work performed by designers, fairly than programmers. Throughout that cleanup, I discovered a bug that was humorous sufficient to share with different workforce members, to the purpose the place a few of them requested if I used to be in a position to make {that a} characteristic as a substitute. To be transient, the participant character is ready to possess objects within the sport with a purpose to mess with surrounding victims. The bug occurred when the participant would generally depart the objects, and the objects would launch themselves in a random route.
First, design work was required. How was this concern going to be was a participant motion? The essential concept was an object that the participant might possess and launch on the victims, as a projectile fairly than a brand new mode of transport. As a result of we would like this object to suit neatly right into a system of different objects prefer it, it’s necessary to work as a lot throughout the system as doable. As an illustration, every possessable inherits from a mother or father possessable class, with it’s personal serialized necessities. Beneath is what that appears like within the inspector.
As soon as we’ve the essential concept and this technique necessities, we will really start creating this object. The MovementSystem sort determines what occurs when the participant makes use of WASD to regulate the item. For this object, because the aim is to launch it, it didn’t make a lot sense for it to maneuver by itself, so it has its personal aiming motion sort. This simply rotates the item with A and D. Subsequent was a approach for the participant to see the place they’re aiming, which as a placeholder labored as a easy geometric form within the route the participant faces. This early mannequin seemed one thing like this.
The launching is subsequent. Objects can have a capability, like pulling victims towards them, that the participant can activate. On this case, that may be the launching. The code right here is comparatively easy to begin, merely to use drive within the route the participant faces.
The harder half is definitely triggering an interplay with the victims. The system on the time would activate a set off sphere across the object to scare victims within the neighborhood. Initially, I tried a design the place the participant would exit the item as they launched it, to appear extra prefer it was thrown. However due to system limitations, the zone to set off wouldn’t be accessible if the participant weren’t possessing that object. So as a substitute of remodeling the framework of all the mission, I assumed to strive altering the design as a substitute. This got here within the type of a set off zone that labored on a timer, and through that point would have an effect on any sufferer in it’s radius. This turned often called a LastingEmotionZone, and continues to be used elsewhere within the mission.
This implementation labored decently, however two issues happened. The primary was that different branches had been transferring alongside, and new adjustments to the system meant new ones had been wanted in my design as effectively. Most notable was the change making possessable objects kinematic whereas not being possessed, which meant that the participant leaving earlier than launch wasn’t going to work the identical. The second was figuring out when the participant might launch, as and not using a floor test, one thing like this might occur:
The primary downside was not so laborious to resolve, because the design was simply modified in order that the participant remained within the object on launch. This resulted in leap-frog sort motion that felt enjoyable and completely different. The second was not as simple because it appeared. I checked out a number of floor test choices, firstly being a layer masks. Although constant, the difficulty is that I’m not answerable for the artwork workforce, so whereas they add belongings and make adjustments to the scene, it may be troublesome to make sure that every little thing the participant is meant to land on has the right layer tag. The second methodology was a sphere test, however the sphere was both too small, getting the participant caught on ledges, or too large, and giving false positives approach off of the bottom. I ended on a checkbox, because it bought the closest dimension I needed with the least battle. (As a facet word, the design had been fleshed out to a desk bell, which might make a ‘ding’ sound upon placing a sufferer).
The final key downside to repair in testing was steadiness. Although the item functioned, it wasn’t very simple or enjoyable to make use of but. It was laborious to really hit a sufferer with the small object. To treatment this, I added a homing operate, so when the bell bought shut it could be pulled to the sufferer for a straightforward hit. With this, the item was lastly accessible for testing! We introduced the sport to a showcase at one among Indiana College’s First Thursdays, and the bell was a convincing success! After a number of iterations and going through some robust bugs in implementation, it was nice to see success on the opposite facet, having now turned a bug to repair right into a flagship characteristic for our mission.
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