Greeting and welcome to newsletter # 9
The latest video dev log has been released on YouTube and can be found here:
Last Week:
The original plan last week was to work on rigging the guard model and importing it into Unreal then work on the dagger and choke animations but it took a bit longer then expected to make some fixes to the models to get them just right. Because of this I decided to switch gears and work on the weapon spawn effects and the design and visual style of the levels
I started by working on jump distances and created a test level to test the max distance and height the player could jump and grab onto ledges. This was needed so I could calibrate the height and distance of different areas of a module to ensure the player could only take specific paths if they didn’t have any movement upgrades
The numbers under each description in image above is the distance of the gap which I will use when designing different levels so I know if the player will be able to make the jump and if so how hard it will be. These numbers represent the maximum height and distance a player can jump without needing extra abilities or skills.
Each module or room that makes up a level will have platforms and ledges that are calibrated to block movement unless the player is augmented in some way. The procedural system will then be able to configure each room so that when combined into the rest of the level will creates a maze that can be solved. A solution might involve jumping down into an area you can’t climb back out of. The system will need to know you can’t get out the way you came and make sure you have another route of escape by dropping down into a room with a one way door back to the previous area you were in
So far I’ve only blocked out the first module but I’m really like where it is going and should be getting into the actual hard surface modeling and texturing of the environment this week
One of the other main things I worked on this week was the equip and unequip material for weapons. I used a dissolve material tutorial I found and blended it into my energy weapon material with a few tweaks. The tutorial I used can be found here.
I’m really liking how everything is coming together and I’m really looking forward to integrating these effects into the game to see how its all going to look together!
I did spend some time this week working with the 3D artist to get the final issues resolved on the guard model. There were just a few spots that needed tweaking but those issues are fixed now so its full steam ahead with rigging and animation.
Even though the guard model wasn’t perfect I was still able to import it into Unreal to get an idea of what its going to look like in game. There is still some tweaking to do with the materials but I’m really happy with the results
This Week:
- Integrate New Guard Models (For reals this time)
- Level Hard Modeling and Texture tests
- Start on Dagger and Choke animations (time permitting)
That is all for this update,
Tony D
Cronoforge Studios Inc