All is fine thank you for asking.
Just solved a few problems i run into.
i wanted to have a kinda automatic system for all settings. As always it is more work as i thought at first but i am basicly done with it.
I solved the problem with the slowdown with this much data within the engine simply through moving all to cpp code. All works great so far after removing some logical mistakes.
Only left to do is Weapon upgrade system, displaying the highscores and change the system settings to use much bigger buttons to be more lightgun friendly.
And of course the look of all menus. it is set up for testing at the moment, so other fonts, colors and images will be needet.
As the Lightgun basicly works the same as a mouse it is the same simple click event. But i only own the Sinden Lightgun for testing at the moment.
But i was told it works also out of the box with other Lightguns, so i guess the work kinda the same.
I was actually thinking Mouse Interaction, but Lightgun support is even more awesome. I can easily imagine the DieToSurvive Lightgun Bundle or at minimum a QRCode/URL within the game to Your store front to order one.
Seems like i misunderstood, was thinking about this. I guess you meant if it looks like you would shoot at the buttons.
So just display a new image after hit with a bullet hole.
Did not think about this but i will put this under suggestions in my trello to come back to it at a later point with the final images. I like fancy stuff like this, you dont really notice if they are there but you miss them if they are not there
I tested a lot of things for such shoot to interact cases, so activate or deactivate traps, select another path trough a level and stuff like this also. works really almost perfect as far i can tell for now.
I was just get rid of the test levels for backup reasons. a full backup of the whole project files is ~70gb right now with only the demo level.
This is also a resaon i try to do only basic things within the blueprints like dataassets. They are perfect if you dont want to save what is used in there like factory settings. a source file backup is a joke it is only about 50 MB.
But finally i am really very close to start again doing the levels and at least show something that is not as boring as a menue.
Someone i know ask me if it is possible to do a vr version of the game. I need to try this also first, this would mean to build the levels another way, bacause of the freedom you have with looking around at least. Still sooo much to do i unterestimate this project and the time needet to create something fun a lot
I tested a lot of things for such shoot to interact cases, so activate or deactivate traps, select another path trough a level and stuff like this also. works really almost perfect as far i can tell for now.
I’m very pleased to hear this. I had a strong suspicion it would work well as my desire to develop a Next Gen Railshooter is great.
In my opinion, VR is sort of a shoo-in for Railshooters. Many VR games operate like the ancestor of Railshooters, the Gallery Shooter. In a Gallery Shooter, the Player is stationary, but can shoot in many directions.
In the earlier days of modern the teleport movement was common. I was never a fan of teleport movement and glad we have full movement nowadays.
However, my quest is pulling off a "Fun" Railshooter on a Desktop. Player Control over Weapons is a known fact, so I have to solve computer control of avatar's body and camera. I've been seeking out solutions to dynamically control the Camera and Avatar Movement and Actions Procedurally and Manually.
Procedural Method # 1 - AI Avatar:
Players select Goal Location via Shoot-to-Interact at runtime within the Environment via Dynamic/Static 3D Menu and Derailers (Rail/Route Switch Triggers).
Player only controls Weapons {Weapon Aim / Reticle and Projectile Firing} and Utilities.
Avatar AI {Native AI Controller, Behavior Tree, &Navigation} Moves and Animates the Player’s Avatar towards the Goal Location.
Camera AI controls the Camera’s Mount and Focus.
Manual Method # 1 - CoPilot in which 2 Players control a Single Avatar:
Player A
Selects Goal Location via Shoot-to-Interact at runtime within the Environment via Dynamic/Static 3D Menu and Derailers (Rail/Route Switch Triggers).
Only controls Weapons {Weapon Aim / Reticle and Projectile Firing} and Utilities.
Player B
Controls Moves and Animates the Avatar towards the Goal Location.
This is pretty simple if you know how to do it. If you move on a spline you just need to end it where you want to switch a path. To start the selected Path you can do it like i do with the “Start sign” in the demo. The prinzip is kinda the same.
I just finished today the upgrade system for weapons. Was a little tricky with all the changes and checks it needs, but finally it is working as i want it to. Still the dev buttons for testing in there and no final images but the system itself from a coding view is finished.
Purchasing Weapons and Upgrades is going to be a Sweet. Its a mechanic that I do enjoy in games, if FREE lol. Terminator Salvation dropped the 2 to 3 upgrades in the level as you played and you had to shoot the one you wanted to activate. The method created a since of urgency to pick the upgrade that did most damage while under attack.
I’m not sure how the player purchases upgrades in Die to Survive. Is during intermission before each level start? I ask this question with consideration to immersion breaking. But after an instance move thru of intense action, the player could use a small break. The only break in Terminator was the Score / Bonus after clearing a Level and you were thrown back into the action.
I can easily imagine upgrade drops during play in which the upgrade has two buttons, one on the left and right side. The player uses shoot-to-interact on the buttons to cycle thru upgrades as they fall. Shoot the upgrade in the middle of the buttons to select. Only upgrades you have cash for are made in the cycle.
This is pretty simple if you know how to do it. If you move on a spline you just need to end it where you want to switch a path. To start the selected Path you can do it like i do with the “Start sign” in the demo. The prinzip is kinda the same.
I don’t use splines for movement. I use AI and Path Navigation to control the Avatar Body movement/animation and create route dynamically. Players only controls Weapon Crosshairs. Aiming is procedural, based on Crosshairs. When a new path is selected, a new goal target is selected. The AI Body navigates to the goal with MoveTo function. I have the option for the player to select their own Goal Target to navigate to.
Of course it is free, at least from paying real money for weapons :).
I use the same for this like HotD, in fact it is very close to the “HotD Overkill” game. Just loved how they handel this. I think taking good ideas and use them as base is good, so you can try to make it even better.
I use placed curreny, you can shoot them and later spend it to buy/upgrade weapons.
Works kinda this way:: Select → GameMode → Level/DIf → Loadout and in this menu you can switch tu buy/upgrade weapons.
Then the player can always decide wich way to go. Cant really do this the way i set up all. But, and this is why it takes so long. I can turn the core code into any direction, first/third person, VR and even top down.
But the first goal is to finish the rail shooter as i have it anounced.
Here is a short vid of a function test for the upgrade system.
Still needs changes, the colors and images for example. But it is working now how i wanted it to be.
Only leaderboards left to do from the coding side. Then i can finnaly start again working on the levels.
Looking Awesome. I have to admit I would like to see my Money/Cost in larger font maybe even color coded. But my eyesight is declining so I need big fonts. Not sure how all this microfiche font became popular. lol.
Thank you, i liked the font but it is kinda hard to read. And white color does also not really help to see them better on a bright background.
I have planed to change this a long time ago, just always forgett it. It was more important to get the code working. It looks simple, but it was tricky to figure out how it works the way i want, as always.
i dont like to criticize during mid dev. take it as moreso a joke. i have grips with microfiche font nowadays. all the text crammed on screens in general.
I appreciate your feedback. I do like feedback all the time, it doesn´t matter if good or bad . It is easy to overlook small but important things.
It is much harder to change code you think you are ready with at the end for example.
The main reason why i rework the whole menu and all the buttons to be much bigger was similar. I have seen a vid from someone who played the demo, and have seen how hard it is to hit the buttons with a lightgun (i also bught the used lightgun for testing).
So i decidet to do it now, even if nobody told me it could be better.
I think a menu should be simple and easy to handle, with less clicks as possible. I want to play a game and not navigate minutes trough menus, that is kinda boring.
Here is something more fun to watch. I finished the Weapon system and addet also new FireModes for a few Weapons. Not sure wich one i will use this at the moment.
Now it can be changed between Single/Burst/Automatic. Not sure if i should make this available so players can switch at runtime the modes.
But i think would be a good idea, i love to have the freedom to do what i want and do not like restrictions. Balancing later on the other hand could be a nightmare.
A short test for weapons reload animations.
I is a little tricky to do this within a very short time.
So i needet a little workaround. The fast loader for the revolver for example.
Good to see you my Friend. Could use Time Dilation to slow down external objects in the scene while the animation plays out. Also allow the player to manually trigger a animation speed boost for the reload if maintaining the same speed for external objects in the scene.
Thank you, Time Dilation sounds like a good option if you can turn on/off.
I was already testing this for the headshots, but i scraped the idea because it interupts to much the gameplay. The Function is still in the code and can be reused at any time. This should also work for reloading.
Was adding this animations because i got feedback would be nice to have more natural animations long ago.
I also wanted to test the this new Control Rig system inside of unreal. And i just can say i just love it. It is awesome to do this directly within the engine and see the results instant. No more live link or moving updated files around
