[SUPPORT] Advanced Turn Based Tile Toolkit

[Monokkel]

Good news, everyone. As an unprecedented event I actually managed to complete the update before my estimated date. Since this is a moderate refactoring I'd normally consider delaying release until the next engine update, in order to keep the current live version stored by Epic as the 4.22 version of the toolkit. However, the changes between the 4.21 and 4.22 for this toolkit were small enough that I don't think this will be a big problem, as people could simply download and convert the 4.21 version. Also, if the next engine version is released while I'm on vacation I'd prefer not to spend time testing and updating then.

The main change in this update is a complete refactoring of the Turn Manager. I found the old version to be clunky and cumbersome; the result of trying to squeeze multiple turn systems into a D&D-like skeleton. One of the things developing this toolkit has taught me is that modularity is the key to flexibility, and so I've made sure the new Turn Manager is easily modifiable. Because of this I've included three turn managers. The base one is an XCOM-style setup with one faction at a time having their turn. The child actor variants is a D&D-style turn manager with an initiative based turn order and a more Fire Emblem/strategy game style turn manager very similar to the XCOM one, but where units are not selected automatically.

I will of course need to make a new tutorial video on this, which is a bit annoying, as the TurnManager one is fairly recent. This I almost certainly won't get done before my vacation, however, so hopefully the new TurnManger is intuitive enough for people. If not, just let me know in this thread.

Update details:

v2.3 (Pending)

• Refactored Turn Manager
• Added variant Turn Managers similar to XCOM, D&D and Fire Emblem, respectively
• Simplified and optimized unit ownership for networked multiplayer
• Added display of range and movement when selecting enemy units
• Added WASD for movement and TAB for unit switching.

hi knut

I thought so, thank you very much for the explanation

cheers

leo

No worries. Be aware that although I see no reason why you should have any issues, I have done most of my testing on grids with the standard tile size. If you encounter any problems, please let me know. Such an issue would likely look like something shifted a bit north-west of where you would expect it to be. But like I said, I doubt you'll see anything like that.

[Pharros]

Nothing like that is built-in, but the procedural line-trace system I've included for auto-generating grids based on underlying terrain should work well in tandem with many other types of procedural generation. As long as you make your generated tiles conform to the dimensions of the grid and have the floors block PathTrace and walls block WallTrace you should be fine.

hey thanks for getting back so quickly. sorry what i meant was more of a random generation of tile placement as opposed to random terrain generation. Similar to how XCOM generates their plots and parcels.I did try to modify the instance creation of the grid manager but had no luck in getting it to randomize tiles. It only winded up choosing one or the other for the entire grid despite the random function being ran per iteration of the forloop.

[EagleEyeGamma]

Hello, i was wondering how I can make unique tiles that gives units abilities. However, from what I've made it seems to pass the ability to the camera rather than the unit.

[Skulldug]

Hello Dr. Thanks for getting the update out so quick, it just arrived in my vault and am going to check it out once it's downloaded. Have a great holiday and I will be checking in here to help as much as I can, I am sure others here will do the same, as you have some very talented users here.

[jh0620]

Hello, I'm using ATBTT well. By the way, when will the function of a large unit become perfect?
I have to solve the problem that I see on the screen shot.
I need a large unit to navigate through the red dotted line..
Please teach me the way.

[Monokkel]

hey thanks for getting back so quickly. sorry what i meant was more of a random generation of tile placement as opposed to random terrain generation. Similar to how XCOM generates their plots and parcels.I did try to modify the instance creation of the grid manager but had no luck in getting it to randomize tiles. It only winded up choosing one or the other for the entire grid despite the random function being ran per iteration of the forloop.

I think I understood what you meant, but I should have been clearer in my answer. The toolkit does not have any procedural map building built in, but the line trace grid generation system should work well with many other procedural generation systems (several of which are available on the marketplace). You can of course run your own solution, and ATBTT gives you some things you can use. If all you want is to place random meshes on all tiles you could for instance create an array of meshes, loop through all of these and create an instanced static mesh component for each. Store a reference to each ISM in an array and loop through all grid indexes, picking from your tile ISMs and placing an instance for each. That is a potential starting point.

Hello, i was wondering how I can make unique tiles that gives units abilities. However, from what I've made it seems to pass the ability to the camera rather than the unit.

Could you explain what you want to achieve in a bit more detail? Do you for instance want a tile a unit can move on so that the unit gains a new ability (say from picking up a gun), or are you talking about something else?

Hello Dr. Thanks for getting the update out so quick, it just arrived in my vault and am going to check it out once it's downloaded. Have a great holiday and I will be checking in here to help as much as I can, I am sure others here will do the same, as you have some very talented users here.

Good to hear, Skulldug. I've found that providing support for game developers is fantastic compared to the horror stories one hears about other kinds of software support. People here are generally knowledgable, self-driven and tech-savvy, which makes things so much easier.

Hello, I'm using ATBTT well. By the way, when will the function of a large unit become perfect?
I have to solve the problem that I see on the screen shot.
I need a large unit to navigate through the red dotted line..
Please teach me the way.

Hi, I'm afraid I cannot see your screenshot. Could you try reuploading or adding a link? As for your question, I'm not sure big unit functionality will ever be "perfect". I've learned while developing this toolkit that every new feature added makes adding new features in the future more complicated, since they need to work together with every other feature. The large unit stuff affects so much other stuff (pathfinding, visibility, targeting of abilities, display of ability areas of effect etc. etc.) that making it work with everything else is prohibitively time consuming.

Still, I believe the underlying system I've made is solid and can be built upon by anyone who needs big units in their game. However, be aware that having big units in your game will require a lot of extra work. I can help you in this support thread with any specific problems you run into along the way.

[jh0620]

OK. I uploaded the screen shot again.
I'm talking about Big Unit Pathfinding.
My only wish is that pathfinding is perfect.
Please look at my screen shot again and answer me.

[Monokkel]

OK. I uploaded the screen shot again.
I'm talking about Big Unit Pathfinding.
My only wish is that pathfinding is perfect.
Please look at my screen shot again and answer me.

Hmm, it works fine when I'm testing it. What version are you using? What variables have you altered on the GridManager and units?

[leo bar]

hi knut


For some reason, I find it difficult to apply something that I thought will be simple enough, I hope that you may be able to direct me to the right place.

I tried to create the effect of the outline for the tile marker (similar to your 2d example)

I used the PostProcessVolume in the level and used the PP_Outline but its not working.

can you explain the steps I have to do to make it work?

By the way, the last upgrade you did to the turn manager really fixes a lot of the difficulties that were in the past (I have not checked it In depth)

thanks in advance

leo


leo

[Monokkel]

Hey all, after looking into the big unit stuff for jh0620 I realized that I'd forgotted to fix something in the newest update, causing marker meshes to not resize and reposition appropriately for big units (this is unrelated to jh0620's reported issue, which I have not been able to replicate). I also tested out a few other things and realized I was a bit quick to send out the last update without doing some more testing. Just some very minor changes related to the example maps (Hydra's Lair and JungleRaid). See my Trello for details (see the v.2.31 card). I have sent a new update to Epic already.

hi knut

For some reason, I find it difficult to apply something that I thought will be simple enough, I hope that you may be able to direct me to the right place.

I tried to create the effect of the outline for the tile marker (similar to your 2d example)

I used the PostProcessVolume in the level and used the PP_Outline but its not working.

can you explain the steps I have to do to make it work?

By the way, the last upgrade you did to the turn manager really fixes a lot of the difficulties that were in the past (I have not checked it In depth)

thanks in advance

leo

Here are the steps:

1) Copy the PostProcessVolume from the 2D map
2) In whatever ability you are using select the TileMarkers you want to render in custom depth. Set their material to something non-translucent (DefaultMaterial, for instance) and in its rendering settings set RenderInMainPass to false and RenderCustomDepth to true.

That should do it. Note that it can often look a bit wonky in a 3D-world, though, but it depends a lot on your levels.

[leo bar]

thanks knut, didn't put

RenderInMainPass to false. its working fine

cheers

leo

[Pharros]

I think I understood what you meant, but I should have been clearer in my answer. The toolkit does not have any procedural map building built in, but the line trace grid generation system should work well with many other procedural generation systems (several of which are available on the marketplace). You can of course run your own solution, and ATBTT gives you some things you can use. If all you want is to place random meshes on all tiles you could for instance create an array of meshes, loop through all of these and create an instanced static mesh component for each. Store a reference to each ISM in an array and loop through all grid indexes, picking from your tile ISMs and placing an instance for each. That is a potential starting point.

I've tried this method a couple times and despite the output log verifying a random index from said array per iteration on the forloop, the entire grid's tiles still instantiate from one sole element from the array. Any idea why this may be?

output log

modified bp

[EagleEyeGamma]

Thank you for responding. I hope to achieve multiple effects such as allowing a unit to move again, giving them an ability and/or to do damage around them. Also when tested out my current panels it should give them an ability however it seem that instead of the unit's hitbox registering it hitting the camera hitbox instead for passing on an ability.

[Monokkel]

thanks knut, didn't put

RenderInMainPass to false. its working fine

cheers

leo

Jolly good

I've tried this method a couple times and despite the output log verifying a random index from said array per iteration on the forloop, the entire grid's tiles still instantiate from one sole element from the array. Any idea why this may be?

output log

modified bp

You have not fully understood how instanced static meshes work. When you create an instanced static mesh component, all instances tied to that component must use the same mesh. You are changing the mesh of the component, which causes all instances tied to that component to change. If you want different tiles you need multiple different components (one for each mesh). You can use multiple AddInstancedStaticMeshComponent nodes, set the static mesh of each and store the output (of AddInstanced...) in an array of instanced static mesh components. Perhaps you have three instanced (grass, dirt, stone). When you want to add a stone tile you would get element 3 from the instanced static mesh component array and add an instance of this component to the world.

Thank you for responding. I hope to achieve multiple effects such as allowing a unit to move again, giving them an ability and/or to do damage around them. Also when tested out my current panels it should give them an ability however it seem that instead of the unit's hitbox registering it hitting the camera hitbox instead for passing on an ability.

I recommend checking out the 2D example (in the Maps/2D folder). In this map there are examples of picking up weapons, healing potions and trigger plates.

[Luthervian]

Hello, been following this since i purchased it some time ago. I like that it keeps getting updates and improvements. I would like to make a hex grid that is not rectangular in shape, but "hexagonal", that is, it extends out a radius of hexes from a central hex. Does ATBTT currently support this and I don't see it? If not, is this something that is doable with minor tinkering to the hex grid BP?