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Showing posts from August, 2014

Holiday

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It's holiday time! I'll be back soon, until then, stay frosty! - Rob

Misc. Updates, 19/08/14

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- When an enemy dies, and drops their weapon, it now has the correct force/speed. Previously, it was treated as a thrown weapon. Now it has a separate switch to make sure it doesn't fly off and potentially kill someone. - Weapon pick-ups now have a box indicating their presence and whereabouts, so the player can clearly distinguish between interactive objects and the environment. - Melee focused enemies now have an attack, which triggers within a certain range. Get swamped by two or more melee enemies and you'll take a serious beating. - When you take damage the screen shakes a minor amount, to indicate damage. I felt this was necessary as it is immediately noticeable, as opposed to the health box which is in the corner. I may go in tomorrow and make this a toggle-able option, as I imagine some players will not enjoy the effect.  - Enemies will now correctly chase the player, stopping and facing them if they see them. Previously, movement was the priority. However, t

Mission Objectives, and miscellaneous updates

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It's such a small thing, but it makes such a big difference in play testing. This text pops up when the objective for the level is completed, letting you know you've made it. Objectives are now set-up for Assassination and Elimination -- hunting a certain target, and floor clearing respectively.  I'm about to start working on the other two mission types -- Raid and Retrieval. Raid asks you to cause as much property damage as possible, while Retrieval tasks you with grabbing an important item and getting out in one piece. After these, reinforcements really are my number one priority. Additionally; - Created a new enemy type; the VIP (Target). - Holding the grenade key will determine how far the grenade is thrown. - The noise from a breaching charge detonation now attracts enemies. - Game now tracks stats for kills, damage taken, shots fired, accuracy ect. for post-mission assessment. I've noticed that I've been updating the blog less frequentl

Civilians -- Complete... ?

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Civilians now roam the map, moving to pre-placed "points of interest" and taking a look around. After a randomised delay they start to move again, to a different spot. Sounds really simple, but it wasn't! They still retain their flee behaviour too, so they'll run if they are spooked by something. I can't really think of any planned feature that's missing from them, so for now I'm calling this first pass on the Civilian done. I may add more in the future, but for now I'm moving on. The logic/script I created for finding, storing and selecting random nodes to move to - I'm going to adapt it for the enemies, so they can have a "roam" AI state. This'll most likely be for the reinforcement waves. Anyway I'm pushing it for time, better call it a night! -Rob

Civilians!

Last post I mentioned I was working on patrolling, melee and civilian A.I. Well, I've done.. one and a half of those things. I've had a busy week and I've been pretty exhausted, as you can imagine that has had a big effect on my output. I'm still chugging along though, so here are some things for your brain. Enemies are pretty docile until they notice something off; a dead body, a player holding a weapon, or a gunshot nearby. Once alerted (they chatter, so they alert each other) they'll jitter more, and shoot on sight. There are melee and ranged enemies, the biggest new thing here being that melee enemies will try and get close to you and hit you with sharp objects. At the moment they don't attack, but that's just one script I've got to write. Civilians are pretty chill until they hear a gunshot, see a body, or see you running at them with a loaded shotgun. They bail for the nearest exit when they get scared. Unlike guards, they don't have a hi

First August Update!

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Wow, has it really been a week since I updated? Where did the week go!? Well, a lot of planning / tweaking has been going on, but obviously they're too small to report on. Here are a few things to mention, though; Thrown weapons will not bounce off walls; they used to use the same logic as grenades but I've corrected that now. They'll lose a lot of force when they impact, meaning they'll just drop down. Enemy A.I reacts to sound; gunshots will draw them over to investigate. The silenced pistol has the smallest range, and the shotgun currently has the largest report. So, firing a shotgun off will call most of the map, whereas a handgun will only bring in the next room or so. It's not realistic, I know, but the idea is that the tradeoff of heavier firearms is that you lose all hope for a stealthier approach. There are silenced weapons; silenced pistols, SMG's and Rifles will be available. These will have reduced damage however, and will be rarer. Here