February 2023

Game master tools and control

I went through a lot of refactoring regarding how I set up and manage the game master’s tools. There is no visible change in-game, but it will be much easier for me to create and edit tools, to manage calls, player input, tooltips, interfaces, visual effects, and so on. Currently, all is structured with modules and configuration files.

I also took the opportunity, during this refactoring, to prepare some scripts that shall be used later. These are mostly related to floating buttons and clickable areas.

A new tool has also been created for the game master, allowing to control Talas in general static situations, such as beds, chairs, doors...

Gameplay Ability System

I had to update most game scripts to integrate the GAS Framework. This will help me manage modular features better. For the time being, I have only added the framework but still need to study it in order to use it properly.

This allowed me to notice a few bugs tied to the game engine, caused by Blueprint files metadatas that I cannot fix without creating the BluePrint from scratch.

I lost quite a good deal of time because of this. I will speak further about it when I return to this matter.

Bed Animations and Aim Offset

I created new animations for Talas when he lays in bed. As of now, there is nothing definitive as I mostly do research and development. I added a pose on the back, and one on his front. I also had to rescale the bed as it was too small for this purpose.

I also worked on animations making one rotate, but I am still not convinced by the results.

I shall keep working on new animations in order to make Talas feel more alive.

Rig And Camera Control

To control one’s head animation and orientation depending on the camera’s position is more complexe than it seems, especially in my case. I will also need to think about the AI’s line of sight that doesn’t work at all like the player controlled camera.

I firstly reworked its rig in order to be able to position and orientate the reference point through animation.

I then used my own algorithms that will convert the player controlled camera or the AI’s vision into a point on a 2D plan, using a point of reference. I then use that point to choose an animation and orientate Talas’ head.

(The yellow dot on the left screen is the one used by the AI)

What took the most time was to update those different algorithms as there are plenty of configurations to take into account. I also need to make sure the accuracy is perfect to avoid lag.