Firstly, I've had a bit of a busy couple of weeks so there's been a bigger than intended delay between posts, sorry!
E-GRID
So I've been spending time getting the E-GRID functional, alongside a lot of time bug fixing it - as it affects my other mechanics directly it caused a lot of issues when things were happening at unintended times, which meant all of my visual scripts needed tweaking to accommodate for this.
The E-GRID is a deploy-able, as opposed to being scattered throughout the environment - I made this choice as it proved to make the environment look rather messy when they were everywhere. The player is to hold down the required input key/button, which will cause the grid to spawn and move out in a vector that's forward from the camera. When the player lets go, or the E-GRID hits a maximum distance away from the player, the E-GRID stops. Pressing the input again will recall the E-GRID, allowing the player to redeploy it as they see fit. Passing through it will buff the next ability the player does - jump, grapple, wall run, and turns the bounce into a double jump. Performing one of these actions expends the E-GRID charge, and the player must pass through another should they intend to boost their next action. The E-GRID also cannot be deployed whilst the player is airborne/on a wall to avoid exploitation, e.g. infinite jumps.
I have been advised that it would look better aesthetically to have the E-GRID look more magical, so if I find the time I intend to have it look a little more runic, like the spells titular character Doctor Strange can cast in the 2016 movie - this is by no means a priority though and will be a polish thing towards the end of the project.
Level One (ex-Hub World)
Alongside producing and refining the E-GRID, changes have been made to the "Hub World" level. Firstly, the idea of it being a Hub World has been scrapped in the way of making it a somewhat linear tutorial section to teach the player the basics of the wall run, grapple and bounce, and the interaction between them. It was nonsensical for me to bother producing any type of hub due to the fact that there is now only going to be one other level.
Beyond this, the tutorial level is almost fully set dressed and lit, as well as atmospheric options like fog and particle effects being implemented. The level is coming together great, and (dare I say it) is about 90% complete. The only things that are missing are text cues that tell the player how to use their abilities, and also some refinements to the final section that will lead in to the main level.
Should I find the time I would like to return to this level later on and add some external geometry, just to add some more life in to the environment.
The crystals indicate points that the player is able to grapple to (see the top of the above image)
This portal will mark the transition into the next level.
Here is an unlit, albeit foggy, screenshot so you can get an understanding of the layout of the level - the right hand side will be altered to allow for the bounce mechanic to be introduced more effectively.
I have also done a little work on the main level, primarily just to break up what I was looking at - playing dot to dot with blueprints for hours sometimes gets a little tedious if you ask me, so a change of pace is always nice.
I've opted for a snowy environment for the main level. It will, in terms of aesthetic and function, largely contrast the design of the other level. The other level is designed to teach you mechanics, whereas this level is here to allow you to implement them in a satisfying manner that requires the player to plan their approach to scenarios. My next post will detail this a little further as i begin to properly block it out. I should also have a video of the tutorial level ready by the end of next week.
Thanks for reading!
Trav.
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