Tasks Undertaken
Camera Effects and NVIDIA Plugin
- Added camera fade on player death.
- Implemented camera fade to black upon player death.
- Added Lib files to the NVIDIA plugin.
Cleanup and Fixes
- Deleted the Plugins/nvidia/DLSS/Binaries directory.
- Deleted the Plugins/nvidia/DLSS/Intermediate directory.
- Fixed AI not moving in the sub-level by placing a NavMeshBox in the master level.
- Fixed NavMesh issues and changed TSR to MSAA.
- Fixed AI not moving in the sub-level by placing a NavMeshBox in the master level.
- Changed TSR to MSAA and set it to 8x.
- Removed TSR commands from the DefaultEngine script.
Documentation and UI Updates
- Updated README.md.
- Added loading percentage to the loading screen.
- Implemented switching loading screen tips.
- Updated spaceship blueprint.
Input and Enemy Behavior
- Disabled Tick on enemies on Start for optimization.
- Changed keyboard crouching from 'Left Control' to 'C'.
- Changed controller jumping from 'Oculus B' (LaserBeamRight) to 'Oculus A' (AlternateGripRight).
- Increased Max Age of hearing sense for enemies.
- Created a test setup for ranged enemy behavior.
- Removed debug (Sensed sight/Sound/Damage) in AIC_Enemy_Base.
- Made enemy lose sight of the player after a certain amount of seconds.
- Added collision trigger that changes the states for selected enemies.
- Changed Niagara on projectile from destroy to deactivate.
- Created static ranged enemy that only moves when the player is not in sight (best option for
pillars).
pillars).
Projectile System
- Added projectile throwing to the ranged enemy.
- Implemented projectile effects.
- Updated projectile Niagra system.
- Added damage calculation for projectiles.
Spaceship Blueprint Improvements
- Improved main spaceship blueprint.
- Enhanced children blueprints for every room in the spaceship.
- Finished the ship layout.
- Set up all rooms in separate blueprints.
- Combined all rooms in the master blueprint.
- Imported new company logos and added them to the main menu.
Animation and Prop Fixes
- Added animation for the spaceship staircase.
- Cleaned up the stair animation.
- Limited the animation to only what needs to be changed.
- Adjusted the animation to fit the length of the animated frames.
- Changed the level blueprint to start and set the speed of the animation.
- Added staircase to L_Spaceship.
- Placed stairs in L_Spaceship.
- Configured stairs to open on start.
Visual and Miscellaneous Improvements
- Made arrow trail shorter and more transparent.
- Fixed prop issues.
AI and Loading Improvements
- Fixed enemies going to attack state from frozen state.
- Added loading percentage to the loading screen.
- Implemented switching loading screen tips.
Overall Gameplay and User Experience
- Updated spaceship blueprint.
- Improved ship blueprint.
- Organized hierarchy.
- Snapped enemies to ground level.
- Updated company logos in the main menu.
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Double Diamond
Discover
In the initial phase of the project, I delved into understanding and discovering the key areas requiring improvement and enhancement. This involved identifying user experience issues, performance bottlenecks, and gameplay inefficiencies. During the the initial exploration process, I discovered the need for camera effects on player death, optimization of enemy ticks, and the integration of NVIDIA plugin improvements.
Define
Following the discovery phase, I defined specific goals and challenges based on the identified areas for improvement. The focus shifted towards addressing the defined issues. I set clear objectives such as implementing camera fades (Figure 1), refining the input system, and optimizing enemy behavior. The detailed breakdown includes reorganizing code directories, fixing NavMesh problems in the sublevel, updating input controls, and organizing and splitting up the spaceship blueprint into separate child blueprints per room (Figure 2).
Develop
With a well-defined roadmap, I transitioned into the development phase, where the implementation of improvements took place. In the development process, I executed several tasks such as enhancing the spaceship blueprint, refining (stair) animations (Figure 3), implementing tips to the loading screen (Figure 4), and adding projectile throwing to the ranged enemy (Figure 5 & 6 & 7). This phase involved hands-on coding, testing, and iteration to ensure each implemented feature aligned with the defined goals.
Deliver
Deliver
The final phase involved delivering a polished and refined list of done tasks. The section above showcases the organized commit list with a comprehensive breakdown of changes. This includes documentation updates, visual enhancements, and overall gameplay improvements. The deliverable reflects not only the initial goals but also the iterative process of refining and optimizing the project based on feedback and playtesting.
Throughout the double diamond of this week, my focus remained on addressing user needs, optimizing gameplay elements, and delivering an enhanced gaming experience. The iterative nature of the process allowed for continuous refinement, ensuring that each phase contributed to the overall improvement of the project.
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Research
This week, I spend most of my time working on the complete spaceship blueprint and the projectile throwing of the enemy. Most of my tasks were done with already existing knowledge, or trial and error.
People
- Tycho Tuitert: General feedback and discussions throughout the week.
- Quint de Winter: Brainstorm discussion about how we should structure the spaceship blueprint.
Internet
- How to use Suggest Projectile Velocity: https://youtu.be/mHofF0ddts0?si=r0ysraDVbKGitUA1
- Correct usage of Child Actor Components: https://store.algosyntax.com/tutorials/unreal-engine/unreal-engine-child-actor-component/
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Reflections and Learning
This week consisted mostly of working on, and organizing, the complete spaceship blueprint and projectile throwing of the ranged enemy.
For the complete spaceship, Quint and I discussed the best structure for the spaceship to optimize the performance. I did a bit of research and ended up with Child Actor Components. We decided to use one for every room. This allowed for better accessibility, since multiple people can work on the spaceship without making merge conflicts in the same blueprint (since every room has its own blueprint).
Working on projectile throwing for the ranged enemy was very fun. It allowed me to do a bit of math that was needed for the launch speed and end location. I went through various variations, but with the help of a YouTube video I found, I got the best result.
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Figures
Figure 1 - Camera fade on death
Figure 2 - Master blueprint of the spaceship with child blueprints for every room
Figure 3 - Animation of the staircase
Figure 4 - Loading screen with loading percentage and hints that renew after amount of seconds
Figure 5 - The ranged enemy throwing a projectile
Figure 6 - Improved version of the ranged enemy that can attack when no path it found
