Blog Archives

Shift to Blockout Basics

6/27/2023

Like 1 hour
Felt the motivation waning when trying to get back working on unfinished Item pick-up, Inv, and UI systems. Decided I'm (shocker) too getting caught up on unnecessary bits. Just because I can conceptualize them technically and think they'd be cool and add a lot, doesn't mean the should be the immediate priority. A core gameplay loop being complete sooner than later I'd think should be the actual priority. If this is ultimately meant to be an LD showcase, then systems should be barebones to exist as the framework with which I showcase some solid world building and gameplay forward LD.
Started very basics of duping the base level and making an interior meant to introduce the climbing mechanics and stealth plus a separate level for blocking out the city street, docks, and sewers I have in mind as the ideal gameplay setting.
Also know I want to strategically unplug a lot of the unfinished systems so that playtesting wont have me negging myself when I have the instinct to utilize said systems and then get frustrated when they don't work exactly how I want lol.

Inv states transitions tedious when tired

6/14/2023

Like an hour and change
Mucked around with all inv and inv UI systems to fix baby bugs but also update function to quick take out as well as store. Didn't finish that. Also added an "empty" icon and frame for inv slot UI. They look okay but also bad. Inching towards more function but also too tired for too many good fixes.
Why am I making an Inventory system dang it. I should actually design doc the flow states for this before smacking my head against more tired code b4 cut/flip the table for less systems and more LD.

Inv Selective Storing and Withdrawing

6/13/2023

2 Hours
Finished the UI logic and have a blue highlight for the currently selected slot. Only shows when while the Inv_UI is out (while selecting).
Releasing selection with an item in-hand, successfully stores that item in the specifically selected slot.
Also my impatient ass got a jury rigged function of the opposite when the hand is empty, grabbing the inv slot's item ID, spawning a new item of said actor class, and immediately attaching it to the player's hand. As if it was the same item stored before. Its buggy as hell and basically doesn't work, but I got the knife to spawn in my hand after storing it at least once before the night was out woo.

UI Inv Basics

6/12/2023

Hour and a half
Started the basic logic within the UI to accept a separate numbers to identify the Inventory Slot and an Item ID. Thus to dynamically change the correct slot to the correct icon whenever a particular item is stored.

Click or Hold Logic

6/8/2023

An hour
Logic for distinguishing between a left and right mouse click versus holding to eventually connect to different contextual functions.
Example: a right click stores a held item (deletes it at the moment) where holding right for a second will open the inv UI and then letting go with close it.

Icons, Alt Items, and Throwing

6/7/2023

Very on and off across like 6 hours, maybe actually only 3.5 in total but idk
WANTED to combine the fixed pick-up function and basic UI with array logic for holding actors in specific inv slots and showing them in the UI with paint 3D icons I made while playing dnd.
Made the icons, pleasantly happy with them even with the hindsight of scope creep banging me head against something completely different for the rest of the night.
Before making any other item BPs, figure I should make a basic item BP template - ez
Decide to make a new item off duped off it, to test everything working. Decide the most basic option is rock.
Ez rock texture spheres, basically works. Dumb me decides I should now jump into making it an object with physics collisions and give it the primary "use" function of throwing it. Rest of the night is wrestling with code that supports repeat said physics, picking up, and throwing. In the end only really throwing kind of works. The physics and pick-up is very buggy at the moment and I need to sleep.
Id love throwing for AI distraction or combat but its more than I can chew for now when I originally intended to just get the Inv to work
Oh yeah also while clicking through a "throw rock" tutorial, I stole super simple random enemy AI pathfinding (something I should actually be focusing on for a gameplay vertical slice and dammit I know that).
Action items should be, allow myself to have the pick up, store, and take out basic Inv system, ACTUALLY give enemies set spline path walking, look for player, and follow player pathfinding behaviors (plus a way to damage/fail state player), then finally actually start building and dressing a blockout level. (Fingers crossed I jump to the latter before getting stuck on all that AI....)

Fixed it

6/6/2023

1 hour
Dispatcher on item bp before doing ANYTHING references player it casted to on begin and compares the player's "currently selected actor" with itself before proceeding to "pick up". w00t

Pick up and Use through Dispatchers

6/5/2023

2 Hours
Dug into trying to understand event dispatchers so I could use them for contextual item use.
- Successfully set up logic for grabbing the knife with my select system and "storing" (deleting atm) it with said dispatchers - but haven't connected exactly how to separate the pick up dispatch from every other instance of said item. (Right now grabbing one knife, grabs all of them)
I'm sure I'll work it out when less tired, just hoping it'll be more elegant of a solution than checking every individual item tag every time.

Item Selection

6/4/2023

3 Hours
Set up the basics of a system for detecting nearby objects tagged as "Item" and then highlighting the nearest of them to where the first person camera is "looking" by moving a point light and toggling it visible.
- Meant to eventually function as an intuitive process for selecting amongst a variety of nearby items to pick-up and then use or store in the inventory bar.

Start UI Inv Bar

6/1/2023

2 Hours
Had the idea for consistent interaction usage for any kind "items". At least anything the player can pick-up. Right now its just the knife/weapon. Though throwable junk, keys, usables, etc would be nice to have and be maintained by a consistent system of, "you need a free hand to pick-up" and items need to be stores in the limited hot-bar or dropped to have said free hand.
TLDR I started making a UI hot-bar and an animation of it sliding in and out of the bottom of the screen.

Gutter Dev Log

Shift to Blockout Basics

Inv states transitions tedious when tired

Inv Selective Storing and Withdrawing

UI Inv Basics

Click or Hold Logic

Icons, Alt Items, and Throwing

Fixed it

Pick up and Use through Dispatchers

Item Selection

Start UI Inv Bar

Pitch

Goal

Timeline

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