Watched a lot of stuff today. A video on game optimization, which I need to always keep in mind so that I have the best performance no matter what console I launch to. I am not an expert on textures or materials so I was afraid some of the objects I had were taking up too much memory and I think I was able to pull down the memory usage a little by going through most of the objects I was using and making them less detailed. Going forward I always have to keep in mind the detail of the things I am adding to the level. Gotta keep track of lots of stats to make sure things stay pristine.
I watched a quick course on animation fundamentals, nothing new but it was nice to be reminded of the simple things. My current goal is to clean up and add more animations to the character. I improved the jumping animation a bit, but it doesn’t look too great at high speeds. I found out how to call an event when the player lands on the ground, so if the character falls from a certain height it now does a roll. I need to fix the animations for the character when he is strafing. I have improved the lock-on system a bit, but it’s still a bit wonky with the camera and the rotations. There’s a lot I don’t understand yet. I need to do some testing to figure out how to find a sweet spot for the animations of the character. It’s all about using the necessary variables and tuning the animations to match whatever the output should be. So if the character is going left at this speed the animation should match that. I’m definitely getting a better grasp on how to use many of the animation tools of the engine, but I need to continue to master it.
I had some issues with importing certain animations, and I’m more inclined to use animations from the marketplace since they’re usually of great quality. At least for now I can get the proper functions working then eventually I can plug in good animation. Though it would be better if I did it hand and hand so I can adjust certain variables such as speed on the fly.
The character is certainly becoming more dynamic and layered. With no prior game development knowledge I am relying on my experience as a player to guide me on what feels right from the perspective of, well, a player. Onward and upward.
GoldenGratus Games 