Got a new animation asset for a spear. It is great and I spent all day making sure that all the animations plugged in properly to the boss. Then I adjusted the spear so it would be properly equipped and stored the variable information I needed for it to go into the right position. I quickly added water effects to the footsteps because the level is a bit wet after all.
The boss has important variables that need to be changed when switching weapons so I created a macro for the vital stat changes. It helps so I know what always needs to be tweaked and I can change it easily when I feel like it.
I experimented in unreal and I tried creating this thing called a function library. Apparently it creates something that can be called no matter where in the project. I should have been doing this awhile back because there is a lot of time it could save. The first function I created was for an audio visual cue. So sound and effects. Usually I do it in the same place very often so this was a good function to start out with. I used it for the boss and it was magical because I could call it without worry. I wish I had learned about it earlier.
It got quite annoying to keep going back and forth switching variables on the boss just to see if I adjusted the positions of the weapons right. To make it easier I put the macro for weapon switching on the construction graph which is called as soon as the blueprint is compiled. With that I can see any immediate changes and adjust variables on the fly. I do feel so much more adept with Unreal. It is satisfying.
Though I did accidentally copy the wrong values into a certain variable so I had to go back and find the correct value. It wasn’t too hard but it was frustrating. I gave the boss her own footstep effects and wit the spear in the perfect position it was time to add all the attacks.
The asset I got has some amazing attacks. And this will definitely be a hard boss to fight. I tested the parrying and the timing is difficult but the main focus of the game isn’t on the parrying alone. There are lots of options. The boss will definitely be fun for those looking for a challenge. It took awhile to plug in all the notifies for the melee attacks. I had to make sure each one was the proper length so it didn’t deal damage unfairly. There’s still more effects I would like to add to the attacks. Maybe a weapon trail too eventually. The boss ended up with 28 different options for an action. With that much variety she is a pain to deal with, in the best way of course.
The boss isn’t done yet but maybe a few more days and I will be happy with her. There’s so much else I want to check off the to do list but I should focus on finishing this for now.
GoldenGratus Games 