Added data to the level’s save file to track and update the position of the dog when the player saves and loads the stage. This will make sure the the dog is in the same place the player leaves him.
I wanted the dog to look at the player so at least there was some more interaction. There was some trouble and again I was about to give up because I was spending so much time on something unnecessary. It was such a simple function on the animation blueprint to shift a certain bone to look at a direction. The direction was all correct since all I had to input was the position of the player. After more poking and prodding I found that my problem was that the node modifying the bone was using local space. Since it was supposed to be using world space the values were all screwed up. Ticking the box false made sure it didn’t use local space and the dog finally looked at the player.
Instead of his neck snapping his head follows the player wherever they go. That was the next problem, because the player could be behind the dog, and the dog would snap his neck like an owl.
The clamp on the look at bone modifier wasn’t working, so I went with another solution. I attached a large box on the front of the dog that tells the dog whether the player is in or out of the box. If the player is in the box then the dog will look at him, if not then the dog will go back to looking straight ahead. I simply interp between the values of the dog looking at the player and looking ahead. The view of the dog smoothly transitions without breaking his neck and it looks more natural.
Inside the house I made sure to give the dog a comfy bed. I think I’m gonna decide here that I won’t do any more work on the dog until I finish the rest of the stage. The dog certainly does a lot, but I don’t really want him to become too complicated.
Got an asset that has awesome effects such as a sea of stars. Unfortunately, for some reason it would disappear at some angles while turning the camera. The particle itself didn’t have any issues. I tested it in different areas to see which places it looked best.
I will try to find out why it is disappearing then I will slowly start working on the fifth boss of the game.
GoldenGratus Games 