2/16/18- The Second Build
Evening, fireBreak followers! Parker here with another exciting week of development. This week we got to present another build for UAT's Game Production Studio. Ian gave an excellent presentation this morning-- Here are a few highlights!
Ian shows off our UI
Which brings us to our Programming section this week!
Programming
The primary feature on display here is the User Interface. Though it's not yet linked to the character controller, it displays a portrait, the player's Health bar, and the player's power point bar. The values can be adjusted using a hotkey, and these values can be integrated into the character controller as soon as it has values to correspond to. Wyatt and the other Ian (the one not pictured) worked together to get this feature to a presentable state.
Speaking of the character controller, Dave has been steadily improving the character controller. It now rotates according to the mouse's onscreen position, and it no longer has a jump function (which was deemed unnecessary for the final game).
The player's ship!
Art
Tuesday has been killing it this week-- He created all of the models that are currently on display in the player's ship. There are a few more to be created yet, but the crew quarters/supply room are fully modeled out.
Not featured in the build are Trent's wall and floor textures for the ship, nor Bryce's character models, which will need to be rigged and animated first.
Level 1, whiteboxed. The squadmate is also present, and represented in the UI.
Design
Last but not least, our design team built out the first draft of our first level for this week! Earlier this week, I created the papermap and wrote out much of the dialogue for the level progression, which I then handed off to Ian (Again, the Ian not pictured), who whiteboxed the whole thing. This only features the structure of the level, as NPCs, enemies, assets, and event scripting are going to be forthcoming.
And finally...
The showdown!
No, I wasn't kidding. I looked over my shoulder after writing a bit of dialogue, and this was happening. After a three minute contest, Tuesday managed to beat Ian. This led to a short string of contests, including Ian versus myself (which I lost) and Ian versus Trent (which Ian won, in a much closer contest).
Lore Corner: Trasimene MPF-4
First produced by Trasimene Shipyards around forty years ago, the Trasimene Multi-Purpose Fighter Mark 4 is a common sight among systems on the fringes of colonized space.
Early on its service life, the MPF-4 saw extensive use as a fighter among various mercenary groups. This was primarily due to the vessel's comparatively low cost with comparison to its utility. The MPF is deceptively light for its large profile, which lends to a high top speed. The design is also exceptionally modular, lending to easy repairs and a wide variety of aftermarket components to further increase the vehicle's already considerable performance. The primary weakpoint is the vessel's armor, which is susceptible to puncture in ship-to-ship engagements.
The MPF-4's port-side cargo pod is fully pressurized, and often sees use as makeshift crew quarters. Given the usual owners of these vessels, they are rarely used to haul actual cargo. The starboard reactor spar houses the ship's generator, as well as some additional space for ship systems. One popular modification is the addition of a battleship-grade mass driver along the length of the reactor spar, giving the small vessel amazing capability as a hit-and-run fighter. This modification is not without its drawbacks, as the considerable power draw of the mass driver requires shunting power from other critical systems shortly before a shot can be taken.
Though these modifications make the MPF-4 a popular vessel among criminal spacefarers, they see enough legitimate use by mercenaries and trader to ward off suspicion. And in light of continued sales, Trasimene Shipyards don't seem to be complaining.