Torquing Around
by Britt Scott · 02/23/2014 (12:05 am) · 12 comments
I've mainly been focusing on transitioning from using Unreal Tournament 3 to the Unreal Development Kit. Mostly just level design stuff and some scripting. Kismet is awesome for programming dummies like me!
I hadn't done much with Torque in awhile, so I decided to jump back in.
I followed, Bryan Sawler's resource and came up with the above video.
It's far from perfect, but an interesting start. I doubt it will ever go to a full game project, for me.
Below I'm going to list problem areas based on my simple prototype (...either for my future benefit or anyone else)
Camera System
I would like a camera similar to the Right View in the World Editor, and one that would track the player. The perspective view works, but doesn't look like a 2d side-scroller. Also, if the player goes behind environmental objects the camera jumps behind it. The camera snapping when changing the player direction would also need to be addressed.
Movement
Right now, the user can't move the player left or right because the keyboard inputs have been remapped. However, if the player is hit by an explosion, the player may be knocked off the wanted axis. This can cause the player to miss shots, not hit level triggers, and go off the world. Limiting the player to 2 movement directions would help stop this from happening. I would also extend this to other objects like AI and pickups.
Lighting
Not an issue I had, but something to think about. I just made sure my light source was facing toward my world. There could be lighting issues with object shadows.
Crosshair, Reticule (Third-person)
Currently I have a 3D model mounted to the player as an image. Would need to be reattached to the player somehow so it can move up/down while aiming, but not on any other animations. Also can clip through objects depending on how the world is setup. The image also loses the functionality of health display compared to the GUI, reticule.
Checkpoints, Progression
I read a similar post about having a checkpoint system. Currently If the player falls down a hole, they hit a kill trigger. They are then spawned at a random spawn point. A better solution would be to spawn the player at the nearest spawn point from where they died. So the player doesn't get spawned back at the beginning of the level and have to do the entire level over again.
Thanks for reading!
I hadn't done much with Torque in awhile, so I decided to jump back in.
I followed, Bryan Sawler's resource and came up with the above video.
It's far from perfect, but an interesting start. I doubt it will ever go to a full game project, for me.
Below I'm going to list problem areas based on my simple prototype (...either for my future benefit or anyone else)
Camera System
I would like a camera similar to the Right View in the World Editor, and one that would track the player. The perspective view works, but doesn't look like a 2d side-scroller. Also, if the player goes behind environmental objects the camera jumps behind it. The camera snapping when changing the player direction would also need to be addressed.
Movement
Right now, the user can't move the player left or right because the keyboard inputs have been remapped. However, if the player is hit by an explosion, the player may be knocked off the wanted axis. This can cause the player to miss shots, not hit level triggers, and go off the world. Limiting the player to 2 movement directions would help stop this from happening. I would also extend this to other objects like AI and pickups.
Lighting
Not an issue I had, but something to think about. I just made sure my light source was facing toward my world. There could be lighting issues with object shadows.
Crosshair, Reticule (Third-person)
Currently I have a 3D model mounted to the player as an image. Would need to be reattached to the player somehow so it can move up/down while aiming, but not on any other animations. Also can clip through objects depending on how the world is setup. The image also loses the functionality of health display compared to the GUI, reticule.
Checkpoints, Progression
I read a similar post about having a checkpoint system. Currently If the player falls down a hole, they hit a kill trigger. They are then spawned at a random spawn point. A better solution would be to spawn the player at the nearest spawn point from where they died. So the player doesn't get spawned back at the beginning of the level and have to do the entire level over again.
Thanks for reading!
About the author
Attended Brown College in Mendota Heights, MN for Game Design and Development. Projects include the Mech Starter Kit and the Battle Frog. Currently working toward a game design career.
#2
Please continue to write blogs with your progress, is very different from what we normally see with T3D.
02/23/2014 (4:21 am)
I like a lot!... truly a great job.Please continue to write blogs with your progress, is very different from what we normally see with T3D.
#3
Always nice to see people doing "other things" with Torque.
02/23/2014 (8:30 am)
Cool stuff, Britt! :)Always nice to see people doing "other things" with Torque.
#4
02/23/2014 (8:53 am)
I agree..fantastic work! I would love to know how you did the camera work :)
#5
02/23/2014 (9:41 am)
@Kory, I believe it was setOrbitObject. You just had to adjust the camera and offset. Then you add it to server/gameCore.cs 
#6
02/23/2014 (12:05 pm)
This sparks nostalgia soooo bad. I love it... 
#7
02/23/2014 (1:38 pm)
Nice stuff! I agree, it's great to see people trying different things with the engine. 
#8
02/23/2014 (4:51 pm)
Do you know how long I've wanted to do this? Do you know how long I've waited for someone else in the community to do this? This is fantastic! Ever since Shadow Complex hit the market and redefined 2.5D, Torque 3D has been in prime position to do something even greater. I'm glad you are diving back into Torque, Britt. Your presence has been missed. All in all: 
#9
I can tell you how i made this for a game I been developing at moment.
I made triggers for the checkpoint.
if a player enter it, it save the checkpoint position to a file.(The file is need, so i can save the last checkpoint for the reason of game crash or escape game, so the player can start at last checkpoint).
If the player dies, it spawn the player at first spawn, and then it move the player to the checkpoint by using the position of the trigger.
I think you could use some thing similar for your game.
If you get problems that the trigger not work, we have a pain full bug in the engine about trigger. I know and i try out the new fix, but that new fix don't really fix the problem. I had about 2 days to find out a way to fix that.
It seems that the triggers lost the polyhedron data, after the mission is start. To fix that, i just put all triggers in a system folder in the world editor, and then after mission start I set the polyhedron again to all triggers, and voila, the triggers work, after new start of the game. my fix is like a hack and it should be fixed in the engine, but for the moment it helps, if some one get that trigger problem.
just ask me, if you like to have my fix, and I still will send it to you.
02/23/2014 (6:56 pm)
for the checkpoint system:I can tell you how i made this for a game I been developing at moment.
I made triggers for the checkpoint.
if a player enter it, it save the checkpoint position to a file.(The file is need, so i can save the last checkpoint for the reason of game crash or escape game, so the player can start at last checkpoint).
If the player dies, it spawn the player at first spawn, and then it move the player to the checkpoint by using the position of the trigger.
I think you could use some thing similar for your game.
If you get problems that the trigger not work, we have a pain full bug in the engine about trigger. I know and i try out the new fix, but that new fix don't really fix the problem. I had about 2 days to find out a way to fix that.
It seems that the triggers lost the polyhedron data, after the mission is start. To fix that, i just put all triggers in a system folder in the world editor, and then after mission start I set the polyhedron again to all triggers, and voila, the triggers work, after new start of the game. my fix is like a hack and it should be fixed in the engine, but for the moment it helps, if some one get that trigger problem.
just ask me, if you like to have my fix, and I still will send it to you.
#10
02/24/2014 (4:09 am)
That's awesome! Any plans on releasing as a resource or kit to purchase?
#11
@Stephen, I'll have to contact Bryan, but i'll give an update later on.
02/24/2014 (6:51 pm)
@D fasel, I ran into the trigger bug, so I just rolled back to an older release.@Stephen, I'll have to contact Bryan, but i'll give an update later on.
Torque Owner Nils Eikelenboom
Studio DimSum