It was decided a while ago that a new person should be placed in charge of the scripting and AI modules, and that they should have a lot of time to stay on the subject as we refine the game play experience. To this end I am in the process of removing all the complicated super-clever AI code that did not really work and revert the system to something simpler than can be adopted by a new coder. I am also moving all the hard coded decisions such as whether a character is in PATROL or COMBAT mode into a LUA script which will allow end users to fully customize the experience. I may lose a few performance ticks using all this byte code logic, but I think it will work out for the best, both for the internal team and for the software overall. Step one is to reduce the character to two simple behaviors, which is to walk a patrol along an assigned waypoint and to attack the player when they get close enough. This will involve the introduction of quite a few LUA script commands to achieve, but it also means a myriad of permutations are possible once these basic behaviors are working in the engine. It's not a quick task, and Rick was happy to berate the whole team for not checking in more 'DONE' items on our internal spreadsheet from today but we are entering a phase of some large multi-day items now and so we will get days like these. The good news is that the result will be a very customization logic system for characters and pretty much any entity too!
hello
ReplyDeleteand yet why Lua?
FPI-I liked more - simple and functional (enough for an ordinary user)
the lua no sensible documentation (I have not found)
with respect Andrew.
Because LUA is way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way more powerful than FPI would ever have been.
Delete*puts on Chinese accent* Aaah very customization logic!
ReplyDeletelol
Seriously, the rest of this post sounds amazing! Can't wait to get some great new commands in LUA!
Can we also control what side a NPC is on? It should be possible to have friends as well as enemies.
ReplyDeleteI imagine that will be entirely possible with the new scripting commands.
DeleteAnd a enemy fighting another enemy which is fighting another deadly enemy (Similar to free for all or with multiples factions).
DeleteLee, while you have been recently fixing or updating some of the existing fine tune issues would it be possible to now get around when you get a chance to lining up the sun position and reflection displayed on the terrain and water with the sun position on the sky box.
ReplyDeleteYes I know buy tweaking the code/script files it is possible for users to adjust this misalignment however many Reloaded users will use the product out of the box to make games with or not know how to do these things, or simple wont be able to get a correct end result. Then some will just not have concern for it or just wont bother.
In addition Reloaded being promoted with visuals, screen shots, videos and games with the misalignment is not good for promoting it as a professional engine as the visual end result is not appealing at all and is annoying to the eye to look at too especially inside game levels. Looks to like an amateurish game maker where the developers cant be bothered to put the effort in to get it right meaning no disrespect when we here all know that much effort and time is going into development others looking in will not.
No worries I can personally make adjustments to line these things up in game but just thinking of the masses of general users and perhaps the outsiders looking in at promotion and alike.
:-)
Good point there, Pete :)
DeleteIf anyone wants to volunteer and update the skyspec files to align the sun position with the sun in the sky graphics it would be a great help. Right now I am working on the new AI foundation to create game logic, which I think is more important than sky tweaks in the grand priority list we have here :)
ReplyDeleteAgreed of course. No question.
ReplyDeleteIf no on else does it I will do it when I get some time. I had done it previously with one of the sky's as a test to see I could do it but it got overwritten.
I will have a look at it at sometime as I would have to do it for myself and If as said no one else has done it but then I will let you have the sky spec files if I can get them right and good enough for user distribution..
:-)
When in the news letter it mentions water does that mean swimming and drowning
ReplyDeleteI would like swimming and drowning soon as well. Since we now have fall damage. Environmental hazards really do help with the game play aspect of things.
ReplyDeleteCurious also if the current enemy character has a swimming animation loop?
Frames 4030-4072 is the swim loop
DeleteFrames 3930-4015 is treading water (idle swim)