Hello! In this blog, I will talk about the new additions since the previous blog. This includes objectives, the new enemy using EQS, the flashlight, and mines.
Objectives
In-game screen shot from build objective 1
The first addition to discuss is the objectives that were seen in the previous blog. They have now been complete and all work as intended. Once the player walks into the next objective's collider, it will move on to the next objective. The first objective can be seen above and the rest underneath. The first objective tells the player to locate the enemey base which requires them to follow the road.
In-game screen shot from build objective 2
Once they have triggered the second objective, it will tell the plaeyr to gear up at the weapon stash nearby. The location of this stash is revealed as the light seen in the distance turns on and flickers a few times before remaining on. It is originally off. This gives the player an idea of where to go next. After reaching this location, the next objective is triggered.
In-game screen shot from build objective 3
This objective tells the player to collect any unlocked weapons and head to the base. The base is located directly opposite the weapon stash. Here the player can collect weapons, rocks, and healing items stored in the inventory. Once the player reaches the front of the base, the next objective is triggered.
In-game screen shot from build objective 4
The front gate is locked so the player needs to find another way into the base. If the player walks around the outside of the base, they will eventually come across an opening in the fence which allows them to enter the base. There are multiple openings to allow the player to choose which side to infiltrate from. Once they enter through the fence, another objective is triggered. The hole in the fence was created using the modelling tool in Unreal.
In-game screen shot from build objective 5
This objective tells the player to enter the main base and eliminate all enemies remembering to stay silent and not get spotted. If spotted for longer than 3 seconds by any enemy, the game is over. Once all enemies are killed and/or taken out, the next and final objective begins.
In-game screen shot from build objective 6
Now that all enemies have been taken out, the player must reach the exfil site that they can find by listening for the helicopter audio as it is directional, or looking for the pink smoke rising in to the air nearby. Once they reach the front of the helicopter, the game will end.
In-game screen shot from build of helicopter
In-game screen shot from build end game win
The screen fades to black and the mission success appears along with some details about the player's actions throughout the session as to whether they found all collectibles, how many headshots they hit, shots fired and shots hit, and player level. This ends the game.
The retry button is greyed out as it is disabled. This is because the player successfully completed the mission and so the only options are to quit or go back to the main menu. If the player lost the game by dying or being spotted, then the retry button is available to press which will reset the player either back to the start of the game or to the objective right outside the base if they had reached it or gone beyond it to avoid them having to replay the entire start again. If failed, the text will also read 'Mission Failed'.
EQS
Both enemies now have names and models which will be showcased in the final video. The first enemy types are called Sentinels and the newer enemy types are called Helix. The Sentinels do not use EQS but the Helix do. The EQS enables the Helix to make decisions about where they will walk to independently unlike Sentinels who follow set path points unless they are chasing the player. The screenshot shows that spheres being created that are used to find a point within the navigation mesh that the character can walk to. Whichever sphere has the highest number is the winner and this is where the character will walk to while avoiding obstacles. This is entirely dynamic in comparison to the path points the Sentinels follow although their obstacle avoidance is also dynamic.
In-game screen shot from editor showing EQS
The Helix behaviour tree shows the two EQS' that are run. The first EQS query that is run is in the investigation sequence where the character will search for a location that the player may be hiding nearby. This query determines the location that the character will go and explore more accurately rather than the design for Sentinels. This query will be running 3 times while the loop is active to investigate the player’s disappearance. The second query that is running is during the patrol sequence where a cone in front of the character generates spheres. If these spheres overlap with an object that the character cannot travel through, these are ignored or given a low score so they are not taken into consideration as a path point. If it is over 0.75x away, it will have a higher score value and is more likely to be chosen as this is what the EQS is designed to achieve. A path point that is furthest away from the character. The chosen path point is highlighted in light green and 'winner' is displayed on it. This is the path the character will walk to while avoiding all obstacles in its path.
Helix Behvaiour Tree
Flashlight
In-game screen shot from build flashlight toolbox
The flashlight works by pressing the Q button to toggle it on and off. It drains battery over time which requires the player to go over and pick up a toolbox that will instantly repair the battery back to 100%. It simply turns on/off a spot light positioned in front of the player near their weapon as long as the battery is greater than 0% to simulate a flashlight attachment. Originally this was meant to be an unlockable attachment but it was decided to make it available from the start regardless of whether the player was holding a weapon or not. The flashlight can be seen draining while it is on by looking at the blue colour on the flashlight icon in the HUD. It is easier to see the effects of the flashlight in darker parts of the map. In the screen shot below, the area is relatively lit so the flashlight does not have much of an effect.
In-game screen shot from build flashlight on
Mines
Mines have also been introduced into the game based in feedback received from play tests conducted recently. They work by emitting a sound once the player is close enough to it to let them know that it is nearby. If the player gets closer to it, the pitch of its audio changed to be higher and more frequent to let the player know that if they come any closer, it will explode. Once the player exceeds this range, it explodes dealing 75 damage to the player and leaves a fire effect on the ground. They do not respawn.
This concludes the blog for Silent Soldier. There is one more blog remaining as the game is now finished! Thanks for reading and I hope to see you in the next blog which will release soon.
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