Water looks great so far! And I got the underwater post processing effect working nicely after some modifications to the default material #ue5 #indiedev #gamedev

Next up: figuring out water for landmasses Followed some YT tutorials and figured out how UE's water system works. Made some tweaks of my own so I could decouple its automatic solving of water height, which I'll need control of later. #ue5 #gamedev #indiedev

Finally achieved my goal! Exported 4 tiles from photoshop, each at 16321x16321 resolution. Imported into UE at 8x size. Once pieced together, overall size is 261km x 261km Can't wait to start exploring the world #ue5 #openworld #gamedev #indiedev

Still playing around with world generation techniques. Figured out a pretty solid workflow for sculpting shapes. Hoping to extend this to generate 512km x 512km landmasses #ue5 #indiedev #gamedev

Testing out dif world generation methods. Aiming for landscape of around 130,000km x 130,000km a. 15000x15000 res image, C# app to scale up 10x (31gb filesize yikes!) b. 2017x2017 res image, scaled up in UE 64x (2mb filesize) Learned a lot from all this, more to come! #ue5 #indiedev #gamedev

Starting a bit of a deep dive into world generation in UE. To begin, I learned about how you can import a 16 bit grayscale png file and use it for landmass generation. Going to be fun expanding this to create actual landmasses #ue5 #indiedev #gamedev

More destructible things! After being destroyed and after a some time, the object will respawn. If there is an actor in that space, then it will only respawn once the space is clear. This helps repopulate environments of their scenery #ue5 #mech #indiegame #screenshotsaturday #gamedev

Added in movement reduction on destructible collision! How much the Mech is slowed down depends on the object they are obliterating. This sorta thing helps reinforce the impact of the destroyed environment to the player. #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Working on environment destructibles now! Modified some existing particle systems to produce exploding vfx for different objects. In the future, I want scenery to explode around the Mechs as they are fighting. This is the first step to making that possible #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Decided not to use UE's sample buildings anymore. They were far too detailed, unoptimized, and cumbersome to use. I found a nice asset pack called "Modern City Bundle", which had an emphasize on optimization and worked well right outta the box. #ue5 #indiegame #indiedev

Took a look at UE's sample buildings and I discovered their collisions were overly precise, causing snagging issues for character collisions. I found a tool called Field Collision Generator, which I used to sculpt more forgiving collisions on the buildings. #ue5 #indiegame #gamedev

Did a proof of concept for protected areas! There will be different areas out in the world, and if the player enters an unfriendly area, then it can trigger a response from nearby forces. I imported buildings from UE's City Sample Project for testing. #ue5 #mech #indiegame #indiedev

When combining both tanks and missile launchers, the group of Simple NPCs are quite challenging and fun to face in combat! There's definitely lots of fine tuning left to do, but for now I am really happy with how both their implementations turned out #ue5 #mech #ai #combat #gamedev #indiegame

Similar to tanks, the destruction process for missile launchers start with them being turned into a fiery hull, before eventually exploding. As explained in my other post: "This allows for cinematic moments during gameplay, while still considering optimization." #ue5 #mech #indiegame #ai #indiedev

For the next Simple NPC implementation, I wanted something that could shoot multiple missiles. Luckily I found another Vigilante asset on the marketplace to work with. The first thing I developed is its firing loop, which shoots a salvo of missiles. #ue5 #ai #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

Tanks (AKA Simple NPCs) are intended to be most effective in groups -> strength in numbers Fighting a bunch at the same time is fun! Looking forward to more enemy types in the future, that's for sure #ue5 #mech #indiegame #ai #gamedev

When destroying a tank, it will explode, leaving behind a flaming carcass. Then, it will explode again, removing itself from the level. This allows for cinematic moments during gameplay, while still considering optimization. #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Boom got the tank firing loop working Added a slight pushback to the tank on fire. And I used Niagara effects that came with the asset, paired alongside previous effects I created. #ue5 #ai #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev

For Simple NPC pathing, I had to figure out a way for them to follow flying objects, since Mechs can be off the ground at any time. The solution I came up with is to map the Mech's location to the ground, and have the AI path to that location #ue5 #mech #indiegame #ai #screenshotsaturday #gamedev

One of the first pieces to the tank is building out its targeting system. When tracking targets, the turret rotates independently of its base and the cannon will auto-adjust pitch. #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Working on non-mech enemies in the game. These enemies will be called "Simple NPC", since their AI will be pretty simple. In the marketplace I found a lot of free military vehicles from Vigilante. First up is the tank. More to come! #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

outstanding UI UX

With the addition of the Energy stat, I had to improve the AI to smartly use its Energy To do this, I created a detection sphere Instead of random evasive boosts, the AI will use evasive behavior if the potential damage within the sphere exceeds a configurable threshold #ue5 #mech #indiegame

Excited to have a booth at the Chicago Indie Games Showcase tomorrow! Hosted at the Hairpin Arts Center in Logan Square by @indiecitygames.org @actualnerds.bsky.social will be there to let people try out the System Purge Hollow Point demo (wishlist pls) and more Feel free to stop by and say hi :)

Added in Energy! Inspired by Armored Core 6 as usual. Using evasive/aerial boosting will consume Energy, which recharges overtime. If exhausted entirely, then recovery mode is activated. After a short time, a burst of Energy recovers. (Green bar at bottom of HUD) #ue5 #mech #indiegame #indiedev

Working on Mech stats now - introduced max weight and energy. If the Mech's equipped parts exceeds either of these limits, then the Mech will be unusable. In both the assembly menus and Mech HUD, I added a shared warning component to communicate any detected errors. #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Final shield things pt 6 ~ Integrated shield use into AI behavior! The AI will do its best to optimize shield use: activating the shield when it has enough health, and deactivating the shield before it breaks #ue5 #mech #indiegame #screenshotsaturday

More shield things pt 5 ~ Ended up being somewhat difficult to implement, but I got shields working against melee attacks. Since the shield only blocks on contact, the player has to skillfully position themselves to block melee attacks #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

More shield things pt 4 ~ Inspired from Overwatch on this one! If a shield is brought to zero health, the shield will break. This triggers a cooldown period. When the shield completes its recovery, its health pool is replenished to half health #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

More shield things pt 3 ~ Shields have their own health pool. When active, it will block incoming projectiles. When inactive, it will passively regain health. On the HUD, the shield's health is displayed on the target's left arm slot (bottom left) #ue5 #mech #indiegame #screenshotsaturday #gamedev

More shield things pt 2 ~ In combat, I wanted the player to be able to deal damage with weapons and have their shield deployed at the same time, so I added in functionality that allows friendly projectiles to pass through safely #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

More shield things ~ When deploying your shield, your mech will pitch towards your focused target. This allows the player to position themselves for improved blocking effectiveness #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Started work on shields! Working with primitive shapes for prototyping purposes. Made a material that I threw on a plane to create the vfx. Modified an idle anim to create the shield brace idle pose. Different shields will project different shapes #ue5 #mech #indiegame #indiedev

AI Mechs can now use missiles! Was a bit of a challenge integrating the system and decision making into their existing behavior. Trying this out alongside everything else, the results feel great so far! #ue5 #mech #indiegame #combat #screenshotsaturday

Excited to announce that I'll be at the Chicago Indie Game Showcase, hosted by @indiecitygames.org on Sept 6th! @actualnerds.bsky.social will have a booth, where you can chat and try the demo for System Purge: Hollow Point Also love to see it represented on the shirt by Modest Merch #indiegame

Okay, big breath... After more than two years since we published our last documentary on the topic, it's time we returned to Disco Elysium: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZEA...

Building out more missile systems: Multi lock missiles allow multiple targets. The number of locks are evenly distributed amongst all available targets. If a target is focused locked, then the missiles will only track that single target #ue5 #mech #indiegame #indiedev

Started working on missiles! Inspired by Armored Core, as always. When locks are acquired, the circles on the target will add up. Can be fired at any number of locks. When the colors change, this indicates max lock has been acquired. #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Continuing to take inspiration from Armored Core 6! I added a pitch to the Mech when engaging enemies that are below or above. This keeps the Mech's body facing its target appropriately #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev #screenshotsaturday

Think I finally landed on the 'vibe' of the alien labyrinth areas. Added a single alien automata enemy for fun. Still need to finish up some of their SFX and animation. Wishlist #Zenoken and follow? tinyurl.com/bdc35knj #GameMusic #IndieDev #SoloDev #metroidvania #Godot #SciFi #PixelArt #ドット絵

With the recent idle changes, Mechs must now raise their arms to fire equipped weapons. The activation rate is based on their arm parts, which gives me another dimension for combat balancing! #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Long time since any updates. Needed a break / busy with other work. Anyways-- here's some preview of the alien labyrinth pixel art assets. Still working on them but they're about 80% there. Still need some connection tiles. #IndieDev #SoloDev #metroidvania #Godot #SciFi #PixelArt #ドット絵

Did my best to tweak the free idle animations I've been using up to this point. I wanted to make them more akin to Armored Core 6. Biggest changes: arms rest at a downward position and legs are bent more often. Definitely feels like an improvement! #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev

Made changes to soft lock targeting. Due to the speed of combat, I removed target number assignment. Instead, the target closest to the reticule gets the initial focus. This change clears HUD noise and gives more control back to the player #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

For Arena mode, I added in the ability to spectate AI vs AI combat. I've been having a lot of fun setting up different scenarios and watching it play out. In the future I will be adding in a POV spectator mode, so you can see from the AI's perspective as well #ue5 #mech #indiegame #indiedev

Hit a milestone: Arena Mode! Through the assembly UI, Mechs can be setup to fight in teams. During testing, I learned more about how combat feels (mostly chaotic), and how the AI behaves in groups. I'm looking forward to making some improvements #ue5 #mech #combat #indiegame #gamedev

More Assembly UI improvements! Now, when selecting a part type, the camera will auto-adjust to be focused on that part's section #ue5 #mech #indiegame #screenshotsaturday

With the finalization of melee weapons, I updated the Assembly UI to support comparing weapons of different types. For example, a Linear Gun's stats can now be compared against a Sword's stats. #ue5 #mech #indiegame #gamedev

Pretty satisfied with how melee combat integrated into all the existing systems, especially the AI decision making. I had fun running tests with prototyped endgame speeds and equipment #ue5 #mech #ai #combat #indiegame #gamedev

Integrated melee into the AI's weapon decision making. After using melee, the attack is put on a cooldown. The AI will resort to other available weapons until melee attacks can be considered again #ue5 #ai #mech #combat #indiegame #screenshotsaturday