Angelo

More optimizations things ~

Profiler revealed another bottleneck on how Mechs scan (red in vid) their targets. I used similar techniques from my other post, to stagger their processing and alleviate total computations per game tick

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With the results of optimizations, I've seen definite improvements in the test battle scenario.

I am able to turn up the video quality to the highest settings while keeping a decent framerate. I still have plans for more refinements though

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More optimizations ~

I created an actor tick queue system. Actors can register to this through an Actor Component. The system works by only allowing a configurable number of actors to execute per tick (red in vid). This was a big optimization

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Thanks! I have considered spatial partitioning and it unfortunately would not be a viable solution for most of the circumstances that the game will be built around

More optimizations ~

Big CPU bottleneck happens if hundreds of NPCs have to determine their targets on the same game tick.

I solved this by creating a groupthink system. When an NPC (red) identifies a target, it broadcasts (yellow) to nearby NPCs

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Given the recent optimizations, I setup a scenario with 256 NPCs, divided into two forces, with each being complimented by a Mech. The results are good - running consistently at 60fps, with some dips into 45fps during the most demanding moments

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Made pathfinding improvements for NPC troops: when tanks are destroyed, I swap out their actors for an alternate. The new actor serves as a navmesh obstacle, so navigation gets updated and NPCs will path around recently destroyed vehicles

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More optimization things ~

Profiler revealed quite a bit of computation involved with collision checks. I took a look at the tanks collision setup and realized I could make some improvements there

before/after pics attached

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Thanks! There's going to much more to come! I would definitely say the profiler is the best tool for learning to optimize things. It has a bit of a learning curve to use, but once you learn it, it's very valuable

Thanks for asking, I just realized the post doesn't clarify that at all. I found a different niagara effect from an asset pack I purchased. I did some tweaks on that effect, then reran benchmark scenarios and used the profiler to confirm results

More optimization things (there's gonna be quite a few more)

Similar to the tank's vfx, missiles ended up being unoptimized. So, I went and implemented more efficient missile visual effects. I'm happy with the result since it still looks good!

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Optimization things ~

Profiling helped reveal that some of the vfx I was using were very unoptimized. One of the bigger culprits was the tank shell hit explosion. I ended up finding a more optimized hit vfx that still looks good

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Was messing around, threw together a buncha NPCs types that I implemented so far, put them on two alliances, and let them fight each other. It ended up being pure fun chaos to witness.

(p.s. it also revealed I need to make some optimizations)

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More progress on the Simple NPC shooters ~

Implemented the ability for them to shoot while running. Ended up being more tricky than expected, but the payoff was worth the effort since it expands their capabilities and creates more cinematic moments

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More Simple NPC shooter features added: gun mesh, aim with arm anims, muzzle vfx, bullet tracer and hit vfx, death anims and vfx, and evasive behavior

Red death vfx helps when in a Mech, since these NPCs will be tiny onscreen

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Yea! they're each an actor, in terms of resources, I don't have anything specific - the implementation is done using the detour crowd controller paired with state trees

in the future, i'll be releasing blog posts on alot of these things, which might shed some more light on stuff

Working on a new Simple NPC type: the generic soldier.

First up, I am working on pathfinding with crowd avoidance. Testing out using the DetourCrowd AI Controller with RVO (Reciprocal Velocity Obstacle) so large groups will not overlap each other

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Final boost VFX changes: refactored the travel boost visuals. Similar to the other posts, I leveraged an existing well optimized emitter, which I modified to obtain the visuals I wanted

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Continuation of boost VFX changes: refactored evasive boost burst visual effects. I found a low overhead, very optimized, emitter to work with. Still had to tweak some things a bit to produce the visuals I wanted

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Ended up having to refactor the boost VFX due to discovering the previous emitter was very unoptimized. Similar to the prototype implementation, I leveraged a more simple approach that is pretty efficient and looks decent

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thanks, it's one of those little things i didn't think of until i saw someone else playing

Addressing some demo feedback lately -

I didn't like how enemy Mechs could instantly turn when a player would go behind them, so I added in configurable rotation rate for Mechs, that way it's possible to outmaneuver enemies and take advantage of their blindspots

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Just more WIP stuff of the introduction area in Zenoken. Lost Eden hovering in the the distant stormy background. Trying to get a demo done sooner rather than later. So much work left though.

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More more tutorial things ~

When introducing a new system to the player, I always want to show them the benefits of it upfront. So, for the Travel Boost System, I have the player travel a pretty far distance right away

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great advice. the clips im uploading now are prerecorded from months ago, so those changes won't be present there, but im definitely going to write this down for future implementation

The combat section of the tutorial takes places in a corridor where the first lesson is how to dodge missiles. To pass, the player has to dodge more than half the missiles. After this, the player will use their weapons to destroy those turrets

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More tutorial things~

Created a tooltip ui and concluded the pattern for tutorial objective progression:
1. Dialog delivery
2. Objective assignment
3. Tooltip popup

This allows the instructor to deliver dialog, while never breaking the fourth wall

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More tutorial things~

One of the first objectives the player is given is to enter their Mech. I try to capture the sense of scale going from a low interior to open field where the Mech towers in the distance

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Working on a tutorial now ~

I'd like to achieve a nice vertical slice of the beginning systems and how objective progression behaves. In the future, tester feedback will be helpful here. To start, I've written sample dialog and replaced character models

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Working on a demo build now. I got one of the first main parts finished, which is the Arena. In this mode, you can configure your Mech and your enemies, then initiate a battle in a newly decorated level.

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