#fmpy3

[badvertex]

Non-Playable Characters

This thread is about the NPCs, who use the NavMesh to move around the scene.

The NavMesh itself is a zone of the floor plan that dictates where the NPCs can move and where they cannot. This is shown as a blue sheet over the mesh of the map, and certain objects can either be ignored, so NPCs can move through them, or registered so NPCs will need to move around them. The script below shows how the NPC communicates with the NavMesh:

The origin point of the NPC allows them to roam the store when they are not chasing the player. This uses a blank gameobject as a reference point the NPC can move towards, which moves around to random points within the scene at random intervals.

Spawning the NPCs

When the player enters the store, they trigger a countdown that will tick down to zero. At changeable intervals, gameobjects that contain extra staff members or customers can be set to spawn, making the game more difficult the longer players play.

There is also a system to convert the seconds the counter is built with into minutes and seconds separately.

Scoring and friendly NPCs

Finally, to score the player must deposit their stolen goods in their ‘nest’. These goods are then stolen goods are then collected by the baby pigeons, which use a modified version of the NPC controller script to collect all of the objects. The objects are added to the score the moment they are dropped in the zone, so players get instant feedback on how much they have scored.

[badvertex]

This thread is about the player character, the pigeon. They’re quite a complex little fella!

Walking Mechanics

First, the walking system has been revamped so that movement is the same whether your walking or flying. The fly feature has also been replaced with a jump that increases your height, but must be tapped to maintain flight. This whole system not only is more intuitive, as players seem to instinctively mash jump, but also more chaotic and faster paced. The code can be seen below: 

Grabbing Mechanic

The grabber has also seen a big rework, so now players can pick up and drop multiple things easily. It also allows enemies to force players to drop things if they get caught, and a pickup zone gives players feedback on what they can pick up. Code below:

Animation

The animation is more complex now, triggering off of the player’s button presses to be more exact. Above, you can see how each button press causes the animation to transition between a variety of states. This triggers off of booleans (a yes or no), which are modified in the script below:

Particles and Effects

Finally, a shadow (which is actually just a plane with a texture) follows the pigeon around to give the player reference on where they will land. Along with this, @bvic made a particle effect that launches feathers out whenever the player jumps.

[badvertex]

Showing off the modular assets made by @bvic and @cb-art-blog, and how they fit into the Unity scene. Because of the way these models have been made, it is both easy and quick to build new environments

[badvertex]

I’ve taken over the whitebox from @bvic, working off her great work on the isometic camera/character and getting them to move and function. So, going off of Becky’s code, the character has two control modes; Walking mode where the character is slower and connected to the ground, so only able to get things off of the floor or low shelves. Flying mode where the player can move faster, but have less control over the character but can reach higher objects and are faster. I still need to work out the transition between the two, but it will likely be a button press that elevates the pigeon to the flying height or activates gravity, sending them crashing to the floor. Might have some feature where its easier to get caught when flying or something.

[badvertex]

The bastards in a trench coat. Convincing aren't they?