SPLIT - an independent game featuring a unique gameplay mechanic that enables you to switch between dimensions. Within this blog I'll post frequent updates on the game to show the progression from a simple idea to the final product.
As promised, I'd like to introduce you to the simple health system in SPLIT. But first: what do I need a health system for, isn't it better to just use triggers that "kill" you immediately? Most events are like that already, but imagine a fire in a 3D environment that kills you if you get to close, while in other first person games it just decreases your health the longer you stay in there. That's why (and other reasons) I came up with a very basic but flexible solution.
Player Blueprint & example Actor Blueprint
Within the Player Plueprint is a simple variable that can range from -1 to 100 (clamp). The sequence you see is being triggered by a Tick Event. As long as no invulnerability is active (there's an item to come that makes you invulnerable to any damage except falling) the health variable will be count up to a max of 100. Except the Health Regeneration is being deactivated of course (usefull little addition). Afterwards it is checking the player health <= 0, if so, an event will be triggered. But that event is actually a matinee (death anim), therefore it needs to be sent to another Blueprint (Map Functions) within the map, that then triggers the matinee using an Event Dispatcher.
Now to drain the health you but only need another Blueprint communicating with your Player Blueprint. Simply use the setup shown in the image above and it'll decrease your health by 5 for every tick (the higher the value, the faster you'll tick down).
Lately I promised some more information about grabbing items. For the endgame of SPLIT I thought of special Energy Cell Cubes: they are needed to activate switches and can be grabbed and carried through the level. There will even be three different versions in order to create a challenging last third of the game. Originally the only difference between them should have been the dimension in which the player is able to carry them (blue can only be carried in the blue dimension). But that felt a bit boring after quite some time and I was searching for an alternative. Luckily, one night in bed (I almost fell asleep) it hit me: an Energy Cell Cube that buffs the player. That would add a whole new layer to the game, like one cube that makes you invulnerable to damage but slows you down at the same time. This is but only an example of what can be done with this feature. Added the ability to be able to throw the Energy Cells could lead to even more astonishing puzzles!
There's just one design problem for now (not to mention an insane blueprint): how are they carried? I tried several solutions; a cube just being attached to the player, a small icon like cube... but there are clipping issues (cube goes through walls) and considering that SPLIT is being developed to run perfectly with VR there are other issues. The screenshot below shows the current prototype but I'll definitely have to figure out real solution to this.
Map Center and Energy Cell attached to Player POV Camera
What can be seen in the screenshot as well is an advanced preset map with a center. Both cubes in the middle (blue and red) will rotate every time you switch dimensions as kind of an indicator slash mechanism that actually triggers the switch itself. On the left side of the screen you can see green numbers, they represent your current health. Yes, health! I've been busy implementing a health system (more on that later).
"Make Post Process Settings" function in Player Blueprint
While doing the health system I was thinking of a good feedback using post process effects. The slowmotion already uses a plane in front of the player camera with an fx material. The plane switches its visibility hence creating the slowmotion effect itself. But do I wanna add another cheap solution like this for the health feedback? Wouldn't it be cooler to change the post processing using a variable within the player blueprint? So I tried a few things and came up with a great solution (see image above). The "Make Post Process Settings" function offers anything I could dream of. Now I have to just figure out which values to change and the math behind it to create some nice fadings.
There haven't been any news lately due to the fact that I was on vacation. Being back home, work continues of course. So what's next?
I thought a lot about more and new features to implement. One of them will be worked on within the next days and it'll be some kind of an easy grab item function. Once I've got a first prototype, I'll get a bit more into detail but until then stay tuned.
If you've read all the previous posts and checked either IndieDB or the UE4 Forums, you might have heared about the huge Sphere. If not: it's the sphere that inherits all puzzle- and mini-Spheres. Its scale is just huge and it took a lot of effort to create a prototyped version, but here is a sneak peak of it.
Huge Main-Sphere - First Prototype (Scaling is final though)
It's mainly a huge dome with a sky in it (not final yet) and it works like a solar system. Right in the center will be an energy source (like the sun) and around it you'll find the puzzle-Spheres (like planets). What's yet missing is the mini-Spheres (moons)around the puzzle-Spheres but that'll be there soon.
This biggest challenge is, besides the placement, rotation etc. of the puzzle- and mini-Spheres, the extreme size of the environment. Trying to compile the map uses 31.1GB of memory space, it has already been shrinked due to that! Else, the skybox is kind of tricky. It oughta look like an artificial solar system combined with the "planets" inside. I'm still struggling with the frame around but in my opinion, it supports the "fake"-look I am going for. There is much more to do, but that is what I've accomplished so far (since especially the compiling was a pain in the ass: make the area just a bit bigger and it'll say I don't have enough memory).
So you might be wondering why there haven't been any updates so far. Did I just do nothing or what is it? The simple answer is, that I just haven't had anything to show. Therefore, what have I done?
Well first of all a lot of brainstorming. Came up with new features, new puzzle ideas and new gameplay elements. Besides that I was mostly writing documents to keep a good overview of the project itself. And then I also continued working on the preset map for both the puzzle and the big area, where all the spheres are in. As soon as I have anything new to show, I'll definitely do so, just a few more things to finish first.
After I've been making SPLIT public using the UE4 Forums and IndieDB, I decided to take a small break. That's why there haven't been any updates for quite some time but that doesn't meen I did nothing at all.
Preset Map
First thing I did is, I started creating a preset map. It includes everything such as an entrance and exit, the dying animation (logo movement), the CheckPoint system and most important: ordered assets within folders (right side of the picture). This allows for a better workflow where everything can be found easily making the level design process much easier. Oh and I finally managed to enhance the respawn points: until now the direction the player was looking towards when he fell was the same direction he looked at upon spawning since the teleport function (Blueprint) did not affect the rotation. To get rid of that I used a so called "Set Control Rotation" with the "Get Player Controller" and an "Get Actor Rotation" after the inital spawn action and... it finally works (LINK).
Spike Cube and deadly Surface
Second, I created two new types of cubes. The first one is a new, deadly surface being inspired by my Bachelor Thesis Project "Dimensions". It's the black surface with white, glowing edges in the screenshot above. The other new cube is a Spike Cube: it's deadly as well but floating and moving around within a certain area. Using a heightmap and tessellation to achieve a dangerous spikey effect it is clear, that this one should be avoided at all cost.
Without further ado, I present to you the first gameplay footage of SPLIT.
First Gameplay Footage of SPLIT (WIP)
Please keep in mind that it only does represent the current status of the game. It's not a finished map but a mere prototype level to showcase some of the projects features and its overall style. Despite the placeholder track running in the background, no sound has yet been created or placed.
What can already be seen is a steadily increasing difficulty. First the Dimension switch is only being used on solid ground, later while jumping and then combined with other mechanics like different Special Cubes and the Jump Boost. Besides the obvious there are other puzzles like the ball example to display the possibilities given... not to mention that changing between Dimensions does not only change certain cubes, it also reshapes certain environments.
In this very prototype you can see this once the player reaches the natural area filled with water. For now it's only a simple effect without any impact on the gameplay whatsoever, but in the future a lot of puzzles will be based on that principle. It may not just be that in one Dimension it is cold (therefore the ice) and in one warm (raining instead of snowing, water instead of ice) but it might be something like changing gravity, light and other parameters. Therefore no level will be the same since you have to find new strategies everytime.
Now you might doubt, why the sphere, how come there are plants in the middle of a cubical environment? Trying not to spoil too much about the story, I'd like to say that these areas have been created as kind of testchambers. Someone or something was trying cross between dimensions and the spheres have been the perfect build to contain probable catastrophies due to the experiments. What experiments? How come the cubes float? How come it is even possible to switch between Dimensions in the first place?
About that and more you'll find out in SPLIT once upon its release.
