16.09.2022 - Development Diary

The work so far is going well. Having completed a block out in sketchup, I'm going to start in Unity and import the Sketchup block out to allow the character to navigate around the map before starting on the final map.

The plan now is to import the sketchup block out into Unity via Blender to convert it to a fbx file. Then create the character and navigate through the map. This would be walk, run, crouch, jump and slide.

I also plan to test with 1st and 3rd person, but I intend 1st person being the primary view.

When the movement is complete, I'll make a new quick block out in unity and then build two typoe of buildings; enterable (approx. 60) and non-enterable.

I have also come up with other ideas to include to this after the map is completed. Such as spawning buildings and bridges in different places. This would pose a challenge however.

The spawn point of the buildings would have to be orientated to the correct direction, the front door can't spawn inside the neighbouring building. I have done a test on that for a small town where every building was spawned in. It worked out some of the problems with that but it was a simple city block, the streets in "The city of..." are more complex and would require further testing and experimentation.

The Bridge problem:

Spawning the bridges poses a problem: how to stop the other bridges from spawning once one bridge has been spawned. I think I've come up with the solution.

One out of five bridges that cross the canal will be spawned. To stop more than one being spawned a trigger zone is attached to all the bridges that will stretch the length of the canal in both direcitons, when a bridge is spawned that trigger zone deletes all other spawn points that will be tagged as "Spawn point: Bridge"

In the highly unlikely event that no bridge is spawned there is a sixth spawn point that will spawn "Keystone bridge".

The spawn point will spawn their bridge within a fraction of a second of each going from left to right. This allows for the spawned bridge trigger zone to delete the other spawn points before the spawn their bridge. The space left will be filled by a dock wall.

If two bridges are spawned, then two bridges will be spawned. Any attempt to delete one would result in both bridges deleting each other.

Question: What's preventing the walls from getting deleted by the bridge trigger zone?

They couldn't be part of the same spawn point as one of the alternate options in the array, due to that being deleted once a bridge is spawned. They would have to have their own separate spawn point, "Spawn Point: Dock wall", that was deleted by the appropriate bridge trigger zone located at the ends of the bridge.

The time for spawning the walls would be set for a franction of a second after the last bridge time on the far right so there is time to delete the individual spawners. All the spawns would happen within less than 1 second and the player would never see them due to sight lines being blocked by the buildings.

In the even that somehow wall and a bridge spawn in the same place the trigger zone will also be programmed to delete the wall which will be tagged as "Asset: Dock wall"

Every plan is perfect until the first shot is fired though. So I'll have to see if this works.