TopDownShooter-ToolKit v1.2

It's finally done, the so call progression system for TDS-TK that I've been talking about so long. It turns out better than I expect it to be and I'm really exited about it.

So basically we have the perk system that is more or less resemble the one in TDTK and TBTK. You can create perks item that do various thing. For now in TDS-TK, the options are modify player stats, modify weapon or ability stats/effect, or add new weapon and ability. There is an option to do custom effect but of course that would require additional scripting effort.

Apart from the perk system, there's the leveling system. It's pretty straight-forward. Player can gain experience from various source and level up once they accumulated enough experience point. As they level up, they gain various stat bonus.

Now the beauty is, the two leveling and perk systems can be used along side each other to do all sort of wonderful stuff. A very straight-forward implementation, level up would give the player perk currency which can then be spent on a skill tree (world of warcraft system). Or the perk can be used as attributes that player choose to invest point in upon level up (diablo system). Or a more passive system where certain perk would be unlocked automatically at specific level. All these setup are demonstrated in the demo scene. In theory, they are not mutually exclusive however the default UI can only support one of them at any given time. Anyway, these are how they look like:

On top of that, there's little addition here and there to support the new system like new trigger and new collectible, save system, etc. Pretty cool if I do say so myself. If you are wondering how is the leveling system is configured, here's a screen shot of the editors.

The new update has just been submitted to the AssetStore. There's a chance that it has gone live by the time you are reading this.  :)

New Update for TBTK and TDTK

Following my last week post on the new asset that I've made, and the fact that I've been putting it to good use in the latest update of TDTK, I've been working on doing the same for TBTK. Now I'm pleased to announce that the asset update on TBTK is done as well. With any luck, the new update is already up on AssetStore by the time you are reading this.

Unlike the update on TDTK, this update on TBTK actually contains more. First, if you are a long time user of TBTK, remember that it use to have collectible item before version 2.0. Well now it's back again. You can now procedurally generate (during both runtime and edit mode) or manually place collectible item on the grid. I recon it has a better application than the old system. Instead of just a simple effect that is applied on the unit, you can link a collectible item to ability which can do all sort of stuff. For instance, repair all friendly unit, damage all hostile within range. You can even have a wild card item that can trigger random abilities.

Along with the collectible system, I've also added some extra 3D model. It's not as fancy as the tank or turret. They are just a series of container/parts that are meant to replace the old freighter set. Like the old asset, they can be stacked. And they works pretty well for the most part with the new vehicles.

That's about all the major stuff I've been working on for the past few days. Hope you like what you see. Now this is done, I'm going to see what sort of progression system I can add to TDS-TK.

Pretty Pretty Things! (Tanks and Turret)

So I've teased about making a new turret and unit set in my last post. This is pretty much the follow up post. In short, it's done! Voila!

 

 

 

They looked gorgeous don't you think. Well, maybe it's just me but I'm extremely pleased with what I've come up with. Objectively, there can be no arguing that they are miles better than the current tank and turret set I'm using for TDTK and TBTK.

If you are wandering, they have a very low poly count and works well with Unity's dynamic batching for the most part. You can probably tell from the images that they are modular. Parts are interchangeable so you can create different units to a certain extent. The best thing is, the color are not texture dependent. You can change both the main and secondary color on the fly in Unity. You can even apply some wacky styling by applying a 'mask' texture, with result like the images below:

At this point you may think they are great and ask if there's any chance I will release them? Yes I would. Right from the start, I plan to include the set in TDTK and TBTK as a replacement to the old unit set. In fact, I've already updated TDTK to use the new unit. Hopefully it is live on AssetStore by the time you read this. I've yet to done the same to TBTK but it shouldn't be long until I do. Just need to take care of a few other updates before I commit the update.

Anyway, the set will be available as a stand alone package on AssetStore at some point (Depend on how long the review process take). I plan to add more stuff to the set yet. Feels like there are something missing, drone or transport container for instance.

January and TBTK v2.1 update

Time flies. Feels like it was new year yesterday and now January is gone. Well I like to think the month is well spent. I've spent the month working on TBTK, giving it the same face lift I've done to TDTK.

The update (version2.1) has since gone live on AssetStore a few days ago. So basically the new update has got:

• Major restructuring of most of the framework
• New and improved UI
• New Editors (more intuitive, undo/redo support, multi-instance editing, etc.) 
• Added support for square grid diagonal neighbor
• Added new ability: overwatch

It's a lot more work than TDTK. For a start the base game logic is more complicated. Took me quite a while to restructure and optimize it. But the end result has enabled me to add the new feature. I've been wanting to do that but the old code is just a little bit too complicated for more complexity. 

Then there's the UI. Unlike TDTK, I've reskin the it on top of remaking it with new code. I really enjoy making new aesthetic for the UI. And because I've done that, the UI in the demo (campaign mode) has to be redo too for consistency sake. 

All in all, I think it's worth the effort. Hopefully all you user (or potential user) will enjoy the effort I've put in.

Now that both TBTK and TDTK has been updated. The next thing I would like to do is update the art asset for both of them. The vehicles and turrets set I've been using have started to look a bit dated. And if I'm honest, they are not very well done and I recon I can do a better job this time round. So following image is a sneak peak of what's coming next. Keep in mind that it's very much a work in progress, not everything will make it to the final build.

Now while I'm here, I would like to announce that I will be away for two weeks starting on February. I'll be carry on working on this as soon as I'm back. Until then, please don't hold your breath.

Happy 2016! (and new TDTKv3.1 update)

It's a new year and boy I'm glad that I'm here.

Since the release of the new TDS-TK (TopDownShooter-ToolKit), I've been busy working on giving TDTK a overhaul. I know, my packages naming is getting a bit silly but whatever. At least they are adequately named. Back to the point, TDTK is now ready for another update to version3.1. I've made so much changes in the new update that I'm a bit tempted to version it as 3.5. But I will have to say very little of those change applies to gameplay and mechanic.

First, all the editors has been rewritten to improve its usability. Most noticeable would be the layout. I've put a lot of attention into making the editor more intuitive and explaining what each setting does. Then there's the detail like better integration between different editor windows and undo/redo, multi-instance editing for certain prefab and so on. Have to say, the most important of this all is that the code will be much easier to maintain and expand in the future.

The new UI

The next big change would be the new UI. The old UI is a bit clunky if I'm honest. It's done in the earlier days of unity GUI when I just started to getting the hang of it. Some of the code is even obsolete post Unity5.1. So the new UI, it's cleaner in term of code and better organized when it comes to arrangement in hierarchy. Not to mention it's marginally better looking (in my opinion). At any rate, any user who intend to modify it will have an easier time. Or at least it will serve as a better example for anyone who wants to make their own UI

Finally, lots of changes has been applied to the existing code base. Most of these are to simplify and optimize the code, or at least have it make more sense structure wise.

In a nutshell, I would say that all these have pretty much laid the ground work for TDTKv4.0. I cant tell you how much I have fight the urge to simply carry on, give everything a face lift and simply make it 4.0. But that would be a task for some other time.

So now that the update for  TDTK is done (It's now live on AssetStore). Moving on to TBTK.

TopDownShooter-ToolKit

Apparently I've never make any announcement post for my latest release on AssetStore. To make it up, I hereby announce that TDSTK is now live on AssetStore. And so is the subsequent update v1.1. Now I won't go through what TDSTK can do here. You can simply get that from the TDSTK main page.

Truth be told, TDSTK start from something I work for fun over the weekend. I'm quite happy with the way it turns out. It has a very flexible system that allows a lot of synergy between the weapons, effects, ability and collectibles. Any effects (damage, stun, slow, damage over time, etc) can used for any weapon, ability and collectible. Weapon can fire abilities, abilities usage can be set to behave like collectible or weapons, Collectible can grant weapon or ability or modified weapon behaviour and so on. It's not the same thing but it feels so much more free form and powerful then what I've done in both TDTK or TBTK.

The fact that I spent almost as much time playing the demo as I worked on it is a testament of how fun the mechanic is. Or I'm just so deprived of the simple pleasure of playing a simple top down shooter game that I find a simple demo so fun. I guess the new visual direction that I went for helps too. There's a strange satisfaction when every time when I shoot at something and it shatters into pieces. If you are sold based on what I've described so far, try play the demo yourself. You can find the link at the TDSTK main page.

Some of the behind the scene screen shot for the demo

On a more technical side, the implementation is objectively better. Most of this won't be immediately obvious to the user but it will be a lot more easier for me to maintain, update and expand the toolkit in the long run. For a start, the code for the editors are better organized and it support multiple instance editing when it can. Then the UI is done a lot more efficiently, drastically reduce the amount of code required. I'm planning to apply all this new techniques here to both TDTK and TBTK.

Of course, there's plenty of room for improvement and expansion. I can see myself adding support for some sort of character progression system, or inventory system, taking it very close to being an action rpg framework. A very exciting prospect indeed. What I'm trying to say is I will definitely trying to experimenting and adding new interesting feature in the future. Basically Just like what I did with TDTK and TBTK.

Finally, some shameless self-complimenting. The new tank and turret set I've made for the toolkit, quite nice aren't they? 

Coming Soon...

Taking a break from MechCorp, I've been working on something new (you can probably tell from the gif above), a toolkit about top down shooter, fittingly name TopDownShooter-ToolKit (very original I've no doubt).

Now I'm not going to shed all the detail here until it's done.This is just a quick post about what's coming.

Like TBTK and TDTK, this new toolkit is aim to allow building of as many kind of top down shooter gameplay as possible. User can build custom unit, weapons, abilities, collectibles of their own within a reasonable confine. The toolkit should accommodate most of the gameplay mechanic found in typical design.

Unlike TDTK and TBTK, the structure of the new toolkit is a lot more free form and open ended. It support a variety of objectives for each level. It also comes with various utility tool for level design to create various set piece. I have to say, I've lost count of time I end up play instead of testing the demo scene. It's quite fun! I can sure see myself working on this for a long time to come, there's so much potentially fun stuff I can add with this one.

Personally, I find the most satisfaction in the coding. Which is a lot more better than my past work. Now that I've done that. The OCD in me is urging me to go back and revise TBTK and TDTK with the new improvement I've made.

At the moment, I'm polishing stuff up and working on the documentation. If you are still guessing, yes this is coming to AssetStore, unless it's rejected for whatever reason. Until then, enjoy these sneak peak.

Timed survival in arena - taken from one of the demo scene

Some of the editors, perhaps you can tell what feature are supported from these

Endless side scroller, checked.