Gizmo Beta Released!

It's finally here...well kinda. It's still in Beta, but a lot of its functionality is working and now you can try it out for yourself on CodePlex.

There are some known issues (including local-space transformations not working as intended) but I really wanted to let you guys try it and see what you think of it.

The component has been re-built from the ground-up to eliminate all of the old issues and improve readability and flexiblity of this new revamped component. Feedback and suggestions are welcome, you can post it in the comments or leave a message on Codeplex instead.

I'll leave you with just this image and a download link for now, a video will follow once I have a fully stable build.

Since I'm finally using SVN, you can directly follow my updates on the Source Code tab of codeplex.

GSM & Gizmo Update

Still no release available for the Gizmo project. However, with the Translation mode pretty much complete and the Rotation well under-way it's getting closer.

I finally created an SVN-host. This means the next Gizmo release will use it as well, so you should keep a sharp-eye on the Source Code tab of the project page.

Among other things I completely re-designed the GameState management of the engine. the previous GSM had faded over time in flexibility and support due to heavy changes in overall engine structure. This new system should increase readability, flexibility and performance. The Gizmo will use a small portion of the GSM. As it will be flexible, you can easily change the components to fit in your own framework without having to use mine.

The (normally invisible) collision hull of the Rotation-mode. Mesh vs. Ray will determine the selected axis.

The already complete Translation-mode. As seen in the previous video.

Gizmo Update (no release yet)

I have been working on a completely new Gizmo. The old one did what it has to do, but it lacked feedback for the user and didn't look very professional.

The new release, should be the (near) final iteration of the project. I still don't know exactly when it's going to be finished, but I've made a lot of progress today.

Currently, only the Translation part of the gizmo is in place. But like the previous version, rotation and scaling will be supported.

Updated 'Over Night' Trailer on Youtube

I've just finished updating the trailer of our previous project, 'Over Night'. It includes a new voice for Jake, the protagonist and higher quality in-game footage. The previous upload suffered greatly from compression artefacts. This issue has been resolved and the overall quality of the footage has been greatly improved.

For anyone wondering if this means the project is still on-going, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I've updated the trailer so I can include it in my Portfolio. More on that later...

Due Update

It's been a while since my last update. After a tiring 26 and a half hours of continuous work to make the deadline, I needed some time off from XNA. I got started again earlier this week though and I have a few teaser screenshots to show you guys.

The placeholder shells colliding with the environment.

The new shell models. (By Bo our 3D Artist)

Transparency/cube-map test for scope on Assault Rifle. (using Arbitrary model)

Dummies, a much easier way to align muzzle flashes and shell positions with the weapons.

The new (WIP) Gizmo. The current release on Codeplex is pretty outdated feature-wise. An updated release should be up soon (no ETA available yet)

Other upcoming tasks include, motion-blur on the shells, depth of field on the weapons and a proper muzzle flash among other cool stuff...

Updated SgMotion for Sunburn 2.0.6

SgMotion v1.2 for Sunburn 2.0.6 is now available on Codeplex!

Mostly changes to the Sample and removed some older unused classes that were causing trouble with the new XNA 4.0

The PlayerMarine.fbx class seems to loose his Animation clips in XNA 4.0 for an unknown reason. I have tested this issue with some of my own animated models, and they still work fine (using KW-Xport)

If you run into similar issues with your own models, I added a small *.xml file that demonstrates a quick way to split the model into custom animation clips (Note, default clip name in .fbx model is "Take 001")

Download Here

Project Sunburn: AI-Subsystem (First Dronetype & AI-Manager)

We completed our first playable prototype yesterday, and it includes AI! This was the first time I worked on game AI, previous games like Needle Juice and Over Night did not include any form of AI. Luckily our enemies are robotic, not human. It's a lot easier to create a believable drone that in-fact should act as if it's programmed compared to a humanoid character running around trying to act as a sentient being. So far the main drone class, the Spider-Drone, has been implemented and is strolling around in our game. Other drone types (including flying drones) will be added later in phase 2. (started yesterday) Below I wrote a very short summary of certain AI aspects that I included so far.

A lot of the info a drone requires is processed in a global manager class. This makes it easier to spread the workload across multiple frames, avoiding frame drops. One example is the Link Availability, testing the links against active drones in the level, blocking a certain link if a drone is not moving (shooting or idle), and therefore blocking that path. This avoids unnecessary navigation errors when drones try to reach the player.

Red lines indicate the path is blocked...

Another task that is handled by the AI-Manager is tagging waypoints as cover. As certain drone variations will hide behind cover to deploy their weaponry. These kind of non critical components are updated on low frequencies to safe CPU-cycles. In addition, only waypoints near the player can be tagged as potential cover.

The Yellow waypoints are tagged as "Cover"

All drones have some kind of weaponry to use against the player. Our first drone has a light machine gun, firing short bursts of bullets. Their weapons work very similar to the player weapons, so it was easy to setup. The turret tries to maintain a solid aim at the player (limited by its rotation speed) and fires bullet salvo's while trying while trying to get closer. In addition, the lens in front, can be destroyed by a single well-aimed shot. This basically counts as a headshot and immediately disables the drone.

These are some of the highlights currently implemented as part of the AI-Subsystem. In the upcoming phase I will spend more time optimizing the current manager, add air-drones, improve path-finding and improving overall behavior of the drones.