conjurersoftime

[conjurersoftime]

Problem - Fatal error when package

When trying to package, I had a error that caused the editor to stop packaging. Apparently the code could not include some code into the code... Makes sense. Here is the error below.

Here is the line that I deleted to hopefully fix the packing :

Edit : I later found out that every include causes a fatal error, so I now need to go through all my code and remove the #include that is not being used...

[conjurersoftime]

Progress - Current game

Here is a video of the current state of the game :

I have featured automatic respawning of the enemy as well as some slight effects that in my opinion improve the gameplay. At the moment, the game is quite difficult to play so I will try and find a way of making the game easier to play after I have completed most of the game mechanics.

[conjurersoftime]

Problem - Crash when trying to get anything from the folders

When trying to receive a sprite from the content browser inside of unreal engine, I keep getting a compiling error. I am not sure why this is happening, but anything that I do will still result in a error. I will be exploring on reddit and the unreal forms to find a fix to this problem.

As you see in the image above, all I am doing is using a file reference path that will tell the function (UObjectFinder) to get the file that is at that location and store it in "SpriteAssetObj2".

EDIT :

Managed to fix the issue by including the "PaperSprite.h" file. Originally I had the paper sprite component file included, but not the normal paper sprite file.

[conjurersoftime]

Problem - Spawning in a actor with a location inside of a Array.

When trying to gather a random index from the array, I came across a issue where it would crash the game. I presume it was because it couldn't gather the random int fast enough so it came out as null, causing a crash. This is my presumptions though. To fix this, instead of using random int in range, I could use random int. This is great however I need the enemy to spawn outside of the players view, so using a normal random int will not work.

[conjurersoftime]

Problem - Easy fix but wrong variable

For my game, when the enemy dies I wanted the enemy to scale down in size and destroy itself. I did the variable wrong and made the enemy scale up instead of down. This is the outcome.

Its still quite cool, and could be a idea for a future game however is not what I am aiming for in this project.

[conjurersoftime]

Problem - Crashing due to the delay

When clicking on the actor, it will now cause the game to crash and direct me to this line of code. I believe that the crashing is due to the delay as these problems have only just happened when the delay was introduced. To fix this, I will have to get rid of the delay and instead use a delay inside of the enemy actor itself. This should stop the crashing, as well as raise the FPS of the game.

[conjurersoftime]

Problem - Adding a delay to destroy actor

The O' Troubling line. I am nearly finished with it, however it requires a few more features that I currently do not have with one of them being the destruction of it after a few seconds.

Through my research, time delays are not really possible inside of C++ like they are in blueprint however there are some delays that use time dilatation and other methods to create a effect of a delay.

Here is a screenshot and a link to the form that includes a couple different types of delay examples.

This above is the code that I have used. After 0.2 seconds it will destroy the actor, just like a delay node.

Why does delay's work differently inside of C++ than Blueprint

C++ code is fired off sequentially compared to Blueprint, at least that is what I have gathered from this form. Using the blueprint function inside of C++ will cause the game to fire off the delay instantly.

[conjurersoftime]

Resolution - Final Development day

This project has felt short, with all the university research that has taken place as well as the activities that we have taken part in. The XR lab in the West Suffolk University Campus allowed myself and my class to explore VR games and what they are like to play. This allows us to explore different methods of playing and interacting with games. For this final day, a final evaluation will be created by me as well as a portfolio for the events that have happened throughout this project. I may complete the rest of the game on that day if time is available, however unlikely due to the sheer complexity of C++ code and the limited time I would have available to me.

What Have I Learned In This Project

Gathering objects/files from a file destination

A better understanding of input mappings for my game

Spawning in actors and the fundamentals

Simple games go a long way

Unreal engine is a interface for C++, not a editor.

How to disable collisions inside of C++

How to create components inside of C++

How to interact with sprites inside of C++

How to use the mouse as a interaction method in C++

How to control time using time dilatation inside of C++

What Do I Want To Learn For My Next/Upcoming Project

Dynamic and normal materials inside of C++.

Post processing and Shaders

A better understanding of C++

How to spawn in blueprint actors instead of C++ actors

[conjurersoftime]

Problem & Resolution - Error when clicking on enemy

When trying to get the cursor hit location, I found that the game will now crash every time when the enemy is clicked. I later found out that it was because I was trying to get the socket location, which required a name. For the name input, I just gathered the socket name. For example :

(PlayerBoom->GetSocketLocation(PlayerBoom->GetSocketName()))

This caused the error, so instead of doing this, I changed the code to just gather the character sprite location :

And from this, I need to test the distance so I know what the scale should be for the line.

[conjurersoftime]

Progression - Disabling collision for sprite line

I found that once the shoot line has been spawned, it would cause the actor to become stuck inside of it. I searched online for a solution for this and found this form :

Below is the code that I gathered from that form that disabled the collisions for my actor :

This now allows me to get the line in place, scaled and sorted ready for the gameplay.

[conjurersoftime]

Progression - Visible sprite... Finally.

I have finally got the sprite to be visible. I found that when spawning the actor via C++, nothing done inside of blueprint will be applied to it. Even if I make a exposed variable and put the sprite into the code through there, it will still not be shown inside of the game. This made this a bit more difficult, but after searching online on forms for similar problems and issues, I finally came across a fix. Here is my line of code below :

And here is the form that I found that included information that helped me :

The code grabs the file from the root folder directory and allows me to translate that to a variable that I can use. Using the sprite I just received, I can now use the -> operator and set the sprite to the 'USpriteComponent', allowing the sprite to be seen..

[conjurersoftime]

Problem & Resolution - Can not create a Paper Flipbook Variable.

When creating the sprite for my actor so my actor becomes visible, I came across a issue when creating the sub-object. This issue will cause a error stating that the code is incomplete. I will be searching this up on the unreal forms to try and figure out a fix for this issue.

1st Edit : I have now found out later that the Paper Flipbook Component may be a blueprint feature. To be certain of this and to find a way of resolving this, I will be doing research to figure out how to use this using C++.

2nd Edit : After all the research, I have finally found what the problem is. By mistake, I did not include the file for the paper flipbook component. This means that the actor did not know what a flipbook is, causing the engine to crash. Here is the form that I found that helped me with this :

[conjurersoftime]

Progress - Got a location.

When spawning in the line, I am now getting a location from the actor which means that the actor is valid. This is great however the actor is still not visible.

Edit :

I have found that the spawned in actor includes no sprites, meaning that the C++ blueprint with the sprites in is not spawning in but the actual C++ actor is. To fix this, I will try and get the sprite inside of C++ and Create it from there. This will also allow me to edit this sprite easier in C++ and fit within my project guidelines that I have set myself.

[conjurersoftime]

Problem + Resolve - Actor will not spawn

Im trying to spawn in a actor, however I am struggling to do this. Most people that I currently know in person, including my college tutors have no idea how to fix this issue so I have had to open up my view and explore different forms for resolutions. One of the most common forms for unreal related problems is the official Developer Community Forms for epic games. I will be posting on these forms to find a resolution for my problem and hopefully fix it! Here is a link to the forms :

[conjurersoftime]

Resolution - Translating Blueprint to C++

For this project, I have been making code inside of Blueprint to then be later converted to C++. Making the code inside of blueprint allows me to test to see if the code will first work, and how to implement it into my code. I am also more knowledgeable when it comes to Blueprint, so using blueprint as a starting and understanding point will hopefully make the project easier to complete. This will cause the code to take longer, however as I am making a starting in blueprint it will allow me to use Unreal's blueprint compiling tool which is much faster than a IDE's compiling.

[conjurersoftime]

Problems - Trying to spawn a actor inside of C++ (More indepth)

After referencing the actor using #include "linetrace.h" and spawning in the actor, the actor variable is valid however no physical or visible actor spawns in. I also find that the actor will always spawn at 0,0,0 making me think that it cant spawn inside of the scene properly. To experiment on this, I created a scene component on the actor using C++ by creating a variable under 'USceneComponent' and creating a component inside of the .cpp file. This seemed to not do anything. I may need to make this code inside of Blueprint due to the time restraints that I have given myself and the issues that I have received.

[conjurersoftime]

4/11/23 - Final week...

Throughout this project, I do believe that the effort I have put in has not been as high as my previous projects however the problems I have solved and the experience that I have gained throughout this project has greatly improved my understanding of how to code. With all the different experiences that the college offered to us students, we expanded our knowledge of games from board games to VR experiences. The effort may not be present in this project, but the knowledge and problem fixing still exists like explained before will greatly improve my future projects.

Throughout this week (and mainly Sunday night as Its when I produce the most amount of work), I will be getting my blogs to a decent level whilst also bringing my project to a playable state.