ubo-dev-blog

[ubo-dev-blog]

Eureka: Wall Crawling

I was having trouble figuring out how to get Ubo to wall crawl in Form Zero and One. The internet wants me to use physics and gravity but I refuse. For now, anyway. So no help online. Since I was stuck I decided to write out how my existing system should change for each surface that Ubo might walk on. In the first image you can see the simple movement system: a constant movement speed gets added to Ubo's y-vector while the move button is pressed.

Per the table I created, when Ubo climbs a wall to his right, I'll need to add that movement speed constant to his z-vector instead of the y-vector. His model will also need to be rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise (CCW). In the Blueprint this will all be handled by adding a line trace that checks the tag of the wall Ubo is running into and then changes which movement vector is modified accordingly. This way, right and left will control all motion but be applying different movements depending on the circumstances.

Eureka! I feel like I'm slowly cracking this player controller. I will update again once these discoveries have been implemented.

Oh and I was avoiding telling you guys this because then it meant I had to update my other posts, but Ubo Form 1 (original Ubo) will now be known as Ubo Zero. Ubo + 1 power core, formerly known as Ubo Form 2, will now be Ubo Form 1. Ubo Zero sounds cool and now the Form numbers will match the number of cores Ubo has. Win-win.

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UE4 has a lot of built-in functions unique to Character-type blueprints. Things like jumping and input monitoring and lots of physics based movement. Which is great, and maybe I’m making things more difficult for myself in the long run by not using it. I’m sure it’s possible, but those physics and math-intensive systems are simultaneously beyond my skill level and beyond the needs of the game.

Instead, I’m programming all the movements in a straight forward way, similar to my work in Unity engine where these built-in physics movements don’t exist. So in Ubo, pushing left will move the model left and play an animation while doing so, no physics. I’ll have to see how this approach works as we move forward, and I also have a lot of ideas for using physics for juicing up little things throughout the game and give them more punch and visual intrigue. That comes later.

Anyway, here’s a video of Ubo moving around except I turned the physics on and his collision capsule is the complete wrong shape for his body so he’s just rolling around in all the wrong ways. I’m angry that if I try to give him to a proper box collision his body parts get all out of proportion so I’m taking a break. I’ll re-do all the meshes for his blueprint in a bit I suppose.

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Ubo-lution: How Ubo Evolves

Still figuring out the exact right colors.. This green ended up being more than a little too fluorescent lol. Glad to update my original sketches though, and planning to find a better artist to do some more final art soon. Back to the game!

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Concept Art & Early Models

Power Spheres? Energy Cores? TBD. Had a good day of arting it up but I’m itching to get started on the Form 2 player controller.

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Ubo Rebirth: Concept Stage

An old idea that I put on some far off backburner, but still one of my favorites in terms of strength and simplicity of concept. You play as Ubo, a blob monster experimented on by some ghoulish creatures. 

After escaping your container, you find yourself in the middle of the heavily-secured research facility. You sneak your way past guards, using your blob form to stretch upwards and stick to walls, as well as squish yourself into tight vents and pipes.

Eventually, you find a power sphere, the magnum opus of this terrible place and the source of your sentience. Merging with the sphere, Ubo unlocks a slew of new powers and a ravenous new form. You can now perform a spin dash to destroy obstacles, and roll up and down walls and even wall jump between them. At any point, you can devolve, losing any power spheres you collect and regaining the abilities of your previous form until new spheres are found or old spheres recollected.

With two spheres at once, Ubo again grows stronger but now has more control over himself, taking on a humanoid form and regaining his original eyeball. The two power spheres, not mounted on Ubo’s shoulders, become laser turrets that he can aim in any direction. While he loses his ability to stick to surfaces, Ubo can now jump and climb ledges.

Play as Ubo and use your newfound powers to explore and fight your way through the facility to reach freedom. Maybe even uncover some mysteries about this strange world along the way. Who knows what the true power of this adorable green blob might be?