MORE BOSS VISUAL EFFECTS
This week we finalized most of the visual effects for the boss to give him more interactions with the environment. We added rock particles that blow up into the air when he body slams, jumps, and tail spikes. We also added a camera shake for when the boss body slams to give more impact.
The only current problem is when the rock particles land on the ground, some of them float slightly above the ground model and the shadows exemplify the error.
The only current problem is when the rock particles land on the ground, some of them float slightly above the ground model and the shadows exemplify the error.
ENEMIES AND AI
This week we implemented 3 enemy ideas... the spider, the worm, and the scorpion. The spider and scorpion both have a restriction on how many enemies can be in melee range of the character at once (currently 5). This makes it seem like the AI has a little more logic and doesn't group up as much (although further work needs to be done to prevent more grouping). The spider will run up and melee the target and if there are already 5 enemies, it will stand idle nearby. The scorpion will melee the target if it is one of the 5 local enemies, otherwise it will shoot at the target with a shot from his tail at a distance. This makes it so even if you are dealing with 5 enemies immediately around you, you also need to be careful of shots from further away. The worm will pick a random spot around the target, stay idle for a moment, shoot, stay idle, then submerge. The worm doesn't take into account the local enemies because it only uses ranged attacks.
SPIDER ENEMY
The first enemy that we completed this week was the spider enemy. The idea behind this enemy was to create something that had a close melee range and would swarm the player. Large groups of the spider swarming together can prevent player movement while providing the player with the choice of attacking the horde of spiders or focusing on the long range enemies.
SCORPION ENEMY
The second enemy that we completed this week was the scorpion enemy. This enemy was mainly created to add an element of choice and a depth the fights for the player. The scorpion can melee and also has a long range attack. If the player is swarmed by spiders then the scorpion will sit back and use its long range attack, other wise the scorpion will approach the enemy and do a medium damage melee attack.
WORM ENEMY
The last enemy that we completed this week was the worm enemy. This enemy was made to train the player to avoid the slime shots. This prepares the player for a progression from these enemies in the first level to the boss at the end of the level. This enemy pops up at random points around the player then fires a shot and the retreats back under ground.