Hi!

Another update...

I resolved a few more tasks from the list... and resolved a few new tasks/issues I encountered.

Graphics and effects implementation

I've implemented all the graphical stuff except for the new enemy - icons, effects... There wasn't much to do but there was a need to slightly change functionality of the objects which use those elements.

Now Effects controller class has an option for the object attached to be destroyed either at the Animation end or Sound end.

To avoid too many checks in the code I've just placed a header stating that only one will work. In reality if both checked Animation destroyer will destroy the object.

New destroy effect options

To implement new effects behind the collectable item and after the item is collected I added new functionality to the Interactive objects class.

I've added Y axis offset to both so level editors can change the Y position without changing the effects prefab or animation.

Obj Effect and Obj After Effect are here just for checking during the runtime.

During and after effects on collectable objects

I also started working on the new enemy. This enemy type is a base and will have more variants later in the game.

Enemy codename "C"

Because all characters and enemies until now have different sprite sides I will need to do so for this enemy too. What that means is that left and right animations are not mirrored but totally different sprites.

A lot of unnecessary work? I don't know...

It looks better because of the light and shadow effects on the sprites but it prolongs the development.

Character control

Jump height control has finally been implemented!

If the player just taps the jump button the character will make the shortest jump, but if the button is held the character will continue to propel.

I've tweaked all control settings and added many variables as visible in the inspector so the level editor can easily tweak the jump.

There is a decrease rate so the jump effect can feel more natural during longer jumps, but also I've added a Long jump stop on terrain collision option.

I've tested it and decided it isn't a good option to activate for my type of levels. There are a lot of "tunnels", "steps" and similar "obstacles" and when a character touches some of those it's better not to cause it to stop jumping. Game becomes too difficult.

On the other hand our main character has longer jumps because I wanted to, at least to some extent, show that Mars gravity affects him less. I tried to keep it feels natural, but in these cases when it touches terrain while jumping it seems a little bit strange. It's a tradeoff... probably I'll tweak it some more in the future but it is important that players can finish the level without encountering any game breaking mechanics.

On the other hand we have the princess character and for her gravity works "normally", which means she doesn’t have jumps as long as our main character. So there is also a need to make those two characteristics different enough.

Long Jump control options for controllable characters

Enemy control

I made some changes to enemy attack logic. Mainly - it will now attack just the first playable character entering the attack range.

 Sound and music control

Upon linking the sound control to the Audio mixer I have encountered some issues. Issues were caused by my old code which controlled the volume of the Audios sources. This issue happened only in specific situations, but thankfully I've noticed that and resolved it.

I'll also need to make some additional changes to my current Music controller class. I will implant the functionality I had but now is disabled - on level load music fade in and fade out.

I've also started to work on writing down the dialogues.

As expected, there are always some additional tweaks and issues to resolve, but I'm happy with the pace things are going now. And when I'm happy I do some more tweaking and rewriting... But I guess that's ok :)

That's all for now,

Stay tuned!