Progress Update
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 8:20 pm
With spring already here, it is incredible to think that we are already a quarter of the way through this year. Not sure where the time went, but I would like to think it was put to good use and a little bit of fun.
For the most part, the recent focus of development has been to get the game UI to work with various input types( Keyboard/Mouse, touchscreen, Gamepad). The input has been partially working with Keyboard/Mouse and Touchscreen, but Gamepad support lacked some attention. This is an essential part of the project because most games still to this day do not support Gamepad, and that is not ideal coming from a person who favors Gamepad for most games when appropriate.
Implementing Gamepad and Keyboard arrows were not incredibly difficult but also not a small task due to so many factors that needed to be considered. Getting the input itself is made easy by the new Unity Input System, but that is where the easy tasks end. There are logical challenges that need to be considered, such as current focus, loss of focus, navigation direction, and focus correction on setting the previously selected object's focus to achieve intuitive navigation for the end-user. Multiple functionality segments had to be created to achieve the desired result, with some challenges along the way. Currently, the focus can be set to any object and lost with Mouse/touch selecting an empty area of the screen. The Gamepad or Keybaord can restore focus from no active selection to the desired previous selection by providing directional input from Keyboard arrows and or Gamepad directional input.
Key changes:
- Gamepad Support
- Gamepad Shoulder to navigate primary menu
- The keyboard Escape button expands and collapses the main menu
- Keyboard arrows to navigate menus
- Regain navigation focus when no object has the focus
The main navigation menu is starting to populate with the relevant content. With that comes a long-overdue change to bring the World access point of the navigation from nested navigation to the top navigation area within the Lobby. As development moves forward, this navigation will continue to change to accommodate the intended requirements and some improvements along the way.
Another focus area that I am actively working on in the background is the artwork; this is a challenging part of the project for various reasons and is time-consuming to make progress. But with that said, it is my pleasure to show you another early character design.
Have a great weekend :)
For the most part, the recent focus of development has been to get the game UI to work with various input types( Keyboard/Mouse, touchscreen, Gamepad). The input has been partially working with Keyboard/Mouse and Touchscreen, but Gamepad support lacked some attention. This is an essential part of the project because most games still to this day do not support Gamepad, and that is not ideal coming from a person who favors Gamepad for most games when appropriate.
Implementing Gamepad and Keyboard arrows were not incredibly difficult but also not a small task due to so many factors that needed to be considered. Getting the input itself is made easy by the new Unity Input System, but that is where the easy tasks end. There are logical challenges that need to be considered, such as current focus, loss of focus, navigation direction, and focus correction on setting the previously selected object's focus to achieve intuitive navigation for the end-user. Multiple functionality segments had to be created to achieve the desired result, with some challenges along the way. Currently, the focus can be set to any object and lost with Mouse/touch selecting an empty area of the screen. The Gamepad or Keybaord can restore focus from no active selection to the desired previous selection by providing directional input from Keyboard arrows and or Gamepad directional input.
Key changes:
- Gamepad Support
- Gamepad Shoulder to navigate primary menu
- The keyboard Escape button expands and collapses the main menu
- Keyboard arrows to navigate menus
- Regain navigation focus when no object has the focus
The main navigation menu is starting to populate with the relevant content. With that comes a long-overdue change to bring the World access point of the navigation from nested navigation to the top navigation area within the Lobby. As development moves forward, this navigation will continue to change to accommodate the intended requirements and some improvements along the way.
Another focus area that I am actively working on in the background is the artwork; this is a challenging part of the project for various reasons and is time-consuming to make progress. But with that said, it is my pleasure to show you another early character design.
Have a great weekend :)