In week 2 of the space game development, Jam and Rich made progress in implementing a space dust system, updating the airlock design, and adding lighting effects to the engines. They focused on developing weapon systems, including homing missiles and Gatling turrets, and worked on improving the visual aspects of the game, such as experimenting with chaos destruction and designing a boss ship.
In this week 2 Dev Vlog for a space game being developed by Jam and Rich, they discuss the progress they have made so far. They have implemented a space dust system that adds a sense of motion while flying through space. They have also updated the airlock design and added light sources to the engines, creating a lighting effect when using afterburners. Rich has started designing the AI system for homing missiles and has successfully programmed a close-in weapon system that can shoot down incoming missiles.
The main focus of week 2 was on the weapon systems. Rich utilized Unreal’s built-in projectile movement class to create homing missiles, but had to write custom code to adjust their acceleration for smoother arcs. The Gatling turrets were more complex, requiring prediction algorithms to determine where to aim and shoot. They found a package on the Unreal Marketplace that provided the necessary math calculations, but they plan to optimize it for better performance. They also added a damage field to the missiles and implemented a rudimentary targeting system.
In addition to the weapon systems, they worked on improving the visual aspects of the game. They redesigned the close-in weapon system and updated textures to make it look more appealing. They also experimented with Unreal’s chaos destruction system, fracturing an asteroid and adding particle emitters for a more realistic breakup effect. They are still tweaking this system and plan to apply it to all asteroids in the game.
They have also started creating development documents and have a basic mission plan for their game demo. They are aiming to include a boss fight and have already started modeling the boss ship. They are also working on a cargo system and designing cargo modules for looting. In week 3, they will focus on environmental art and refining the ship workflow.
Overall, the development of the space game is progressing well, with various systems and visual elements coming together. The team is excited about the upcoming features and is actively engaging with the community for feedback and suggestions.