So, I took the plan from last week and put it on hold. I got some great feedback from everyone over the weekend and it became painfully obvious that the M.A.V. editor needed to receive some serious love.
So here is feedback we got:
- I can’t tell what is going on.
- The arrow keys don’t do what I expected.
- This is frustrating.
So after looking at different ways to adjust the control scheme, it dawned on me that I was approaching it completely wrong. And with that, I am switching the whole M.A.V. editor to a drag and drop system using the mouse.
Sadly, this is a fairly big switch, but I feel it is 100% necessary, and that now is the best time to do it.
So here is the extent of what I have in place so far. The drag and drop functionality is in, with highlighting of nearby attach points. The attachment process is in as well. This code update also carried a some benefit to the gameplay side as well. Now, when a part is destroyed, the child parts will automatically re-attach to valid attach points. This is most noticeable when you have a cluster of weapons but it provides a more realistic experience in game.
Here is what I plan to get working before Saturday:
Get the part selection UI updated to work with the drag and drop.
Get the editor functions working again, like mech validation.
Switch weapon group editing to mouse control.
Well that sums up this week. As always, your feedback is always welcome and helps me make a better game!