Crowd Generation Tool
Engine: Unreal Engine 4 Platform: UE4 Marketplace Planned Release Date: 2020
Aim: To build a tool for Unreal Engine 4 that can spawn NPC units in a way that simulates a crowd, and to release this asset to the UE4 Marketplace.
Description: This Crowd Generation Tool was inspired by the crowd spawning system in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. It can be used to specify an area of a map to spawn a user-specified number of NPC characters at random or predetermined positions. It can include exclusion zones (practically used for places such as rooftops) where the NPCs do not spawn, and also a crowd density, determining how close the NPC characters all spawn to each other. It also has an option to spawn in hidden locations (ie, behind pillars, walls, etc), so that if a player is close to the generation field, they do not notice the crowd spawning. The user can also specify a second area, where if entered, or exited, the crowd will spawn and despawn appropriately.
Work Carried Out so Far: This asset is near completion, with most of the functionality in place, other than the spawn in hidden locations feature. It began written in C++, but after some market research, it quickly shifted to using Blueprints to make it easier for the user to navigate and understand. Once this final feature is implemented, the asset is ready for release once the necessary marketing material and final touches have been produced as per Epic Games’ standards.
Real Time Strategy Game
Engine: MonoGame (XNA) Platform: PC Planned Completion Date: 2020
Aim: To build a Real Time Strategy Game from scratch, using C#, in order to keep my skills up in a second programming language other than C++.
Description: The idea for this project was inspired from the original Age of Empires, with an intention to make the feel and play of the game reasonably similar. The game began life as a tribute to the Area 51 memes circulating the internet, and is still following a similar theme, with the idea being of a single player RTS, where the player is coordinating the Area 51 raid, and invading Area 51 (the enemy). It has simplistic spawning, AI, combat, and resource collection to the original Age of Empires.
Work Carried Out so Far: This project is about halfway complete. The foundation of the game is there: the ability to spawn structures and units using resources and bound by a population limit, select them, and delete them at will. An XML Editor has been built to allow for easy input of structure/unit types and upgrades, and the AI pathfinding using the A* algorithm is nearing completion. Once this is finished, the combat and collection aspects of the AI will be implemented quickly. After the AI is finished, the final touches will be to build a map editor, create an RTS style camera that pans over the map, and add art and sound assets for the finishing touches.
Aythan Maconachie 