World Runner
Updates & History
The "Touch screen is coming when I like everything else" update! (v1.2, Dec 2019)
No image this time. Visually the games the same, just better.
Update Notes. A few bug fixes, a big behind-the-scenes overhaul of the tile generation system, and a streamlining of gameplay!
I was noticing in my last update that when generating the next set of tiles, there was a frame drop while the tiles loaded. Looking at the things again required a big change in how I was laying out my work, in contrast to what I was putting on offer at the start of this year.
I was noticing in my last update that when generating the next set of tiles, there was a frame drop while the tiles loaded. Looking at the things again required a big change in how I was laying out my work, in contrast to what I was putting on offer at the start of this year.
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Bug fixes! No more lag when (off-screen) generating an upcoming set of tiles. Early 2019 me was generating tiles in huge groups, laying out a set of 5 - 7 strips in one actor and spawning them all at once. I've changed the generation to generate one strip now, and run special events for tiles such as water, road, and rail. As a result...
No more lag (on screen) when getting to higher scores. Actor generation could get out of hand, and it's been massively curbed (more than 70% reduction on an average run) Different tiles! To account for the new generation system, all the tiles have been changed. Instead of creating intricate layouts across 5 or so strips, I'm letting the game handle it. It makes for a more diverse and unique layout as well fortunately. A smaller world! Scaled the world down by roughly 1,000 units (a tile is currently 100x100x100 (or a default cube actor)) to allow for a smaller world. This also "provisionally" appears to be speeding up certain gameplay elements A smoother experience! Initial test runs where showing 2k+ actors when the player was reaching 100+ score (accounting for each set of tiles, vehicles, logs, trees, everything. To fix this we changed a few things:
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No touch features. Yet. Trying to get this to run smoothly took priority. 1.3 maybe?
Water transitions are getting there. But... Changing collision sizes has definitely helped, but it still has a small chance of looking rough. I may need to change the shape or angle the collision volume is set on. |
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A lot of monitoring and overthinking. I'm still thinking about scaling the map size further, pending if the game can run on a phone. I'll have to check that when I cross that road.
What about sand? I'm going to source some new assets for a sand section. Cacti, tumbleweeds, a sphinx statue maybe? I'll have to see what I can find. Other feature ideas. I'm also looking to consider adding in flowers, maybe some wind visual effect. I'll look into this whilst I procrastinate from adding touch features. |
Another update! (Version 1.1.3, Nov 2019)
Update Notes. A smaller update this time, mainly just for the implementation of two new features.
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Chicken! Implemented a basic chicken as the player character, replacing the ball.
Water Sections! There's now water sections that the player can traverse, but the player can't swim. Smoother Gameplay! Experiments with lighting and shadows etc. has let helped me improve the game at Runtime. Players should expect a considerably smoother experience. |
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Water-To-Land transitions are a bit iffy. I imagine at this point in time, this is mainly just down to me, and it's something I'm going to tackle in the future.
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What happened to 1.1.2 and 1.1.1? Quick answer? 1.1.1 had a bunch of Runtime issues, 1.1.2 had a different set of Runtime issues. 1.1.3 appears to be running smoothly.
No touch features yet. I'm still looking at adding touch features, but there's only been 2 days since I last updated this project. This was more the execution of an idea I didn't understand at the start of the year, and a feature I think is worth being in a playable product |
Update! (Version 1.1, Nov 2019)
Update Notes. In the several months since I initially produced this project, I've come to understand more about Unreal Engine, and started to apply it to my older work. Whilst I intend to keep working on this project, this is the first major update, that I'm releasing for viewing, and for download. A new version can be downloaded below!
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Trains! Trains are now one of the many hazards that the player can encounter when traveling through the world.
New Environments! The player can now encounter dirt sections, and rail sections, to accommodate the new trains. RNG! All vehicles, including the new train hazards, have varied movement speed. Each strip will assign the same movement value to all vehicles on that strip, but no two strips share the same value they plan to assign to vehicles. Audio Improvements! Implementation of attenuation settings to vehicles and trains, as well as varying pitches. No two vehicles should sound too alike anymore. The wall of death! A red wall will slowly chase after the player now gaining speed as the player progresses. If the player gets caught by the wall, it's game over! Clean Up! The starting area, as well as several prior environments have been modified to be less cluttered. Future Ideas! Implementation of a potential respawn UI feature, using an ad model in a future update. Cleaner Packaging! The file size (when zipped) has changed by less than 1mb, with no changes to performance! |
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No Character Change. I've been looking for a replacement model for the placeholder white ball. Unfortunately I've had no luck finding an available assets that fit the visual style. Yet.
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Plans for the Future!
A - The intention is to learn more about touch-screen implementation, and devise a way to implement it both creatively, and functionally. B - With that in place, move to testing on a phone. If I can make this project work on a phone, I can look to publish my title on to an app store! With that, I can gain some valuable experience in putting a project on the app store, the application process, various compliance requirements. C - Continued feature implementation. Additional environments (I think a desert set with some big obstacles as opposed to 1-square obstacles would be cool) ad implementation (if I can successfully place this on an app store) new vehicles, character customisation, an in-game currency system. A tonne of features I have my brain set on! |
Download the update!
(Clicking this link will take you to a OneDrive download link)
Initial work accessible below.
(Clicking this link will take you to a OneDrive download link)
Initial work accessible below.
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One of my recent projects, WorldRunner is a small scale project produced entirely by myself, to further develop myself, whilst similarly demonstrating a far more significant work load than that produced several years ago during my university life.
Emulating popular titles such as frogger, and mobile games such as Crossy Road, WorldRunner is an experiment in infinite generation, score-keeping, and culling methods. |
World Runner Demo:
Download and play for yourself!
(Clicking this text will take you to One Drive. Download will start automatically)
(Clicking this text will take you to One Drive. Download will start automatically)