Post by Hitori Sensei in Desmond's Castle comments

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The game is awesome, I love it. The story, the graphics, the music, super well works together.

The only issue is the controls. Would be perfect to add gamepad support with twin-stick controls.

One tip for the mouse, unless the aiming direction constantly changing as the player moves is an intentional choice (which is pretty annoying and hard to control), instead of relying on a relation between the player position and a mouse cursor position, it would be better to rely on a relation between player position and a "virtual" pointer bound to the player's node (so the virtual pointer moves with the player). Then every frame add a real mouse delta to the "virtual" mouse position and viola, the aiming direction doesnt change when the player moves anymore. The virtual pointer should also be bound to a maximum radius around the player so it doesn't get too far.

Hitori Sensei3 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

Out of curiosity, I love when people making pixel art games in 3D engines take care to properly align pixels so the objects actually adhere to the virtual screen resolution. Such a tiny but crucial detail.

Are you using vertex snapping?

Nth brnd3 days ago (1 edit)

Hi! Yes, I used vertex snapping for the sprites in my game! It's not always successful, especially in the larger spaces when the camera moves to follow the player, but overall I think it's ok!

I've also made sure that the sprite sizes are consistent even for particles! As you say, I think it's these little details that are crucial to good rendering!

As for the problem you describe with the aiming direction, you're not the first to talk to me about this, and personally, I always have a bit of trouble understanding what's wrong with it.

It's not easy for me to imagine the solution you describe in play.

Can you think of any games that would have the virtual pointer you're describing? It would really help me understand what could be improved in my game!

Thanks for your comment!

Hitori Sensei3 days ago(+1)

I believe the best explanation will be some source code 😄

I'll put together some UE project later with the example and share with you.

Hitori Sensei2 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

Here's the project code with three examples:

https://hitorisensei.itch.io/unreal-project-example-top-down-360-mouse-targeting

the "Look at mouse" which always points the attack at the direction of the mouse
the delta-derived attack angle, which changes only when player moves the mouse
...and version with easing added

I've never shared the whole projects before, but I hope it will work :D
I can drop the compiled version too, just need to know the system you are using.

Requinnzious2 days ago

Thanks for bringing this up. It's something I would not have noticed otherwise, but to be honest it makes a world of difference.
I'm no Unreal dev, and I haven't played Desmond's Castle (yet). Just wanted to say you're a legend for not only giving tempered feedback, but guiding Nth brnd through the issue without snark and even giving them a project file. Talk about a good Samaritan!

Nth brnd1 day ago

Hi! First of all, thanks for investing your time in this! The project was very clean and easy to explore. I tested the 2 new aiming direction of your project, unfortunately I don't know why, the delta-derived attack angle didn't work well, but it doesn't matter since I understood what you were getting at.

The third example with the easing added was certainly the most interesting!

One thing I've noticed is that the feel and the way of playing the game changes completely, and personally, I'm having trouble getting used to this aiming direction (being used to the one in my game myself).

When I saw your comment, I first wondered if it was a design error on my part, and then I did some research to see how other top-down games do it, and I realized that most games (especially top-down shooters) have a camera that follows the player, so the player can move without the aiming direction changing.

I think what can be confusing in my game is that the camera is centered on the rooms, so the player has to manage the movement of the player and the mouse cursor.

Despite this, I don't think the current aiming direction is a design error. I really like the gameplay of my game and I'm sure some people will find it a pain in the ass.

Far be it from me to minimize your opinion or to say that there's a right way to play or a wrong way, but I think we all have different ways of playing and maybe my game doesn't allow for many of them or doesn't suit everyone, which may be a pity, but by changing the aiming direction for another, I don't think I'm correcting a bug but rather changing the way of playing the game.

Since I'm attached to the game's current gameplay, I don't think I'll be changing the aiming direction for another. I hope you'll understand what I mean!

Nevertheless, I'd be curious to know if any Top-down games have inspired the different aiming directions you've sent me!

Anyway, thanks again! It was really nice of you to invest your time in this!

Hitori Sensei1 day ago(+1)

Hello!

Thank for the feedback 😄

Of course, what I've suggested might sound nice in theory, but every theory is worthless unless checked with the reality, and to check this properly was to actually try it in a game. And it looks that in this case it was a miss 😅 It's nice that you've tried it, I'm flattered.

Maybe it will be handy if you ever try a fixed-camera setup in another game 😉

Nevertheless, I'm sure that Desmond's Castle would work perfectly in twin-stick gamepad setup, feels like bread and butter 😄

Nth brnd1 day ago

When I have a bit more time, I'll try to make the game compatible with the gamepad! I'll have to adapt the aiming direction with the gamepad sticks, and I'm sure the project you sent me will be a great help!

Anyway, thanks again for your feedback and for the time you invested!