by paul » Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:00 am
Not done yet, but steady progress. I've built a current mapping system. In the editor mode you drive the river, following the path you want the current to flow and moving the mouse up or down to set the current speed as you go. The system creates current effect emitters that each create semi-transparent surface effects that fade into and out of existence. The effect is that the water moves like it should, and the faster the water, the whiter and more opaqe the surface. Your boat also drifts with the current now (unless you're anchored.)
The last couple of days I mostly worked on other changes to the editor system. It now has an on-screen menu, and you can add an object (boulder, house, whatever you have a model of) and reposition it, scale it, rotate it, even tint the color, seeing the model in the game as you're changing it. I'm going to add a lot of boulders to certain stretches of the river.
I still have to make the fish and lures react to the current, make at least one more species of trout, and add some barriers at the ends of the river. I'm going to put a dam at the downstream end near the bait shop where the river widens into a small lake. The river gets narrower the further upstream you go. At the upstream end I plan to add a waterfall to keep people within the world.
Then there's walking. That would be simple except that I want the characters to adapt realistically to the slopes. Think about the way your legs move when walking up or downhill, or on a side hill. I've got the math worked out to control the joints, but now I've got to make it happen. Then there's adding waders to the characters.
We're probably at least a three weeks from having this river available for walking, wading and fishing with existing tackle. A few more weeks for fly fishing and some sort of drift boat or pontoon, etc.
Paul