Tom J

Hello Leadwerks people, I haven't been here in a while and it is good to be back, however naturally I bring a question with me The question is about character movement in a 3d platformer, in particular something like in Jak and Daxter, shown in this which is not the best example but gets how the player moves across. What I'm trying to do is get the player to use WASD to go any direction they want and the character freely turns in that direction. Not only that, but the camera follows the character in the game and rotates around the character to get behind it again if it changes direction, which in turn readjusts the controls for the direction (forwards means forward relative only to where the camera faces). Hard for me to explain, but it makes the movement feels much more free, letting you go in any direction. The problem is how to do such movement like in the video, with just WASD, on the console obviously players just use a joystick on the controller meaning there are more directions. While I am confined to 8 directions max without going out and buying a joystick, and getting any other PC players to do the same. I'm sure there must be some fancy trick that can be done with cameras and character controllers to get this movement going. So does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks for the advice on the platform issue guys, your workaround of the physics commands is quite a nice idea Rick However I do platforms though, I see now how I need to involve the physics (whether that be the force or joint commands), which wasn't how it was before. I don't understand how in my program the non-physics commands didn't cut off the physics for the object, but I'm removing those now anyway so oh well That is very neat indeed. I'm not really certain where the platformer is going yet in terms of the gameplay and everything like that, because at the moment it is simply me making the basic engine. The point of Casual vs. Hardcore/Veteran games is one I need to think about though, and those are some interesting points you make about that which I will probably consider at some point. Or any retro game for that matter, hehe

I'll ask this here to save space, but how would you go about making a controller move with / stick to a moving platform. At the moment it stands on top of it, but doesn't go with it (and so just falls off). Is there a specific command, or would I have to do a check to see if the collided object is moving and then make controller move with it in the code?

5 out of 6 eh? That's a very interesting statistic LE is more accesible than I imagined then, which is a promising sign.

Thanks for all the replies True, such a game could play off of a lot of LE's strengths. As well as the lighting, if physics were used well for the gameplay, or indeed shaders were used cleverly, then the game could have a lot of unique aspects to it. The flashlight isn't a bad idea at all. The hardware requirement is obviously of key importantance if a game like this were to get released, especially if it were capable of being run by an engine of lesser power or hardware needs. I suppose a survey would have to be considered at some point if this project intended to be released, whether for free or otherwise. It all depends really on whether more hardcore gamers would consider playing, if the game showed impressive graphics and other features etc. which are also commonly seen in 3D games, and also whether a number of casual 2D players also tend to have good computers as well. It's all a complicated question, quite a lot of things I need to consider. LE may be a worthy engine, but it depends on certain factors and how the game ends up. But then, as Pixel said, I could spend so long on this in theory that by the time it is finished there will be many more players with the needed hardware, hehe

It's in the title really. I've had my fair share of 3D physicsy flashy game attempts. But after playing Super Mario Bros Wii I have to say that I fancy making a platformer (of the 2.5D variety most likely, that being 2D gameplay with 3D graphics). Would you say that Leadwerks is too overkill for this, as in too many unnecessary resources used, and that something more basic should really be used. I can't really face going back to BASIC oriented languages because I have forgotten a lot about them, but I don't know if Leadwerks is the most efficient thing for the job in this case. Thanks.