The next blueprint I added was the player’s sprint function. There is a much simpler sprint function available within the engine, however I found the sudden increase and decrease in speed when activating/deactivating it to be rather jarring, so I decided to use a sprint system with a more gradual increase and decrease in speed. This system will also allow the player to “sprint” whilst crouching, but they will still move slower than regular walking speed.
The next blueprint I attempted to implement was the ability to crouch. My first attempt was intended to allow the crouching to have a smooth animation, however that complicated the process quite considerably, and as a result issues kept popping up, such as the inability to move after standing up again, or the player’s height not actually changing. Because of these issues I went with the far simpler crouch system built into the engine at the expense of the sudden transition between standing and crouching.
I will next entry implement a sprint system.
The first piece of blueprint I set up was the ability for the player to be able to pick up and carry around physics objects. This system will be a major mechanic within the scenario as many of the puzzles will require the player to manipulate or otherwise transport objects. I chose to have the player character physically carry the items around the level as a physics object rather than make them interactable in such a way that they would go into an inventory because I want to avoid the player being able to press E on every object until they can find something to pick, and then interact with everything until it does something. I would rather the player have to think about how the objects are meant to interact, though I am aware that this design philosophy could alienate some of the more casual playerbase.
For the next entry I will continue adding to the player blueprint.
mattforrest94 