Situation:
- A grid creation script needs to be made for Unreal in C++ to build the fundamentals on top of.
- A solution needs to be given for the issue of road intersections to avoid overcomplicated systems that can easily break and take too much time to make.
- The concepting of environmental details needs to be discussed with a concept artist within the studio to clarify some uncertainties.
Task:
- Learn more about the fundamentals of C++ and apply knowledge to create a script that generates a grid with hexagon shaped tiles.
- Concept ideas that could solve the issue of road intersections and discuss them with the designers and artists.
- Find a concept artist that is willing to help us within the studio and discuss the requirements and ideas that have been thought of so far.
Action:
- Started working on the code for this script in Unreal.
- Had a few ideas in my head that I wanted to write down but ended up only drawing out one of the ideas on a whiteboard.
- Posted a request on the studio Discord server for a concept artist. Had a discussion with the concept artist and one of our artists and designers about what we wanted, what we had, and what were some requirements that had to be met.
Result:
- Made a start to the code but quite quickly ran into an issue in the C++ code that caused Unreal to crash. Couldn't figure out what was wrong and consulted the lead developer of our team about it. He wasn't able to figure it out either. This will be left for after the week break.
- Drew my solution on the board for the road intersection system with our hexagonal grid. Every intersection will be a roundabout with exits to other road tiles that are connected to this intersection tile. The hexagon intersection tile in question will be split up in 6 triangle pieces. Each piece can either be a shut off roundabout piece with no exit, or a connection piece with an exit. Each triangle piece will be assigned one of these two variants depending on whether there is a road tile connected to that side of the intersection tile.
- We had a successful discussion with the concept artist and they will work on the concept art for the environment and several mechanic visualisations.
Reflection:
- I realised that the easiest way for me to learn a new language is to apply the knowledge I learned immediately, as well as looking at examples of code that use specific techniques or methods that I need for my own code. This means that following a step-by-step tutorial doesn't quite work for me. I have the idea of how the script works already in my head, but I now need to find the methods and ways to reach this idea and make it a reality.
- I realised that making a solution for this problem more complicated might challenge me more and help me become a better technical artist, but that it would be very time consuming and overall not very impactful to the final product. I had to make a sacrifice and come up with a simple solution.
- Having this discussion, I realised that there were still many uncertainties that had to be cleared up and I am glad we took this step to request outside help.
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