It’s about time I updated you guys on something. It was about time last week, but I didn’t, because… umm… reeeaasons? I mentioned that I was re-writing the beam code. It was working fine, but I had done it in a way that I felt was limiting, or at the very least the code would become messy and protracted if I tried to add some more features that I’d decided on.
Sure. You could argue I should have planned it out better before hand, and normally you’d be correct, but I’m doing a lot of this deliberately without specification for the learning process. What this all means is that I don’t have a plan for the game, but instead have a myriad of possible plans which will play out depending on hundreds of factors like what I learn, how much time/money I have, how parts of the game are received by players, and various personal issues that it’s definitely best I don’t go into. So I’ll distract you with another gif.
The new beam system has more options. It has a capacitor that ca re-charge at any rate, or not. Effects for impact, charging, shooting, dissipating, and even the beam if that is a thing that’s needed. It can also change colour depending on what it hits, and can apply a force, because that is always fun. It is even able to track the target. There were of course a few bugs along the way, like that time I made the impact a collider instead of a trigger. Backfire might be an appropriate term.
Eventually, like this blog post, this does all lead beyond the basic beam onto something else that was on my todo list. It’s not perfect yet or fully featured, and it certainly needs more than a little balancing. You may have guessed from the title already, but I am of course talking about the sci-fi staple, the tractor beam. You can use it to pull things a bit or slow them down. You can also use it for shenanigans. Wayhay!
The Tractor beam can’t pull anything though. Some objects are just too massive. Even then it seemed like it might be fun to let the object pull you instead. So you can do a space based hand brake turn!
Hey. I didn’t say it was a good idea. I could talk about the new levels or some of the other stuff I’m working on, but I won’t. For more terrible ideas from me, or if you want to launch your terrible ideas in my direction. You can find me in the usual places online. ( Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube.) Bye for now.