DraconicSyntax
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Poll & dev update - Advanced pathfinding or sooner beta build release
🕑 Added 2023-04-19 18:37:26 +0000 UTCI think I've already screwed up my numbers for polls, so I'm just going to leave those out from here on!
Anyways, good progress is being made on the next beta build. I've already completely rebuilt collision in the game, and collision bugs now appear to be a thing of the past! That is, at least until I add some new powerup that manages to break things - but on the large, collision is now much more optimized and efficient, as well as easy as dirt to debug now (old code was spaghetti of the stringiest order).
I'm now on to rebuilding the enemy code to utilize a state machine in the same way the player does - this also optimizes their functioning by a lot, and ALSO is now easy as dirt to debug. The old code was nothing short of a crime against humanity with how messy and barely functional it was - now with the new enemy code, to create more new enemies I should only need to duplicate the Sentry enemy and swap out the animations and add whatever different behaviors they have in the form of simple single code blocks per behavior.
There is also a brand new detection system in place to make the enemies behave much more realistically, which I'll go over more in depth in the future.
SO AS FOR THE POLL - Currently I'm still working on the Sentry's code which is nearing finished - the dasher and minimech are next, and should go much faster since I'll be modeling their new code after the Sentry, plus a couple caveats for how they behave differently. My plan is for the next beta build to include all the new collision updates as well as the rewritten enemy AI for all besides the drake, as that's getting a full makeover, and possibly a lighting system as well.
However, one of the last things I still need to do for the enemies is set up pathfinding/navigation. I COULD do this fairly quickly by using the same methods as before (with better code formatting ofc), OR I could put together a more advanced method for pathfinding. I have a few different solid ideas of how to approach this, but it will take at least 1 extra week of work, possibly 2. At present, I'd estimate the next beta build to be ready in roughly 2-3 weeks, without considering the extra time advanced pathfinding may take.
Knowing all this, would you rather:
1) Use the same pathfinding the enemies have been using in favor of a sooner beta build release, or
2) Put off the release of the beta build for an extra week or two while I put together more advanced pathfinding?
I'll be creating advanced pathfinding sooner or later regardless, so this is more a question of if you all feel the current pathfinding is adequete enough for the time being! This poll will be open for 1 week. Tier 4 members, I'll post a second poll or you to cast your second vote shortly!
