PathFinder Update v1.0f (at long last)

It's very strange that I haven't received much feedback about PathFinder. As a path-finding solution I have expect there should be a lot of bug, little tweak that can improve the package. But that hasn't been the case.

Anyway, I have just submitted a new update to AssetStore. Nothing new, just a series of bug fix following recent feedback I got from user. Thanks to AssetStore sales, now it's finally being used by someone who is not me. Anyway, the list of the fixes included in the update are as follow:

• fixed bug where clustering error occur when the are specified doesn't have similar widht and length.
• fixed bug where agent would stop before just before reaching final waypoint. 
• fixed bug where node generation would encounter error when negative start value for x and z is specified for the area.
• example scripts (chase.js, patrol.js and RTSUnit.js) is now compatible for iOS compilation.

To be honest I don't think path-finding solution is no longer as in demand as it used to be now unity has their built-in path-finding solution. I'm sure Unity will keep on improving the built-in path-finding. That makes me wonder how helpful will a 3rd party solution like PathFinder is going to be come Unity4 in the near future. For that reason, I don't think there's a lot sense in putting more effort into improving this package.

Anyway, I hope user who have made the purchase got what they are looking for.


Edit 1Sep: A hot fix(v1.0f2) has been uploaded and now live on AssetStore following a bug report.

WIP and other stuff

Feels like I have been taking a very long break. Truth is I've been moving house. Good news is I have a more proper work place now which is good. Bad news is The internet connection at the new place is not brilliant. Slow is what it's. The area has no fibre optic coverage so there's no chance of upgrading. Very unfortunate. 

Despite me having a chaotic and busy schedule and what not. I've manage to find sometime to work on TDTK. It's mostly bug fixes following the last release. But that's not all. I have been working on a add on to enable multiple custom armor and damage type. Each damage type will have different impact on each armor type. For example, you can have small fire arms that is effective against infantry but no so much against vehicle. Or elemental shield that can effectively block a certain type of elemental damage. It's basically a damage multiplier table. Check this sneak preview image to get the idea.

You can have as many armor/damage type as you need. Each new armor/damage type will create a new column/row in the table which the modifier can be modified. I really like to make this system as flexible as possible so it can be a stand-alone component ready to be used in any game where a damage table might be needed, say a fps or hack and slash. However it will definitely be part of TDTK when it's ready. I say when it's ready because it's still a WIP at this stage so it might not be in the next update.

TDTK v2.1.1 Released

Finally, v2.1.1 is now live on AssetStore. I know I have mentioned about this but please check out the new demo if you are interested to see the new UI in action. This update has taken a bit more time than I expected due to unforeseen problem. Still I managed to fix quite a few issues. Following is the changes I made:

Addition 

• added NGUI based ui, with fully commented code.
• optimization of DrapNDrop Build mode. DragNDrop tower is now subject to dynamic batching.
• added option to disable the transparent shader to sample tower in build preview.
• tower animation has been reworked. Add option to assign animation for upgraded turret and base
  object.

Bug Fixes

• fix bug where DirectionalCone and StraightLine targeting direction is not set properly when changed during runtime
• fix bug on all ui where resource tower income were not displayed correctly
• UIiOS will now show information about mine
• UIiOS will now show information about DirectionalAOETower
• when building on a rotated platform, the tower rotation will match the platform's
• mine built with PointNBuild mode will no longer block a node
• DragNDrop tower's renderer material's shader will not be set back to the default shader set in prefab instead of diffuse
• and other minor bugs

The most notable addition are the NGUI based UI of course. This version included free version of NGUI but you should be able to make the upgrade to full version with relatively ease. The new UI should be compatible with both mobile and desktop build. It's also much more easier to customize in term of the layout. But I hope you understand that it's ultimately there to serve as an example and showcase. For the best result, you are still better off with your own implementation.

Also worth mentioning is that I have reworked the DragNDrop and tower preview mechanism during placement of a tower. Now the preview should be more robust with option to turn the transparent shader on/off. In previous version, there's no such option and the auto-shader change mechanism will always break the shader setting on any tower in DragNDropmode, as well as stopping the tower from being batched dynamically after being built, even when the tower is eligible.

There's some feature requests that I've left out due to the timing. I hereby apologize for that and thank you for your understanding. Wouldn't want to hold back the much anticipated NGUI based UI for much longer. :)

Anyway, please post any questions you may have in the official support thread. Thanks! Also, any comments are feedback are much appreciated!

TDTK v2.1.1 Due To Release

I'm pleased to announce that v2.1.1 (NGUI UI) is due to release very soon. I've finished with the new NGUI UI and now I'm working on a few fix and tweak following some user feedbacks. It shouldn't be long before I submit the new version to AssetStore. I'll try to squeeze in a new feature or two if I can.

Anyway, Feel free to try out the new updated demo.

Status Update

I promised to make more regular post about what I'm doing, despite the fact that most of the thing I'm doing are still classed as "private and confidential" at this point. So I'm wondering how much stuff I can disclose here before I run out of progress to report. I think it's what I should do anyway, looking at my own progress posted on blog used to motivate and drives me to work harder. There's a top tip right there, trust me.  :)

One thing for sure is, you will see plenty stuff concerning TDTK. If you are a regular visitor of this blog anyway. I've been enjoying myself working on TDTK. It's my rightful pride and joy really. And the fact that it's actually useful to users out there is been the real treat. What's better reward for a developer to have his work enjoy and appreciated by the users? Anyway, the reason I see myself working on TDTK for a long time to come is that I still have tons of stuff to do/fix/add on the list. Honestly some might never get done and some might just happen suddenly when I have a eureka moment. Truth is, some of them are quite tricky to do in an open framework like this one. I've been trying to avoid doing some very niche feature which can only be used in some very specific context.

Also something I hope that would happen is that I finally find time to get back the the platformer and finish it. I've stop trying to be ambitious at this point. Just trying to make 20-30 shorts level and make it a very good showcase, or a little bit more, who knows. But that is only I can finally find some time. Maybe I'll put TDTK on hold after v2.1.1 (next update) so that I can actually finish this off and get on with it.

Finally, I really need to take a break sometime to just sit down and play games. I have got this 'urge' to play game recently. I'm actually quite glad about this. I've actually lost all my appetite for games ever since I leaned unity. Got quite a few good games waiting for me. Got them all recently from various sales. Bastion, DeusEx, Portal series.... Not to mention witcher2 demand another play through or two with the release of enchanced edition. Got to say, after sneaky quick play, I find that Bastion and DeusEx is very very good indeed