Welcome to the fourth weekly devlog update of Mythforge

Stuff I've worked on in the past week:

• Player character model
• Player out-of-combat idle animation
• Backstab mechanic
• New demo map
• Chests and item handling in the world

Player Character Model

After a LOT of work trying to add a character model to the player character without breaking something, I managed to add it without (seemingly) any problem. Now, because I have a naked character model, it should be easy to add proper armor models to the game.

Here is a picture of the character:

Out Of Combat Idle Animation

Previous idle animation was from ALS and it was really weird. I changed it and not it seems more natural. 

Here is a gif:

Backstab Mechanic

There was already a backstab mechanic which came with the DCS pack but it wasn't working properly. I worked on that and added my backstab animations to it. 

Greatsword Backstab:

Twinsword Backstab:

Sword/Shield Backstab:

New Demo Map

I decided to make another demo level with better looking assets because the previous one was really rushed because of my final deadlines. To come up with a level which shows what the game could be and save time I decided to use "Lordenfel" asset pack from Mana Station in UE4 Marketplace. This pack has some beautiful and modular castle ruins pieces and vegetation with some simple props like chests, chains, doors etc. 

I'm planning this level to have simple 2-3 minion types, puzzles and a boss in the end. To clarify, I will make minimal changes to this map in terms of aesthetics and just change places to fit the puzzles and the boss. This is because I'm trying to come up with a nice looking demo which includes core mechanics and combat to create interest in the game to try and find funding and workforce to kickstart the game. I wouldn't use this map as it is in the final version of the game.

Here is a gif of pictures of the map: 

Chests And Handling Items In The World

There was a chest mesh in the Lordenfel pack and I quickly created a container class with the chest mesh which opens and closes when we interact. If we emptied the chest it stays open to indicate its empty.

I also had to tinker a bit with the previous container item (the glowing white particle, like the one in Dark Souls). Now there are two more options to that white light container: chests with animations/sound effects and single items (a single sword on the ground for example).

Here is gif of the chest:

Here is a gif of single items:

Additional Stuff

This past week I couldn't work on the project as much as the previous weeks but I thought about the game and combat mechanics a lot. 

I've been thinking about the weapon switching. Currently there are 3 melee weapons the player can equip excluding the shield and the player can switch to these weapons even while in combat.  I thought I could take you guys' opinions on this :) 

I'm linking a poll here about this issue and it would be awesome if you could give me your opinions:  Poll Link

That's it for this week and see you next week!