Hello everyone!
This month we have been working on the mission editor and fast travel system. The editor is coming along nicely - We can spawn units, and save and load the world state. The fast travel system has been completed.
Fast Travel
In the new version of Wolfpack, the game will not automatically update the player’s position on the map. The navigator will have to use real navigation tools to figure out where the u-boat is. The fast travel system is built around this concept.
When the u-boat is on the surface, and not in combat, the captain can open the fast travel menu in the map view, and enter a course and a distance to fast travel. The fast travel executes instantly, and the u-boat is now at the new location. If we try to fast travel through land or enemy units, the fast travel will be interrupted at the obstacle. The fast travel action will be automatically recorded in a log. It is now up to the navigator to update the u-boat’s location on the map, using a combination of terrestrial, celestial and radio navigation.
Technical implementation of the fast travel system
The world map is a height map consisting of ~17 billion pixels. We can not keep this whole map in memory at once, so the map is subdivided into smaller images that are streamed from the hard drive when we move around the world. We wanted fast travel to be instantaneous, so loading all of the images in the path of the fast travel track is out of question. To solve this we have implemented a quad tree. The quad tree allows us to make pixel perfect ray casts from any point in the world map. This makes it possible for us to have instant fast travel, without any loading time required.
Editor Development
The world editor uses the same map view as the world map, but with a different tool set. It allows the user to place units and groups of units using a drag and drop action. The units, and their state can then be saved and recalled. The same system will be used to handle save states during gameplay. These features are implemented, but the unit roster is incomplete. The editor also lacks an undo/redo feature, triggers, weather settings, mission logic, and a host of other functions that we want it to have in the future.
Future editor goals
The editor can also be run while playing the game. This allows us to use the editor as a real time debug tool. It also allows the host to do real time editing of the game state, spawning in and out units during gameplay, potentially controlling units like a real time strategy game.
What’s next?
Why are we focusing on the editor and world map? The systems that handle the map and editor are part of the new system core. They are foundational to the new open world gameplay, and thus need to be developed to a working state before we release something for the testers. When these core systems are in place, we can very easily add new content like new units and missions without making any (possibly game breaking) code changes. Thus, the plan remains the same: Wrap up the development of these core systems, release it to the testers, and then, after a period of bug fixing, release it to the public beta.