Player Movement

Trench Warfare - Early Alpha Release - Stable Version 0.25

The Game!

So far, Trench Warfare is entering incredibly rudimentary stages of development, with a first ‘level’ or scene underway, taking us to ‘Battle of the Somme’. This scene will be based on the real WW1 French – German clash. Taking place in the north of France by the river Somme, where its name was taken, this battle will likely include many elements of the French countryside in later releases.

These headings will discuss, in detail, the update, user feedback, and planned changes on the horizon respectively.

Keeping in mind this devlog and version update is centered around PLAYER-MOVEMENT.

What’s new in this update?

The update brings us incredibly basic player movement controls, allowing our soldier to move vertically and horizontally in the scene with both the WASD and ARROW-KEYS respectively. The script moves the player by the velocity with a passed vector 2 as a parameter.

Note: This method of movement is likely to change or at least be added upon going forward, although will act as a solid foundation with which player/terrain elements can interact.

This next element is a DASH effect and is triggered by pressing and (or) holding the space bar. This effect is intended to simulate running or sprinting in combat and will likely work with a stamina bar in later updates. This effect is visible in the GIF from the feature showoff further below!

Some free texture assets were utilized in this version (V0.25) of Trench Warfare, primarily for setting the scene of mud and dirt, and were sourced from (Toby Dammit Studios., 2020).

These will likely be replaced in later versions as unique materials are constructed, from scratch, to better and more accurately represent the textures of the Somme, although these will act as a practical baseplate for our scene.

• Feature Showoff

The following includes a GIF of the movement previously mentioned. This essentially represents our standard multidirectional movement controls.

                                Enjoy Version 0.25 Movement!

                Here is a short GIF of the effect taking place!

The next GIF is that of the DASH or sprinting effect in action!

Despite the low framerate, poor resolution, and missing frames, can you notice the difference in movement?

User Testing

Basic user testing took place during the first stable release of the game thus far, (V0.25). The useful feedback has been summarized and included below for reference, although has the general premise surrounding camera perspectives.

“The use of a cinema-machines would really help add to the boundaries of play, as opposed to collision-based walled-off areas”

This constructive feedback was taken well and will likely be implemented during subsequent version updates although is not the top priority as of yet. Priority implementation may however be adjusted if the desire, from feedback, is great enough.

Overall, I look forward to collecting more user feedback as the version updates continue to roll out, as I believe harvesting this critical data to be paramount in gathering conventional player experiences of the game.

Next on the horizon?

Trench Warfare has a unique main menu planned full of buttons, settings, and customizable features, although these will likely take effect gradually over many later releases of the game.

In regards to the battle and scene, enemies will be created and wandering paths will be implemented, as well as scanning for objects and launching projectiles (bullets). This will likely be the next stage of development, at least at a rudimentary level.

Much later versions of the game may also include vehicles and a basic air force consisting of Mark I’s and Bi-Planes of the era respectively, although this decision will be assessed at a later date if the scope allows for it.

References

Toby Dammit Studios., 2020, PBR Dirt and Mud Material Pack, [Accessed 29th August 2021], Available at: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/2d/textures-materials/floors/pbr-dirt-and-mud-material-pack-178597