Last Stand

UPDATE mk2! date: 6/6/24

 Game is now playable! download the file called last stand zip and it will give you a folder with an exe in it. i have tested it and it does work too (for me at least on windows 11 and not through unreal). It is only a single level and if you succeed to the end goal you will hear an explosion and the game will close ( it's my first game sorry). But finally i hope some of you get the chance to download and at least try the game, any tips for future updates after gamejam are always welcome.

bug fix wise i moved a few enemies to stop the clear route from start to finish with the ai movement and, somehow, an obstruction has appeared basically in the middle of the map so if you try to click straight to the end goal they will all get stuck at this point and will probably require moving back abit to free themselves.

UPDATE!!!! resolved as of 6/6/24

Apologies, due to my own inexperience, the current 'game is infact just the unreal project zip. I am in the process of' packaging' it on unreal which should create a playable game-on windows-but am hitting some issues currently on my sdk (even after updating that) and it simply seems to freeze when i select package. 

I will update when i am able to rectify this, sorry again but it's a learning curve and next time i won't make the same mistake. 

Introduction

This is my first attempt at making a game for GameDev gamejam 2024 and hooo boy, it was an experience! I started with no experience and have gone through 3 computers to finally get to this stage. Pro tip: the latest version of unreal engine is not always the best one to use!

The idea of the game is to get at least one of your units (four of them at the bottom of the screen) to the end goal (the gold plate) at the end of the maze whilst avoiding or killing any enemies in your way

Controls:

Left click selects unit (which becomes highlighted with a green decal glow) right click moves the unit and right click on an enemy attacks. 

Units:

Enemy units will move to attack player units if they get too close and both units have 5 hit points:

BEWARE! Due to the games geneva convention, player units won't attack enemies unless you click on them once in contact

Issues...... There is a few

As said this was my first game and due to hardware issues wenr from being made in 10 days to under 10 hours of work time, including upload and page creation. 

Because of this there are some issues, WARNING, GAME SPOILERS BELOW. 

I started the game through following a paid course so had to replace the assets I used. At first i tried using free assets from unreal engine-the iggy and scorch model from paragon- but as i had not initially setup for animated units it didnt work out and time was tight. I did however use an asset from it called phoenix which gave me an idle animation of it flapping and a second material so i could tweak the enemy and player to look different, i even included a cheer sound when you reached the end goal. However, on upload i realised the size limit and as the asset was 3.3Gb by itself i tried to move the files i was using and delete the rest......note the word 'tried'. The units still have the phoenix look but no animation and lost the materials they did have. Even worse is i lost my cheer sound 😭. 

Ai pathing

Originally I had issues as was using unreal engine 5.4 not 5.1 and so the course instructions were out of date. At that point I started following a more recent tutorial and did check that i couldn't just click to the end and them path the whole way....... In the rush and swap back in engines i clean forgot so here's a secret, if you click on the end goal soon as a unit is selected, it can reach the end goal with no more inputs and fighting no enemies, if any detect the unit they usually get one hit then spend the rest of the journey chasing! Note: when repacked as a playable game a few enemies were moved for this reason (2) but the speed issue still exists. Also, i didn't add it but an orb appeared in the middle of the screen (maybe a texture orb is all i can think) but this prevents the one click ai patching by coincidence so if you try that they get stuck in the centre of the screen and will need to be moved clear of it to proceed. 

Ui

The tutorial i followed only showed how to get the units to attack each other in close and a basic about assets and meshes. I also wanted a set end to the game, be that reaching the end goal or all player units destroyed (this one i didn't manage) and though i got the end goal and managed to figure how to do a delay for the sound and message to play before quitting, the ui didn't work out. No matter what i could not attach buttons to a menu as in the tutorial and had to leave it as by this point i had hours left so sorry all, i probably hate it more than you do in fairness. 

The future. 

I plan to leave this game as is for the gamejam, maybe adjust some enemy placements and speed if i am allowed but that's it. 

I do however plan to remake this style of game in more detail, with animations, maybe multiple unit classes and (hopefully) a ui so watch this space.... Or if you're impatient drop me a line and encourage me to get on with it. 

Last of and most importantly:

Thank you for your interest! 

You, yes, YOU make it worth making games for me and to know you have taken the time to try it is something i appreciate. Feel free to offer any opinions (try to avoid negativity please though) and suggestions, it may not improve this version but i shall try to include any input i am given to any future games i make.