October Update

Replay System

Within Unreal Engine there is a system build for recording and playing back clips. This system relies on the network "Replication". As my game is already build for online play, this means adding in the Replay system was very simple.

Players can now record clips which are saved locally and only take up a few kb. This will allow players to share clips online send to friends.

A Game screenshot of the player running toward an NPC character, the screenshot also features
the play, pause and other video controls, showing the in game video
player.

NPC optimizations

AI Enhancements

In Space Plunder you will be encounter a lot of enemy and friendly NPCs. After Spawning in multiple AI characters I noticed a significant drop in performance. I used this opportunity to start optimizing the AI.

I first converted all AI Behavours to C++, then started disabling features of the AI depending on how far from the player they were. So NPCs that are in the distance don't need there animations running at full quailty.

The NPCs now run much smoother allowing for players to have more chaos on screen.

The Player standing on a platform, infront of him the is 10s of the exact same NPC character,
all standing around.