Hello again! Welcome to Dev Log #3! This time, we will talk about a region in the lands of Azur called the Swamps of Bremul and the development of some of it’s mechanics. Azur is the name of an unexplored cluster of Islands located in the northern hemisphere of the Alassya Planet. The lands of Azur have different regions with very diverse ecosystems. From mountains to tundra, Azur stands out for its vast natural resources. Within the different areas in Azur are the Swamps of Bremul which after being taken by the Urlags, are home to a large number of dangerous enemies. [b]Concept Art of The Swamps of Bremul[/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689962/5605a60848530ca8cb8919a0c4bbfc8b145afe9a.png[/img] Throughout the game, it is very important for us to keep adding different platforming elements for the player to explore the world of Azur. For this devlog, we wanted to delve deep into how we created the Interactive Ropes that you will find in this location. [b]The basic pieces of the Rope Physics[/b] In order for the ropes to look and behave in a natural way, we had to rely on the Unity Physics engine to do most of the work for their movement. Then, we made the characters behave around them accordingly. The rope is created using multiple invisible pieces connected between them with Physics Joints allowing them to react as if they are linked to one another. We then use a line that goes through each one of these links to make it look like it was a single interactive object. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689962/73d7dc23d29d1771d1bfe0ca3344d730d8cfbe1b.gif[/img] [b]Blending the Ropes with the World[/b] To make the Ropes blend in with the rest of the world, we added a texture in the line that connects the invisible pieces. We then added a few additional details in order for them to stand out as an interactive object in the environment. For example, the counter weight at the bottom or the tiny gear at the top to represent the Rope anchor point. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689962/d2163b89d40b68f73d77238cf7dec6474c119511.gif[/img] [b]Player Interaction and Animations[/b] In order for the characters to interact with the rope, it will check if they have come into contact with one of the invisible links, and when that happens, it can attach them to that point and interpolate their position. Characters will always face the direction the rope is swinging towards. To make it feel a lot more responsive, we made different swinging animations that will be set depending on their speed. In this case, the characters will quickly turn around when they need to change their orientation. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689962/e168a986caded8c4c8d8eaf91ae2e48c57019912.gif[/img] [b]Stacking characters in a single Rope[/b] Sometimes, when moving with multiple characters, there will be times when they all grab the same rope. In this case, it could become confusing since they would collide with one another. To prevent this situation, we made them stack on top of each other and allowed only one character per Rope Link. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689962/717681d6d5a2bda49041a4953ba1f8a2754ed65a.gif[/img] [b]In Game Result[/b] Finally, here is the final result on how the ropes look in game! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37689962/b4bdd9222183cf001b932a8701a7040b16151eed.gif[/img] We've got some other interesting surprises waiting for you at the Swamps of Bremul! We hope you have as much fun playing around with them as we did experimenting with the different ideas to make them work! Thanks for reading this month's devlog, and stay tuned for more next time!