The Problem

For those not aware, Realm Blade is a game being developed as part of a  capstone project as school. As such, there are requirements and coding standards that need to be met as part of the grading criteria. Why does this matter? Well, it matters because we are required to generate C++ code for the functions vice using the blueprints. Up and to this point, all my Enemy AI work has been done in blueprint and not in C++ which means I need to do some conversion from blueprint to C++. 

If you haven't caught on, there is trend with my problems. The problem itself is relatively simple, add an enemy to a game, convert blueprints to C++, all simple problems. The execution of the solution is where things get complex. In order to successfully convert blueprints to C++, I had to first do some research and review on how to do this correctly. Once my period for review was completed, it was then time to begin the conversion process. This is the part where I wish I could tell you that everything went smoothly and it only took a few hours to do so. This in fact was not the case. In the process of converting the blueprints to code, I suffered many crashes, unknown anomalies, and problems I didn't even know where to begin to find the solution. 

<Reference image of the new enemy model>

The Solution:

As it currently stands, the core functionality of the enemy AI has been successfully converted. The enemy AI is able to spawn in an enviroment and aimlessly patrol said name environment. When struck by the player, the enemy AI will take damage and eventually get destroyed when their health reaches zero. What the enemy AI can't do at this time is actually attack the player. 

Going into a new week of development, the goal is add  on to the base of the AI, in this case, the ability to sense the player and attack.  It is my belief, that once the core functions are all there, it will make the process of adding other enemy types that much easier. 

<Reference image of the enemy AI patrolling in an empty environment>