Project Rhiannon Update 1

"Project Rhiannon" is my Godot Game Engine racing/driving project. I figured for this blog post, I will update you on how I have been doing with Project Rhiannon. I do not have any pictures to share right now of my work. However, I will tell you of certain elements of my project so far.

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Project Rhiannon: Update 1

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If you want to know more about "Project Rhiannon," please read Project Rhiannon.

Updates (as of August 3, 2018).

Project Rhiannon is my very first 3D type project of any kind through Godot Game Engine. I have developed Project Rhiannon to take advantage of certain vehicle models I have created. I have taken inspiration from other racing games and projects to try to develop something I think will lead to me creating my first true game.

After going around online, I have learned how to properly set up my vehicles in Godot. I learned more importantly how to set up the camera for vehicles. I found a camera setting I really liked and will use it for my viewing of cars in action. You actually don't need to have any kind of vehicle set up for rigging to be programmed in Godot. All you need are definitions for the Vehicle Body (VehicleBody) and the Vehicle Wheels (VehicleWheel). You then need to set up Collisions and Camera (with script) so you can complete your vehicle.

I used a static body voxel model as my way of learning Godot's vehicle dynamics. The interesting thing is that as long as you set up the VehicleBody and VehicleWheel locations and settings, you can make almost any vehicle controllable. I am not going for any all-out realism in attempting my first racing game project. One such aspect of realism involves wheels that turn. So in my project, the wheels are static. The vehicle still turns, though. I may consider in the future to make my cars ready for animation and enhance the array of options I have towards animating cars.

To develop a driving model for my machine, I had to try to adapt my driving model from other Godot projects. I made a simple driving model based on a Godot 3D project called "Truck Town." Truck Town is a driving model that features this hilly location as you try to drive around it. It comes with three models you can drive- a basic mini van, a semi truck with a trailer, and a tow truck with a vehicle chained to it. The main point was to learn to script a vehicle for movement. Once I learned how to properly script a vehicle, what was next was to enhance this model to something I am more comfortable with and can use to make 3D racing games with. I actually had to use a combination of Truck Town and a certain vehicle project from one Godot programmer.

The driving model is nowhere near perfect. On top of that, I am not planning on making some hardcore driving sim. A lot of the issues were mostly ironed out. The car tends to get jittery when stopping. Also, there are times when the vehicle model would do hard braking when I let go of the throttle. It also would have the tendency to spin out 180° when I let go of the throttle or

The scene I set up for Project Rhiannon is a simple plane that the car drives around on. While I have a basic plane for a driving surface, I also have a voxel model that I used as a tile for a race track. I don't think I have properly set up that voxel model tile, so the car runs through it when the car should be trying to either hit or drive onto it. I feel I will have a lot more special plans for my work once I successfully develop a race track. I want to make sure there is actual gravity involved.

A New Voxel Vehicle Plan?

I had initially planned to offer my voxel vehicles made in MagicaVoxel available for download and/or sale. However, as I became intrigued by setting up my static model voxel vehicles through Godot, I figured this could be an opportunity to create a full-fledged game. So what I might do is take my voxel vehicle creations and give them plenty of life by coming up with a variety of options. What has to happen is that I give each vehicle its own sort of identity and performance characteristics. In other words, I want my compact cars to perform differently from my trucks. What I will have to do is look up a variety of car specifications to develop material telling of their performance.

To get an idea of my voxel vehicle model creations, take a look at this post:

Future Goals of "Project Rhiannon."

Here are various other plans I hope to accomplish as part of Project Rhiannon. They all represent a number of issues I want to correct or want to start:

• correct issues with handling model
• develop a race track
• set up waypoints/checkpoints for the race track
• set up a race system
• create racing AI (artificial intelligence)

These are among many goals to accomplish. Actually, I begun working on trying to make some kind of track, but not too much progress has been made on that front. I am still testing out options and trying to find something I can work with. I do think I am getting better here. Just still a long way from something really complete.





I will keep you all posted on any updates. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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