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PlatinumQuest Feature Spotlight #1: The Cannon
« Thread Started on Jun 18, 2011, 7:47am »

Hey everyone,

The Platinum Team was planning to make another video trailer, but we got so excited about one of PQ's new features that we just had to share it with you. Today, we'll tell you everything about the Cannon.

The cannon can be used to get the marble from one place to another quickly, or get to an otherwise unreachable spot. It comes in several different mechanisms which we'll describe later; it has three preset powers, and the capability for custom ones.
As a level designer, you'll find the cannon packed with many useful features. PQ comes with full documentation on how to configure cannons in your levels.

[image]

Pictured: A Medium force cannon
Level: Having a Blast, by Andrew Sears
Seizure22 coded the cannon; MadMarioSkills modeled and textured it.

The cannon comes in 3 presets powers; weak, medium and powerful. You can tell a cannon's power by the color bands around the barrel. The weakest cannon is colored green. Blue yields a more powerful shot, and the red cannon packs the greatest wallop. A white band denotes a custom force value that can be configured by custom level builders, while an orange colored band indicates an 'instant' cannon.

The cannon comes in several types: Aim and Fire, Charge, and Instant.
The Aim and Fire method is as it sounds: you aim the cannon to the desired location and click to launch your marble.
The Charge method lets you launch the marble at varying forces, up to the cannon's preconfigured maximum. To charge the cannon, you enter it and press and hold the mouse. Once you reach the desired power level (indicated with a power level meter), you release the mouse to shoot the marble with that force.
The Instant method launches you immediately, with a preset force and angle. A delay option is used in some cannons to hold the marble for a period of time before launching.

Sometimes, a level maker will not want the player to be able to spin the marble in the air after the cannon fires. We have a control lock option to do this; it stops marble movement for a configurable length of time.

[image]

Pictured: Charging the cannon
Level: Having a Blast, by Andrew Sears

As you may have noticed, the cannon contains a reticle. The reticle shows where you aim, but as with real firearms the end shot is always lower than you aimed because of gravity. Keep this in mind when pointing the cannon.
The reticle indicates if the cannon is locked, so you don't waste time trying to aim it.

The cannon contains many options for lever builders. Level builders can specify initial yaw (left-right movement) and pitch (up-down movement) of a cannon. The pitch and yaw ranges within which the player can aim the cannon can also be limited. In addition, each cannon can be configured to use a different launch method. By default, cannons created use the Aim and Fire method, but you can also set it to use Instant or Charge.

By default, the camera will automatically change to the direction of the marble's motion, but we have options to change that too.

PQ contains target models in five colors: warm, cool, red, green and blue. They can be placed to show the player where to aim, give the idea of a challenge, or trick the player into a trap!

[image]

Pictured: Aiming a cannon to a target
Level: Fire When Ready, by Pablo Vasquez

When using the cannon, you will notice using powerups has been disabled, as indicated by a lock on the powerup container GUI; usage will be restricted for a certain amount of time (which will show in the user interface). The level builder can specify how long powerup usage is locked.

Sometimes, you may accidentally go into a cannon and have no desire to actually use it. PQ contains an exit feature whereby you can press a key and be placed behind the cannon without it firing.

Some more features:
- The base of the cannon automatically rotates with the cannon, so you will not hit the sides of it.
- The cannon uses particles and sounds to convey the explosive effect.

That's everything about the cannon! Now here's a gallery:

[image]

Pictured: "Five cannons you may see, only one means victory."
Level: Vice, by Matan Weissman

[image]

Pictured: How will you pass this challenge?
Level: Fire When Ready, by Pablo Vasquez

[image]

Pictured: Take your aiming skills to the test
Level: Cannon Sniper, by Matan Weissman

Showcased: Typical use of a Charge cannon
Level: Having a Blast, by Andrew Sears

As you have seen, the cannon is fully featured and can be used for a number of different challenges. Its detailed documentation will help any level builder incorporate it into his levels.

Keep on Blastin'!
The Platinum Team