Be able to selectively load animations into an actor
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 1:13 pmProbably one of the biggest problems I am about to face is the memory allocation for the number of different actions (which means animations) that the enemy character will be able to do MULTIPLIED by the number of different enemy characters there are going to be.
For instance, in my one-on-one fighting game project, I plan to use smooth animation (possibly 24 frames per second like film). The enemy character can perform various kicks and punches, jumps, leaps, ducks, falls, etc. Let's assume I have 15 different actions (animations) at 24 frames per second each, and let's say I'll have a second's worth of animation for each action. That's already 360 different images the game will have to be prepared to show at any given time.
But from the way that Game Editor Pro is currently designed... if I have, for example, 5 different game characters (i.e. a ninja, a thug, a freak, a brawler, and a boss), would I be adding them as additional animations to the one actor? And, if so, would that mean it would load all 5 characters worth, even though the fight is only between one actor and another character? 5 characters with 360 images each equals 1800 images loaded into memory, with 1440 of them loading unnecessarily.
The other option is to obviously create a separate actor for each game character, and Game Editor Pro will only load them into memory when moved into game view. The only problem is that I would have to recreate the scripts and events and actions for each character, which is also an unnecessary amount of coding.
Any insight on this? Thanks.
For instance, in my one-on-one fighting game project, I plan to use smooth animation (possibly 24 frames per second like film). The enemy character can perform various kicks and punches, jumps, leaps, ducks, falls, etc. Let's assume I have 15 different actions (animations) at 24 frames per second each, and let's say I'll have a second's worth of animation for each action. That's already 360 different images the game will have to be prepared to show at any given time.
But from the way that Game Editor Pro is currently designed... if I have, for example, 5 different game characters (i.e. a ninja, a thug, a freak, a brawler, and a boss), would I be adding them as additional animations to the one actor? And, if so, would that mean it would load all 5 characters worth, even though the fight is only between one actor and another character? 5 characters with 360 images each equals 1800 images loaded into memory, with 1440 of them loading unnecessarily.
The other option is to obviously create a separate actor for each game character, and Game Editor Pro will only load them into memory when moved into game view. The only problem is that I would have to recreate the scripts and events and actions for each character, which is also an unnecessary amount of coding.
Any insight on this? Thanks.
