Infinite Runner Starter Pack

Yes, you will be able to define a transition object

 

I am just finishing up adding sections (or groups) of objects. It is actually pretty cool how it works. You can add a section to any infinite object, and if you don't add any sections it will appear in all sections. In addition, you can specify if the platform or scene is a transition object and then that object will only spawn will you are transitioning from one section to another. Furthermore, you can specify which sections it can transition from. I've also added a whole bunch of editor scripts so everything is really easy to add.

I've created a new class called SectionSelection that manages when each section appears. There are three different ways the game can select a section: based on probability in a loop, based on probability randomly, and a linear progression of sections. All three of these types use the distance value class so the setup should be familiar.

For example, take a look at this inspector screenshot:


In this screenshot, we are using the linear section type. What that means is from distance 0-500, all section 0 objects will show. Then from distance 500-1500, only section 1 objects will show. When you get past distance 1500 the sections will loop so if you are distance 1750 it will be section 0 again. The looping is a feature added to the distance value class so the appearance probabilities/rules will also benefit from it.

Here's another example:


In this example we are using the probability random type. What that means is that at distance 0 there is a 5% chance that the sections could change, and at distance 500 that percentage increases to 8%. When it does need to switch it will then randomly choose between the start and end section. Probability loop is similar to this only it won't randomly choose sections, it will go linearly between the sections.

As I said in the start, all infinite objects have the option of being affected by section now. However the platform and scene objects have a little bit more capability in that they can act as transition objects. Here's what that inspector script looks like:



This particular object can appear in sections 0, 1, and 2, and it is a section transition from 0 to 2 and 1 to 2. Again, if no sections are specified then the object can appear in any section. Also, if no transitions are specified it can act as a transition object between any two sections.

I am doing some more testing of the sections and then I will send this version out to those that contact me. Before I added this I've fixed a bug or two and improved the editor inspector for the static data manager. Needless to say, what I have now would be a big update on its own but I still want to add a few more things before I submit it to the asset store.

 

Is there an ability to change the distance between the slots? Mine scene is a bit wider than yours, so the character doesn't go to the positions I would like. I tried to look in the character script, but didn't see an option.

I'm also having trouble finding a place to define the size of my platform and scenery pieces. Mine are longer than yours.

 

It is defined on the Infinite Objects object then the Infinite Object Generator component, called Slot Distance.

It will automatically determine the size of the platforms/scenes based on the renderer. If your platform or scene are composed multiple renderers this method doesn't work so well. I have a different script that I can send you that allows you to specify what part of the object should contribute to the size.

 

I just sent the latest version to those that have contacted me. The only change from my post yesterday is that if you want to add scene transitions, make sure you check the boolean "Use Section Transitions" within the Section Selection script. You will then need to provide transitions between the different combination of sections for both platforms and scenes. I don't have any new art yet to show off the sections so for right now I am just using a limited number of scene objects to demonstrate the new feature. Let me know if you have any questions / find any bugs.

Also, this update contains an improved editor script for the static data component:

 

Ok, so does that mean that my scenes and platforms need to be the same size?

 

No, the platforms and scenes can be different sizes (in all directions - x, y, and z)

 

How will the new transitioning scripts handle matching the different platforms and scenes when it switches? For example If I have larger scene objects, and smaller platforms, how will the platform objects line up to the new scene objects in the new section when it switches?

If you don't know this, I understand since it's a new feature and you don't have new scenery and platforms for it.

 

Platforms are spawned before scene objects. As you're playing through it, you'll notice that generally there is one platform spawned at without a scene object aligned with it. When the starter pack starts up, it determines the longest scene object and waits to spawn scene objects until there has been at least that distance in platforms spawned. It does this to give all scene objects an equal chance of spawning. For example, if you have a space of distance 10 open for the scene object, and you have a scene object which has a length of 15, there isn't a chance that that scene object will be able to spawn because it can't fit. So it waits until it can fit and then it will randomly choose a scene object based on the appearance rules and probabilities.

Having said that, I think I need to go back and tweak the algorithm to do something similar for transitions. Right now it works well because in the starter pack all of the scenes and platforms are the same length (well, besides the turn objects). But I never tried it with different length scene/platform objects. The way it should work is that when it spawns a platform transition, it should spawn scenes up until the point of the platform transition. Then it should spawn the scene transition object. This way things will always match up.

Edit: go ahead and give the latest version a try from the same link. The platforms and scenes should match up on transitions even if they aren't the same length.

 

Ok, that sounds pretty good then!

I tried the new version from the emailed link and it's broken. When I jump, the game breaks. The run animation stops working, you can only switch lanes and turn. No collisions work(death, coins, walls, etc). Thought you might want to know this.

 

It sounds like the layers aren't setup. Did you import the updated package into a new project? If so check out the readme and it will show which layers need to be setup (the asset store does this for you whereas the unity package does not). Also I may have left god mode on accidentally (it can be changed under the game object then the game manager component)

 

I have purchased your package yesterday, awesome package, way to go.
However once i started the scene, i could notice right away that there some very strong points in the package and some that might need some more attention.
I will go ahead and mention the weak ones, since they are bugging me so much and such a good package should not leave those points unfixed.
1- turning just anytime and anywhere without being at a turn which results in the player colliding with the wall, should be fixed, so the player can only turn when he is near a turn, and not after its too late to turn.
2- NGUI, could you please remove it, its bugging me the most, i think we all can make a menu, otherwise we should find adifferent field other than making games, so remove it please and make a simple menu, at the end , your not trying to show us how to make an awesome menu, jusr get few normel guitextures going, it would be most appreciated
3- attackin, to be honest, you dont want to put that in such a game, it just takes away from it.
4- transition from one side to one side (player movement) is not smooth, also after a turn , you get the feeling that something is not normal with the player position for like a second or so.
5- the touch is not accurate, you would be swiping right and instead it would jump...

This is all for now, until i try it again tomorrow, i wmight have more things to mention, who knows
Up until now, to be honest with you, i see the strongest point in this package, is the modular instiantiating system you created , very neat
Ut unitl these things are fixed to start with, i wont be able to use your package, and the only thing i gained out of it would be the modular instantiating system , where as i would like to use the whole package.

 

Thanks for your feedback samshosho

1. I will add an toggle to the next update that allows you to specify you want to allow the player to turn when not on a turn platform. Somebody also requested a few other similar options such as changing lanes with the accelerometer versus swiping.
2. You're right, I spent the least amount of time on the gui system figuring people would be using their own. I choose NGUI just because it allowed me to do it the quickest and it has a license for redistribution. I have been wanting to expand the menu system a bit just because I think it brings the overall quality down. I didn't want to use OnGUI because of the performance impact on mobile devices. At the very least, the only class that uses it is GUIController and it should be easy to replace with your own system.
3. I will make it an option in the next update. I eventually also want to add an option to have a projectile attack.
4. Right now when the player is switching slots it is done with a linear movement. It would be better to ease the transition in and out. Also for the turn, I know what you are talking about and it is a not so simple thing to solve just because of the way all of the objects move. I have been thinking about this some though and I will try to come up with a better way of handling it.
5. I think this is just a matter of tweaking a couple of values to have it the way you want it. I will expose those values in the next update.

I should be able to fix items 1, 3 and 5 by Tuesday or Wednesday. I can send you the newest version then so you don't want to wait for the next update.

Edit: I have 1, 3, and 5 done. No reason to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday I will send you a PM with details on how to get this latest version. I still need to think of a better way to handle 4 and I don't think number 2 will make this next update.

I've added the following to the PlayerController:
AllowAttack - if false attacks will not be allowed
RestrictTurns - if true the character will only turn when above a platform marked as a turn

In addition, I've exposed the following swipe parameters from the InputController:
swipeDistance - the number of pixels you must swipe in order to register a horizontal or vertical swipe
swipeSensitivity - how sensitive the horizontal and vertical swipe are. The higher the value the more it takes to activate a swipe

 

Sawesome, thank you so much for the immediate response and the new tweaks.
I played more today with the package, i have some more thoughts if you dont mind

1- when the player turns , he need not to be so accurate as to when to swipe exactly to not hit the corners of the turn or the wall before or maybe after, he just need to swipe say a second to 2 seconds when its time to turn , then you should take car of performing the turn exactly at the middle of the platform, so its not so hard for the player and also so the player does not end in different place after the turn.
2- you should also allow for platforms only without scenes, and if my scene does not have a floor, say only trees on each side, then you get an error, i think corresponding to not finding a renderer on the main gameobject of the scene.

I have some questions,
1- the area where to spawn colliders, such as the chairs and tables seem to be in either one of the 3 slots, can i add two more slots each on one side of the platform?
2- when creating scenes or platforms, do they need to be exact size of what you already have in the game? And if not, can the platform be also different than the scene size? And if the size is automatically calculated, then how is it going to be calculated when my scenes dont have floors, just trees on both side and other objects also on both sides, so nothing in the middle and no floor.

 

Good suggestion, I'll add it to the list for the next update

You should be able to spawn only platforms if you don't add any scenes through the Infinite Object Manager. In fact, the game that I initiily started to create with this starter pack didn't have any scenes from the start then I thought that I should add them to make it more general. But I have been rethinking the scenes a lot recently and I think that I am going to completely get rid of them unless somebody can put up a strong argument for them. I'll write a more detailed post on that tonight or tomorrow. I think the error you are getting related to the my answer of your last question

Yes, take a look at the collidablePositions variable on the PlatformObject.

Platforms and scenes can be any length or size. I don't think it will do well calculating your scene with trees. I will add a field to the InfinteObject class that allows you to specify the size since there is no good way to automatically calculate it in cases like these where there isn't much geometry.

 

Great, i will wait for your next update, and i hope that you can give me the updated scripts only and not the whosle package, since i have made so much adjustment to the package already to incorporate it with my project.
If you get these things i mentioned done, then you would have a perfectly xcompleted package, then anyone that takes it, can then add or remove fromit.

By the way, your package already track accelerometer for player side movement (slot changes), which is great, but it would also be nice to just have the player move sideways with the accelerometer value, without having to make him jump from one slot to another, so have a boolean to pick between either one (slot move and smooth move)

Thanks for such an amazing response time.

 

Sure, I should be able to add in that accelerometer option.

Unfortunaly I've made so many changes in that I think that this update touches almost every file so sending you just the affected files won't really do anything. I'd recommend putting it in a repository so you can diff the changes when you get the update.

 

Okay, then to summerise everything needed.
1- auto turn after checking for a swipe within small distance from the player when it's a turn platform(of course left swipe for going left and vise versa), then perform the turn so the player ends up on the same side before turning(so if he is in slot 1, then after the turn he is still in slot1)
2- calculate the scene size automatilcally and also allow for direct size input in the inspector, if in case the scene does not have floor or enough geometry.
3- the choice to have slot movement or smooth transition depending on accelerometer(for side movement of player)
4- the choice to add more slots for obsticles to appear on both side of the platform.
5- the choice to have platforms only, or platforms and scenes appear.
6- thouch system corresponding to swiping, to turn, jump and so forth, is not accurate.

Looking forward for the update

 

Sam got the bulk of the issues with it.

I would also add that when you turn, you always go to the center lane. You should go to the lane nearest your position when you turn. For an example of this, see running with friends or one epic knight.

I also agree with Sam that it feels a bit strange when you turn. I think you actually speed up by 2 or 3 times for a short few seconds right after you turn.

 

Awesome, most of the things on that list should be pretty minor changes. I will look at making the turns smoother after I finish adding in height variations.

Speaking of which, I want to give a quick status update for this next update. I've already mentioned that sections are finished, and I have started to add in height variations. One of the effects of this was that I added a new way to link scene objects to platform objects. In the version released right now you mark a turning scene as isRightTurn or isLeftTurn though the SceneObject properties. In the next version you will instead link the scene object to a particular platform. For example I linked Corner1 Right to the Right Turn platform. A scene obviously does not have to be linked to any platform either - in which case it will spawn next to any platforms that don't have any scenes linked to them.

I needed to add this linking feature so I wouldn't overwhelm the SceneObject with a whole bunch of different bool variables. I didn't want to have isRightTurn, isLeftTurn, isToUpperHeight, isToLowerHeight, etc. in sum this way will make things a lot cleaner overall.

We've also started on the new art for this update and that should be ready within the next day or two. I am hoping to get this next update submitted within the next week with all of the new features and fixes. This update is huge. I will probably need to make a new video just showing all of the changes since version 1.0.

 

That's great, wish you lots of good ideas

Just one thing that has been giving me troubles for the past two days, i tried to add my own platforms, and i tell you no matter what i did, it just wont align things correctly, so i gave up after two days to the idea that platforms has to be exact same size and also shape of the included platforms.
(I think it's due to trying to align GO transforms and not geometry)

I hope that this thought is clear enough, even though i have mentioned that before, but i thought it was an issue of geometry not being enough, but even when the geometry fills the whole gameobject assigned as a platform, it still wont align things correctly.
Ofcourse that's for all platforms that has turns, no problem with straight platform.

To give a better explaining, if i had a straight platform followed by a turnleft platform, the straight platform will be in the middle of the turning platform, so the turnleft platform will be off to the left, so it wont match, and if you try and play with the transform of the turnleft platform GO, it will be correct if we are going in one direction, but then wont be when the platforms turn again and face different direction.

If it's not clear enough, i can take a screenshot to show what i mean, but i think younwould getbwhat i mean, you created it after all

 

When you are creating the turn platform prefab, try setting the transform's x position to be something other than 0 so it is offsetted by that amount. The starter pack won't mess with that value. If you look you'll see that's what I do - both left turn and right turn have an x position of (-)3.25 so when it spawns it will appear as though it is in the center.

 

Opsive, believe me, i have spent two days already, and today as well, no matter what i did, they are spawned incorrectly!
Hopefully that will be corrected in the update, i have switched to another project unitl i get the update, as my brain is about to burnout! Trying a million approach with the current package, with no success.

 

Can you send me a sample scene with that problem? I haven't found any bugs in the positioning of platforms so I haven't changed anything related to that in the update. support@opsive.com.

In other news, I've completed height variations and here's a preview screenshot:

 

Is there an update being issued to the Asset Store soon? Just curious as I see you have been creating a wonderful amount of new features. Y
Thanks. J

 

If everything goes well I am hoping for sometime next week. The features that I still have to do are to add a character selection screen, Game Center, and try to improve the turns. Other than that I am going to see what I can squeeze in before I submit. I don't want to keep delaying the update for too long.

 

Quick update:

Things are looking good to submit later this week. I've finished adding sections and height and now I am working on the remaining features/fixes. The starter pack will include an indoor and outdoor section with stairs that go up and down. Here's a screenshot showing the outdoor section leading into the indoor section. There is a transition object between the two. You can also see the height variation.

 

The latest update is complete and I will be submitting it later today. This is a huge update which includes the following:

• Added sections with transitions
• Added height variation
• Added a character selection menu
• Added Game Center integration
• Improved the component inspectors
• Added the ability to link your scene to a platform
• Added “loop” to the Appearance Probabilities
• Added “restrictTurn” and “allowAttack” to the player controller
• Added “swipeToChangeSlots” to the input manager
• Added “overrideSize” to platform/scene objects for manual sizing
• Scene objects are no longer required
• Improved the handling of turns with the camera
• On game restart, objects will be respawned before the old objects are removed to prevent the camera from showing no objects within the transition on slower devices
• Other minor bugfixes

Edit: the update has been submitted, and the web player / screenshots have been updated as well.

 

I am very excited for this update, will get it tomorrow and give you my feedback ASAP
Thank you so much, hope it solved all problems and provided new good features

 

Thank you!
How long does it usually takes for it to be approved?

 

Unity says that it normally takes a few business days so I bet it will be available mid to later this week (assuming it gets approved and I didn't leave anything out). If you've already purchased it and have contacted me to get the updated version in the past then that same link has this new version. If you want to get that link just PM or email me your invoice number.

 

Good news: Unity just approved the latest update so it should be on the store anytime now.

There have been a few changes to how things work so make sure you take a look at the update notes. I want to note that throughout the Unity 4 life cycle they have changed the way lightmaps are implemented. Because of this, the scene object textures may look a little strange. I've put notes on how to generate this lightmap or you can just email me with your Unity version and I will send you the appropriate files. In the end it only affects the sample scene objects so you probably won't even care since you'll be swapping out the scene objects anyway

 

I just bought it, thank you very much.

 

Would you be able to provide a step-by-step guide to using the Tutorial that is part of the asset? I have followed the documentation, but I'm not seeing any results; for example, I add the built-in Scene and Character1, but nothing moves when I hit play. I'm obviously missing something, so it's entirely my fault...but some basic direction would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Hi,

I think I just replied to your email about 10 minutes ago. With the latest release I forgot to update that section of the documentation. I will update the docs shortly but regarding your specific problem I sent you some steps that you can try.

Edit: Documentation updated - http://www.opsive.com/assets/InfiniteRunnerStarterPack/documentation.php#CharacterUse

 

Hi,
I just bought this!
The obstacles and coins stop spawning after a while.
Please help me!!

 

Hi Sinhabros,

Thanks for your purchase. Can you give me some more information. Have you made any modifications from the version downloaded from the asset store? Is it always after a certain distance the objects stop spawning? Any errors? If you want you can also package everything up and send it to me at support@opsive.com and I can take a look.

 

Great update! I've been messing around with it for a few days to see exactly what has changed.

I was wondering about turning and changing lanes on a mobile device. Both actions are typically done with the same thing(swiping left or right). Is this possible with the starter pack right now? If it isn't that's probably something you would want to change.

Something else you may want to work on is going down slopes. you don't actually go down it. You just kind of glide down it. It has to do with the gravity obviously but it is a bit strange.

I think I'm having the same problem as sinhabros too. After a while the objects just stop appearing. I'll get back to you later on errors and such. This is on a non-tampered package too so it wasn't something I did.

 

There is a parameter attached to the InputController which lets you specify if you want to swipe to change slots or turn (named swipeToChangeSlots). However if you enable swipeToChangeSlots it will not turn for you as well. I just made this change and will PM you the link to the updated package. If swipeToChangeSlots is enabled it will now check to see if the player is over a turn platform. If they are the player will turn otherwise the player will change slots.

sinhabros emailed me and it was a bug in the released version. I fixed it and this fix will be in the version that I PM to you.

Edit: The player floating on a downward sloped platform has been fixed and submitted to the asset store

 

Unity just approved the latest bug fix release. It contains the following fixes:

• Collidable objects weren’t being properly activated on a restart
• StaticData inspector works correctly when you assign StaticData to a new game object
• SocialManager wasn't attached to the Game game object
• InfiniteObjectHistory wasn't assigning lastObjectSpawnDistance correctly
• Improved the PlayerController pause for Unity 4 (previously the character may move while paused on stairs)
• If swipeToChangeSlots is enabled the player will turn if over a turn platform. Otherwise the player will change slots
• Always apply a downward force when not jumping to prevent the player from floating on a platform with a negative slope

Also, I've posted two more videos about the starter pack:

New Features up to Version 1.2

Using Your Own Assets

 

Is there any way to set a collider on the ceiling. As the Player jumps off of a staircase, it goes through the roof. Is there any way to fix this?

 

Looks like we didn't make the ceiling high enough Yes, if you drag any scene object's prefab into the editor you'll notice that there is a child object called "Collision Boxes". Within the "Collision Boxes" game object there will be box colliders for the different sections of the platform (such as the floors and walls). You can duplicate one of those game objects and rotate it for the ceiling. An alternative way to fix this would be to decrease the force that is applied when the player jumps. On the Player Controller there is a "Jump Force" property and you can just reduce that to make the character not jump as high.

In either case, I'll make sure it gets fixed in the next update.

 

Hi OPSIVE, first of all I would like to congratulate you because of the great work you have done so far. Now, I have a few questions before buying your package.

1.- I there a way to easily create a double jump? (power up feature)

2.- Can I create a final stage to define a level. I mean, could the level have an end like in Mario Bros when jumping in to the flag?

3.- I read that you where on the works of a projectile attack, is this feature now live ??

4.- Can I add a flight or planning feature where the player will stay on the air while holding the up arrow or any other button on the screen (In case of a mobile device)? (As a power up, in fact, it could use the jump action button but stay on the air just for 3 secs and come down gradually).

So far these are my questions, wish you the best OPSIVE !!

 

Hi NADRAC,

1. A double jump would require some basic scripting. When the player jumps again you could check if the double jump power up is active and if it is allow them to jump again. Then you'd increase a count to prevent the player from jumping too many times while in the air. That count would get reset when the player lands on the ground.

2. It currently does not support that but again some quick scripting would enable it. For this I would have a ending platform and when that gets spawned it would tell the infinite object generator to stop generating objects.

3. No, it currently is not a feature now but I'd like it to be eventually. I am working on the features for the next non-bugfix update now and I will make sure this one is included.

4. Sure, you could just disable gravity when the player is in the air and holding the up arrow or whatever input method that you'd choose. The pack doesn't require the player to be on the ground.

Hopefully that answers your questions. If you get stuck on figuring out where to implement one of these features I'd be happy to help.

 

OPSIVE Thank you for your quick response. Now, I was playing with your Android app and I found that the scene doesn't change to horizontal when rotating the device. Is there an option to activate that ?

Thank you one more time !

 

In the Player Settings there is a setting for orientation. You should be able to set that to auto rotation and then select landscape right and landscape left.

http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/Manual/class-PlayerSettings.html (expand the Android section and it is the first item, Default Orientation)

 

Hi Opsive, Iam ianterested to buy this kit. Before that I want to know, can we add a enemy character who chase us, will hit us when we collide on distraactors twice? And Can we add moving obstacles like in subway surfers, some trains will approach faster towards us.

 

Hi Dharma_raj,

Thanks for your interest! Off the top of my head I can think of two different approaches to adding an enemy that chases you. The most straight forward way would be to set the enemy as a child of the player. Then you can change the local position of the enemy when you when the player runs into an obstacle. The second way would be to have the enemy not be a child of the player game object and control it's own movements. The advantage of this method is that the enemy would follow the player more naturally and not always be directly behind the player. That said, it would take some more work to getting it to look right.

For the moving objects: yes, that is definitely possible. If you don't need vertical height variations in the track (such as stairs) it is as straight forward as adding a force to a rigidbody. If you do want height variations then it will take a little bit more work to make sure the obstacle doesn't fall through the platform. I have been asked enough if the starter pack supports moving obstacles that I will make sure it is included in the next update.

 

Quick update: Unity just approved another bug fix release. This release contains the following fixes:

• Always apply a downward force when not jumping to prevent the player from floating on a platform with a negative slope (I thought this one was in the last release but it ended up not making it in)
• Added simultaneousTurnPreventionTime to the Player Controller to prevent too many turns from occurring too quickly right after another
• Platform heights and scene heights weren’t being persisted correctly when you saved out a run of objects

 

Hi OPSIVE I just bought the package and the Player doesn't move when the game starts on the Main Scene of your project. I haven't move anything jet, am I missing something??