MQP Meeting 12/16 Notes

• The last meeting of B Term
• I showed the screenshots of the instrumentalist model, which has been rigged for animation and has a basic playing animation, and the Recorder and Pan Flute instrument models
• Joey worked on splitting up the UI elements and also was able to work on the spring monster model
• In terms of the prototype Kyle worked on some more code refactoring such as data structures, switching instrument classes, and improved some code for the monsters
• Dylan re-did the interface of the composition mode to incorporate importing
• Brian worked on creating more patterns to be implemented such as utilizing arpeggios, major and minor scales, the piano, the bottles, and some sample synth patterns
• The idea of the patterns is to allow players to just play the game instead of focusing so much on compositing if the player so chooses
• Our goal now is to start working on and building the actual game
• We also still have to work towards implementing multiplayer in some form
• Professor Rosenstock suggested putting everything we have made together into a single form after break
• Professor Finkel will be away most of next term, so we will need to figure out how we will be corresponding with him for our weekly meetings (webcam, skype, etc.)

Weekly Progress - Brian

This week I created a bunch of patterns in the sequencer, as well as one more music track; a basic drum beat that can play in the background. It could potentially play at the beginning of a battle when the player is setting up, and then fade as instruments start to play. I am sending all of the patterns and MIDI sound files I have created so far to the email list for the group. If easier, I can also convert them to .wav files, if they are easier to listen to. I will also have all of the MIDI and pattern files at the meeting tomorrow.

Weekly Progress

Unfortunately there's not much for me to talk about this week. It's the end of the term and everybody's finding it difficult to find the time to do things. I've mostly been cleaning up some of the code and getting some things in place that we'll need later on.

I was hoping to take a stab at some of the instrument unlocking stuff, but I haven't yet really figured out Unity GUIs. I'll keep looking at it though.

We also wanted to try to get Rob's animated instrumentalist in place and hopefuly with an instrument, but we haven't yet discussed how in our meetings.

Dylan and I were planning to get together and sort through everything we have to try to create a cleaner build, and I was hoping we could discuss some strategy, but unfortunately we weren't able to find time to.

There are also a lot of other things we still need to do but barely discussed, so hopefully that will become a little clearer during our final meeting of the term.

Weekly Progress - Rob

This week I work on making 2 more instruments, a pan flute and recorder, rigged and painted weights for our instrumentalist model, and put together a modest animation for when it's playing the recorder instrument.

MQP Meeting 12/9 Notes

• Joey showed off his city environment and we discussed the possibility of potentially adding even more features to it, such as having the main street continue on into the distance so it doesn't just abruptly end
• I showed the instrumentalist model which is completed and just needs to be textured, rigged, and animated
• Joey also showed off some of his UI elements which he has made so far, such as the fatigue bar and information sections for the instrumentalists
• As part of this we also discussed our plan of utilizing the information bars to help showcase the instrumentalist models from the front and also the incorporation of three buttons which will correspond to switching the instrumentalist, pattern, and instrument
• We also discussed our two potential options of showing the information boxes for all instrumentalists or only for the currently selected one
• Professor Rosenstock suggested the idea of potentially having the instrumentalists turn around when selected
• He also suggested splitting the already made UI elements into individual elements so they can be more easily be implemented by the tech team
• In terms of the prototype Kyle worked on mostly behind the scenes stuff, making the game more efficient
• Dylan figured out a way to incorporate piano roll elements into the step sequencer to allow for dragging for not durations
• The player can now designate the number of beats and number of subdivisions per beat
• The composition screen now also features a tempo slider
• Dylan is also working towards implemented the rules for each instrument class as part of the sequencer
• Dylan was also able to implement an import/export feature to assist Brian in getting some of patterns into the game
• He also mentioned that there might be a potential issue of lag when the composition is scrolling on playback
• Dylan suggested that perhaps its time to move away from the prototype and start building the actual game
• Brian played for us a couple more of his compositions which could be used for when instruments are unlocked, but he is still working on using string instruments
• Professor Rosenstock also suggested Brian could also work on some sound effects that will be needed and also some potential background tracks for certain sections such as the map screen for example

MOVING FORWARD

• The upgrade system is the last big tech feature
• Professor Rosenstock suggested even just working towards implementing a very simple version
• Other issues include resolving animation issues, getting UI elements into the game, getting the instrumentalist model rigged and animated, as well as working towards creating more monsters and instruments
• We also talked about putting together the progression of the upgrade mode (what things can be upgraded, etc.)
• Perhaps putting together some form of the map is the next most pressing issue

Weekly Progress (12/08/10)

This week, I spent most of my time making a sample environment with streets, piano buildings, and streetlights. The plain green flat we have for the demo's environment right now will get tedious after a while, so I set this up to (hopefully) give something more interesting to look at during the battle.

I also started designing some of the user interface elements. Displayed at the top is a prototype of the life bar for the city. Below that is the basic display for the musicians the player has performing right now. At the top is a bar for that shows how much energy the musician is using right now. Once that runs dry, the musician is unable to perform for a while, and it's time to let him rest. Along the side are three buttons to change options like the musician in that box and the pattern he is playing.

Weekly Progress - Rob

This week I've been working on remaking the instrumentalist model and getting some animations done for it. The model I've been working on so far is a male and it will also have features to make it look like it's wearing a marching band uniform. I plan on putting together a female instrumentalist model to add some visual variety. The idea will be that the color for each individual instrumentalist's marching band uniform will correspond to the class of instrument they are currently playing based on the instrument class/monster weakness color scheme we've decided upon.

Weekly Progress - Brian

This week I created a few more music tracks for the game; I will have them at the meeting tomorrow. Basically, they are sound effects that can be played when a player purchases an instrument: for example if the player purchases a pitch percussion instrument, a tune will play that includes pitch percussion instruments. I hope by tomorrow to have one sound effect for each music class: pitch / regular percussion, the two types of strings , and winds (woodwind and brass).

I was unable to create any patterns for this week, but I am confident that once the sequencer is finalized, I will be able to quickly create simple patterns to use in the game.

MQP Meeting 12/2 Notes

• Joey showed his basic monster models and animations and I showed my animations for the flying monster
• Professor Rosenstock reiterated working towards a full battle level with a complete environment and suggesting to narrow the number of different battlefield locations to around 3
• We also discussed our intention to have a color system between types of monsters and the instrument classes needed to defeat them (also extending to the color scheme for instrumentalists to denote which instrument class they are versed in)
• As an extension of this we also talked about the potential use of different particle effects to denote when monsters are taking damage or being healed
• Dylan also led us through the new added tech features to the prototype including Kyle's implementation of monsters which are weaker to more and fewer notes respectively and a monster which decreases the effectiveness of all instruments on the field
• Kyle demonstrated the newly implemented fatigue system and tempo changing system
• Under the fatigue system each instrumentalist has a "fatigue bar" which is subtracted from each time a note is played; whether an instrumentalist's fatigue bar reaches zero or the slot is turned off, the instrumentalist's fatigue bar will regenerate after five seconds of inactivity
• A sliding bar was added to the battle mode screen to allow variations in tempo during battle
• We talked about the possibility of having different animations to denote different levels of fatigue for each instrumentalist
• Professor Rosenstock suggested the artists try and think of different ways to represent the tempo slider
• We also briefly discussed the possibility of having different difficulty settings rather than just relying on variations of instruments
• Brian then showed the work he has put forth on sound design playing some of the sound effects and MIDI files he's found to correspond to our list of instruments and also played some sound clips he had composed as potential menu tracks and other game condition tracks such as winning or losing a battle
• Professor Rosenstock suggested Brian continue on by putting together some sample patterns to be used in game or potentially serve as unlock-able patterns as part of the upgrade system
• We then discussed potentially having to switch from a step sequencer to a piano roll to accommodate more interesting and complex patterns, most of which revolved around adapting the step sequencer to be able to combine beats into longer, continuous notes, or having some kind of visual indicator (such as connector lines) between beats which, when toggled, would indicate different note durations

WHATS NEXT

• For the artists Professor Rosenstock suggested a potential division of labor in which Joey focuses on putting together more environment assets and I recreate the instrumentalists and some animations for them as well as making more instruments
• Professor Rosenstock also suggest that the group discuss and potentially draw up initial designs of important UI elements which the artists would also then work on
• Part of this also included rethinking the functionality of the instrumentalists themselves and their associated actions (selecting patterns, instruments, instrumentalists) while in battle mode
• Professor Rosenstock re-expressed his desire to showcase the front of the instrumentalist models somehow
• Professor Rosenstock also brought up the point of coming up with a name for our game, suggesting we brainstorm some potential titles
• Professor Rosenstock also expressed that he thought further implementation of the upgrade system (instrument trees) be the tech teams top priority
• This also includes thinking of other potential "player upgrades" that could be implemented as part of the upgrade system (such as patterns, beneficial potions, etc)
• Professor Rosenstock's final point was that we should try and bring all our features and assets into a single version 

Weekly Progress (12/01/10)

Here's what I have to show for this week: my takes on the basic enemies: BonGoon, TarGoon, and HornGoon. These are the common monsters seen throughout the game, mass-produced musical monstrosities that hop, creep, and waddle toward you. The "Goon" enemies are weak to whatever instrument they resemble, so HornGoon is blown away by wind, TarGoon is shaken by strings, and BonGoon is beat by percussion.

This week, I managed to model these guys, and I made walking and death animations for them. I also created two new animations for the Micropus: an idle floating and a death animation where he crashes.

We have also decided on a color scheme that we can use to designate what instruments are characters' specialties or weaknesses. Orange gets associated with wind, green hues match with strings, and purple shades are tuned to percussions.

Weekly Progress - Brian

These past two weeks I have been creating short music tracks for the game. I have sound effects to indicate won or lost battles, as well as two percussive tracks that can be used in various places. I will have my laptop with me at tomorrow's meeting; and I can play them there.

Also, I have the list of all instrument / MIDI sound files. They are as follows:

(Instrument name - General MIDI Number - MIDI Instrument Name)

Wind Tree:

Bottles - 77 - Blown Bottle

Pan Flute - 76 - Pan Flute

Recorder - 75 - Recorder

Clarinet - 72 - Clarinet

Flute - 73 - Piccolo (I think it sounds more a flute, incidentally)

Oboe - 69 - Oboe

Bassoon - 71 - Bassoon

Saxophone - 66 - Alto Sax

Bugle - 61 - French Horn

Cornet - 57 - Trumpet

Trumpet - 57 - Trumpet (same sound as Cornet)

Whistle - 79 - Whistle

Trombone - 58 - Trombone

Tuba - 59 - Tuba

String Tree:

3-String Guitar - 33 - Acoustic Bass

Guqin - 107 - Shamisen

Harp - 47 - Orchestral Harp

Ukulele - 25 - Acoustic Guitar (nylon)

Banjo - 106 - Banjo (same sound as Mandolin)

Acoustic Guitar - 26 - Acoustic Guitar (steel)

Mandolin - 106 - Banjo

Electric Guitar - 28 - Electric Guitar (clean)

Bass Guitar - 35 - Electric Bass (pick)

Erhu - 111 - Fiddle

Viola - 42 - Viola

Contrabass - 44 - Contrabass

Violin - 41 - Violin

Cello - 43 - Cello

The percussion tree is not included at this point because it can be either a mix of MIDI sounds or samples.

Weekly Progress

There's not a whole lot for me to talk about this week, but I am continuing to work on implementing more monsters and tidying up the code from last week. We were all a bit unsure of what to work on after coming back from break, but aside from the new monsters we are planning to try implementing a version of the fatigue system we've been talking about for several weeks now.

Back to the monsters though; I have tested two monsters that take more or less damage based on how rapidly they are hit with notes. One reason for having these monsters is that we want the player to be able to adjust the tempo of their music, which we decided should be independent of the monsters' actions (which would remain based on real time). In theory, the player could raise the tempo to increase their damage output, but they won't be able to sustain this (yet another argument for implementing fatigue) for a long period of time, and similarly they could decrease the tempo to conserve stamina. These monsters also add more strategy to their use of tempo.

In addition to the tempo monsters, I started to implement the monsters that reduce the effect of certain notes on all the monsters. Right now they only have the effect of reducing damage taken, but other attributes can potentially be added, and eventually they should audibly effect the music or do something to indicate what they are doing. I've implemented a only a single monster that reduces all of the notes, but it is possible to create variations that reduce notes of different classes by varying amounts.

I believe that Rob and Joey are also making art assets for some of these monsters this week, so it'd be nice to see them in game with the working functionality.

Weekly Progress - Dylan

In the past 2 weeks, we determined a bunch of milestones that we figured should be our next tasks on our lists. Of said milestones, I was assigned to work on a couple of different things.

The first, and biggest milestone I worked on implementing was the Fatigue and Instrumentalist changes that we've been talking about. I redid a bunch of the code behind the instrumentalist 'slots' during a battle, the instrumentalist, the instruments, and the patterns. The slot is now its own entity into which the player places an "instrumentalist" (or musician). There are three types of instrumentalists - string, wind, and percussion - which can each only play the instruments of their class. They each have their own stamina - starting at 100. Playing a note costs them 1 stamina, and if they don't have any left, the pattern is turned off and they stop playing. After they haven't played any notes for 5 seconds, they start regenerating their stamina. The longer its been since they played, the more stamina they regenerate a second.

I also redid some of the UI elements for the instrumentalists, so there are now three buttons per slot: one to change the instrumentalist, one to change the instrument they are playing, and one to change the pattern they are playing. (Currently the fatigue is shown on the button for the instrumentalist swap, but this will probably be changed to a bar gauge in the future.) Clicking one of them will pop up a menu allowing the user to select a suitable replacement. I reworked these to all look similar and keep a consistent UI, and also to allow us to filter out options - ie, if you have a String instrumentalist, you will only see string instruments in the instrument change list. (Some of the logic for instrument classes was one of Kyle's milestones, so some pieces are awaiting the merge with his stuff).


My next major milestone was to add the tempo option which Prof Rosenstock mentioned in the last meeting. We discussed this during our meetings on our own during the week, and I did some thinking on the balancing of how it would work out. With the way we have the game set up, it seems to balance itself out as a tradeoff between the number of monsters each note will hit, and the time it will take for the players to regenerate their stamina. Stamina cost is based on how many notes are played, so speeding up the tempo will drain their stamina faster, though regenerating is based on real time so they will not regenerate faster. Since the regeneration works faster the longer they haven't been playing, this could still pose an advantage if played correctly.

The tempo logic is mostly implemented, though I'm still currently finishing it up.

Finally, I also wanted to get some work done on the Note Offs and the durations if there was time. We discussed a different UI during our meetings that would allow us to make a more sophisticated step sequencer which would allow for note durations. I have also looked through the code and designed a solution to turning notes off, but have not yet had time to implement it.


Also, as usual, I will be merging my and Kyle's changes to try to have a demo which shows both for the meeting tomorrow, as well as trying to integrate as many of the art assets as I can.