[RELEASED] Universal Fighting Engine

Hey, MMind. I am working on a school project, and what I would like to know is how to modify UFE into a fighting game of my own, you know, like Jae Lee with his "Kings of Kung Fu" game in development. Do I have to utilize programming for the whole process?

 

Hello everybody,
I have some trouble to select a stage in the StageSelectScreen, its simply not working (ufe106).Its set up in the global editor but I cant change the stage by clicking.Any idea what I messed up?For a test I copied also the original trainingroom and just changed the screenshot-texture, it has the ground layer on plane etc.., buts not working.
Thanks for any advice.

 

I just installed the UFE again it is happening in the original version too and I cant select between stages?

 

MMind, I have recently discovered your UFE and am very impressed by what I've seen thus far (demos and King of Kung Fu). I've played videos games for a very very long time and especially love fighting games. I have a very good understanding of the game industry (as a former journalist) and the mechanics of various game types, but no experience in coding games. I've been learning Unity basics recently very slowly as time permits. But NOW, after seeing your UFE, my SOUL IS ON FIRE and I want to go all out and make the fighting game I've conceptualized (and obsessed) over the past years. I know it won't be an easy road, but let me get to the main question and point of all of this babbling.

How hard is it for a Unity noob to get into your UFE Pro Version and begin developing a fighter and learn in the process? I want to learn as I develop this dream game (that is actually a spiritual successor to Weapon Lord). How over my head will I be even though I understand the terminology of fighting games from the days of Street Fighter and MK tournaments. And I don't code, but I do understand how video games work and am very software savy. Thanks in advance.

 

No programming knowledge is required to use UFE, but I do recommend some overall understanding of Unity, specially when following the tutorials and documentations.
As described on the requirements page (http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/installation):

• Some knowledge of fighting game terminologies and overall understanding of how it works (hit boxes, active frames, hit stun etc.)
• Basic understanding of Unity:
  • Know your way around the basic tools (project, inspector, hierarchy, scene view)
  • How to use prefabs
  • How to handle your own 3D models and animations

Sorry about that mende, turns out there is in fact a bug in that script. Send me an e-mail (mistermind [at] live.com) and I'll send you the updated version of that script.

Although some overall knowledge of Unity is somewhat required for the optimal use of UFE and its tutorials (as quoted above), it shouldn't be hard to understand the basics. You can also use UFE's official forum if you ever have any specific question. There are several developers currently working on UFE that are more than happy to help =)

PS: Make sure you also watch the official videos: http://www.ufe3d.com/videos

Cheers

 

Thank you for the prompt reply, MMind. I will be purchasing Pro version this weekend. I have watch some of your tutorials already, many times over and over, and await more. They got me excited. Thank you for creating this tool!

 

Hey, everybody. There are two ways to create characters, one being Autodesk 3D Generator (online with free Autodesk subscription) and the other MakeHuman (free download from online). With the first one, you can save the model in .fbx format and open it in either Unity or 3dsMax, but you have to save it in .max format. With the latter, you have to save it into .mhm format and configure customizations in Blender.

Hope this helps.

 

It helps but can you elaborate a bit more. I just got MakeHuman. I haven't used AutoCAD in like 15 years. How easy will it be for me to get any MakeHuman creations into UFE without a hassle?

To MMind, can you possibly make a To Do checklist for us fledging fighting game developers? Nothing too in-depth. Just letting us know what we should be working on first to last in the proper order. For example, you probably wouldn't be working on hitboxes till you get your model fully animated, etc. Some of us have a bad habit of getting ahead of ourselves.

 

Cool. Mess with MakeHuman a lot. Seems you can make a basic human model with it, but anything more extensive or custom (like outfits, animations, etc) requires importing it into something like Blender (which I also got) and doing the heavy work.

Man, those Unity tutorials need to be updated for the newer versions. I spent hours on that Stealth tutorial alone. But I understood a lot of the interface and commands. The coding parts are still alien language to me though.

 

NullReferenceException: GetRef
MoveSetScript.SetAnimationSpeed (System.String animationName, Single speed)
MoveSetScript.PlayBasicMove (.BasicMoveInfo basicMove, System.String clipName, Single blendingTime, Boolean replay)
MoveSetScript.PlayBasicMove (.BasicMoveInfo basicMove, System.String clipName, Boolean replay)
MoveSetScript.PlayBasicMove (.BasicMoveInfo basicMove, System.String clipName)
MoveSetScript.PlayBasicMove (.BasicMoveInfo basicMove)
ControlsScript.FixedUpdate ()



I get like 50 of the above errors when I create my own character.
If there are minimum requirements for the creation of a new character, such as the must have moves and settings please list them.

 

I recommend toggling "Error Pause" on the console window so you can read the first error. The first one is probably related to a missing animation in the required animation fields. For more information about the required animations in the move set, visit this page:
http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/character:movesets

 

I understand that some tutorials do require some prior understanding of several gimmicks, but these kind of tutorials can be found through out Unity itself. UFE isn't so much as "X steps to make a game" but rather a collection of tools to help on your game development.

Of course, as the development grows there is always the possibility of streamlining the process for the masses, but expect a lot more competition because of it though

 

Question. How do you load the demo into Unity after you buy UFE? I want to mess with the models you've already included to see what I can manipulate the game into. Or maybe you already have a tutorial for this?

 

Once you imported UFE to your Unity project, load the TrainingRoom file (UFE\Scenes\TrainingRoom) and hit play to test the demo.
For more information visit this page:
http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/installation#starting_ufe

 

LOL, I was just coming to delete that post. I got it already. Thanks for replying though. And thanks for this great tool!

 

I see on your Upcoming Features page that "Random AI" is done and coming soon, when is it going to arrive? Looking forward to it.
Question...I am making mixture of a fighting and shooter game....how do I access UFE from my general game...ie I want a character to enter a certain street , then for UFE to start..and presto a fight will occur. I am going down the route of having my character trigger switching to the UFE camera when entering certain zones..is this the right way?

 

I have a question,

Can the engine handle 3D sprites with 3D backgrounds? I'm trying create a fighting game that visually is a kin to BlazBlue but plays like SF3/KOF. I was wondering if I could use this engine to do such a thing.

 

AI will be available alongside Grappling and Networking. For this particular update I'm taking some extra time because some connectivity between major features. I estimate it will be ready on early September.

It might require some programming knowledge, but you can view the GUI Scripts (open source on all versions) as connectivity examples. You can also view this page for more examples on how to use UFE's properties and events:
http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/code

You can also use the official forum if you have any specific question that could develop into a solution: http://www.ufe3d.com/forum

 

Currently UFE works with 3D models as it requires a rig so you can tag the hitboxes to body parts.
I'm not sure what you mean by 3D sprites, but I believe you are referring to 2D sprites. There are plans for UFE to have 2D support, but I have no ETA for that yet. You can keep track of my progress on the upcoming features page as well vote for what should come next here.

 

Hey, MMind. I was following the hit boxes tutorial and I wanted to know if there's a list of offset coordinates for the humanoid model. It seems that every time I assign the hit box to the body according to each body part, the hit box falls into the same place, which is the head. Is there a list of coordinates that will fall in place over each body part instead of the majority of the hit boxes centering around the head?

 

Yeah I bumped into that problem many times as well. The offset are supposedly added to the Y and X coordinates of the hitboxes, but due to the bone's internal rotation those axis might end up moving at the wrong directions. I've tried fixing many times, but could not find a solution that would persist in all possible scenarios. I'll see if I can take another look at it before the next update.
On the meantime I suggest attaching to the closest bone you can find to your goal while avoiding large numbers on the offsets. The hitboxes don't need to be exact, they just need to cover as much of the character as possible without being too big. On the next update UFE will also support rectangle hitboxes, which should pretty much cover all scenarios on this type of fighting game.

Edit: You can also try adding more bones to your character using your own 3D modeler software. Its probably the best solution.

 

Hi
I want to ask is in the UFE also a AI for the enmeny ??
Or is there a tutorial how to make a AI for the fighters??

 

AI is still on the works. For more information visit this page:
http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/upcomingfeatures

 

Excuse me MMind,

I see that the networking is in the coming soon section, similar to most other unity multiplayer games will it be possible to play a game cross platform? e.x. a android playing with a pc user? Either on a local area network or online with photon cloud or whatever?

 

Yes I completely meant 2D! lol Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I'll be keeping a close eye on this.

 

We are still very early on development on that feature so I can't answer that yet. but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Hey, MMind. I have followed your tutorial on move editors and after adding the prefab character to each of the moves, I still don't understand why there are duplicate forms of one of my characters even though I deleted one of them.






And I know this may have already been asked, but how can you replace some of the project files with the demo files to make UFE work with no difficulties?

 

Whats the fastest way to use my dpad while assigning moves in UFE? Also does UFE support arcade sticks?

 

You might have missed a few steps here and there. I see your character is huge in comparison to the ground mass. Also it seems like you didn't remove the character preview from the hierarchy panel. Make sure you close it after you edit the hitboxes. I recommend reading this page: http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/character:hitbox

The demo files can be replaced and reused at any time on any character. For example, you can duplicate one of the characters files and just replace the files and variables you want to replace. Then, just drag the new character to the character roster in the Global Editor. If you are using Mecanim, using demos as templates is even easier, as seen in this video:

 

There are several ways you can adjust the Inputs on UFE. You can also use cInput for the job. For more on Inputs visit this page:
http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/global:input

 

Hey MisterMind I'm one of the members on your UFE forum and I see your forum isn't completely active yet so that's why I'll ask here as well. I would appreciate if you or someone else who uses UFE can either post or link some commands and examples for coding in UFE. I have already looked into the GUI Script and it does not have enough detail in it. I also know by the way that AI and others are coming soon but I would like to try to implement something myself since I feel a little impatient here. lol

 

here this should help:
http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/code

 

What time come the next update ??
Next week or next month or years ??

 

he already mentioned it earlier next update around early september...

 

Oh yeah I've seen that before but it still does not give the info of what I need. What I need is basically the list of commands that people on the UFE forums used to make custom features using the source version. What would really help is if there's a way to communicate Playmaker's Set and Get Property feature with the Controls Scripts to make AI that way since Playmaker can and has been used for such things. But thanks for the help anyway MisterMind.

 

Hey, MMind, I had finished altering my models and importing animations/bipeds used in 3D Studio Max and after following your tutorials of creating/editing moves after following the hit box tutorial, I still can't seem to start the game with either of the models moving.

The thing is, I chose the "Start Game Immediately" option in the Global Editor, and after assigning the characters to their spots, four of them, by the way, I get the following errors:

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
HitBoxesScript.Start () - first character

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
CameraScript.Start () - times two

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
HitBoxesScript.Start () - second character

And the rest of the issues pertains to this error:

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
CameraScript.FixedUpdate ()

which appears multiple times within the Console.



I also want to make a C# If-else statement script that denotes the victory of either player according to a round they've won, and I want to change the color from red to green, like in Tekken 2, to start with. How do I go about doing that?

 

I'm not sure I understand "all four of them". Do you mean in the Global Editor -> Characters? It doesn't necessarily have to be 4. This is just the numbers of characters that came with the demo. If you are using "Start Game Immediately" you also need to drag the characters you want in the fields "Player 1 Character" and "Player 2 Characters" that appear when you select that option.

I can't read the errors this way. You must click on the first error and copy what you read in the console box right below it.

For specific questions that can lead into sub discussions or multiple solutions I suggest you use the official UFE forum, preferably under Source coding.

 

There are future plans of Playmaker compatibility, but it will have to wait a little as people didn't vote it up as a priority on UFE Season 2 polls.
In the meantime I suggest issuing a request on UFE forum - 3rd Party Development. Maybe there are other developers out there interested in making such compatibility addons.

 

What I mean by copying the error is this:




Also, when replying to a post you must place your message below the text marked as "QUOTE" otherwise no one can read your message

 

Darn, my bad I totally forgot about that section of the UFE Forums. Thanks for the hint I'll be sure to do so!

 

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
HitBoxesScript.Start ()

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
CameraScript.Start ()

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
CameraScript.Start ()

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
HitBoxesScript.Start ()

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
CameraScript.FixedUpdate ()




I have well over 990 errors for the last issue at hand. Is there something I should do, MMind?

 

Its really hard to tell what it is. UFE is set to warn if any vital animation is out of place, but in this case I don't have enough information to tell you what it could be. May I suggest retracing your steps?
I also suggest you try using one of the demo templates as base. If you are using Mecanim animations also make sure your Animation Type is set to the proper selection on the Character Editor.

 

Thanks, MMind. I'll be sure to do that.

 

What's up MisterMind may I ask what scripts do you advise to look into in order to extend UFE Source. I have uScript now and like I stated on UFE forums under the tips section uScript displays the actions, events, properties, and even variables within UFE (awesome ain't it)! Well the point is that I would like to know which scripts you are modifying and how would recommend me go through it. I would like to see how far uScript can take me since it's already doing things by default that which Playmaker doesn't.

 

Very interesting. UFE.cs is the main script you can catch events from. Most of the main methods are also located on this script. I'm not sure how uScript works, but if you need any C# examples on how to approach these events you can also take a look at GUIScript.cs.
Both these scripts are located under UFE\Scripts

For more information on these methods and events visit this page:
http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/code

 

two problems MMind

1.i used the JOAN prefab to help import my character but hes way too small. im trying to scale him up but i cant...when i play the game i scale him up and its fine....what do you think is the problem?


2. this is my imported character screen as you can see the initial hitbox for his ground mass is way off to the right. i cant manually adjust this why do you think this is happens?

 

That doc is quite handy now that I'm looking closer into UFE's code structure inside it's scripts. By the way MisterMind is it possible to call UFE events from other events that can be made inside of Unity? I need to know if it's possible to communicate with UFE's codes through events from uScript. Example I'm trying to get Mike who I chose to be Player 2 use his move called Dash Back after calling the (when level is loaded) event from uScript. But so far no luck. If there's a way to use events from other sources such as the example I just gave outside of UFE in order to alter the gameplay since that's exactly what uScript is capable of how could this be done?