[RELEASED] Universal Fighting Engine

Currently UFE works using Mecanim and Legacy animations for all hit events, but there might be ways to do this using the open source and some good C# knowledge.

 

What's up MisterMind it's been a while. I've been busy myself sorting through the game engines I use (Unity/Unreal/Cryengine). Also I'm still waiting on the AI along with keeping an eye on the Playmaker forums as they vote for UFE support. So far it's at the top of the wish list which is good news. Anyway have you considered facial animation support like from an external package from the Asset Store? If you ask me it will not look good on players' side when they notice the characters don't have facial animations when they talk. Do you think UFE can be used with an external facial animation package from the Asset Store without extra work on your part or will it still have to be implemented in a later update? Even if so I for one will still use UFE before and after the AI update. Put it simply that UFE is not the only one of it's kind but to me it's the best solution for fighting game development on PC!

 

Alrite guys, finally I got some news for ya!
http://www.ufe3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=100

I'll let you guys know when I start packaging!

Edit: Wow I just realized it was thread n. 100 on the forum =)

 

Wonderful!!!~~~~~~~~

 

How's it going MMind!? I'm in love with UFE right now and I am extremely grateful that you took the time to develop this tool. Now, this might be a dumb question but I was wondering if you could explain how we would go about updating UFE to the next version after you release it. Im working with the current pro version of UFE and I'm really excited for the updates.

 

Awesome stuff, MMind. The AI Editor looks very complex and advanced which is good, cause it has alot of uniqueness. Only thing im waiting on now is that Networking. Btw, i tried to use a MIxamo auto rigged figure, put him into unity, and did the auto setup feature in UFE, but when i tested it by replacing the Demo Character's prefab thing with the Mixamo figure, it just had the Mixamo figure ingame in a T-Pose position and he had no animations and couldnt fight or anything.

 

I had same problem in other plugin of asset store, check if the Animation type is set to Humanoid in Rig section in Inspector window of that demo character, hope it works here too

 

Twrmois, most likely you forgot to set the model's Avatar. http://www.ufe3d.com/doku.php/character:movesets. I commonly forget to do this when updating or changing models. If they use the same rig, it might still work though. Let me know if that still doesn't work though, might be something else missing.

Alexarah, I'm planning on using facial rigging for my game at some point. So when I do, I'll post my findings on UFE forums. I can't promise it's soon though, as my priority is getting gameplay features completed first.

 

uh, well i tested what you said by taking the mixamo model and replacing the mecaim bot's avatar and character model with the mixamo model, and when i started the game.....the dude's head was rotating, but going through his neck repeadly and it looked gross and it made my own neck feel wierd when i was looking at it for too long. When i try to attack with him the rotating stops for a second then continues. But its still in a T-Pose btw.

 

After re-reading your post, I think I know now. Which demo character are you testing with? Mixamo Auto Rig has to be on a Mecanim compatible rig, not Generic. So make sure the character config you're using is using Mecanim Animation Type (just above Avatar in Move Sets), and that all their animations/moves are also in Mecanim. Robot Kyle is Mecanim, so try replacing him with your Mixamo auto rig and it should work.

 

THANK YOU MAN!!! I finally got it to work after that.

 

Excellent! Good to know.

 

Also, do you know how to set up parrying correctly? i still cant get it to work even though i have it enabled and ive tweaked its settings etc and it still doesnt work

 

Excellent news!

Can I deploy power slams using the special moves tool?

Take a look at this video (Moves #6 and down to #1)

 

Twrmois: There's a small issue with parrys at the moment. They do work, just only with a dedicated button instead of forward/back. We're looking at this now, so hopefully fixed by 1.1 update or very soon after.

amrhsn: If it's a blockable attack, you might be able to create it in 1.0. But it will take some work to get animations on both sides to look right, if you could even sync it.

In 1.1, throws are a new Hit Confirm Type (Hit or Throw), so you will be able to do unblockable throws then. But more importantly, there is an opponent override option which allows you to force an opponent into a specific animation (like a reaction to the said throw).

 

Thanks for the fast reply!
So in 1.1 for a non-blockable attack via forcing an opponent into a specific animation, I can deploy an opponent carry and slam action. Right? can you link me to something describing steps??

Should the animation be for both players in a single file? I feel that it should turn the opponent into a rigid-body.

 

Yeah, I will need some info on exactly hot grappling/throws work. Making sure I do it right.

 

Here's a video showing a couple throws in action. It's a little choppy, but you can see in both throws (esp 2nd one) that the opponent is going through their own reaction.

amrhsn: Documentation is currently begin written, it will be ready when 1.1 is released. But you can see from the video above that it's not using rigid bodies. It's best to animate both characters, but specific animation requirements would depend on your 3D package.

 

AI vs AI Demo

Also, more Screenshots posted here

 

I am changing my assets store rating from 3 starts to 5 stars.... Well Done!

 

OMG you Just NAILED it...!

Now waiting for video tutorials to complete...

 

AWESOME MisterMind! I was wondering when the new UFE version was going to be released with AI! I saw that you said it will most likely be packaged and available this month. I really look forward to the AI editor and the new grappling feature! Again awesome work MisterMind you're really talented bro!

 

Hey MisterMind I have a question. I'm almost ready to post videos and screenshots of my current project but theres one mechanic Im not understanding. I set up my air attacks to be able to chain into one another without any conditions. I studied the demo character as hes able to chain some of his attacks while hes in the air. I dont know why my character wont chain into other attacks. I want this to happen so the combo system has more options rather than just knocking down and bouncing your opponent.

I unchecked the blending in and out animations for my falling states but that didnt seem to make any difference.

is there something im missing?

Im using the pro version of ufe and i eventually plan to get the source version very soon

 

In the Move Info - Active Frames, check that the Hit Type isn't set to a Knockdown type. Most air attacks should be Overhead (so can't be blocked crouching), but some can be High Low type as well (Dhalsim's drill kicks and most dive kicks are typically this type so can be blocked low).

 

Thank you so much Yum Cha!

I found out the problem wasn't with the actual air moves themselves but just a parameter I forgot to pay attention to!

Now my game is 1000 times better!

Trailer and screenshots OTW soon probably next month!

 

Hope its come this this month

 

When will we have 1.1, I am anticapiting...

 

Still in debugging phase, so it's hard to give an exact date. It will be ready when it's ready.

 

Unfortunately a smiling face doesn't do it for such announcement. You have to understand that we pay money for your asset and other assets to make money. And I personally made a delivery promise to a client of mine based on your word of releasing the new version this month. Knowing that I won't fulfil my commitment doesn't strike me as a funny incident. Please do owner your word and release the update (even a beta version of it) in the following days.

 

I know just what you mean bro I've grown tired of waiting as well although I'm not in your situation. Don't know about you amrhsn but I still say UFE should have either come with AI in it's initial release or at the very least be way more compatible with third party AI systems on the Asset Store. If you ask me that would've made things quite a lot easier for us as we buy from the Asset Store to make our own money just as you stated.

 

I'm not sure how much you understand from this business or how much work you expect to be done for you for the amount you paid for, but if you really made a deal with a customer on the grounds that you could deliver, you should have thought about actually hiring someone and not complain over eventualities.

Now, if however you are not completely satisfied with the products and/or cannot handle eventualities, please, I'll be more than happy to give you your money back.

Now excuse me, I need to get back to work. I have a lot of documentation to write.

 

Unfortunately I cannot force someone to take a refund, but here are your options if you are still interested:
Sellfy: Provide me with your receipt number and I'll get you a refund as soon as possible.
Asset Store: Unfortunately you will need to contact Unity for this one.

 

Humm, if the purchase was made on the Asset Store, the refund must be done by issue an inquiry to Unity. Unfortunately I cannot issue a refund directly by Paypal since you'd still have access to the product updates.

Cheers.

 

MMind, I see that you have tackled the AI and is almost done/finished with it.
After taking a look at the upcoming features page (I check every day for changes, lol) which do you think you will work on first next? The Networking? (please)

 

If you're familiar with game development, then you know products get delayed all the time. And usually those delays are for a reason.

I personally wouldn't promise any client a hard released date if I'm relying on third party software to get it done.

I wasn't aware the NetherRealm Studios has opened their fighting framework to the public, because that's the only way your statement makes sense.

 

I think its fair if I give you guys a more broad explanation to our delays.
We are currently on the debugging phase, that means I'm going over each and every little aspect of this huge update and making sure everything works. This AI is extremelly complex and it took just as much time to make as UFE itself. During development the team also expanded and new features were pushed forward as complements to the major ones. The result is an engine almost twice as big.

The reason I don't like giving early dates for such large projects is that delays are almost always inevitable. UFE itself took 2 more months then it should mainly because I wanted to make sure everything was working flawlessly, and I'm not shy away on going that extra mile to implement an important option when needed.

We don't intend to have as much delay as I did with UFE (we are literally on the final steps of debugging), but when customers aggressively inquiry dates months before we start implementing, things like this are likely to happen.

Either way, I appreciate your patience, and I promise we are working 24/7 to make sure everything is fully functional.

Without getting into too much detail right now, we actually implemented networking, but we hit a wall due to a limitation on the Mecanim animation structure. We are currently working on some alternatives, but Networking will most likely be pushed to another release.

I'll soon make a full documentation explaining the precise details of this problem.

 

Yeah I must apologize MisterMind for I was also getting impatient. Also I've been keeping track of the updating process on your website and it's looking awesome. I'm heavily impressed that you and others are able to work on such hard tasks 24/7. I hope you're able to like literally take break whenever you can so you don't tire your entire brain down. Anyway sorry again MisterMind for becoming impatient especially considering I'm normally not the impatient type for I know that's one of the main requirements of the game development industry! I look forward to the next update of your progress. Keep up the good work bro!

 

Dude this stuff happens with indie game development all of the time. Thanks to the developer, my years of waiting for an open 2.5d fighting engine are over. UFE should be more than enough to provide a client with a polished prototype that will only increase in value once the update is pushed out.

You should perhaps change the way you think or life will eat you alive. Just voicing my opinion. I for one, am eternally grateful to the developers of UFE and im impressed at how fast they are with pushing huge updates like AI/ Grappling/ and NETWORKING!

 

I didn't had any plans of developing a fighter game in near future, but still grabbed the source version when it was on sale, couldn't resist.. .

 

MMind,
i was looking at the upcoming features and i see in the next development cycle that there is networking (yes!) and at the bottom, a part that says "Story Mode", im guessing that this is like a Arcade mode, which is good to work on now that you have made the AI....I think that in the story, the character intro's and ending's should be able to be made with pictures and text, and if the user is advanced enough, they can make full cutscenes, like there should be two settings for it.

Also I see the video tutorials being made soon, please one of them be about the mobile porting cause I have been unable to get it to work and I hope I did not waste my money on the Control Freak thing on the Asset Store

 

Story Mode as well as a new GUI interaction system is currently being developed using the new Unity 4.6. More info about that real soon

Yes, we definitely need to start working on video tutorials real soon. I'll make sure I don't forget that one.

----------//----------
Alrite guys, so while I work on the documentation here is a little something:
http://www.ufe3d.com/beta/
There are several additions but the most significant ones are the AI engines and throw mechanics. You can also toggle debug info during game play as well as switch AI engines and its difficulty.

 

woot i defeated the AI.... the ai goes insane lol, but is vulnerable to faster punches. he cant do much when we spam single punch moves...

 

I blame my own balance to the templates, specially Mike's move files. Up to this point UFE wasn't so much about balancing those out =)
If I remember correctly, when Street Fighter x Tekken was released they had similar problems on the game's data, some of which had certain moves by some characters lock the opponent into an almost infinite block stun with very little room to react.

Truth is, a lot of time was spent fixing problems that were always there, but couldn't be so clearly detected without heavy use (or abuse) of character interaction.

As time passes by we will get those fixed as well. As for the AI itself, don't worry, its not the engine's fault.

 

well i forgot to mention, Well done.....

when will you be giving out further information about story mode....? just curious...

 

As soon as 1.1 is released I'll give you guys a heads up on everything that is currently at work, so stay tuned

 

Awesome news MisterMind! Oh I also looked into the demo you just posted. I almost feel embarrassed lol for I just watched the AI fight itself instead of fighting it myself because I had no clue of what to aspect.

 

Yeah I know what you mean about the AI being insane. But man I never would have guessed that spamming fast moves would flat out own the AI lol.

 

Hello Mastermind / other UFE users. We are creating a high-quality fighting game for iOS mobile devices, and I am the programmer on the project. So far I have been very impressed with all of the source code and functionality of UFE; I was able to create a very challenging AI (that plugs in as its own input controller) in less than a month. However now I am running into an issue that I cannot solve.

Every now and then, at the beginning of a match, the screen goes black for a problematic period of time. I am wondering if someone can explain to me how UFE handles asset loading. It seems to me that assets are just loaded as needed at the beginning of the match, and this is causing an unfortunately long delay (sometimes up to 30 seconds) on older iPhones (specifically 4s). It doesn't surprise me that to create a game this sophisticated for iOS we will need some type of loading screen, but I was disappointed to see that UFE had no type of loading screen implemented. I have tried a few things to create my own version of a loading screen, but continue to fail, as the UFE code base seems very 'fragile' when I make even the smallest changes. I was hoping someone could help me implement a loading screen into the UFE code base, or at least explain how asset loading currently works, so we can understand more about why this long delay happens. It is rare, and only seems to happen the first time I play the game on a fresh build, so I suspect caching may be involved.

I have another thread here:
http://www.ufe3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=433#p433
with more specifics on what I have attempted in code so far.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give! So far UFE has been a delight to work with

 

Does anyone know how NGUI works with UFE? And if I could make it work with the Pro version of UFE?

 

Hmm, good question. I haven't tackled this one myself just yet as I'm waiting for Unity GUI to finally be released.

If you're just using it for progress bars (health/super) or text alerts, you might be OK. Select screen menu is probably OK too. But I suspect touch screen controls would need Source version to incorporate properly.

I'd suggest trying it in a new clean project and see how much you can get to work. If you hit any roadblocks, post on UFE forums and I'll see if I can help.