Journal Entry 2

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Date: May 8, 2025
Activity: Implementing ball physics, waypoint camera system, terrain texture.
Invested hours: 7
Notes: Started with the basic BallController script but had to extensively modify the parameters to get an okay feel, speed, level of control, etc. Used the arrow keys to control the ball but then couldn't test properly without a camera system to set that up. Initially I attempted to use the following camera that would just stay behind the ball, but this made the controls really weird, so I went with a waypoint system placed around the track so the camera goes along here but stays behind the ball. This means the arrow keys are now also relative to the camera position. This was really time consuming as I had to manually place 100 waypoints around the track, and I had lots of trouble dealing with their connections between each other and their angle, etc. I tried to place them procedurally with the track mask which I couldn't get to work well sadly. The camera now follows the ball, but it isnt incredibly smooth to be honest and I would like to improve it if I have time. I also added some terrain texture which was easy.
Outcome: Overall, these systems lay a solid foundation for the core gameplay loop. Next I will add checkpoints timing, UI, and ability to restart the level when you get to the end. I predict this will take me about 4 hours.

Status	Released
Author	Olliewakeford

Comments

Date is wrong, I did this all on the 7th but wrote this the morning of the 8t