[100% Off Udemy Course] How To Make A Souls Like Combat System In Unreal Engine

[100% Off Udemy Course]  How To Make A Souls Like Combat System In Unreal Engine

Master real-time combat mechanics, skill systems, and enemy AI to create engaging ARPG gameplay in Unreal Engine

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Creating a "Souls-like" combat system in Unreal Engine involves designing a gameplay system with responsive mechanics, animations, and interactions that emulate the challenging combat style found in games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring. If you're following a 100% off Udemy course titled How To Make A Souls-Like Combat System In Unreal Engine, this guide will provide an outline of what you can expect to learn and some tips for building a combat system that feels true to the Souls-like genre.

Understanding Souls-Like Combat Systems

Souls-like combat is characterized by its precision and high difficulty. Success hinges on player skill, and the design often includes punishing mechanics that reward patience and mastery. Key components include:

1. Target Lock-On: This allows players to lock onto enemies, helping them control movement and camera orientation effectively.
2. Stamina Management: Souls-like games often have a stamina bar that depletes with each attack, dodge, or block.
3. Timing and Precision: Combat relies on well-timed attacks, blocks, parries, and dodges.
4. Responsive Feedback: Damage indicators, enemy health bars, and other visual cues help players gauge the effectiveness of their actions.
5. Animation-Driven Combat: Animations play a big role in making combat feel impactful and weighty.

Course Structure and Content Overview

Typically, a course on building a Souls-like combat system in Unreal Engine will be broken down into modules covering various aspects of game mechanics. Here’s an example structure:

1. Setting Up the Project:

   • Install Unreal Engine and create a new project, often starting with a third-person template.
   • Set up the character and environment basics, laying the groundwork for the combat system.

2. Character Setup and Animation:

   • Import or create character models and animations.
   • Use Unreal Engine’s Animation Blueprint system to manage movement and combat animations.
   • Implement attack animations, dodges, rolls, and hit reactions.

3. Building a Stamina System:

   • Create a stamina bar that depletes during actions like attacking or dodging.
   • Use Unreal’s Blueprint system to manage stamina regeneration and depletion logic.
   • Add visual indicators for when stamina is low or exhausted.

4. Lock-On Mechanic:

   • Implement a lock-on system that allows the player to lock onto enemies with the press of a button.
   • Manage camera movement to keep the enemy in view while locked on.
   • Adjust the player’s movement and targeting to follow the locked enemy, keeping combat focused and controlled.

5. Implementing Enemy AI:

   • Develop basic AI behavior that includes patrolling, engaging the player, and reacting to attacks.
   • Add animations for enemy attacks, blocking, and hit reactions.
   • Use Unreal’s Behavior Tree to create AI that feels intelligent and responsive, making combat more engaging.

6. Attack and Defense Mechanics:

   • Set up attack, block, and parry mechanics using animations and event triggers.
   • Implement hit detection to determine when the player or enemy lands a successful attack.
   • Use sound effects and visual feedback (like hit sparks or screen shakes) to enhance immersion.

7. Damage and Health Systems:

   • Create a health bar system for both player and enemies.
   • Apply damage calculation and health depletion based on actions like successful attacks or blocks.
   • Implement "death" sequences for both the player and enemies, including respawn or checkpoint mechanics.

8. Advanced Features:

• Integrate critical hit mechanics, such as backstabs or parries, that deal extra damage under specific conditions.
• Add visual effects, like blood splatter or glowing effects, to make critical hits feel rewarding.
• Refine animations and timing to make the combat feel as polished as possible.

Building Core Components in Unreal Engine

Let's break down a few of the essential parts you'll need to implement.

1. Setting Up Animations and Animation Blueprints

Unreal Engine’s Animation Blueprint system allows you to blend and control animations based on player input. Start by importing animations for basic actions—like idle, walking, attacking, and dodging. Then:

• Create an Animation Blueprint for your character to control movement and combat animations.
• Use states within the Animation Blueprint (e.g., idle, attacking, and dodging) to transition between animations smoothly.
• Use input events to trigger animations based on player actions.

2. Implementing the Stamina System

A stamina system is central to creating that Souls-like feel, limiting the number of actions players can perform before needing to recover.

• Create a Stamina Bar Widget: Use Unreal's UMG system to display a stamina bar on the screen.
• Set Up Stamina Variables: Create variables to store the player’s maximum and current stamina levels.
• Implement Stamina Depletion and Recovery: In Blueprint, set up logic to deplete stamina when performing actions like attacks or dodges, and regenerate it over time when the player is idle.

3. Building a Target Lock-On System

The lock-on mechanic is essential for managing combat with precision. To create it:

• Detect Nearby Enemies: Use collision detection or line tracing to identify enemies within a certain range.
• Toggle Lock-On: Set up a key input that allows players to lock onto the nearest enemy.
• Camera Adjustment: Modify the camera’s orientation to keep the locked enemy in the frame, which helps players focus during combat.

4. Designing Enemy AI

Enemy AI is key to challenging the player. Basic AI functionality can be created with Unreal’s Behavior Trees and Blackboards.

• Behavior Tree Setup: Use a Behavior Tree to define enemy actions such as patrolling, attacking, and pursuing the player.
• Blackboard Variables: Store information like player location or current health state, allowing the AI to make decisions based on its condition.
• Response to Player Actions: Implement logic for enemy reactions to attacks, such as staggering when hit or executing counterattacks.

5. Creating Responsive Combat Feedback

Combat feedback, such as visual and audio cues, is crucial in a Souls-like system to make the combat feel impactful.

• Hit Detection and Feedback: Use collision events to detect when attacks land and apply damage.
• Health Bars and Damage Indicators: Display health bars for both player and enemies, updating dynamically with each hit.
• Camera Shake and Sound Effects: Add screen shakes, sound effects, and visual indicators to enhance the sensation of landing or taking a hit.

Tips for Building and Optimizing Your Souls-Like Combat System

1. Optimize Animations: Use smooth transitions and blending between animations. Slow, weighty animations are common in Souls-like games to add realism to movement and attacks.

2. Refine Timing and Responsiveness: Combat should feel responsive, yet have a deliberate weight. Adjust animation speeds, cooldown times, and input responsiveness to find the right balance.

3. Focus on Enemy Variety: Souls-like games often feature a range of enemy types, each with distinct attack patterns. Designing different AI profiles and unique animations for each enemy type can add depth.

4. Playtesting and Iteration: Regularly playtest to balance enemy difficulty, stamina costs, and the timing of attacks and dodges. Fine-tune your systems based on player feedback.

5. Polish and Visual Feedback: Adding particle effects, screen overlays, and impactful sound effects can make each attack feel powerful and help players intuitively understand when they’ve been hit or delivered a critical blow.

Final Thoughts

A Souls-like combat system requires patience and attention to detail to capture the right feeling. By working through a structured course and iterating on each system you build, you’ll come away with the knowledge needed to create challenging, rewarding combat mechanics in Unreal Engine. Emulating this style of gameplay is not just about programming functionality but about fine-tuning each element to enhance immersion and give players that sense of accomplishment so intrinsic to Souls-like games.

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