So, I am making an ability system and I currently have two different abilities aswell as an object that is used to add a specfic ability to the player script. But moving forward i would like for the object to not have a specific ability attached but instead it should pick a random ability from an array of available abilities. The idea I have is that it should look something like this:
class_name ability_pick_up
extends Node2D
var next_ability = abilities_array.pick_random()
#where the array contains a series of prepackaged ability scenes
#currently the variable above looks is defined as such:
#var next_ability = preload("res://Abilities/explosion.tscn")
func _on_area_2d_body_entered(body):
if body.is_in_group("Player_body"):
body.current_ability1 = next_ability
self.queue_free()
The issue Iām facing is that I have minimal experience with arrays and Iām unsure as to how i would approach this issue
I would suggest that you do not have an array of preloaded scenes but have just their references. I would do it something like this (untested):
var ability_path: String = "...res://Abilities/%s.tscn"
var all_abilities: Array = [
"explosion",
"invisibility",
"bombs",
]
# Then later when you need it
var next_ability: PackedScene = load(ability_path % all_abilities.pick_random())
Otherwise you may be loading, say, twenty ability scenes, and using hardly any of them.
You may also not want the abilities repeated until they are all exhausted, in which case you would not pick from all_abilities but from a duplicate like this:
# additional var
var available_abilities: Array = []
# First check it is not empty
if available_abilities.is_empty():
available_abilities = all_abilities.duplicate()
# Then after selecting one just delete it from the available list
var selected_ability: String = available_abilities.pick_random()
var next_ability: PackedScene = load(ability_path % selected_ability)
all_abilities.erase(selected_ability)
PS I donāt think your filenames should be capitalised btw. So your Abilities folder should be called āabilitiesā.
aah so whenever i make an ability i should make a line of code that adds the name of the ability to the āall abilities arrayā as a string so that the string name can replace %s in the next_ability line?
And when the player picks up the āability_pick_upā a random string name is selected (and then also a random ability)?
Iām relatively new to godot I just want to make sure I understand it right
Thatās about right. The only reason for a root_path variable is not to store the same info again and again in your array.
There are actually quite a few ways to go about this, for instance I would usually have a ālevel_builderā run before the main scene is run. The level builder does all the work writing to a singleton called something like level_data. In that level builder you would have all your ability scenes as children of an abilities container, and then making the array would be just a case of doing get_children().
This is something you could do in your main game loop, just have all your ability scenes as children of an āabilitiesā node. Then rather than maintaining your array you could just get_children to create your available_abilities list. If you are not going to have too many, and they are relatively small scenes, this will have little impact on your game. Perhaps better than loading them when needed if you are going to be re-using all of them again and again.
Hope that helps in some way.
Edit: Without seeing more of your code structure and implementation plans it is hard to be exact, but yes, I think your pick_ability script would be attached to a node and that node could have all your abilities as children right from the start.
It does!
But currently I plan on having making a roguelite so having a lot of abilities that can mix and match to make different combinations. I thought that having them as individual scenes would be best.
Btw when i ran the code i got the error
"E 0:00:01:0428 ability_pick_up.gd:11 @ @implicit_new(): Cannot open file āā¦res:/Abilities/explosion.tscnā.
"
As well as a similar error for the other ability I have
Definitely have your abilities as separate scenes. You can then just add those scenes to your pick_ability folder (or load them when needed is fine of course).
Is that the location and correct name of your scene?
res:/Abilities/explosion.tscn
Thats just the way i have it set up
The reason it looks empty is because there are no other folders but if you look at the bottom half (belov the bar with āFilter Filesā) my ability scenes and scripts are there
