Ability List & Control Panel

List of Abilities

At the left of the Ability Manager window is a list of all the character's abilities that have been created or globally linked. Selecting an ability in the list will load it’s settings to the right.

The Order of Abilities

The order of the abilities determines which ABC will be check first as a priority for activation. ABC will cycle through all the characters abilities checking for activation, starting with the first ability in the list. If the ability being checked hasn’t been activated or can’t activate due to circumstances like not being enabled, not having enough mana, being on cooldown, or not being next in the combo chain then it will move on to the next ability in the list.

Abilities at the top of the list have higher priority then the ones at the bottom. If 2 abilities are setup to activate from the same key/button press, the second will never activate unless the first one is unable too due to being on cooldown or they are setup in a combo etc. If the 2 abilities have been setup to activate with different triggers then both will be able to activate once their key/buttons are pressed.

Many different gameplay features can be implemented with the knowledge of ordering. 2 abilities can be setup with the same trigger but with different activation conditions, enabling the same trigger/key to activate different abilities depending on the circumstances.

For example you can setup 2 abilities with the same same ‘attack’ key/button. One ability can be setup so If the character is on the ground then this will activate the punch ability. The second ability with the same key trigger can be setup so if the character is in the air it will instead activate a kick ability.

The system will start with the first ability in the list in this example the punch, see that it has been triggered but will not activate as the entity is in the air. It will then move to the next ability in the list see that it has been triggered and will in this scenario activate as the entity is in the air.

Adding Abilities and Linking Global Abilities

Below the list is a dropdown where you can link or copy global abilities that have been created. New local abilities can be added by hitting the “+ Add New Ability” button and if an ability is currently selected it can be copied with the “Copy Ability” button. Any selected ability can also be deleted by pressing the “X Delete Ability” Button.

The final button is “Export Abilities” which when pressed will create a new global ability as a scriptable object containing all abilities marked to export. A save window will appear where a location can be chosen to save the scriptable object too. The scriptable object can be shared among projects.

The abilities in the list can be dragged to a different position by pressing the “Enable Drag Mode” button then whilst in this mode clicking the “=” and moving the mouse. Drag Mode can then be disabled by clicking the same button now labelled “Disable Drag Mode”

Parenting Abilities

The parenting controls allows for the selected ability to be assigned as a child of another ability, grouping them together in the list box to the left. Parenting does not affect game mechanics and is used for list organisation only, making it easier to find abilities which may be related.

Child abilities will be hidden in the list until the “Show Child Abilities” button is clicked on the parent ability. If children are showing the button will change to "Hide Child Abilities". this functionality is similar to the structure of Unity Hierarchy Parenting. Parent abilities can become children to other abilities creating nested groups.

• The ▸ icon means the ability is a parent and child abilities are not currently showing

• The ▾ icon means the ability is a parent and child abilities are showing

• The ├ icon means the ability is a child.

Clicking the dropdown will show a list of all abilities which can become a parent of the ability which is currently selected. Pressing the ‘Update’ button will assign the ability as a child to the parent ability chosen in the dropdown. Choosing None’ from the dropdown will unchild the ability.

Applying Game Types

At any point during the creation of abilities you are able to select and apply a game type. Doing so will configure settings for the ability to fit the type of game mode selected. This will typically change how the ability targets enemies.

Once a game type has been selected from the dropdown clicking the 'Update' button will apply the game type to the ability you are currently configuring. The following game types can be selected:

Action

Ability will activate on the the nearest enemy targeted and will always activate even if no target exists

FPS

Ability will activate towards the Crosshair

TPS

Ability will activate towards the Crosshair, Melee Ability will attack the nearest enemy targeted

RPGMMO

Ability will require a target before activating, Melee attacks will always hit

MOBA

Ability will need to be chosen before a second click determines the direction the Ability will travel

Top Down Action

Abilities and Attacks will activate towards mouse direction. If mouse direction is near a target the Ability will activate towards the target instead