My role on this project centered around setting up everything multiplayer and systems related. When I joined the game was in a prototype state built in Unreal 5 Early Access and had zero Multiplayer functionality. I helped the team make the decision to restart the project in Unreal 4.27 for stability and compatibility reasons. In the span of 6 months the game was brought of a fresh state to and early access release.

FEATURES AND MECHANICS I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR:

• Full server authoritative movement. All movement of the vehicles is handled by the game's dedicated servers.

• Setup the game's backend on Microsoft PlayFab services.

• Cloud storage of game and user data.

• Loot drop system and allows specific parts and weighted rolls based on part types and rarities.

• System to manage parts easily using data tables in Unreal

• In game store that allows items to be items to be changed daily and purchased using real money through Steam's payment process.

• Robust and expandable system to handle vehicle customization and player pawn construction.

OTHER TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Manage the source build of Unreal for the team to use through UnrealGameSync.

• Make all the packaged game builds and manage them on Steam.

ASYNC INVENTORY MANAGER:

• Given a search filter get only the items that match from the total player's inventory.

• Organize the filtered parts 

• Once the manager is supplied with the index of the current item being viewed it will then load that item and the surrounding items to keep a supplied buffer size.

• As the viewed item changed items that out outside the buffer are unloaded and items now in the buffer load.

• All loading is async load using PrimaryAssets.

• Manager uses a map of the items it is loading to the items that need updates. This means that the manager tells the item cards when to load and unload.

• Item cards unload their images when outside of the buffer to recover memory when scrolling. Once back in the buffer the card can be reloaded.