Discs...

It's been a while now since I published a real progress update, and the reason for that can be summarized in one word: Discs.

The Identity Disc is the most iconic weapon in the TRON universe. One can no more imagine TRON without Discs than they can imagine Star Wars without Light Sabers (so strong is the comparison that many new-generation fans have begun referring to them as Light Discs).

Back in the late 90's, when I first thought of the idea of Tron: Anti-Virus, Identity Discs were not even going to be included. Not because I didn't want to, but because it probably would not have even been possible. First-person shooters were still in their infancy, and hardly anything ever went beyond some kind of projectile that came out of a gun, flew straight at its opponent, and then exploded (even grenades were rare at the time). But countless improvements to Duke Nukem 3D by the modding community have greatly expanded the game's capabilities. That's not to say that making a disc work is easy though. In fact, it's an enormous headache.

It would not surprise me at all if the Identity Discs end up having the most complex AI in the entire game. If I were basing them off of Tron Legacy, it would actually be easy. But I am painstakingly attempting to get the behavior of the Discs to match what is seen in the classic film (this behavior is actually emulated pretty well in the Tron: Evolution game). In TRON, Discs are akin to swords. They are an extension of their wielders, even across the distance of a room. Disc fights are very duelistic in nature, with opponents attempting to hit and parry. The Discs are also guided weapons, as if while in flight, they operate by remote control or telepathy, always linked to their owner. A wide range of attacks can be achieved, which also dictate what must be done to achieve a successful block. All of this translates into a rather complex system from a programming perspective, though to the player it should be pretty straightforward. To make disc combat possible, I have had to add two more functions to the game, a block button, and a 'target select' button.

The Disc combat system is not done by any means. I am still knee-deep in it. So in the event that it takes another month to get it working the way I want it to, I felt that I ought to post about it.