ObjectLibrary

From Elemental

ObjectLibrary searches Xml and automatically loads the following GameObject types:

 Players           - Generic AI and Human Characters.
 Terrain           - Generic land masses.
 Billboard         - 2D sprites which always face the viewer.
 Prop              - 3D level- or mass-produced objects.
 GpuObject         - 3D Gpu-based objects.

ObjectLibrary provides access to the following lists during each GameObject::Update() cycle:

 GameObjectList		- List of all user-defined, overridden GameObjects loaded from xml.
 PropList  		- List of all xml-defined 3D level- or mass-produced objects.
 GpuObjectList		- List of all xml-defined 3D or 2D Gpu-based objects.
 BillboardList		- List of all xml-defined and user-defined 2D sprites which always face the viewer.

GameObjects are allowed to inspect and modify these lists, which include all other GameObjects currently loaded. This defines a physical interaction system that supports custom collision responses and game interactions based on the object type.

 public override void Update(ref ObjectLibrary objectLibrary)
 {
           for (int i = 0; i < objectLibrary.bots.Count; i++)
           {
               if (objectLibrary.bots[i].IsAlive())
               {
                   // Shoot at bot
               }
           }
 }

Attack Methods

It is possible to create alternate attack methods using GameObject overrides. Object Library supplies three types of attack methods by default:

 Bullet       - Projectile which (nearly) instantaneously collides with the target object.
 Grenade      - Projectile which travels using Newtonian physics before reaching it's target object.
 GpuParticle  - Non-colliding particles that can be used in large batch numbers (such as snow storms or hail).