Infrastructure

Introduction

Infrastructure is one of the keys features in a Tower Defense game. It encompasses all objects which are buildable by the player, but primarily focuses on Defensive Towers which the player can use to defend the Crystal, and also on other utility buildings such as Walls which allows the player to limit the movement of enemies.

Infrastructure in the game was primarily implemented through the creation of a Structure Factory which facilitates the abstraction of the creation of different Infrastructure objects, using the Factory Design Pattern. Furthermore, to interact with all structure objects, a Structure Service was created, based off of the Observer Design Pattern.

Further reading

• Structure Factory
• Wall
• Tower1
• Tower2
• Tower3
• Trap
• Structure Components
• Structure Service
• Object Design Guide
• User Testing Plan
• Software Test Plan
• Code Testing
• House 1
• House 2

Changes to base classes

KeyboardPlayerInput

The KeyboardPlayerInput Component was also extended to add the following functionality:

• Upon pressing b the build state is toggled, where on mouse-click the triggerBuildEvent method is called
• Upon pressing n the next building will be selected to be built by the triggerBuildEvent method when build area is clicked
• Upon pressing u the upgradeStructure method is called upon selecting a building
• Upon pressing y the handleBuildingDestruction method is called upon selecting a building

TriggerBuildEvent

The TriggerBuildEvent method allows the player to place a specified structure out of the available buildable structures, at the location described by the cursor's position and updates the Structure Service to render the structure in the game map.

 public static void triggerBuildEvent(String name) {
    Entity camera = ServiceLocator.getEntityService().getNamedEntity("camera");
    CameraComponent camComp = camera.getComponent(CameraComponent.class);
    Vector3 mousePos = camComp.getCamera().unproject(new Vector3(Gdx.input.getX(), Gdx.input.getY(), 0));
    Vector2 mousePosV2 = new Vector2(mousePos.x, mousePos.y);
    mousePosV2.x -= 0.5;
    mousePosV2.y -= 0.5;
    GridPoint2 loc = ServiceLocator.getEntityService().getNamedEntity("terrain").getComponent(TerrainComponent.class).worldToTilePosition(mousePosV2.x, mousePosV2.y);

    String entityName = loc.toString();
    entityName = name + entityName;

    structureKey = name;
    if (!uiIsVisible) {
      if (Objects.equals(name, "wall")) {
        Entity wall = StructureFactory.createWall();
        ServiceLocator.getGameService().registerEntity(loc, entityName, wall);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().registerNamed(entityName, wall);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().getNamedEntity(entityName).setPosition(mousePosV2);
      } else if (Objects.equals(name, "tower1")) {
        Entity tower1 = StructureFactory.createTower1(1);
        ServiceLocator.getGameService().registerEntity(loc, entityName, tower1);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().registerNamed(entityName, tower1);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().getNamedEntity(entityName).setPosition(mousePosV2);
      } else if (Objects.equals(name, "tower2")) {
        Entity tower2 = StructureFactory.createTower2(1);
        ServiceLocator.getGameService().registerEntity(loc, entityName, tower2);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().registerNamed(entityName, tower2);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().getNamedEntity(entityName).setPosition(mousePosV2);
      }else if (Objects.equals(name, "tower3")) {
        Entity tower3 = StructureFactory.createTower3(1);
        ServiceLocator.getGameService().registerEntity(loc, entityName, tower3);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().registerNamed(entityName, tower3);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().getNamedEntity(entityName).setPosition(mousePosV2);
      }else if (Objects.equals(name, "trap")) {
        Entity trap = StructureFactory.createTrap();
        ServiceLocator.getGameService().registerEntity(loc, entityName, trap);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().registerNamed(entityName, trap);
        ServiceLocator.getStructureService().getNamedEntity(entityName).setPosition(mousePosV2);
      } 

    } else {
      if (uiIsVisible) {
        table1.remove();
        toggleUIisVisible();
      }
    }
  }

User Interaction Testing

Sprint 1: To validate the implementation of building structures into the game, user interface testing was conducted by giving testers a brief overview of the interaction methods and then letting them try to create, move, and delete structures in the game. This video displays an overview of user interaction: https://youtu.be/Elqmh7kcmlw.

Sprint 2: Further testing is described at Code Testing

Future Expansion

In the future, further research will need to be executed to further understand what features user's would like to see included. The Ranged Damage component will need to be finished, as it is an expected part of the game's design.